Reaching the Wired Generation: How Social Media is Changing College Admission

Transcription

1 2009 NACAC Discussion Paper Reaching the Wired Generation: How Social Media is Changing College Admission Nora Ganim Barnes, Ph.D. Chancellor Professor of Marketing and Director, Center for Marketing Research University of Massachusetts Dartmouth This report was commissioned by the National Association for College Admission Counseling as part of an ongoing effort to inform the association and the public about current issues in college admission. The views and opinions expressed in this report are solely those of the author and not necessarily those of NACAC.

2 Copyright 2009 by the National Association for College Admission Counseling. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this paper may be reproduced in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher, except for brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. NACAC 1050 N. Highland Street Suite 400 Arlington, VA / / fax

3 Reaching the Wired Generation National Association for College Admission Counseling 1 NACAC Introduction The current generation of prospective college students has grown up in the presence of Web technology. It is second nature to today s youth to gather information and conduct important social relationships online they surf the Web instead of flipping through the pages of a newspaper; they download music instead of buying CDs; they Facebook instead of ing; they even promote themselves and their ideas through personal blogs. Consequently, colleges and universities have begun to use these same tools in order engage with students more productively, in the classroom, but particularly in recruitment efforts. Data presented in this report show that well over half of all admission departments are using some type of social media in recruiting and about one-fifth use social media sites to screen at least a portion of their applicant pool. However, not all colleges are equally engaged in the use of social media and important ethical issues about its use in admission remain under-explored. The purpose of this discussion paper is threefold: 1) to present recent data collected by the author on the extent to which colleges and universities are using social media for recruitment; 2) to highlight best practices for blogging and the use of other social media and Web 2.0 applications for those institutions who are new to these endeavors; and 3) to begin to explore the ethical and legal issues inherent in engaging with prospective students through these media. NACAC hopes that this discussion paper will give colleges and universities an idea of where they stand in comparison to peers in implementing social media strategies and that it also will be the impetus for additional research and dialogue about important unanswered questions: Has the use of social media strategies for recruitment been successful for colleges and what is the cost/benefit relationship? What measures have colleges enacted to improve the cost/benefit of social media strategies? What ethical or legal issues have colleges using social media encountered and how were these issues resolved? What, if any, formal policies have colleges established to guide their use of social media in the recruitment and admission process? About the Author Dr. Nora Ganim Barnes earned a Ph.D. in Consumer Behavior from the University of Connecticut and is a Chancellor Professor of Marketing and Director of the UMASS Center for Marketing Research. She has been selected by her peers at UMass Dartmouth to be the recipient of the prestigious Leo Sullivan Excellence in Teaching Award (1993) and by her undergraduate college as the recipient of their Distinguished Alumni Award (1996). She was recognized by the faculty as Scholar of the Year at UMass Dartmouth in 1999, becoming the first member of the faculty to receive both the Teacher of the Year and Scholar of the Year Awards in the history of the school. Most recently, she was selected to receive the University of Massachusetts President s Community Service Award. Dr. Barnes has worked as a consultant for many national and international firms including the National Pharmaceutical Council, the National Court Reporters Association, and the Board of Inquiry of the British Parliament. She also works closely with businesses in the Southern New England area providing marketing research assistance to small businesses. Dr. Barnes has authored more than ninety articles published in academic and professional journals, has contributed chapters to books, and has been awarded numerous research grants.

