Social Media in Higher Education

2015
Jessie Baker
UNC Wilmington
4/30/2015
Social Media in Higher Education: Effective
Practices to Engage with Students for
Enrollment Purposes

TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY…………………………………………………………………….....1
INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………………...2
PROBLEM STATEMENT & RESEARCH QUESTIONS……………………………………2-3
LITERATURE REVIEW
Use of Social Media……………………………………………………………………….3
Engagement…………………………………………………………………………......3-4
Embracing Change……………………………………………………………………...4-5
Globalization………………………………………………………………………………5
METHODOLOGY
Data Collection………………………………………………………………………….5-7
Data Analysis……………………………………………………………………………8-9
RESULTS & FINDINGS……………………………………………………………………...9-14
RECOMMENDATIONS
Admitted Student Group……………………………………………………………...15-16
Grow Slowly……………………………………………………………………………..16
Develop a Social Media Communication Plan……………………………………….16-18
Develop a Social Media Team………………………………………………………..18-19
CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………………………..19
REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………………….20-22

1
Social Media in Higher Education
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The only thing constant with technology is change and with the rapidly booming world of
social media the marketing landscape of how students determine where they want to go to
college is being completely rebuilt. What once was a marketing world of mailers and emails to
prospective students is now expanding to include the world of social media whether universities
are ready or not. Universities are on board with utilizing social media, but that doesn’t mean they
are effectively using it to its fullest potential to connect with prospective students.
In order to resolve the problem of universities failing to produce effective content
universities need to look at what type of content students want to see from colleges they are
considering and where students are on social media in the college search process. Once
universities embrace the power of social media as a powerful recruitment and retention tool for
connecting with prospective students the sooner they can build effective strategies to see the
return on their social media investments.
The target audience of this report is representatives in higher education that manage
social media accounts or marketing efforts for recruiting prospective students, which is typically
through the admissions office at a university. In this report you will learn what the most popular
social media outlets are overall and specifically by students in their college search process. The
frequency of students using social media to research colleges is also discussed in comparison to
student opinions on the relevancy of information colleges are publishing. After understanding
what and where students are using social media you will gain an understanding of what type of
content students want to see on social media and how to implement social media strategies.
There are multiple resources available on how to use social media, but resources for
universities specifically on how to use social media in their enrollment and retention efforts is
limited. This report will provide realistic and economical recommendations for universities to
adopt in their social media strategies for the biggest return on their investment in time and
resources.

2
INTRODUCTION
In a world where new social media outlets are popping up every day it can be
overwhelming to keep track of what to focus on and when. Universities often have limited
resources and have to determine where their best investment will be when it comes to reaching
prospective students.
Data supports that social media while, it will not likely look exactly the same as it does
now five years from now it’s value in providing effective and affordable tools for universities to
connect with prospective students is here to stay. Throughout this report an analysis of the types
of social media that students are utilizing in their college search process will be provided along
with realistic recommendations for universities to implement to get the most out of their social
media efforts.
PROBLEM STATEMENT & RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The use of social media is rapidly expanding; however in higher education many universities
may use some form of social media, but they are not consistently providing relevant and
effective content to connect with students. The significance of this problem is that universities
are missing out on opportunities to connect with prospective students effectively to aid in their
enrollment and retention efforts. The purpose of this report is to provide an analysis of data on
social media with high school age students in regards to how they utilize social media in their
college search process in order to provide recommendations for universities to capitalize on the
power of social media in connecting with these students.
Research questions that address the problem of universities providing ineffective content
include identifying what the most popular social media mediums are overall in comparison to
what the most popular social media outlets are amongst students. After addressing these
questions the question of what the most popular social media outlets are for students researching
colleges will be answered in order for universities to have specific social media outlets to focus
on. Additionally, the research will answer whether or not social media influences a student’s
decision on where to attend college which will be compared with how relevant students feel the
content is that universities are publishing on social media. After reviewing content relevancy the
frequency of students using social media to research colleges is broken down by daily, weekly
and monthly use.
In order to provide universities recommendations relevant content the question of what
students want to see from universities will be discussed. The assumptions of this data is that
social media does influence a student’s decision on where to attend college and that the issue is
not universities using social media it is the issue of universities failing to use social media
effectively to connect with prospective students. A limitation of this research is that social media
is growing rapidly, but it is still relatively new particularly in higher education making the data

