Put Your Web Site to the Test

Here’s How to Evaluate and Assess Your Web Site

If you’re like most marketing directors, you’re always looking for ways to improve the results you get from your Web site. Measuring your Web site’s performance reaps knowledge, improvement and rewards for your school.

You have no doubt defined your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), such as the total number of applications successfully completed, requests to speak with an admissions rep, campus tour sign-ups and views of the virtual tour, just to name a few. And you have metrics for measuring each KPI. But what happens when you identify a page or sequence of pages that is not performing well? How can you determine what adjustments to make? To make that determination, you must assess and evaluate your Web site from the perspective of the online visitor.

Testing for Excellence

Perform a Web site self-test every few months to evaluate the quality of the online user experience for visitors to your site. Compare the strengths and weaknesses of your site to those of your competitors’ sites. Your results will provide a greater understanding of what changes your site needs, which should translate into improved customer service and better-qualified and productive leads.

How do you begin to analyze your site's strengths and weaknesses, and decide which improvements to make? You can perform a comprehensive, comparative assessment of your school’s Web site based on these eight essential methods:

1. First Impression

First impressions are lasting impressions. They set the stage for a successful enrollment. First impressions can be formed from a site’s home page, a section’s home page, or any page on your site ― since you never know where a visitor will enter to your site from.

Focus on answering these questions:

1.    Does the first page a visitor sees grab his or her attention at the get-go and motivate the user to learn more?

2.    What is your first impression of your competitors?

3.    Do you adequately differentiate yourself from your closest competitors?

4.    Who makes the best first impression? Why?

5.    Is it clear what action you should take or are there too many choices?

When it comes to your Web site’s first impression, communication is key. Clutter is a common mistake, since an overcrowded page confuses people and increases your bounce rate. Give your most important desired action top billing and communicate clearly what is in it for the user ― what value he or she will get. Decide what action you want visitors to take, and why it is in their best interest to do so.

2. Navigation

A site that's easy to navigate is a site that makes it easy for people to do business with you. Imagine that you are a new user to your site. Do you know exactly where to find what you are looking for? Ensure that information is provided quickly and intuitively. Make it as simple as possible by reducing the amount of clutter and organizing your information in a logical manner.

3. Branding

Advertising grabs their minds, but branding gets their hearts. The best brands strike an emotional cord and set you apart from your competition. What's more, strong branding projects credibility. Your brand is a factor in each page on your site. Make sure it brings out your uniqueness and gets your visitors to connect with your school.

4. Writing

Deliver your message clearly, communicate quickly and motivate the reader to take the desired action. Effective copywriting communicates its message with as few words as possible. Recent university studies show that the average consumer spends only two to three seconds deciphering the gist of a text passage, without reading the entire body of text. If you have too much copy, your audience may not absorb the information you are trying to convey. Make sure it is easy for visitors to understand what your school has to offer, and let them see ― quickly and effectively ― why your school is the right choice for them, or why it may not be the right match.

Remember: Strong headlines draw them in, communicative sub-headlines keep them reading, and short but persuasive descriptions motivate them to action.

5. Graphic Design

Visitors need a clean and professional image of your school to take it seriously. The design should tell a story and bring about a more human, personal touch as selling an education requires human interaction. Effective visual design highlights your school’s good reputation.

6. Visitor Wait Time

Attention spans are decreasing, and your visitors will not wait long for a page to load. Pages that load fast have a clear advantage. If your site is graphics heavy, make sure those graphics are optimized for the quickest load-time possible.

7. Functionality

First, your site must work correctly and be coded properly. Make sure your code is W3C compliant. W3C  (World Wide Web Consortium, www.w3.org), is an international organization that seeks Web interoperability. W3C develops standards, software and guidelines that ensure Web technologies are compatible with one another. Go to http://validator.w3.org and enter your URL to verify that your code is compliant with w3C standards.

The next step is to offer tools with which students are familiar. This will allow potential students to read, chat and apply with optimum ease.