4 2 Reaching the Wired Generation National Association for College Admission Counseling Introduction It s no surprise that social media has changed the landscape of college admission. The current generation graduating high school has been exposed to the Internet since childhood, and as such has been dubbed the wired generation. Be it wired or wireless, the year olds of today are constantly connected plugged into music players, cell phones, the Internet, instant messenger, perhaps all on the same device. This world of interactivity and hyper-communication has fundamentally changed how teenagers and young adults receive and process information. How can a university reach the eyes and ears of an audience that is largely responsible for over one billion text messages sent per day in the United States (See CTIA Semi-Annual Wireless Industry Survey)? Furthermore, how do you maintain the attention of a generation entirely raised upon broadband Internet and instant gratification? The purpose of this discussion paper, Reaching the Wired Generation: How Social Media is Changing College Admission, is to provide the reader with a statistical analysis of how colleges and universities are reacting to these rapid changes and already using social networking to their advantage. It will also review best practices for higher education admission in both blogging and social networking. The statistical analysis is the product of the UMass Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research (CMR) (Barnes and Mattson, 2008). The CMR conducted the first large scale academic study ever done on higher education and social media, and the results are presented here in the next chapter. Following the research discussion, the next step, both for this paper and for admission departments, is to determine how to take advantage of the increased focus on online communications. This paper will examine the practice of blogging, and through the words and advice of experts, distill the essentials into steps for admission counselors. Blogging is not the only medium for reaching today s young adults. From the early Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) to the modern media-integrated sites, the Internet has been a vehicle for meeting and connecting to other people Social Networking. Social networking constitutes an online service that is focused on building a community of users who share a common interest or activity, or are simply interested in meeting other people (See e.g. Boyd, Ellison). Teens today have flocked to these sites by the millions, eager to connect, share, and engage. Facebook and MySpace are the titans of this realm, and thus will be focused on following the blogging best practices. They are not the only players in this space, however. This paper will also discuss new, alternative, channels for university media, and how to use them in the manner that best captures the attention of prospective students. Best practices for colleges and universities using social networking sites are provided. With a grasp on these powerful networking tools, Reaching the Wired Generation: How Social Media is Changing College Admission demystifies the sites and vehicles of distribution that schools are using this very moment to gain mindshare and attention among today s youth. Colleges and universities should follow these steps and make a concerted effort to modernize their admission approach. Students are now expecting an online communications vehicle of some sort and there are many options available. For every school there is some form of online approach that makes sense no matter what the resources. Applying these on line communications tools effectively will give schools a significant advantage in reaching one of the most connected yet hardest to reach audiences.

5 Reaching the Wired Generation National Association for College Admission Counseling 3 Admission Study For the approximately 2,000 four-year accredited colleges and universities in the US, the name of the game is recruiting the best students. It is a highly competitive process often influenced by factors that are more subjective than objective. In this challenging environment, social media (in the form of blogs, podcasts, message boards, social networking, videos, and wikis) has become an important new marketing tool. This study examines the familiarity with, usage of, and attitude towards social media by the Admission Offices of 453 US colleges and universities in 49 states. To date it is the most comprehensive study of American institutions of higher education and their use of social media. The results are fascinating and statistically document for the first time what many have intuitively suspected: Colleges and universities are using social media to recruit and research prospective students. It is clear that online behavior can have important consequences for young people and that social networking sites can, and will, be utilized by others to make decisions. While there is general agreement that colleges and universities are moving toward social media and many articles and seminars are available on the topic, this paper reports on the statistically valid findings of the largest study done on higher education and social media. The results are both good news and bad news. There is evidence of enthusiasm and eagerness to embrace these new communications tools but there is also evidence that these powerful tools are not being utilized to their potential. Schools using social media must learn the rules of engagement in the online world in order to maximize their effectiveness. The results that follow come directly from the study of 453 colleges and universities. Where possible, information from other studies is added to give perspective. For example, the data show that admission officers of academic institutions are more familiar with the adoption of social media (especially blogs) than even the fastest growing companies in the US. Methodology In the spring of 2007, the University of Massachusetts Center for Marketing Research conducted telephone surveys with 453 US colleges and universities in 49 states. All calls were made using a systematic random sample from the University of Texas directory of four-year, accredited institutions. The directory lists approximately 2,000 schools that fit that description. Each school was called back at least three times before moving on to the next institution on the list and then resuming the sampling interval. (An additional 2,000 schools listed, but not included, are two-year schools, specialty schools, those not accredited, some religious schools, etc.). The responding institutions are diverse in student size (from under 50 students to over 50,000), annual tuition (from less than $1,000 to over $40,000), funding (69 percent private, 31 percent public), and location (49 states are represented). The sample includes well-known private schools like Duke University (NC), Carnegie Mellon University (PA), Vassar College (NY), and Wesleyan University (CT), as well as many large state universities like the University of Arizona, University of Wisconsin and University of Massachusetts. Statistical tests were performed on the data and results are reported. This study is valid at +/-4 percent with a 95 percent confidence level.