3
somewhat limited on the use of social media by students and universities. Social media mediums,
platforms, outlets, channels, etc. is used interchangeably referring to the different types of social
media that students use throughout the report.
LITERATURE REVIEW
In reviewing literature on social media focusing on its relationship with higher education
four common themes emerged. The themes of what social media platforms students are using,
how they engage with universities, the challenge of universities embracing change in higher
education through using social media and the globalization of social media consistently were
discussed throughout the literature. In order to provide recommendations on how higher
education should use social media in the future a thorough understanding of the top performing
social media outlets for high school and college students is essential to understand.
USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
Several consistencies emerged in the literature about the use of social media. The most
recent data focusing specifically on high school seniors indicated that Facebook is still the
leading social media outlet with over 82% of students using it. Twitter and Instagram are
consistently in the top three and Instagram and Pinterest have seen the most growth since 2012
(Rodgers G. , 2015). Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are also the leaders in use per day with
20% of students accessing the apps multiple times a day (Rodgers G. , 2015). These studies also
indicate that there is a positive correlation with college age students using social media for
personal use and for college information.
A demographic breakdown on social media use indicates that Twitter is one of the top
platforms for African Americans who represent 25% of the entire Twitter population, which is
disproportional compared to other social media outlets (Acosta D. , 2014, p. 11). Another source
indicates that 95% of students use Facebook, 80% use Twitter and 73% use Instagram. These
trends in the top social media mediums for college and high school students are useful in the
research on providing recommendations to universities on how to use social media with a focus
on the areas that students are already present (Viner, 2014, p. 1). The fluctuation in numbers
across the literature is minimal for Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, which is why these three
are focused on throughout the data analysis.
ENGAGEMENT
One of the goals of social media is to engage with a target audience and provide relatable
connections. There is a fine line however between engaging and wasting your time, which is why
universities need to utilize social media as a way to retain students and build their brand and
relationship marketing strategies (Jesitus, 2014, p. 50). Increased use of social media with

4
college students has a solid foundation of research, but the benefits of college students engaging
in higher education through social media is still an area of some contradiction. Consistent
engagement through social media with students is considered beneficial for generating student
interest, allowing students to take more control of their education and increasing student
engagement in the classroom (Blankenship, 2010, pp. 11-12). To contradict the most popular
theme of the benefits of social media engagement in the classroom one concern in the literature
is that without structure social media can potentially negatively impact a student’s learning
capabilities (Gikas & Grant, 2013, p. 19).
Another area of research in engagement is whether or not engagement from students on
social media has a positive relationship with their likelihood to enroll at a university.
Consistently in several case studies, students that participated in private admitted student
Facebook communities at private and public universities produced higher yield rates versus non-
members. The support for this type of social media enrollment intelligence is that it enables
universities to confidently predict enrollment outcomes (Uversity, 2012, p. 3). While, the exact
repercussions of student engagement through social media is still up for debate for classroom
benefits, the literature showed no contradictions on the positive relationship with students using
social media to engage with universities during the college search process.
EMBRACING CHANGE
One of the challenges with the rise of social media in higher education is the ability for
universities to embrace change. We are in a unprecedented era of digital innovation in which
communication technologies such as social media provide competitive advantages to universities
willing to take the risk in finding what works for more effective and efficient marketing
communications with students, but that doesn’t mean it’s always easy to dive in (Olivas-Lujan &
Bondarouk, 2013, p. 276). Surprisingly, initial assumptions of faculty varying by age having an
impact on whether or not social media is being used in the classroom shows no difference with
older faculty compared to younger faculty members (Blankenship, 2010, pp. 11-12). One of the
challenges consistently presented in the literature with embracing social media is that it is
constantly in a state of change which can be overwhelming (Tess, 2013, p. 60).
The rise of social media is inevitable because today’s college student is raised in an IT
world giving them a natural IT ability to use technology (Olsekeviciene & Sliogeriene, 2014, p.
392). Social media isn’t just changing higher education it is changing the entire landscape of
marketing making businesses, universities, etc. refocus how they deliver messages to community
members that now expect frequent and accurate information in real time because of social media
(Walaski, 2013, p. 40). Social media is redefining how people relate to each other and
organizations, making the need for higher education to embrace social media inevitable in order
to connect with future generations of students (Reuben, 2008, pp. 6-8).
Change produces challenges and while social media is a tremendous tool to connect with
students universities have to be aware of some of the hazards. A cautionary tale form Boston

5
University is to be aware for parody accounts that students or others may create pretending to be
a university department (Buzalka, 2013, p. 1). These types of hazards are why universities need
to approach social media management cautiously.
GLOBALIZATION
Globalization is consistently discussed in the literature because technology facilitates
international connectedness and with the increase of social media interconnectedness is
accelerated around the globe (Eijaz & Ahmad, 2011, p. 64). Social media is changing the world
in how we receive news, which is changing how history is made. This phenomenon of a highly
networked and interconnected world is enabling random events to turn into large events with the
ability of news to spread rapidly on social media (Ball, 2011, pp. 447-448).
Social media is an extremely powerful tool for universities to use to expand their reach
across the globe. The landscape of international student recruitment is changing not only because
of technology, but because of decreased budgets and increased competition. The consistent
values of social media in international recruitment are that it enables faster communication and
removes the challenge of geographic boundaries in a cost-effective manner (Choudaha, 2013, p.
2). The world may not be getting smaller but it is clear throughout the literature that social media
is bridging communication gaps worldwide.
METHODOLOGY
There are numerous variables that impact the use of social media overall, but for reviewing
social media in higher education specifically there are four primary independent variables, which
are also the themes in the literature and two dependent variables which are illustrated in the
conceptual model in Figure 1 on page 6. The methodology used for this research is to provide
descriptive statistics on student survey results from 2013-2015 conducted by enrollment
intelligence companies to provide a comparison in changes year to year of students using social
media in relation to a marketing survey on the use of social media overall.
DATA COLLECTION
Instrumentation
There are three data instruments that most appropriately address the research questions
and variables. These instruments include student surveys about social media use in researching
colleges, survey data on the use of social media worldwide and literature reviews discussing the
use of social media in higher education and what information students want to see from
universities. The survey instruments to collect data on students using social media are conducted
through enrollment intelligence and student engagement software companies that email students
annually to collect information on how students are using social media. International information
on the use of social media overall is collected through a marketing survey which is administered

