Most prospective students are now involved in social networking sites, so I believe this has become one of the most efficient ways to communicate with prospective students.
My institution does have a marketing plan that includes a significant portion to social networking sites.
We use traditional social networking like Facebook, however have also found other online resources to be effective as well.
Facebook and Myspace and Twitter are very good resources to advertise and discuss topics. Students are more inclined to look at the internet for stuff to talk about. If they see a topic for discussion on your college they may look into it without realizing they were advertized to.
In a way I agree that the use of social media could speed up the ripple affect of a negative remark but it also opens up a dialogue to address the issue and how the institution is responding and reacting to the information. I also believe that it opens up the opportunity to reply emotionally instead of using facts which can also negatively impact the school. If a student posts something negative towards the school an employee or agent of the school may feel they need to defend themselves or the school and respond to the student post out of emotion instead of waiting for an official response from the school to be posted. Overall I feel social media can have a great impact on recruiting but requires limited accessability to employees and current students to post and add information as to ensure the information posted in beneficial to the school and contains accurate, truthful information.
The popularity of social networking site such as Facebook and twitter have greatly affected communication with prospective students. In reality it seems to be a love/hate relationship with social media and any type of business. On one hand, our sites contain important and valuable information that the students/prospective students need; which cuts down on the calls we receive. On the other hand, cutting down on the calls received greatly reduces that one-on-one time with prospective students.
Our school does have a marketing plan that utilizes social networking. We post industry related articles about twice a week to keep our sites relevant in the industry and our school at the front of people minds.
I am not sure if my school utlizes the social networking, but it is an AMAZING marketing tool. Pages are free, ads are specialized to individual interests, and the foundation is based upon the greatest marketing: word of mouth.
At our school we don't typically use Social Media to communicate with perspective students.
Social Networking can be a great way to reach both prospective students and current students. Most people today have either Facebook or Twitter, espeically Generation Y. They don't respond voice to voice but texting, tweets and FB posts will get their attention. It's a great tool but only one to use when you are prepared to discuss the Enrollment Process correctly.
We use social networking to promote our school but it is not a way of communication for reps to speak with potential students.
We use social networking at our campus to inform our students. This is just another avenue to get information out there about: campus events, motivational support, alumni information, learning service projects and weather delays. We use Facebook, among other ways, to communicate this information to students. This day in age people are using Facebook on a daily basis, this makes it so much easier for students to keep up with what is going on at school.
As far as communicating with prospective students; on our Facebook page we offer an area to get more information. A prospective student can fill out their information and expect our admissions department to call them. Having social networking builds more ways for prospective students to contact our school and to gain more information about our school.
We have recently seen some of this on our facebook page. Whether disgrunted former employees or family/friends of former students, there are always going to be people that want an opportunity to make their voice heard - despite accuracy of content. We've deleted some comments, but the majority we have kept. One of the best things that we have seen is that for each person that posts something negative about the school there are 4-5 current students or graduates that immediately comment back stating what a wonderful experience they are having or how the education they received helped them in their current career. So, while initally that negative comment might catch the eye, the potential student is also going to see the positive feedback from the current students/graduates.
The university that I worked at previously used Facebook for informational purposes. Upcoming events and news regarding the campus to students and alumni that "liked" the sight.
My school also uses Facebook, Twitter, among other social networking sites. My former school also incorporated "Apps" that would allow students to access their classes via their smart phones.
Im not sure if my allow it or not but i think its a great way to bring students to our school. Everyone uses social network in some way.
Social networking sites are extremely powerful when it comes to the marketing of the school and prospective students are effected in many ways. Twitter and instagram are used regularly to post pictures at campus events and to highlight exciting areas of the institution. Facebook pages show pertinent information to prospective students about the academic lifestyle of the institution. I am not aware if these sites are implemented in a particular marketing plan, but I do know that our institution uses those media outlets to enhance the appeal of the institution.
I think that is the safest way to be involved in social media. Facebook should be a school authorized page with one person designated to updates and comments to make sure that no misinformation is generated.
I believe that with the ever growning avenue of social networking sites it has made it easier to communicate with students. Most students are quicker to repsond and participate to social avenues such as Facebook, Twitter, and blogs.
Our school maintains a Facebook page and I think it has been moderately successful at bringing in leads.
Social networks offer another way for the school to share information. Many people check their Facebook or Twitter before they check their email, so by using social media as a tool the school has one more resource to share important information with students.
Social networking sites are now the easiest way to advertise now and I would think it you didn't have at least 1 for your school you'd be missing out on many potential students.