6 4 Reaching the Wired Generation National Association for College Admission Counseling Given that higher education has a culture that is simultaneously incredibly innovative and slow to change, it is important to ask how colleges and universities are responding to the new wave of social media. The research was structured to answer the following questions: 1. Are colleges and universities familiar with social media? 2. Are colleges and universities using social media? If so, how effectively? 3. How does the adoption of social media in higher education compare with that of other groups? 4. Do colleges and universities consider social media important? 5. Do colleges and universities use search engines and/or social networking to recruit and research prospective students? The answers to these questions provide a clear picture of where colleges and universities are in relationship to these new technologies. They also yield a rich compilation of best (and worst) practices that will guide both those schools that have adopted social media and those still waiting to test the waters. Either way, the findings will assist in developing marketing strategies for the years ahead as all schools compete to reach today s fully wired generation. Findings Are colleges and universities familiar with social media? Respondents were asked to rank their familiarity with each technology from very familiar to very unfamiliar. The social media that was most familiar to college admission departments is social networking with 55 percent of respondents claiming to be very familiar with it. Fifty-one percent report they are very familiar with blogging. In fact, as the graph below shows, a significant percentage of admission departments are very familiar with the technologies studied. Even the technology least familiar to admission officers (wikis), is very familiar to 16 percent of those surveyed. A 2007 study of the Inc. 500 (America s fastest growing private businesses as named by Inc. Magazine) during the same time period shows that for almost every technology the admission departments were equally or significantly more familiar than the businesses (Mattson and Barnes, 2007) (See Figure 1). This level of familiarity with social media tools is high and translates into usage. It would appear that college admission officers are moving in the direction of becoming familiar with new tools of communication at a rapid rate. Are colleges and universities using social media? Wikipedia defines blogs as: a Web site where regular entries are made (such as in a journal or diary) and presented in reverse chronological order. Blogs often offer commentary or news on a particular subject, such as food, politics or local news. Some function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, Web pages and other media related to its topic. Most blogs are primarily textual although many focus on photographs, videos or audio.

7 Reaching the Wired Generation National Association for College Admission Counseling 5 Figure 1 60% 50% 40% How familiar are you with the following social media? (% very familiar) Universities Inc % 20% 10% 0% 55% 42% Social Networking 51% 36% Blogging 43% 38% Message Boards 29% 30% Podcasting 27% 31% Online Videos 21% 16% Wikis In this study, 61 percent of the respondents use at least one form of social media. Blogging is the most common form. In total, 151 or 33 percent of the 453 schools participating in this study reported having a blog. Those with a blog are virtually all using other forms of social media as well. Twenty-nine percent use social networking (Facebook, MySpace etc.), 27 percent use message boards, 14 percent use podcasts, and three percent use wikis (See Figure 2). Many respondents reported that faculty often set up wikis for research projects and sometimes students for group projects, but it was not one of the tools that admission commonly used. (In addition to these, schools reported using chat rooms, instant messaging and to reach prospective students or alumni.)

8 6 Reaching the Wired Generation National Association for College Admission Counseling Figure 2 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Which of the following types of social media does your admission office currently have? (%Yes) 33% Blogging 29% 27% Social Message/ Networking Bulletin Boards 19% Videoblogging 14% Podcasting 3% Wikis 39% Do Not Use Any More private schools have blogs than public schools (50 percent vs. 28 percent) and schools with graduate populations of less than 500 have more blogs than schools with over 500 graduate students (44 percent vs. 35 percent). Eleven percent of schools with blogs are using some internally developed application. Others cite Blogger, Word Press and Movable Type as platforms. It is not uncommon for the admission professional to be unfamiliar with the applications being used to host a blog. At most schools, the IT department sets up the blog and the admission office manages it. When asked who manages their blog, the most popular answers were the admission office, marketing and public relations. The Fortune 500 has long been the gold standard for business success. It represents the top businesses based on their profits. According to the Web site that is tracking blog use among this group ( net/bizblogs), eight percent had a blog in The Inc. 500, based on growth rather than profits, were blogging at a rate of about 19 percent that same year. Higher education was well ahead of the curve with one-third of four-year accredited schools reporting having an admission blog in 2007 (See Figure 3).