6
annually to help businesses understand the changes in social media year to year. The literature
discusses qualitative data regarding how students are accessing social media, how often they use
it and what type of information they want to see from colleges in their college search process
available on social media.
DATA SOURCES
Student Surveys
The most comprehensive quantitative data existing on social media trends in college
recruitment, admissions marketing and student engagement is from student surveys conducted
through the enrollment intelligence companies, Uversity and Chegg (Chegg, 2015, p. 1). Their
survey methodology involves emailing surveys to registered and active high school students on
Zinch.com and Chegg.com throughout the United States, which since 2013 has resulted in a
1,500-2,000 median response rate excluding 2013 which gathered 7,000 responses providing a
sample population of over 10,000 collectively since 2013 (Chegg, 2015, pp. 1-3). The gender
breakdown has varied annually since 2013, with females consistently leading between 55%-70%
(Chegg Enrollment Services, 2014, p. 2). Racial demographics indicate over a 50% white
response rate with African Americans and Hispanics following at 18% and 19% from their 2014
survey (Chegg, 2015, p. 3).
These data sets are used because these surveys are strong in both internal and external
validity. The internal validity of the survey responses accurately reflect the goals of the studies to
Engagement
Efforts &
Resources
Student Use of
Social Media
Abiilty to
Embrace
Change
Globalization
Universities Adopt
Social Media in
Recruitment
Efforts
Social Media
Influences College
Decision-Making
Process for
Students
Figure 1: Conceptual Model of Independent and Dependent Variables

7
gain understanding of what, why and how social media is used by students in the college
decision-making process. Externally the results are easily generalized to high school student
populations across the United States and reliable due to the recent dates of the surveys, the vast
amount of states and diversity represented and the large sample population of approximately
10,000 (Chegg, 2015, p. 3).
Marketing Survey
In order to provide a cross-comparison secondary quantitative data collected from the
2014 Social Media Marketing Industry Report marketing survey is used to compare social media
use overall in comparison to social media use in the college search process. This report provides
insight from over 2,800 marketers that is conducted through an electronic survey emailed out to
230,000 marketers across the world (Stelzner, 2014, pp. 48-49). The survey addresses questions
in social media including the time commitment, benefits of social media marketing and the most-
used social media platforms; which are all relevant to universities in regards to what and where
they should direct their social media resources (Stelzner, 2014, pp. 1-4). The internal validity of
this survey is strong because there are no conflicts of interest in the survey as it is completely
voluntary and sent out worldwide. Externally because the results have a wide geographic
representation the results are easily generalizable to the use of social media worldwide,
connecting to the globalization variable that influences the impact social media has in higher
education.
Literature Reviews
For my qualitative data sources my research focuses on literature reviews discussing the
use of social media in higher education in regards to concerns, strengths and how to implement
social media strategies. There is extensive quantitative data available on monitoring social media
marketing (SMM), but qualitative data on social media allows marketers to understand consumer
behaviors and attitudes, not just how many clicks or likes they have on Facebook (Branthwaite &
Patterson, 2011, p. 430). The literature review also provides in-depth insight to expand on from
the quantitative data on qualitative factors that influence social media use such as racial
demographics. For example, as discussed earlier Twitter is one of the top social media platforms
used in higher education by African Americans and the literature addresses why this is the case
(Acosta D. M., 2014, p. 11).
The literature review sources are relevant because they allow me to draw conclusions
about the use of social media in higher education through addressing concerns of social media
such as privacy issues and the idea of public space in higher education. College students, faculty,
staff and parents all have conflicting interests in how social media technology should be used
and the literature provides support to guide my final recommendations on best practices for using
social media in higher education (Davis, Deil-Amen, Rios-Aguilar, & Canche, 2012, p. 17).

