I was not sure if our marketing plan included the use of facebook, twitter, etc. I asked another colleague and was told yes. I am not certain the degree of our usage, but I was able to get the answer through simply asking someone in the office...and that's great!
I think that social media has increased networking for schools and students. It is a great way for schools to relay information, and provide exciting announcements and let students interact positively.
What is the best way to monitor these sites at an institution? Also, how should derogatory comments be handled?
I personally love the thought of social media being used as advertising or contacting our students. I personally believe that word of mouth is no longer existant. Once you post on a students facebook page, all of there friends see it. A great way to get referalls, and your student never has to speak to anyone for a reccomendation.
I am still a little bit unfamiliar if our school uses accounts such as facebook, twitter or myspace but I can say our school does have a LinkedIn account which I am able to connect with co-workers and other professionals as well.
Social Networking is huge with students, especially those that are of high school age. I find that I don't use the socail media sites much for gaining leads, but more for retention efforts. It seems to be the preferred method of communication for many young students. Our school has social media pages that they are active on and have them listed in our marketing plan.
Facebook, twitter, and instragram are used frequently on our campus. We are able to reach out student faster using social media. Most of my students are on facebook. I can send them a message during the day through facebook. Most students have an app on their phone and are able to respond back faster than a regular phone call. We use instagram to show students some of the activities and classes they are going to take while they are here on campus. We are able to connect with prospective students in real time illistrating what it would be like to attend our university.
This is my second week with n National College, however in my past experiences employed at other proprietary schools, I have found emailing and having my DOA use texting as a way to attempt to reach the student has been successful. I have always been under the impression that we were not allowed to go on facebook, even if it is to try to communicate with a student in trying to reach them, if all other forms have failed. This is something however, I will discuss with my DOA on the rules of using facebook.
I think that social networking sites may be used to discuss important topics that are of interest to our students and our alumni. They may also be used to by prospective students to ask questions that can be answered by a certified and trained school representative.
I know our school uses Facebook, twitter or Myspace but i don't know how they follow the process as i am new.
The school does have a marketing plan for the students to find us on a social network. I belive social networking and the use of it for communication with students has helped me in the past. If a student is difficult to bring into the school or get on the phone for the interview, I normally reach out to them via social network. Students check these types of sites often, so the use of them is smart and helpful.
since alot of potential students use social media sites, i believe that advertising on these sites will open more marketing oportunities for the school.
Absolutely! Not only is social networking a great communication tool to reaching out into our student body, but sites like fb reach out to the a large portion of the community if one uses some of the options such as tagging. I was responsible for our fb page for a couple of years and was able to quadruple the interest in our school. It is especially useful to connect with high school students and to get family and friends of the students involved in our school. Great tool to market high schools.
I posted interesting pictures on what our students were doing. For example, blood draw and EKG days in medical assisting are great days to go in and take pictures to post online. It shows your potential students out there exactly what they get to do if they want to become a medical assistant! Same with our Dental program- student making dental forms, taking x-rays, or nursing students doing dissections make the programs so much more interesting to people who aren't really sure if what dental students, medical assistant students, or nursing students study in class.
Sites like FB, and twitter always enhance the fundraising our school does, you would be surprised at how many people in the community follow your school's page and how many actually involve themselves in these activities even if they have no connections to students. The more interest you can generate, the more calls we get!
Many social networking sites are great to use for advertising for many schools because there are so many people that sign up for social networking sites today. It doesn't matter what age you are now, everyone has an account with a social networking site. Also, it doesn't just take a computer now to stay connected to these sites, you can do it from your phone, ipad, tablet, etc., so people are always connected which gives the school a better chance at catching leads.
We use Facebook as a marketing plan for our students and it works really well. I think with technology these days you really need to use some type of social media to reach out to prospective students. A lot of people our on some type of social media so it really is a good way to get your name out there!
Years ago people would talk to friends or someone who may have gone to a school or knew someone who had gone and what the atmosphere was like. it was 'word of mouth'. Today everything goes on social networking, chat rooms and if there's anything you want to know, the information is there for viewing. Prospective students seek out information to get an idea of what to expect and websites will show how schools are rated and what others have to say about their experiences; nothing is hidden.
I agree that these social media sites are an untapped source that will open many doors, and not just facebook. As long as they stay with in the parameters of the rules. Twitter, Pintrest and many others.
Social Network Sites are an excellent tool to reach students whose numbers have been disconnected and are hard to reach.
Many students will respond to these sites quicker and faster than they will traditional phone or mail communications.
We utilize several social networking sites to communicate and promote our school.
I think that this is a fantastic way to reach a greater number of people and market our school in a more efficient way. I also think it is easier to target and pinpoint a demographic of individuals that would most likely be in need of our services.
Students in today's society are more likely to respond to social networking than to more traditional forms of communication. It's a benefit to the school to have multiple ways of reaching a student quickly. Many students may respond to a text on their cellphone more quickly than any other type of communication.
It is my fourth day at my school so I am not sure what the school takes advantage of with regard to social networking. I am interested to find out!
