.
Social media is not just some fun tool that everyone is using these days. It is one of the top 3 most important building blocks of inbound marketing today. Inbound marketing is no longer cold-calling, junk mail, unsolicited email or print advertising. Rather, it’s all about being competent online, through social media, blogging and SEO (search engine optimization).
How Higher Education is Leading the Way
A recent study from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth found some statistics that reflect excellently on how college and universities are using social media. They have been studying US colleges and universities and their use of social media since the 2007-2008 academic school year. Their most recent study involved 456 participants from public and private schools numbering anywhere between 4-54,000 in student population. They report that in 2010-2011, 100% of colleges and universities are using some form of social media. US colleges and universities are staying on the cutting-edge with social media, outdoing other industries. There is no other industry that can claim this sort of adoption:
- 98% are using Facebook
- 86% are using YouTube
- 84% are using Twitter
Besides this, blogging continues to be embraced by colleges and universities. While other sectors are reporting a leveling off of blogging (i.e., Fortune 500, Forbes Top Charities), higher education adoption of blogging has grown significantly in the past year. And many are using and improving on their use of blogging and other social media, reporting widespread success.
Are You Using Social Media Effectively?
If one takes a look at their alma mater and other schools to see how they are doing social media, chances are they will find that schools have figured out a lot of the tricks to do social media successfully. They might include a variety of blogs from students and faculty alike, or have interactive maps with video included, or include easy links to Facebook or an RSS-feed. Some even have interactive tools on ‘how to find your major’. Prospective students can now surf to the webpage or follow a school on Twitter or Facebook all through their hand-held devices, connected 24/7.
The question then is: If you are a college or university, are you thinking enough about how all this social media activity ties into your recruitment and development activities, or are you just doing it because everyone else is?
As mentioned above, social media is becoming an essential piece of the inbound marketing process. Are you using it effectively to garner interest in your institution from prospective students and donors alike?
Photo: Elliott O'Brien Leading the Race by Team Traveller
Inbound Marketing for Educational Institutions eBook
Learn how HubSpot's Inbound Marketing Solution can help you to effectively use your website to engage and recruit students.
Download the free 38-page ebook today!