8
DATA ANALYSIS
Because my research focuses on the use of social media in searching for colleges that is
discussed with quantitative and qualitative sources I used quantitative and qualitative
methodologies that complement each other in my analysis (White, 2006, p. 4). My methodology
for my quantitative data analysis was to identify key trends in the use of social media by students
and overall from the student and marketing surveys (Biddix, p. 1).
Statistics
Because the student surveys and marketing survey have large sample populations
descriptive statistics on the frequencies, measures of central tendency and graphs to describe the
common trends in the survey data that relate to the variables and answer the research questions
are used. The surveys address the research questions regarding the most popular social media
mediums, how frequent students use social media and whether or not social media influences the
college decision-making process (Crossman, 2015, p. 1). To address the independent variable of
universities being able to embrace change and the research question of how universities use
social media I analyzed the qualitative data in the literature review that supports the challenges
of universities embracing social media and publishing creative content. I then provided general
observations based on the trends in the literature to aid in developing my final recommendations.
Data Points
In reviewing the quantitative data from the student and marketing surveys I focused on
data points of various topics regarding social media use by students, social media use overall,
whether or not information on social media is relevant that universities are publishing and the
frequency that students use social media in researching colleges they are considering. This
information is provided through graphs with descriptive statistics to provide comparisons on the
variances in the use of social media by students versus use of social media overall and the
changes in social media use by students since 2013.
My graphs include data from the use of social media by students primarily on Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest from 2013-2015 (Chegg, 2015, p. 10), which is illustrated in
Figure 2 on page 10. Data on how often students use social media in researching colleges they
are considering is provided with survey results from 2014-2015 (Chegg, 2015, p. 12) in Figure 3
on page 11. There is no question that students utilize social media in researching colleges
however there is a gap between students using social media versus the content they are seeing
from universities being relevant. This difference is illustrated through charting the opinion
students have on content being relevant from universities from 2013-2014 which is shown in
Figure 6 on page 13 (Uversity; Zinch, 2014, pp. 14-15). Since 2013 there has been a shift on the
impact social media has on influencing a student on where to attend college, this is graphed to
show the increase in social media’s influence in Figures 4 and 5 on page 12 (Uversity; Zinch,
2014, pp. 18-19).

9
Strengths & Limitations
The strength of my research design is that the quantitative data sets from the student and
marketing surveys are recent since 2013. This ensures that the data and my findings are relevant
to how social media is currently being used, which will make my recommendations realistic for
universities to implement in 2015 or the near future.
The biggest limitation of my research is that social media is continuously changing because it
is still very new and rapidly growing. Two years from now the most popular social media
mediums in researching colleges may be completely different than they are now, which is why I
have generalized my recommendations to be relevant in the future. A second limitation is that
because social media is still new in higher education the data on how it is used by students
specifically is very limited in recent peer review sources. Chegg and Uversity are the only
sources of data existing with significant student input on the influence of social media in the
college decision-making process. This is a limitation because these are both enrollment
intelligence companies making the data at risk of being somewhat biased in order to support the
need for universities to invest in enrollment intelligence services.
RESULTS & FINDINGS
Through conducting a data analysis the research questions have been answered. The
graph in Figure 2 on page 10 addresses the research questions regarding the most popular social
media mediums overall and with students while also illustrating the relationship between these
two population samples. Figure 2 shows that Facebook is still the top social media platform used
by students and by the general population overall in the United States for 2015, which is pulled
from both the student and marketing survey data sets. The five social media platforms in Figure
2 were selected because they have consistently been in the top ten since 2012 for social media
use by the population overall as well as students. It is important to note that LinkedIn has also
consistently been in the top ten social media platforms since 2012, however it does not rank as a
popular social media platform used by undergraduate students yet which is why it is not included
in the analysis (Stelzner, 2014, p. 23). Students are not using LinkedIn yet as it is focused more
on professionals, which is why it is more popular amongst graduate students or recent graduates
looking for jobs.
The results in Figure 2 are important because they illustrate the most popular social
media mediums for students and for the general population. Universities should care about these
findings because it is important for universities to understand what students are using as well as
what social media platforms may be extremely popular, but not necessarily as popular for
students or vice versa. For example as illustrated in Figure 2 Instagram has significantly higher
usage by students than versus the general population with 64% compared to 28%.

10
Universities should care about these findings because it gives them an understanding of
what social media outlets they should commit their resources to in order to engage with the
largest student audience. Figure 3 on page 11 illustrates the steady growth in various social
media platforms that students are using to research colleges, while Facebook is still number one
in 2015, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram are all not far behind. Figure 3 highlights the
significant growth in these platforms since 2013, which is only likely to continue based on these
trends over the past three years.
Universities should pay close attention to these numbers as it provides insight into what
social media areas they should focus their efforts based on student usage specifically for
researching colleges not just using social media in general. Additionally, Table 1 on page 11
expresses the frequency that students utilize social media to research colleges they are
considering enrolling at. The breakdown of usage provides insight to universities on how often
they should produce social media content on each social media channel based on the frequency
distribution from 2014-2015. The frequencies show steady increases in all of the leading social
media channels from 2014-2015. These positively correlate with the steady increase of social
media use for researching colleges provided in Figure 3.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
FA CE B OOK TW ITTER B LOGGI NG I NS TA GRA M P I NTE RE S T
AXISTITLE
SOURCE: CHEGG STUDENT SURVEYS & SOCIAL MEDIA EXAMINER MARKETING SURVEYS
Figure 2: 2015 Top Student Social Media Platforms
Versus the Top Social Media Platforms Overall
Students
Overall