Web tools to consider for your school:

•    e-newsletters / permission-based e-mail marketing
•    blogs
•    discussion groups / message boards
•    live chat
•    student surveys and polls
•    online student communities
•    personalized digital catalog / view book
•    TXT recruitment, announcements, emergency broadcast

8. Internet Visibility

Use alexa.com to see where your U.S. traffic rank falls. Then compare your rank to that of your competitors. Next, visit Google, Yahoo and MSN(bing) and test all your search terms. Take note of each competitor and what their current rankings are, and compare those rankings to yours. If your site isn’t ranked high enough, or in the top 20 positions for important search terms that would connect prospective students to your school, then you have work to do.

Increasing visibility on the major search engines begins with keyword research. For proper optimization, develop a list of relevant, high-traffic keywords for each page in your Web site. Once a targeted keyword list is created, the site should incorporate several dozen search engine optimization (SEO) components that are necessary to increase rankings.

If you already have a keyword list, determine how each keyword is performing. Which keyword is getting you the best results, and which are just costing you money? Play up your winners and kill off your losers. You should always be testing and measuring new keywords.

More ways to increase visibility are on-page and off-page factors.

On-page factors include keyword mapping, keyword density, the implementation of optimized meta titles, descriptions and keywords, as well as paragraph headings or H1 & H2 tags in a keyword-friendly format.

Off-page factors include trusted inbound links, e-books, hub pages, your own blogs, other blogs, SEO article sites, social bookmarking, networking and other relevant social media sites.

These are just a few of the dozens of optimization factors that go into creating a high-ranking site on the major search engines. Initiation of link building programs and being actively involved with social media will further improve visibility and create more listings in the natural or free results area of Google, Yahoo and MSN for keywords that will drive prospective students to your school.

Conclusion

Once you have played the role of visitor to your site and analyzed its strengths and weaknesses with an unbiased eye, you can determine where to go from there.

Your next step should be a strategic plan with blueprints. Decide on new goals and objectives, and create a plan for implementation. Be sure to roll out changes slowly to avoid disorienting frequent visitors. Your efforts will help your Web site receive the attention ― and the enrollments ― that it and your school deserve.

Questions? Comments?

Today’s Most Popular Student-centric Internet and Mobile Technologies

If you’re someone who scratches their head and looks bewildered when students talk about MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, Blogger, Twitter, texting and the rest, this article is for you.

To help you out, I’ve put together a list of the most popular student online destinations, showing what they do at these sites, and another list that gives you the mobile technologies students use when they’re on the go.

All the major Internet technologies — such as Google, MySpace, YouTube, etc. — are now cell phone friendly and accessible on cell phones, and the rest are adapting quickly. These companies have created mobile equivalents of their Web sites, which lets people with a data plan to use their cell phones to reach social networking sites, search the Web, and check e-mail, among other activities. People who have a compliant video phone can also watch YouTube videos on it.

If you’re just getting acquainted with these popular student-centric technologies, consider these lists “must-reads.” Try out and experience the various technologies your students are using every day and see why they’re so popular.

But just trying out Internet and mobile technologies isn’t enough. After you’ve sampled them, evaluate their uses and analyze how you might use them in your marketing mix to connect with the prospective students you want to reach.

Top Internet Technologies that Students Use:

• Search Engines
  Google, Yahoo, MSN, Ask, AOL
  Students use these to find information online. They type in what they’re searching for and get a list of relevant Web pages containing the information they’re seeking.
  
  
• Social Networking Communities
  MySpace, Facebook, Hi5, Orkut, Friendster
  Students use sites like these to communicate with friends and family online — and to stay connected. At each site, users can create a place of their own, where they can post pictures of themselves and their friends, share stories and messages, and exchange photos, videos, music and more.
  
  
• Video Sharing Communities
  YouTube, MySpaceTV, Google Videos, Yahoo Videos, AOL Videos
  On these sites students upload and share videos with others and post their opinions and comments about videos, telling people why a particular video means something special to them, for example. They also rate videos at these sites.
  
