University Business - May 2012 - (Page 34)

Admissions Goes Social designated locations a number of times. “We saw that people, whether they were just visiting campus, students, or alumni, really enjoyed getting that,” says Gallo of the badge release. “We got an extra 2,000 to 3,000 followers on Foursquare that week.” Focus on enrollment management. As admissions administrators know, getting students to apply is just part of the equation. Having them enroll is the goal—and social media can help make that happen. As soon as a student has been accepted, his or her needs become less about information and more about fit, says Michael Staton, founder of Inigral. “It’s really important that students are given lots of opportunities to feel like they fit in, build supportive social environments, and get involved.” His company created the Schools App, a private, branded social network for higher ed that allows admitted students to form relationships with their peers before deciding where to enroll. Let your students do the talking. According to the Maguire Associates survey, 39 percent of students had chatted online with enrolled students at an institution they were interested in attending. Those running strong social media initiatives know that not only should you sometimes sit back and listen, but you should also let students take the reins. “For our prospective students, I honestly think a good recommendation from one of their friends is more valuable than anything that one of our recruiters could say to them,” says Gross. “If we can use social media to tap into the recommendations of our current students, then I am all for it.” If your students are excited about their school, you can help them show their enthusiasm to peers. They (and you) might not even realize these people are additional prospects. Have an impressive study abroad program? Try live streaming a video questionand-answer session between students who are currently abroad and prospective students, suggests Dessi. “That’s going to be mind-blowing and they’re going to go to your school.” When students are making their final decision, “a lot of what they see is the social experience. They get really excited about that pretty early on in the process,” he says. “If they’re choosing between three comparable schools and they have already made a lot of friends at one particular school, we believe that gives that school just a slight edge.” The bottom line is that administrators need to think outside the box when it comes to their social media initiatives. “It’s a mindset change,” notes Staton. “What matters is not how many fans you have and how many likes you’re getting, but how quickly you’re responding to people with specific needs. Making people feel appreciated is the new marketing.” Social CRM Social media gurus and CRM providers share a vision for a future where CRM and social media go hand in hand. But the idea is in its early stages. “The CRM system assumes that everything is data, whereas most of what you’re talking about is people and conversations with people,” shares Michael Staton, founder of Inigral, creator of the Schools App. The goal? “A CRM where the entire premise is that you’re interacting, you’re not just logging data about accounts and tracking potential revenue,” he says. By pulling data from prospective and current students’ social media pages and including photos and links to these pages within a CRM system, the data within the system can become more personalized and humanized. “When you have a first conversation with someone, in theory, you want that conversation to have some context behind it,” says Staton. Catering to a student’s interests in the recruitment process can help them see that there are programs and events on campus that match their interests. It can also allow other departments on campus to design programs for incoming students. For example, if a large number of them love listening to a particular type of music— information you can draw out of social media—an institution can cater its campus concerts to that style. And a more social CRM system wouldn’t just be useful for the admissions process, it could aid with retention. Many schools survey students at the end of their first year to find out about their experience, when it’s often too late if they aren’t having a positive experience. “If they were collecting a lot of data out front they would be able to know if the student is having a good experience and create one for students who aren’t,” says Staton. “Some students might find it creepy, but in the end, if schools have a better understanding of who their students are, they’ll be able to serve them better.” Right now, while some CRM providers have started toying with some of these ideas (for example, Hobson’s Intelliworks platform has a social media app that allows colleges and universities to present content and communicate with contacts through Facebook), the truly social CRM system as Staton envisions doesn’t exist. But stay tuned, he says. “Everyone’s thinking about it all at the same time.” ResouRces Chris Dessi’s Dialogue on Social Media Blog, www.christopherdessi.com Foursquare for Universities, http://Foursquare.com/universities Hobsons Intelliworks platform, www.intelliworks.com Inigral, www.inigral.com Loyola University Chicago Facebook Timeline Photos, http://luc.edu/undergrad /facebooktimelinecoverphotos Maguire Associates 2011 College Decision Impact Survey, http://bit.ly/wftxA6 Rey Junco’s website, www.reyjunco.com University of Southern California Foursquare page, http://Foursquare.com /uscedu 34 | May 2012 universitybusiness.com http://www.christopherdessi.com http://www.Foursquare.com/universities http://www.intelliworks.com http://www.inigral.com http://www.luc.edu/undergrad/facebooktimelinecoverphotos http://www.luc.edu/undergrad/facebooktimelinecoverphotos http://www.bit.ly/wftxA6 http://www.reyjunco.com http://www.Foursquare.com/uscedu http://www.Foursquare.com/uscedu http://www.universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - May 2012

University Business - May 2012
Contents
Editor's Note
College Index
Ad Index
Behind the News
Human Resources
Education Gateways
Big Ideas
Reaching Higher
Admissions Goes Social
Learning Disabled Students Welcome
Who Goes There?
Computing Trends, Today and Tomorrow
Money Matters
End Note

University Business - May 2012