11
Type of Social Media
Multiple Times Daily Daily Weekly Monthly
Facebook 2015 15% 16% 15% 9%
Facebook 2014 10% 9% 14% 7%
Increase 5% 7% 1% 2%
Twitter 2015 8% 12% 12% 7%
Twitter 2014 5% 5% 7% 4%
Instagram 2015 13% 9% 9% 7%
Instagram 2014 6% 4% 6% 3%
Table 1: Student Social Media Usage Frequency 2014 & 2015
Frequency
Source: Chegg Student Surveys
The data supports the research questions of what types of social media students are using
to research colleges and how often, but it’s also important to understand how much social media
really impacts a student’s decision on where to attend college and whether or not they are getting
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Pinterest
YouTube
SOURCE: CHEGG STUDENT SURVEYS
Figure 3: Student Social Media Usage To
Research Colleges
2015
2014
2013

12
the information they need through social media from universities. In Figures 4 and 5 on page 12
students were asked whether or not social media influences their decision on whether to enroll at
a college of their interest. The results indicate a significant change from 2013 to 2014 between
the value students place on social media in their college-decision making process.
The impact of social media is apparent with its influence on where students attend
college, however data indicates that a large percentage of students do not feel the information
they receive from universities is relevant to their college search process. The literature suggests
in regards to the independent variable of globalization it’s not just students that don’t always find
social media content relevant, it is a global issue that businesses face where from a 2010 media
study 42% of businesses around the world felt engaging audiences was one of the biggest
obstacles in social media (Grensing-Pophal, 2012, pp. 21-25). Figure 6 on page 13 provides an
understanding of the gap that exists between the uses of social media by students in researching
colleges versus students actually finding relevant information that universities are providing.
The most important relationship for universities to consider is that students are present
and using social media however as indicated in Figure 6 on page 13 the content universities are
producing is frequently irrelevant to what students are searching for in their college decision-
making process. This is important because this is where colleges are missing the mark on
engaging and recruiting prospective students. If colleges focus on producing relevant content to
attract more students in their college-decision making process based on the large percentage of
students utilizing social media the results have tremendous potential to influence the college
enrollment process in a positive way.
Yes
38%
No
62%
Figure 4: Does Social Media
Influence Where Students Attend
College? 2013
Yes
69%
No
31%
Figure 5: Does Social Media
Influence Where Students
Attend College? 2014

13
The difference in what colleges are sharing compared to what students want to see from
colleges is an important issue to address in order for colleges to adapt their information to best
serve their student audiences. This is a concern amongst social media marketers in general as
well who question where the core of social media engagement is headed with the concern that
the communal spirit that made social media so popular is disappearing (Marketing Weekly
News, 2014, p. 97). The data supports the interest from students in viewing social media by
universities and 73% of students feel colleges should have a social media presence (Uversity;
Zinch, 2014, p. 13).
According to the literature the type of information that is not useful for students that
universities are sharing includes; student stories on how their school prepared them for the
future, information about sports, information about alumni, upperclassmen deadlines and events,
pushing too much of extracurricular info and generic, “we want you!” paragraphs (Uversity;
Zinch, 2014, p. 15). Additionally, many universities fail to recognize the interconnectivity of
each social media platform. In order to resolve this universities need to view social media as an
ecosystem where the emphasis on content is based more on conversation than consumption
(Hannah, Rohm, & Crittenden, 2011, pp. 265-267). In regards to what students want to see from
colleges on social media 66% of students feel that conversations with current students through
social media influences their decision on where to enroll (Uversity; Zinch, 2014, p. 18). In
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
Not at All Somewhat
Irrelvant
Somewhat
Relevant
Relevant Very Relevant
Figure 6: How Relevant is University Information Posted on Social
Media?
2013
2014

14
Figure 7 below a breakdown of the types of interactions students are seeking on social media is
provided.
The findings in Figure 7 support the connection students are seeking to communicate
with people connected to the universities they are interested in through social media, particularly
with current students. These findings are important to universities because it is not necessarily
the content they are pushing on social media, but more so what access they are providing to
prospective students for them to connect with individuals that are part of the university. This
supports that it’s not only current students that need to be active on social media for prospective
students, but getting faculty, alumni, admissions counselors and administrators involved also
play a valuable role in the social media communication plan for prospective students.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The data supports the need for colleges to get on board with the rapidly growing world of
social media if they want to connect with prospective students. Students are actively using all
types of social media in their college decision-making process, which is why it’s critical for
colleges to take advantage of the opportunity to connect with students through using affordable
social media platforms. The key is that colleges need to use social media effectively in order to
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Current
Students
Other
Admitted
Students
Admissions
Counselors
Guidance
Counselors
Faculty Adminstrators Alumni
Figure 7: Importance of Interacting with People via Social Media
Importance