  
• Blogging Communities
  Blogger, WordPress, LiveJournal
  A blog, short for “Web log,” is a Web site that contains a chronological listing of thoughts, like a diary. Students post a topic and share ideas online by allowing others to post comments to their blog, as well as by posting their own comments on other people’s blogs.
  
  
• Microblogging Communities
  Twitter, Jaiku, Spoink, Plurk
  These online communities give students a chance to know what their friends are doing right now and telling their friends what they’re doing just then. Students write brief text messages periodically throughout the day and share them with their friends and family. It’s constant communication online.
  
  
• Your School’s .edu Web site
  www.yourschool.edu
  Your school’s Web site is a critical online destination where students and their parents learn about your school, form impressions and make decisions about enrollment. Make sure it’s easy to use and communicates your message clearly.

Top Mobile Technologies Students Use:

• Cell Phones and Text Messaging
  AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile
  Each of these companies provides one-on-one text communications via cell phone, letting students reach their friends and family quickly, silently and frequently.
  
  
• iPods and Podcasts
  iPod, Podcast, Podcasting, Podcasters
  The Apple iPod is the most popular brand of portable media player, and students use it to hear music they’ve selected and to listen to other audio content. Podcasts are digital media files that provide on-demand broadcasting. Students can subscribe to a podcast and automatically download it to their iPod. A podcast can be a classroom discussion, lecture or special presentation that’s available as a digital media file.
  
  
• iTunes University and Mobile Learning
  iTunes, iTunes University
  iTunes is a digital media library and store created by Apple, Inc. Using iTunes, students can purchase digital media, such as songs, to organize and play on their iPods. iTunes University lets users search for, download and play educational course content on their iPods, which leads to on-the-go learning.

What About Your School?
Which of these technologies are you currently leveraging? Can you reach your on-the-go prospects?

If you want to connect with students, learn to speak their language and reach them on their own turf — via the Internet and their cell phones.

What do you think? Feel free to comment on this post.

Text Messaging Meets Higher Education: R U Ready?

Ask yourself: If today’s digital generation insists on instant access to information and, most important, personal one-on-one interaction, even when they’re on the go, what’s a good way to reach them?

According to a recent survey in Time, 90 percent of college students carry cell phones, and a full 70 percent use SMS (Short Message Service), usually called text messaging, to ask questions and get answers through their mobile devices. And, texting is how young people receive their information, too.

For educational institutions, leveraging the popularity of text messaging is a smart way to communicate with students and convert prospects into enrollments. Getting prospects to engage in a text dialogue with recruiters can be a powerful marketing tool.

The Future of Electronic Communication Is Mobile

When market research firm Harris Interactive conducted a study of student communication in 2006, its VP of Youth and Education Research, Dana Markow, said, “Students have spoken, and their technology choices tell us that mobility is among their highest priorities.” She added, “The study reveals that students are spending a total of 11 hours of each day engaged with media and are constantly on the go. The majority of students have a paid job in addition to being a student and traveling from class to class, and most own a car — so accessing media ‘en route’ or away from home is critical for them.”

The truth is, when your school begins leveraging the power of mobile communication and text messaging, you’ll be tapping into a rapidly growing market. A text message marketing and communications program will benefit your prospects, your students and your institution by delivering the communication solutions this generation of students’ demands — and responds to.

Are Students Charged for Receiving a Text Message?

The answer is yes, but has that stopped them from texting constantly with their friends? We’ve all heard of parents receiving huge cell phone bills because their kids use text messaging as their primary form of communication. That happens when the wireless carriers charge for each text message, typically around ten cents per text. However, nearly all providers now offer unlimited text messaging plans for a nominal monthly fee.

The Internet went through a similar evolution years ago when AOL was one of the only games in town and offered pay-per-use Internet service plans. Eventually everyone switched to unlimited Internet service plans and never looked back. Text messages are going through a similar evolution, where increasingly popular unlimited text plans are becoming widely accepted. And with texting’s growing importance in the 18- to 35-year-old market segment, unlimited text plans are becoming almost essential.