9 Reaching the Wired Generation National Association for College Admission Counseling 7 Figure 3 35% Use of Blogging by Group 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% 8% 19% 33% Fortune 500 Inc. 500 Higher Ed. This is, arguably, a perfect fit for colleges and universities given that their target audience is predominantly made up of the Internet s heaviest users and those with the greatest presence on blogs and social networking sites. Recall that more than half of all bloggers are under the age of 30. One social media researcher writes: As customers, Gen X-ers and Gen Y-ers are more volatile and high-maintenance than any other generation in history. They are voracious in their desire for immediate information and have sophisticated behavioral approaches to filtering that information, no matter how many sources it comes from (Gillen, 2007). Are colleges and universities using social media effectively? At first glance, higher education and social media appears to be a case study in the timely adoption of new technology. Certainly it is encouraging to see so many schools using these new tools. Upon further analysis, it becomes clear that there is room for improvement as we look at the implementation of the most popular tool, blogging. The survey asked about blog logistics like accepting comments, promoting the blog and planning for the future of the blog. The answers to these and other questions from schools with blogs are surprising and may be a cause for concern. The mantra of the blogoshpere is conversation. From the pioneering book Naked Conversations, the word conversation had come to define the essence of blogging. It is for this reason that all the advice on blogging includes discussion of posts and comments.

10 8 Reaching the Wired Generation National Association for College Admission Counseling Posts are the entries put up on a blog by the blog s author (or authors). Most posts are short with less than 500 words, but some can be much shorter or longer depending on the passion of the author and the interest level of the audience. Some bloggers post one or more times a day, but the rule of thumb is at least three times a week for most active bloggers. Blogs that are unattended lose their audiences. Most platforms have the option to allow or not allow comments on posts. Blogging purists find a blog without comments unacceptable, but it is estimated that about 20 percent of all blogs do not allow comments. In this study, 37 percent of those schools with blogs did not accept comments. By any measure, this is a problem if the goal is to connect with prospective students or alumni through ongoing conversation with the school. For students and their parents looking to have a conversation online about particular aspects of university life, the lack of interaction through comments can be significant. With more and more schools moving into multiple channels of social media, schools that don t allow for conversation risk losing engagement with students (See Figure 4). Figure 4 80% Do you accept comments on your blog? (%Yes) 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 61% 37% 2% Yes No No response It is a common misconception that every comment made to a blog post automatically shows up in the blog. Schools worry about negative things being said and then viewed literally by the world. This is not the case. Blogging platforms allow for review of comments prior to publication on the site. Most blogs have a blog policy that simply states they will not publish comments that fall into certain categories of the unacceptable. Having said that, it is also important to note that another golden rule of blogging is transparency. Those who read blogs do not want their information to be editorialized or sanitized. If the audience feels that a blog is censoring and eliminating all negative comments, they will quickly stop reading. Worse than that, they will have conversations about your school and its lack of transparency in the blogosphere for worldwide consumption. Studies show that young people trust online advice more than that of professionals and act accordingly.

