If you work in marketing and communications for a college or university, you know the value of social media. However, sometimes it can be challenging to convince others at your organization the importance of integrating social media into the overall strategic marketing plan. Perhaps you have been looking for some quantifiable research to back up your ongoing argument to increase the social networking and blogging for your institution. Well, look no further! Our friends at The Nielson Company have released a comprehensive report that “reveals the new global footprint of social networking.”
Click here to read the Nielsen article and download a PDF report.
The report states that over two-thirds of the global online population visits member communities, which includes both social networks and blogs. In fact, “member communities” has now surpassed personal email, and claimed its spot as the fourth most popular online category. And, according to the report, it is growing twice as fast as the other four sectors (search, portals, PC software and email).
Other key findings pulled directly from the report include:
- One in every 11 minutes online globally is accounted for by social network and blogging sites.
- The social network and blogging audience is becoming more diverse in terms of age: the biggest increase in visitors during 2008 to “Member Community” Web sites globally came from the 35-49 year old age group (+11.3 million).
- Mobile is playing an increasingly important role in social networking. Nielsen found UK mobile Web users have the greatest propensity to visit a social network through their handset, with 23 percent (2 million people) doing so, compared to 19 percent in the US (10.6 million people). These numbers are a big increase over last year – up 249 percent in the UK and 156 percent in the US.
So, now you are armed with the marketing research you need to justify your social media mission. See you on Facebook!
This won’t come as a surprise to the “for-profit” schools out there that have based their enrollment management procedures around rapid, personalized response from highly trained enrollment counselors. The model works well for several reasons, many of which have been validated in a recent survey of nearly 2,000 prospective students.
From an enrollment perspective, the research shows that a speedy response to student inquiries is important, but it doesn’t replace an engaging discussion with an enrollment counselor who can explain how their particular offering addresses the student’s specific needs and concerns. Sound familiar? This is a basic marketing principle in which we demonstrate to potential customers how they can benefit from a specific product or service. It’s further proof that selling education is becoming more “productized” than ever before.
The lesson is simple: be sure to have your core brand messages clearly defined and that everyone in your institution understands why and how to utilize them. From answering the phone to greeting students (in person, on campus), to writing personalized emails to prospective students, don’t forget the attributes that make your college or school unique. Speed and personalized attention is expected, however, telling your differentiated brand story in a compelling way is what can make you distinctive in the mind of a future student
So, answer inquires quickly with a high level of personalization, and focus on what makes your offering unique and relevant to each student.
Many schools fear the cost of “branding,” especially right now. But over the long term, effective branding initiatives can actually save money. How? I’m so glad you asked.
By establishing core messages and communicating them consistently, you can make an impact on your audience faster than sending fragmented, inconsistent messages (which can be more costly to create and disseminate). If you are consistently sending out the core brand message over and over, you will spend less money reinforcing the message in the long run.
Another way consistent branding saves money? There’s no need to reinvent the wheel every year with another branding initiative. Stick to the core brand messages that differentiate your school—those shouldn’t change (unless you make significant changes to your school that warrants a rebranding program). I should clarify that your ad campaign can change year-after-year to keep the message fresh, but the essence of the brand generally remains the same. We can freshen it up, update it, but the personality of your institution is timeless.