How Many Students Have Data Plans?

According to a recent report from Nielsen, more than 43.6 million U.S. consumers have data plans, and the average cost of the plans across various carriers is $11 per month.

A July 2008 Wall Street Journal article noted that AT&T Wireless revenue from its wireless data services had increased 52 percent during the second quarter. It also noted that net income increased 30 percent, as the company benefited from a surge in wireless data use. Such numbers show that data plans are what more and more people want and are willing to pay for.

Today’s Schools: Goin’ Mobile

To strengthen the lines of communication between prospective students and school admissions reps, some of the nation’s largest universities, including the University of Florida, the University of Mexico and Kent State University, have gone mobile, enabling the schools to instantly communicate with students via text messaging.

The schools can transmit important information quickly, easily and effectively — straight to students’ cell phones and PDAs. Broadcast alerts can be sent within minutes for a wide variety of purposes: notification of upcoming registration dates, event reminders, weather alerts, campus closings and more. From last-minute club meeting cancellations to the introduction of a new school official to changes in academic course offerings, mobile technology gives instant access to information, using one-on-one communication.

Your School’s Central Cell Phone Number — The Short Code

The key to establishing your mobile relationship with students and potential recruits is the short code (e.g., 12345), accompanied by a keyword. A mobile-message short code is a special telephone number that allows text messages to be addressed over multiple wireless networks.

A short code is what students type into their mobile devices to engage and interact with your institution — instantly! In effect, the short code becomes your school’s central phone number. And, by using different keywords with your short code, you can deliver different messages and links to mobile Web pages. For example, if a student sends a text message to code 12345 with the keyword “A,” that student would receive text message A with a link to mobile Web page A. If however, the student sends a text to that same code with the keyword “B,” the student would get back text message B with a link to mobile Web page B. This system also provides your college with valuable tracking and performance data.

Use Text Messaging to Your School’s Advantage — Here’s How:

• Engage Students in a Text Message Dialogue With Admissions Reps
• Send Students Information Instantly Via Cell Phone
• Broadcast Emergency Text Messages
• Provide Student Alerts/Announcements for Campus Events and Open Houses
• Conduct Contests and Surveys

Engage Students in a Text Message Dialogue With Admissions Reps

The widespread use of text messaging among students makes it an increasingly important part of the marketing mix. And now you can deliver information on the students’ demand instantly to their cell phones 24x7 — just the way the kids are used to: no busy signals, no long conversations, just immediate send-and-response.

First, the student sends a text message — which travels across the wireless provider network — to the five-digit short code shown on your traditional media advertising. Within minutes, the student receives a text message reply from your school saying that a rep will contact him or her soon. The student will also get a link to your school’s mobile Web site, where the prospect can see the program offerings, the academic and event calendar, learn about open houses, refer a friend via text and much more.

The text message inquiry is entered into your Recruitment Representatives’ queue, or message inbox, for follow-up. From there, your admissions reps log onto a secure online control panel to access key features, such as the text message inbox for replying and communicating with students via text message; the reporting capabilities; and the content management features of the system, where a rep can upload information that will be automatically displayed on the school’s mobile Internet site.

This site, also called a mobile Web site, is separate from your school’s regular .com site, and it’s specifically designed to work with cell phone technology and to display information well on small screens.

Send Students Information Instantly Via Cell Phone

Short codes let texters access mobile Web pages, providing information on demand right on their cell phone, such as text-only pages, photos, videos, ring tones, games, wallpaper and more. Here are a few things to include on your mobile Web site: academic course information, news about open houses and events, financial aid, career services and how to apply to your school. Plus, you can allow students to refer a friend to your school via text message through your school’s mobile Web site. There can also be a “click-to-call” screen displaying your 800 number, which is dialed automatically when clicked.