11 Reaching the Wired Generation National Association for College Admission Counseling 9 Some would argue that the true value of a blog is to hear the comments, both positive and negative, and engage in conversation about them both. Good bloggers often say that they learn from their audiences. Many organizations, from smaller business to major corporations like Dell and Wal-Mart, have used the feedback from negative blog comments to gain a better understanding of what customers really want and how they want to be treated. Another blog characteristic that allows ease of conversation and increases participation is the use of RSS feeds. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication and is a widely used blog feature. Readers can subscribe and be notified when any new posts or comments are published on your blog. Notification can come by or even text message if the reader chooses that option. This simplifies the blogosphere for readers who may want to keep up with a certain conversation or be informed of new information without having to check the blog of interest every day to see if there is something new. In this study, 46 percent of schools had an RSS feed available and 31 percent allowed subscriptions. If students cannot easily connect and reconnect with a blog conversation, it is unlikely they will return. Some students are now reporting that they are choosing schools because of the relationships developed through the blog. Every school should make it easy for students to be informed of new information appearing on its blog. It is quickly becoming a necessary feature of any blog. There are other areas for concern in this study. Admission officers with blogs were asked how they publicize them. The most popular response was putting a link to the blog on the school s home page. Other responses included ing or mailing announcements. Some advertised their blogs in other admission materials and many did not promote their blogs at all. To be successful, blogs must be an integral part of a marketing plan. As such, they require planning, resources, budgets, promotion, and monitoring. There are several sites dedicated to blog logistics that provide valuable information on growing a blog (See especially When asked how the admission office measured the success of a blog, the most popular response was the number of hits the blog received. This is a common measure of a blog s popularity. The concern here is that many schools did not measure the success of their blogs in any way. There are many measures of success currently utilized from the number of unique visitors to time spent on the site. Many bloggers look at links, downloads, participation in games or sweepstakes, publicity the blog receives in the mainstream media, etc. These evaluation tools help to position the blog so that it responds to the needs of its readers in the most effective way. When asked what the future plans are for the school s blog, the most popular answer was that there are no future plans for the blog. This is disconcerting considering the swift movement and evolution of blog technology. It is now possible to include audio downloads (podcasts), video and live chats as part of any blog. Popular bloggers research ways to increase links to other blogs or to add fun or informative pieces their audiences might enjoy. Just as you would plan your media efforts for traditional media outlets, you need to plan your online efforts. This includes thinking about new additions to your blog like additional authors, additional blogs or new technologies. There are many good articles both online and in the traditional media that address growing a blog and planning for the future of this channel.

12 10 Reaching the Wired Generation National Association for College Admission Counseling Despite all this, when asked if they felt their blogs were successful, 86 percent of schools with blogs in this study said yes. This is consistent with studies in business that have consistently shown that those using social media are satisfied with it and feel it provides positive results. Those schools not currently using social media, or a particular tool, were asked if they planned to in the future. Forty-two percent plan to add a blog, making blogs the most popular tool now and for the foreseeable future. Podcasting and video will probably be added quickly as part of the blog growth (See Figure 5). Figure 5 50% 40% If you are not using social media, do you plan to in the future? (%Yes) 30% 20% 10% 0% 42% Blogging 25% Podcasting 22% Videoblogging 20% Social Networking 16% Message/ Bulletin Boards 4% Wikis Social media use by admission departments is being driven by familiarity and recognition of the increasing role of social media in today s world. It is not surprising that 88 percent of admission departments feel that social media is important to their future strategy.

13 Reaching the Wired Generation National Association for College Admission Counseling 11 Figure 6 60% 50% How important do you think these kinds of social media technologies are for your recruiting strategy? 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 51% Very Important 37% Somewhat important 8% Somewhat Unimportant 3% Very Unimportant 1% No Response The value placed on social media translates into use of this new communications channel. The more important a school s perception of social media is to its marketing strategy, the more likely it is to be incorporating some form (See Table 1). Table 1: Perceived Importance of Social Media with Use of Social Media Perceived Importance of Social Media for Marketing Strategy *Significant at the.000 Spearman s rho Sig. (2 tail) N Use of Social Media * 453 Do colleges and universities use search engines and/or social networking to recruit and research prospective students? A significant proportion of schools are beginning to research students via search engines (26 percent) and social networks (21 percent). While certainly the traditional factors will still play dominant roles in admission decisions, no longer can students place damaging material online without potential consequences (See Figure 7).