15
produce the greatest return on recruiting and retaining more students and most importantly to
succeed in providing prospective students an opportunity to truly connect with schools they are
interested in. In order to provide these opportunities the following recommendations below
provide strategies for colleges to implement in order to strengthen their social media presence
with prospective students.
PROVIDE AN ADMITTED STUDENT GROUP
The data in Figure 7 on page 14 supports that admitted students want to engage with
other current students, admitted students, faculty, etc. in order to give them a sense of
community. To do this they need a place to go; if colleges don’t create their own admitted
student group for each incoming class students will do it on their own and colleges will miss out
on the opportunity to engage in these groups. Colleges have two options for building a sense of
community, which include creating a private school group for free on Facebook which requires
student university email addresses to join or a university can purchase a private school group
software for Facebook which provides enrollment intelligence data to universities. The benefits
of going the free route on Facebook is that it is more cost-effective than the private companies
and often easier to find for students, however it lacks the enrollment intelligence data that private
school groups can provide. The types of data that is provided through the enrolment intelligence
predicts how likely a student is to enroll at a university based on how active they are within the
admitted student group which helps universities predict their enrollment numbers.
In these admitted student groups colleges should provide opportunities for students not
only to communicate with themselves in a safe and comfortable environment, but they should
provide access for students to connect with university officials including alumni, current
students, etc. as reflected in Figure 7 on page 14. The best population to include in admitted
students groups is to have current students such as student workers, tour guides, etc. to have
office hours where they post and chat with students in the admitted student Facebook groups.
This gives admitted students an opportunity to gain a student perspective and allows them to ask
questions they may not be comfortable asking to an administrator, admissions counselor, etc. The
current students selected for these types of assignments should have a diverse background and a
passion for the school they attend, this enables them to naturally have enthusiasm for the school
and provide a diverse amount of experiences to prospective students. Methods to further develop
current student representation within these groups is discussed in the social media team
recommendation starting on page 18.
Having various administrators on-campus that work directly with admitted students
throughout their enrollment process such as staff from housing, financial aid, academic advisors,
orientation leaders, etc. provides a quick resource for students to get responses on social media
within the admitted student group versus having to call or email the school. In relations to the
data this helps address the urgency students have in wanting quick responses from schools they
are interested in. Having employees from these departments across campus assigned to check

16
these admitted student groups daily requires limited resources and can streamline the
communication process with admitted students which ideally can save time answering calls and
emails. The data supports that students consistently want to have opportunities to connect with
real people who have real experience at schools they are considering. Providing admitted
students groups preferably established by a school’s admissions office gives students these types
of connections.
GROW SLOWLY
The data in Figure 6 on page 13 addresses the issue of universities failing to post relevant
content, which is often caused when schools dive into too much at one time leading to poorly
managed social media accounts. By starting one to two social media outlets such as Facebook
and Twitter, which the data shows as leading platforms prior to setting up accounts on every
social media outlet colleges are able to build a strong social media foundation. This prevents
colleges from having social media accounts floating out there that are unmanaged or have
content that is only posted occasionally.
Factors in growing social media also depend on the staff and resources available to do so.
Colleges with two to three admissions counselors are not going to be able to manage the same
amount of social media outlets that colleges with twenty admissions counselors can. This is why
it’s important for colleges to be realistic about what they can manage and have a strong presence
on versus creating social media accounts just to have them. In many cases less can be more in
regards to where colleges have social media accounts. The data illustrates that students are using
all types of social media so they will find a college on social media whether it be Facebook,
Instagram, Twitter, etc. if they really want to connect with them. The important thing is that
colleges have some type of quality social media presence that is up to date and relevant versus
having lots of poorly managed accounts.
The concept of growing slowly also connects to the third recommendation below of
developing a communication plan that allows for organized progress into uncharted territory of
emerging social media outlets. Growing slowly also allows for universities to experiment with
what content works best for them based on engagement in order to identify best directions for
them to focus on. For example a university on the coast will most likely attract a large population
of students interested in being near the beach or studying in fields of marine biology, etc. which
would mean a large marketing focus would be on the location and academic fields related to the
area. Universities are able to hash out what works and what doesn’t work in regards to
personalizing their content to connect with students through allowing themselves to grow slowly
before diving into too much too fast.
DEVELOP A SOCIAL MEDIA COMMUNICATION PLAN
Developing a social media communication plan provides universities the opportunity to
schedule posts which allows them to have content frequently available on their social media
channels and helps manage posting relevant content. Creating a communication plan also keeps