Since text messages are limited to 160 characters (including spaces), your mobile Web site allows you to overcome those limitations and include the information necessary to effectively communicate your message. A mobile Web site lets you have as many pages of text as you need to tell your story, as well as photos and videos

The mobile Web is also highly quantifiable and can give you the information you need to evaluate what works and what doesn’t. The right mobile site analytics engines can provide you with the number of site hits across any time periods, the amount of time recipients spent on pages, which photos and videos were viewed, the lead source, user agent and handset-profile characteristics, along with the user’s mobile operator.

Broadcast Emergency Text Messages

In these uncertain times, campus emergency notifications are a must. Text alerts can instantly warn members of your school community of closings, violence or terrorist threats, and can help squelch rumors. Schools all over the nation have already adopted some form of mobile emergency alert system.

Pennsylvania State University has been using text notification since 2005. With more than 15,000 students subscribed, Penn State’s service allows the school to deploy an emergency text message and reach all its subscribers in a few minutes — much faster than the delivery time of a mass e-mail delivery. And, it’s accessible on the students’ cell phones, which they carry everywhere.

Provide Student Alerts/Announcements for Campus Events and Open Houses

On the lighter side, you can also send good news via text messages. Have a big announcement? How about an interesting campus event? Holding an open house? Need to change the date or time of an event? Spread the word via text messages. And don’t forget to ask the recipient to forward your message to a friend (or several).

Conduct Contests and Surveys

Once you’ve established a short code, students and prospects can quickly respond to contests and surveys, voting, coupons and an array of other exciting, interactive applications that connect them instantly to your school.

Get ’em on the go

Using these techniques will let your college reps reach your students and potential students in a flash — wherever they are. It’ll put you one step ahead of the competition and provide one-on-one interaction — just the way the digital generation likes it.

Making YouTube Work for Your School

When it comes to social technology, YouTube is one of the most widely used — and explosively successful — venues for sharing, learning and communicating. An enormous online video community, YouTube is an essential 21^st century information pipeline. By transforming the static words and images of television into bite-size segments of interactive news and entertainment, YouTube has produced a huge cultural shift in the way we give and receive information.

YouTube is where an incredible 10.1 million young people under the age of 18 congregate, and where 10.4 million 18- through 34-year-old users visit every single day! The site has grown in viewer popularity by 20 percent in just the last year, and continues to expand by leaps and bounds.

Connect with Your Students in a Powerful New Way

The statistics are astounding, and they’re telling us that YouTube is where your students are. A user-generated video-sharing community, YouTube is a fresh new way to interface with your target market and communicate your school’s message. Creating an online video presence will connect you to the digital generation and increase consumer engagement. As the impact of traditional advertising wanes, YouTube is where your institution needs to be seen — and heard.

Get Seen and Heard — Free

Getting your school seen on YouTube is easy, and costs nothing to create a channel — a personalized profile page to which your video content is uploaded, and where viewers can post comments and messages. To begin, create short but compelling videos that include interviews with professors and key administrators, campus tours, dorm life, student performances, graduation ceremonies — the ideas are limited only by your imagination. Your school can even target its videos by age, gender, geography and time of day. And have fun with your unique content. The more different and interesting the video is, the more it will be viewed and shared.

The Recipe for YouTube Video Success

Although you want to promote your school, be sure to give your video the look and feel of an actual video, not an outright advertisement. Make it a personal experience, and make it leave an impression. When you get creative with your presentation, prospects will certainly pay attention. Also, keep the video short: 15 to 30 seconds is perfect for today’s attention spans. You can also create a serial video, keeping viewers “on the hook” when you end a short clip with a cliffhanger that will have them keeping their eyes peeled for your next installment.

Different Ways to Advertise on YouTube

YouTube also offers several nontraditional, but highly consumer-responsive ways to show off the best of what your school has to offer. Advertising on YouTube can be an enormously effective way to utilize your marketing budget.

Done properly, your video will tap into the center of a whole new target audience. Take the advice of Michael Miller of InformITnetwork: “The key is to create a video that people actually want to watch. That means something informative, useful or entertaining. It can’t be a straight commercial, because people don’t like to watch commercials. It has to provide value to the viewer.”