14 12 Reaching the Wired Generation National Association for College Admission Counseling Figure 7 30% Do you research potential students via search engines and/or social networking sites? (%Yes) 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% 26% Search Engines 21% Social Networking Sites The admission officers interviewed for this study reported using search engines and social networking sites to verify information or research students who were candidates for scholarships or entry into high demand programs with limited spaces. In all these cases the intent was to protect the school from potential embarrassment. No school wants to announce the winner of a prestigious scholarship only to have compromising pictures turn up on the Internet the next day. There were no reports of checking every applicant to an institution, no matter how small the school. Online research appears to be more of a precaution at this point or a source of additional information for critical decision making. The search engines used most often are Google and Yahoo, and the social networking sites include Facebook and MySpace. The value of these social networking sites for college admission offices cannot be underestimated. As more and more young people take up residence in these online networks, a presence will be mandatory. Are they listening? It is clear that admission offices are now communicating in new ways. The next question is are they listening to what s being said about their schools online? Fifty-three percent of 243 the schools in this study report they monitor the Internet for buzz, posts, conversations, and news about their institutions. It is worth noting that this figure is well above the adoption rate for any of the social media studied suggesting that even if they are not using social media, the schools are listening (See Figure 8).

15 Reaching the Wired Generation National Association for College Admission Counseling 13 Figure Do you monitor social media for buzz, posts, conversations, and news about your school and admission? % 47% 1% Yes No No response The institutions monitoring social media reported doing so manually. Most were using simple Google searches using the names of their schools. While any effort to monitor online conversation is applauded, there are many easy and convenient ways to automate that process. Google alerts, for example, will notify you by anytime your key word(s) appears in the database. All schools indicating that they are currently engaged in monitoring social media were selected for further analysis. Spearman s correlations were done on that group to determine if there were relationships between monitoring behavior and other variables studied. Those schools that monitor online activity as it relates to them tend to be schools with higher tuitions, and private rather than public. They tend to be users of all forms of social media including blogs, podcasting and video. These schools are also more likely to research students online via social networking sites. Perceived importance of social media to the school does translate into monitoring behavior. Those schools with a culture where online communications are respected as having value are more likely to fully embrace that activity. The bottom line is that most schools that use social media care about how they are being received in social media. They are gathering critical strategic information by listening to what is being said about themselves and their competitors in the social media world.

16 14 Reaching the Wired Generation National Association for College Admission Counseling Best Practices for Higher Education Blogs In June 2006, the University of Massachusetts Center for Marketing Research released the first academic study focused on experienced bloggers (Barnes, 2006). That research sought to uncover the behind the scenes workings of a successful blog while getting advice from the experts that might be helpful in creating best practices for aspiring bloggers. Seventy-four top bloggers participated including IBM and the online hit Gaping Void. These experts provided valuable information on starting and maintaining a blog. Their advice has been adapted for college admission blogging and, where appropriate, additional customized research is incorporated. The end result is a best practices guide for college admission blogging, followed by advice for growing and developing admission blogs and logistics that will help make your school s Web presence effective and fun for its audience. Be prepared to spend time Initially many of the bloggers did not anticipate the time their blogs would take. A good blog is one where posts are fresh and new posts are frequent. Researching interesting new things to share with your audience takes time. One blogger noted, The worst blogs are those that are updated infrequently. Blogs are often judged by the amount of new content or posts. To keep readers coming back, be relevant, interesting and unique. Students and parents are looking for real answers and honest opinions. Take the time to check facts, grammar and spelling. While blogs have a casual tone, they still represent your school. Balance getting posts out regularly with having good and accurate content, all presented in a way that reflects well on your school. Several voices can ease the burden of more, new, now! Share the workload by choosing several contributors from among admission staff, faculty and students. We will discuss multiple authors in more detail later in this section. Helping prospective students and parents understand what daily life is like at your school can create strong relationships that continue when the student arrives on campus. A blog is a unique communications tool that allows you to use words, pictures, video, and links to provide a great experience for your readers and help them understand why your school is a great choice. Take advantage of the variety of digital media that can be used to reflect your institution.