17
staff on schedule and can keep content consistent. The important thing is that while scheduling
posts is helpful it is a supplement to also posting spontaneous information that is relevant to
prospective students such as open house events on campus, important university information that
comes up, etc. Most social media outlets have some type of scheduling platform and software
such as Hootsuite, which allows posts to be scheduled on multiple social media outlets at one
time such as Twitter and Facebook.
A communication plan also helps produce content that is relevant to each social media
channel. The most appropriate content for different types of social media is not always the same.
For example Instagram which as the data shows in Figure 3 on page 11 is one of the most rapidly
growing social media outlets that students are using, which is based on sharing photos. In this
case posting photos of current students or of campus would be a more appropriate type of post
versus asking questions to engage with students which would be more appropriate for Twitter.
The key to producing effective content is to bridge human centered social media content across
various social media outlets. As shown in the data the popularity of social media outlets is often
uneven, which is why it is important to understand the connective power of content most
appropriate for each different type of social media channel (Suman & Mei, 2014, p. 3).
In order to generate creative content looking at what other universities are doing on their
social media channels is encouraged. Scheduling different themes throughout the year or
scheduling contests when decision letters hit of students posting pictures of their acceptance
letters in order to win a prize such as a t-shirt, etc. can produce tremendous amounts of
engagement. Through identifying different peaks within the year where students are more likely
to be active on a school’s social media channels such as at orientation, open houses, campus
tours, etc. Universities can capitalize on speaking to a larger audience during these types of
events and engage them with contests.
Students like to see themselves on social media to compare themselves to other students.
Offering easy access to what other students are doing on social media through broadcasting live
social media feeds at events such as open houses with an event hashtag such as a school mascot
with future in front of it such as #FutureSeahawks gives students a hashtag to use throughout the
event and see what other students are also saying at the event. Planning out specific hashtags in
the communication plan can also be useful for contests such as photo contests of students taking
campus tours, etc. Pushing a primary hashtag for prospective students allows universities to also
track the engagement levels specifically related to their hashtag across multiple social media
channels. Scheduling these types of promotions in the communication plan during particular
times of the year will help with the success of these campaigns.
Social media communication plans allow universities to cautiously transition into new
social media outlets as they emerge through planning out specific content to see how it performs
on a social media outlet. As discussed in the conclusions the main challenge with social media is
that it is always evolving into new things. Through strategically planning out and experimenting

18
with new social media outlets universities allow themselves to “test drive” a social media
platform before really committing a significant amount of their resources.
A social media communication plan also helps universities make sure they are sharing
relevant content versus only posting spontaneous information that is not always relevant.
Scheduling important deadlines, reminders, tutorials for paying enrollment deposits, etc. ensures
that universities have established schedules to get this type of content delivered to prospective
students via social media. Until recently many universities have seen social media as a fun,
relaxed tool which in some ways it is but the value and importance of universities taking social
media seriously as a communication tool to connect with students has arrived. Having a social
media communication plan is just as important as any existing communication plan universities
have for emails, mailers, etc.
DEVELOP A SOCIAL MEDIA TEAM
Frequently universities assign one person to manage social media and fail to realize how
big of a task that can be and how much that limits the content universities post if only one person
is in charge. This is why it’s valuable for universities to establish a social media team which can
have one person as the leader or “gatekeeper” of all of the social media accounts but allows
various employees to produce content. This is also supported by the data in Figure 7 on page 14
indicating that students want to hear from a diverse mix of university representatives. Having
multiple people managing social media accounts allows for multiple perspectives and diverse
content to be shared to prospective students. The social media team needs to meet regularly in
order to make sure that content, while different and creative is still consistent with the identity of
the university.
If possible adding current students to the social media team whether it be through
creating a social media organization on campus or just having a few students hired on part-time
to assist with social media having current student input is vital to prospective students.
Additionally, involving current students on a social media team ensures that the true student
perspective of a university is being accurately projected to prospective students and it reduces the
generic and sometimes boring content that employees may think is relevant when in actuality it
is not. It is equally important to involve new students annually particularly freshman on the
social media team because they are the most relatable source for prospective students that are
still in high school. Freshman can address typical concerns prospective students have and give a
realistic view of what it is like to start college your freshman year and why students should
attend the college that they are attending.
For universities that have the resources to manage a substantial student population on the
social media team I recommend that they develop a social media ambassadors program that is
advised through the admissions staff and recognized as an organization within campus
involvement. Through organizing a social media ambassador program students would be more
consistent in their commitment to producing social media representing their views of their

19
university and would have a student support group to bounce ideas off of versus only
incorporating one to two students here and there. A formal social media student organization
would allow the students to have more say in the content being produced, which eventually
would alleviate some of the responsibility from the admissions office in marketing on social
media through beefing up the student social media marketing efforts.
A social media team can also manage hosting guests on social media channels such as
inviting a faculty member to have an open chat session on Twitter for several hours or to jump in
an admitted student group on Facebook to chat with prospective students about popular majors,
etc. These types of opportunities allow prospective students to ask specific major questions or
questions about the classroom life of a university that an admissions office may not be able to
provide as much detail on. Frequently the admissions counselors are the first point of contact for
prospective students, but it is valuable to allow more in-depth resources for students to connect
with beyond the surface level information for schools they are seriously considering.
CONCLUSION
The challenge of this study is keeping up with the rapidly growing and changing world of
social media as well as the identity of today’s typical college student. Students today expect
answers in real time and disconnect when they don’t easily find relatable information that they
are looking for from universities. That is why it is a constant challenge for universities to keep up
with providing effective communication in the enrollment management process and focusing on
social media is a realistic strategy to bridge the gap between today’s student and traditional
university marketing strategies used in the past. Because of the constantly evolving world of
social media it makes it difficult to frequently collect data specifically focused on how students
use social media in regards to what they want from universities on different social media outlets.
These challenges tie into the recommendations of establishing a virtual community
through creating admitted student groups on Facebook that involve numerous voices from a
university to connect with prospective students. Because of the challenge of keeping up with the
changing landscape of today’s college student as well as social media it is critical to have
multiple connections available for students. The instability of the current leading social media
channels is a challenge universities will have to keep up with in regards to making sure they are
focusing their efforts on the most current popular channel. If feasible universities should
continuously collect data from students on their entire college search process from how they visit
campus whether it be tours, events, etc. to what they do with mailings, to how they apply
whether it is through paper applications or through a university website in addition to seeing
where they are on social media. Realistically universities don’t always have resources readily
available to collect this type of data for their specific student populations, which is why the
recommendations and data in this report serve as a stepping stone for universities to keep pace
with today’s IT college student in the college search process.