Look into:

• An InVideo Ad, which is a powerful way to begin connecting to your target audience. This type of video ad runs 15 seconds into a current YouTube video clip through a Flash banner that covers 20 percent of the video viewing area. At the end of the clip, post your school’s contact information to ensure that viewers who have connected with your message can immediately connect with your recruiters.
  
• A Branded Channel, which is a type of video that literally becomes your “custom profile,” a brand-building promotional view of your institution that resonates with your school’s message and ensures that people see it, and share it, again and again. A Branded Channel is a great way to build your YouTube presence, and continue building upon it while using your own URL, which links directly back to your school’s main Web site.
  
• In-Line Advertising, a one- or two-line body of text that promotes your school’s message. This text will appear at the bottom of a YouTube video. When viewers click on the text, they will be instantly routed to your school’s main Web site — or wherever else you may want them to see the best of your school, such as a well-trafficked blog that speaks highly of your institution and all it has to offer.
  
• A Contest. You can host a contest that’s prominently featured on the YouTube site. This is a great way to turn viewers into prospects — and then into enrolled students — by enabling them to participate in something that’s fun.
  

For more information on advertising on YouTube, visit this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-q5zZ1p2eM. You’ll find fascinating marketing options and contact information.

YouTube Expands the Awareness of Well-Known Schools ... and Explodes the Visibility of Others

Colleges all over the nation are using YouTube with excellent results. One of the most successful to date is the University of California at Berkeley, which uses four branded channels to highlight its curriculum, events, athletics and campus life through a popular series of online videos. With just a click of the mouse, the viewer can become a virtual student, tour a dorm, or enjoy up-close-and-personal interviews with the stars of Berkeley’s winning football team. Berkeley has set up hundreds of filmed courses on YouTube, garnering rave reviews and spreading free — but ultimately marketing-rich — information to viewers and potential students from coast to coast. Viewers can also post their comments and link directly to Berkeley’s main Web site.

Check out Berkeley’s YouTube channels at www.youtube.com/ucberkeley.

The lesser-known University of South Carolina Aiken has also used the power of YouTube to collar widespread attention for their school — and a buzz that generated interactivity and important new prospects. Using the popular TV show “CSI,” the school produced a series of YouTube videos that cleverly parodied the television series in interactive whodunits that engaged viewers while sharing valuable information about the school itself. The videos helped prospective students all over the nation learn about the University of South Carolina Aiken, whether they meant to or not, and caught the attention of high school students before they even began researching their future colleges.

View USCA’s CSI (College Scene Investigation) series and other videos the school has uploaded, at www.youtube.com/uscaiken.

Thanks to their YouTube visibility, people are talking about schools such as Berkeley and South Carolina Aiken. Add your school to YouTube’s video roster in a way that shows familiarity with what YouTubers want, and have them talking about your institution, too.

Spread the Word About Your New Video Presence

Once your YouTube video is developed, be sure to tell the world. Embed the video on your Web site, blog site and other online media. Send out an e-mail blast and share your new video presence with students, friends and administrators, and post it on your school’s MySpace and Facebook pages.

The proper use of tags, or keywords, will ensure that your video prominently appears in a Google search.

Ready, Set, Go Viral!

When your video is unique, entertaining, informative — even slightly edgy — it will climb the popularity rating system as more and more users will view and share it. Before you know it, your YouTube video may just go viral, spreading like wildfire from viewer to viewer as they share your school’s information over and over and over again.

The key to going viral is making sure your school’s online video presentation is done the right way. Tell an interesting story, and rest assured that story will travel the pipeline and be retold. Then, after a series of regular uploads, your video will serve to attract community interest, interaction and plenty of traction.

What do you think? Feel free to comment on this post.

Tap into the social networking craze.

Did you know that hundreds of millions of young people log on to social networking sites like myspace.com, Facebook.com and hi5.com every single day to connect with old friends, make new ones, discuss interests, share news, photos, videos and get advice?

