College Recruiters are Wondering “What Are You Doing Now?” 2 comments

If you work in marketing or communications in higher education, this latest survey won’t come as a surprise. However, it will help to further justify using social media tools such as Twitter and Facebook in college student recruiting strategies. In fact, we see that student target audiences are becoming more tech-savvy each year, and using social media such as Twitter and Facebook has become a way of life.

As stated in USA Today, a survey of hundreds of colleges by the Center for Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth reported:

•Only 15% last year said they did not use social media, down from 39% the previous year.

•The number of colleges using social networking sites and or putting video on their blogs more than doubled from 2007 to 2008.

•41% of colleges said they used blogs in admissions, well above the 16% of marketing departments of large companies that use blogs.

This survey is further proof that these social media tools are not just a “fad.” The challenge now is to determine how to balance the use of social networking with your overall integrated marketing strategy.

Just getting started tweeting? There’s a Twitter group for higher education that you can join. It’s great for beginners who want to connect with people already tweeting!  Good luck!