social media and universities presentation
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How can social media such as Facebook and Twitter help universities recruit students?
Wednesday 26th August 2009
Jennifer Taylor
What is social media?
“Social Media is an umbrella term that defines the various activities that integrate technology, social interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, videos and audio.”
http://www.wikipedia.org
In simple terms…
• Social media is people having conversations online
• It’s how people engage, participate and share online
• It’s a conversation supported by online tools
What are social media?
• Forums and Online Communities
• Blogs• Social Networks • Multimedia sharing• Social Bookmarking• Diggs• RSS readers• Microblogging
Why is social media important?
• Wikipedia – almost 4 million articles• YouTube – over 100 million videos• Blogger – 200 million blogs• Facebook – over 250 million users• Twitter – 1 billion tweets
More reasons social media is important…
• 73% of active online users have read a blog• 45% have started their own blog• 39% subscribe to an RSS feed• 57% have joined a social network• 55% have uploaded photos• 83% have watched video clips
Visiting social sites is now the 4th most popularonline activity – ahead of personal email
Figures from “What the F*ck is Social Media” by Marta Kagan
It doesn’t matter what industry you are in.
Your customers and prospects are talking
about you online. Your company needs to be
part of that conversation.
The 6 Dangerous Fallacies of Social Media, Jason Baer
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Aims of student recruitment teams
• Analysis of current market position & market share• Building awareness of the University and courses• Organising and advertising Open Days• Promoting Undergraduate and Postgraduate Prospectus• Developing partnerships with Schools and Colleges • Undertaking widening access, promoting recruitment of
students in target groups• Stimulating applications and converting offers into firm
acceptances
What are prospective students looking for?
• University presence on social networking site• Course-related updates• Careers information and workshops• Opportunities to network with other students• Admissions and clearing updates• Information on facilities and residences• Opportunities to converse with teaching and support staff
How universities can use social media to engage prospective students
• Sharing information– Broadcasting university news and events– Departmental blogs that discuss current work and research– Videos of research or campus tours
• Showcasing student and department work– Videos, audio, photo sharing, blogs
• Connecting people– Creating a dialogue and communicating to students– Involving students in events– Allowing prospective students to meet online
Stanford offers Facebook office hours for
students to talk to teaching staff
Cardiff University used flickr to engage students in the 125th Anniversary events
Saint Leo University engaging students through twitter
Oxford University using YouTube to broadcast lectures and upload college life videos
Micro-blogging sites like twitter can be used to publicise university news
Facebook can be used to give out useful information
Why should universities use social media to recruit students?
• Reach a large target audience• It’s relatively cheap – although time intensive• New generation of prospective students expect
an online presence• Your university will be discussed online – be part
of that discussion