This is where a great majority of your prospective and current students are. But how do you reach them?

Section for Colleges and Universities

Did you know that myspace.com has a special section dedicated specifically to colleges and universities to help students find the right school? And it’s FREE! Here’s the link. Go ahead and explore it: www.myspace.com/collegesanduniversities

Growing Rapidly

The three social networking sites mentioned above are all ranked in the top 10 of the most-visited sites, according to www.alexa.com, an authority on the subject. At the end of 2007, myspace.com was getting the most traffic of all social networking sites. However, things move fast in the Internet world. Its closest competitor, Facebook.com, is not far behind and growing at an incredible pace. From September 2006 to September 2007, Facebook’s traffic ranking increased from 60th to seventh, according to Alexa.com.

MySpace.com — currently ranked sixth on Alexa.com — had 106 million users in September 2006, but by September 2007, there were 200 million MySpace users. And now the site is growing at a rate of 230,000 new users each day! An average MySpace page is visited 30 times a day. And this is just myspace.com. There are others. Many others. And they are all growing, and becoming more and more important to the digital generation, every single day!

A Site for Every Niche

Suddenly, niche social networking sites are popping up. Do you like dogs? There’s now social networking for dogs: www.dogster.com allows you to create a profile for your dog complete with photos, videos and more. You can even search for dogs that have similar interests to yours. You can probably guess that if there is a dogster, then there must be a catster too. And you’re right! www.catster.com makes social networking for cats (and cat lovers) a reality. Pets not your thing? Perhaps you’re into, ummm, I don’t know, sneakers? Try www.sneakerplay.com for those obsessed with sneakers. Whatever you’re into, there’s probably a social networking site out there for others just like you. And if there isn’t, why not create one yourself?

Where Is Your School?

It all comes down to this … social networking is growing at an incredibly fast pace among young people. The technology is free and available to anyone with an Internet connection. These social networking sites are where your prospective and current students are spending their time. This is where your school should be. This is where your admissions reps should be. This is where your financial aid reps should be. This is where YOU should be.

It takes more than just a cool college Web site to connect with today's digital generation. You've also got to tap into their social network. Listen to their thoughts. Join in the conversation. Be a part of their world.

What Can I Do on a Social Networking Site?

Most social networking sites enable users to communicate and collaborate in a number of ways. You can search for friends with similar interests and get or give friend requests. You should always be building your friend list and staying in touch with friends.

Community Bulletin Boards

One way to communicate is through a community bulletin board organized by category and similar interest. Here you can read other people’s posts and messages, then reply with your own. You are a critical part of the site. Your contribution to the site is what makes the experience truly interactive, while also keeping the content fresh and interesting. The site would have no content without other people’s contributions.

Private Groups

With private groups, your school can organize a group of friends who want to privately share a common Web page and message board. This becomes their private collaboration space online. Private groups are ideal for people working on a project together. Or for discussions with a group of students, or professors with their class.

Instant Messaging

You can send an instant message to anyone on your friend list and communicate immediately. View and share photos, video clips, audio clips and, of course, comment on these items so your friends can see what you have to say — and then you can reply to them.

Organizing and Promoting Events

You can create events, public or private, to invite people in your own friend lists, as well as people in your friend's friend lists, to attend your school's upcoming events such as open houses, college fairs and more.

Blogs

Blogs are very popular with today's young people. Create blogs to promote your school, share your thoughts and listen to others. Prospective students are heavily influenced by their peers. Allowing them to listen and chat with your existing students can go a long way to enrolling them in your school.

Classified Ads

Search classifieds or post free classified ads in categories such as, For Sale, Jobs, Housing and more. Also take advantage of up-to-the-minute news stories and articles.

The number of available features and the things you can do on social networking sites are rapidly increasing, but for you, the key is ease of communication and collaboration with your prospects and current students. Meeting them on a common site is half the battle.

So … get into the social networking game and be a part of their world.