17 Reaching the Wired Generation National Association for College Admission Counseling 15 If your posts have to be vetted by your PR or legal department, or discussed with others at your school, plan for additional time demands and delays on posting. Your school team needs to plan for rapid turnaround of items submitted for pre-posting. All those potentially involved in the process should commit to moving blog posts forward as quickly as possible. The timeliness of this channel is one of its biggest assets; remember, if you don t say it quickly, someone else will. If possible, allow students to write with only minor oversight or supervision. The most successful admission blogs follow this format and are called student life blogs. Not only does it give prospective students an insight into a current attendee s mind, but it allows your school to pitch itself indirectly. Simply by being a student, the author has an instant bond and level of trust with the reader that is difficult to foster otherwise. Make blogs part of a plan It is unlikely that a successful business or a new venture would be lacking a business plan, so have a plan. As part of that plan, or in addition to it, most businesses and organizations developed mission statements long ago. Many have added customer service mission statements to guide their customer service components. These plans and mission statements are created to focus peoples efforts and capture the purpose of the organization and its relationship to its customers. Schools are no different. They have mission statements and policies that govern how they operate. A blog needs to be part of a larger strategic marketing plan. Decide on a focus for your site. Experienced bloggers advise those beginning a blog to have a purpose in mind and method for measuring success. Don t do it just because everyone else is; without deciding on a purpose for your blog, it will flounder and have trouble attracting an audience. Create several blogs if you have multiple goals. Some admission offices have student life blogs, faculty blogs and staff blogs. At some schools, the President or Chancellor might blog or be a guest blogger on one of the admission blogs. A student interview with the President or Chancellor, videotaped and posted on a student life blog could be particularly interesting to prospective students and parents as it gives a face and voice to the administration of the school. Define your audience, and you will define the voice and direction of your blog. As a new communications tool, blogs are essential for reaching your target audience. As such, multiple blogs are not uncommon for a college campus. Admission offices may want to target traditional students (18 22), as well as non-traditional or returning students. Some schools have blogs for alumni or for parents as well.

18 16 Reaching the Wired Generation National Association for College Admission Counseling To maximize the potential of a blog, it must be viewed as part of the overall package and voice of the organization. If it is not part of an integrated strategy, it will lack focus and a following. The plan should also, ahead of time, address policies on reader comments, traffic to the blog from other campus sites, and the promotion of the blog on admission materials, as well as on branded products sold online or in the campus store. Determine the policy regulating conversation on your blog. You must create a policy ahead of time to determine how comments and conversation will be handled before the first negative post or solicitation arrives. Blog policies range from formal disclaimer and creative commons licenses to very informal directives, and can be found on front pages, FAQ sections, or even in the comment fields themselves. (For an example of the policy at Harvard Law School go to: View your blog as a conversation Participation is essential in the blogosphere. Author Robert Scoble calls it naked conversations (See Scoble, Israel). Early blogger Dave Winer calls it come-as-you-are conversations (See Winer, Scripting.com). One surveyed blogger says, Don t start a blog unless you have people in your organization ready to post to it daily in an open, friendly and excited tone. A blog is a conversation. Don t open the line unless you re ready to really talk. A blog is an invitation to debate, discuss and exchange. It is what makes blogging different than passive Web sites. The responsive nature and human connection pull people in. Young people and their parents want to talk about the realities of college life. If they can t talk to you, they will talk to others online. We have the ability to disseminate information in a personal and timely way, in a more active fashion. The plethora of articles being published on Web 2.0 speaks to this new paradigm of user participation. This is a contrast to the first generation of online experiences, when the Web provided a vehicle for mostly oneway communications. Web sites were static. Many are not updated. allows us to speak to a certain designated person or persons, but may fall on deaf ears (or crowded inboxes). A well-respected blogger cautioned against blogging with a traditional mind-set: Don t think of a blog in terms of publishing metaphors it s not a newsletter replacement. Blogs are a great communication tool. But when you set one up to serve as a public relations voice it s as effective as spam. Find human beings to blog don t set up a blog and try to find someone to manage it. It will fail if you do. Remember that blogs are conversation rather than one-way speech. Allowing that conversation actually strengthens your base.