20
REFERENCES
Acosta, D. (2014). Tweet Up? Examining Twitter's Impact on Social Capital and Digital
Citizenship in Higher Education. Wiley periodicals, Inc.
Ball, P. (2011). Crisis Response: The New History. Nature International Weekly Journal of
Science, 447-448.
Biddix, P. (n.d.). Qualitative Research Design. Retrieved from Reserach Rundowns:
https://researchrundowns.wordpress.com/qual/qualitative-research-design/
Blankenship, M. (2010). How Social Media Can and Should Impact Higher Education. Distance
Learning/Technology, 11-12.
Branthwaite, A., & Patterson, S. (2011). The Power of Qualitative Research in the Era of Social
Media. Qualitative Market Research, 14(4), 430-440.
Buzalka, M. (2013). The Hazardso f Social Media Engagement. Food Managment, 1.
Chegg. (2015). Selfies, SnapChat, So What? The 2015 Social Admissions Report. New York:
Chegg & Uversity.
Chegg Enrollment Services. (2014). Trends in Student Perspectives of their College Search
Process. New York: Chegg Enrollment Services.
Choudaha, D. R. (2013). Social Media in International Student Recruitment. New York: World
Education Services.
Crossman, A. (2015). Descriptive vs. Inferential Statistics . Retrieved from About Education:
http://sociology.about.com/od/Statistics/a/Descriptive-inferential-statistics.htm
Davis, C., Deil-Amen, R., Rios-Aguilar, C., & Canche, M. S. (2012). Social Media in Higher
Education: A Literature Review and Research Directions. Pheonix : The Center for the
Study of Higher Education at The University of Arizona.

21
Eijaz, A., & Ahmad, R. E. (2011). Challenges of Media Globalization for Developing Countries.
International Journal of Business and Social Science, 64.
Gikas, J., & Grant, M. (2013). Internet and Higher Education. ScienceDirect, 19.
Grensing-Pophal, L. (2012). Addressing the Challenges of Social Media in a Global Market.
EContent, 21-25.
Hannah, R., Rohm, A., & Crittenden, V. L. (2011). We're All Connected: The Power of the
Social Media Ecosystem. Business Horizons, 54(3), 265-273.
Jesitus, J. (2014). Rules of Social Media Engagement. Dermatology Times, 50.
Marketing Weekly News. (2014). Social Media Examiner; Have We Lost the Social in Social
Media? Marketing Weekly News, 97.
Olivas-Lujan, M., & Bondarouk, T. (2013). Social Media in Strategic Managment. Advanced
Series in Management, 276.
Olsekeviciene, G., & Sliogeriene, J. (2014). Confroting Social Media in Higher Education.
Mykolas Romeris University.
Reuben, R. (2008). The Use of Social Media in Higher Education for Marketing and
Communications: A guide for Professionals in Higher Education.
Rodgers, G. (2014). Trends in Student Perspectives of Their College Search Process. New York:
Chegg Enrollment Services.
Rodgers, G. (2015). Selfies, SnapChat, So What? The 2015 Social Admissions Report. New
York: Uversity & Chegg.
Stelzner, M. (2014). The 2014 Social Media Marketing Industry Report. Poway: Social Media
Examiner.
Suman, D. R., & Mei, W. Z. (2014). Briding Human-Centered Social Media Content Across
Web Domains. In D. R. Suman, & W. Z. Mei, Human-Centered Social Media Analytics
(pp. 3-19).

22
Tess, P. (2013). Computers in Human Behavior. ScienceDirect, 60-68.
Uversity. (2012). Improving Yield at a Private University. New York: Uversity.
Uversity; Zinch. (2014). Digital, Social, Mobile: The 2014 Social Admissions Report. New York:
Uversity.
Viner, S. (2014). Social Media Statistics: How College Students Are Using Social Networking.
Study Breaks Magazine.
Walaski, P. (2013). Professional Safety. American Society of Safety Engineers, 40-49.
White, T. (2006). Principles of Good Research & Research Proposal Guide. London: London
Borough of Richmond Upon Thames.

Social Media in Higher Education

Recomendados

Recomendados

Mais conteúdo relacionado

Mais procurados

Mais procurados (20)

Destaque

Destaque (6)

Semelhante a Social Media in Higher Education

Semelhante a Social Media in Higher Education (20)

Social Media in Higher Education