19 Reaching the Wired Generation National Association for College Admission Counseling 17 Be transparent, authentic and interesting Students know when they are being talked at, marketed or deceived. Bloggers say, Be authentic. If you can t, don t blog. Students want admission blogs to talk honestly and candidly about all aspects of college life at their school. Students especially want to hear directly from other students, in their own voices. Scripted posts created by the PR department won t work on a generation that s been sold to and targetmarketed since birth. Students (and their parents) will look to the blog for honest conversation about all things, positive or negative, going on at the school. If your school has a parking problem or a shortage of on-campus housing, talk about it. Tell your audience what s being done to address the issue and why it s still worth it to come to your school. It s always better for you to be up front and contribute to the dialog than have the conversation take place without you. If a reader has something negative to say, they expect (on a blog) that their comments will be heard. A recurrent theme with the bloggers studied was honesty and openness. They advise, Be transparent and authentic. Make it genuine, make it interesting, have guest authors talking about all aspects of your organization. Make it real. Keep in mind that conversations will happen outside your blog that relate to your school. You need to be aware, current and honest in dealing with those conversations too. One business blogger wrote, Monitor the blogosphere closely, both for discussions about your school, and for comments about your blog. Respond with comments to those outside blog posts. The blogosphere respects participation, so respond. Students who feel like an admission blog is authentic, honest and interesting will contribute to it and form relationships with authors. These contributions, and the resultant conversations, provide a rich new data source for schools, as well as great new relationships. These relationships can provide fertile ground for new networks of potential students. They can also lead to longer-term relationships if the students choose to attend your school. In addition, alumni blogs help create a feeling of being more connected to the school and provide those who have graduated with a direct link to discuss their unique interests or concerns. Grow and develop your blog A blog is constantly evolving, growing and developing. Much like a company commits to research and development to stay ahead of the curve, bloggers are always looking for new and better software, exciting and innovative information to post, and for new links to increase their presence on search engines. In the study conducted on 453 colleges and universities reported earlier, very few schools are planning for the future of the medium. Yet schools are by nature the home of great discussion, new ideas, and exciting innovation and invention. At the same time, students are experiencing the most unique years of their lives. Blogs need a growth plan. Think about adding more pictures, video, podcasts, guest bloggers or more blogs, each with a different voice and target audience.

20 18 Reaching the Wired Generation National Association for College Admission Counseling As additional bloggers are added, the blog may need to adapt. One blogger plans to do that and says, As we add bloggers, we will need to change the layout to accommodate so it doesn t become cluttered. Encourage campus blogging. Some schools are encouraging students and faculty to start their own blogs. Of those, some are choosing to focus on specific areas of research. These blogs are particularly successful in targeting niche markets like graduate students or new faculty. Most students are using blogs to discuss general happenings at their school, but by doing so are also contributing to the school s online presence. The blogs give the school a human face and allow multiple ways to communicate with a variety of audiences. Use blogs as barrier breakers. Some schools are running (or considering) blogs in other languages to reach markets where traditional marketing may be costly and difficult. These are particularly good to introduce programs without the expense or risk of a full campaign. Many graduate programs are now targeting executives in China for MBA programs or other countries in an effort to diversify their undergraduate populations. Blogs provide an inexpensive way to get the word out, and readers in those countries can pick up the post and link back to your school. It has never been easier to speak informally to young people all over the world. Plan for the blog to evolve. Bloggers surveyed plan to add more video, introduce new media/mobile technology, add podcasting, and expand the number of visitors to their sites. Most of the bloggers studied spoke of redesigning their blogs and changing their software. Design changes seem to be ongoing to make blogs user friendly and interesting. Don t get so creative that your blog doesn t follow some standard blog practices, but use unique features that reflect on your school, whether it s images or philosophies. If you deviate from Web standards like menus on top or on the left, make sure it s clear to a novice user what he or she should do next. Add additional authors and more posts. Many of the bloggers spoke about adding authors, more information on authors, more channels, and more frequent posts. These strategies provide variety and interest in a blog, as well as increasing the potential for links from other blogs and increasing presence in search engines. In this study, 38 percent have increased posts on their blogs since they began them. Publicize yourself. Many of the bloggers in this study suggested using a link in your to direct others to your blog. They suggest talking about your blog in your s and encouraging people to visit. Beyond that, links to specific posts to people who might find them interesting. One business blog author said they constantly reinforce the blog within the membership, mentioning it every chance we get, in every we send out and at every meeting we have. Certainly an admission office has these same opportunities to get the word out. An admission blog should be widely promoted. Some schools have t-shirts, business cards, pens, or other leave-behinds promoting blogs for distribution at college fairs or for high school visits.