What do you think? Feel free to comment on this post.

10 Ways For Schools To Connect With Generation TXT

You have an attractive view book.
And a cool website.
But are you really connecting
with the digital generation?

Students live in a different world. One of text messages, blogs, chat rooms, myspace, youtube, yahoo, podcasts and mobile devices. It takes more than just a cool college website to connect with your target audience. You’ve got to tap into their social network. Listen to their thoughts. Join in the conversation. Be a part of their world.

To fuel growth and sustain a competitive advantage, schools need to tap into the popular technologies and social networks that are now an everyday part of students’ lives. In this article we’ll explore 10 ways to make such important technologies as personalized interactive websites, blogs, myspace, facebook, youtube, google, yahoo and text messaging work for your school.

Here are 10 ways for schools to connect with Generation TXT

1.) Search Engines
2.) Blogging
3.) Social Networking
4.) Podcasting
5.) YouTube
6.) Permission-based Email Marketing
7.) Mobile Phones
8.) Forums and Chat Rooms
9.) Websites
10.) Personalized Digital Catalogs

1.) Increase qualified leads from search engines

Students use search engines like google, yahoo, msn and ask to find information. By optimizing your website to be more search engine friendly you can increase the amount of natural or unpaid listings you receive. These are free referrals from search engines right at the point when the potential student is actively searching for the information. In most cases these opportunities are lost because the college website is not optimized for search engines.

An addition to the free listings, there is also paid search advertising. With an effective pay-per-click (PPC) search advertising program you can precisely target prospects while controlling your ad spending with daily budgets. Your website can be a powerful source of highly qualified and very inexpensive or even free leads, if you create the right search engine strategy and implement it. Learn more about search engine marketing...

2.) Use blogs to share your thoughts and listen to theirs

Blogs are one of the most effective ways to develop meaningful connections with your target audience and get real, honest feedback. They can also help improve search engine optimization (SEO). What’s more, it is usually very inexpensive (or free if you do it yourself) to get started. The most challenging part is knowing how to make your blog effective, and how to keep it in front of the right audience. Learn more about blogging...

3.) Tap into the social networking craze to build your brand online

As of October 2007, tens of millions of young people logon to websites like MySpace.com, Facebook.com and hi5.com everyday to connect with old friends, make new ones, discuss interests, share news and get advice. Did you know that the 3 social networking sites I mentioned above are all ranked in the top 10 of the most highly trafficked sites according to alexa.com, the authority on the subject. Get into the social networking game and get people talking about your college. Learn more about social networking...

4.) Get the word out with powerful, relevant podcasting programs

If managed properly, podcasts can be an extremely engaging and cost-effective way to get your message out to your target audience using short audio segments. Develop an ongoing, effective podcasting program that conveys useful, interesting information for prospective and existing students. It’s another great opportunity for you to connect with your prospects in a way that they can easily relate to. Learn more about podcasting...

5.) Harness the power of YouTube to reach your target audience

The tremendous success of YouTube has opened up a completely new, and virtually untapped, way for colleges to improve recruitment efforts. Create and upload viral videos to reach out to your target audience with relevant content. After watching the video and sharing it with their friends, these viewers can be directed to your MySpace profile for more information. Learn more about YouTube...

6.) Send out permission-based emails that get read and responded to

Develop relevant, targeted, permission-based email marketing programs that will grab student’s attention and help increase your conversion ratios. Because it can cost less than a penny per email, communicating with students by email is an affordable way to stretch a tight marketing budget. If executed properly, your small investment in email marketing can increase student satisfaction and retention. Learn more about permission-based email marketing...

7.) Take advantage of a smarter approach to mobile phone marketing

Enhance traditional media with a student-friendly response device. Permission-based text messaging with short codes. Alert subscribers to news and events that interest your target market on their mobile phone. This is a great way to promote your own college events and open houses as well as info to prospective applicants and improve their overall perception of your brand. Since it is a permission-based program, you know that the students who subscribe will be interested in reading your messages. Learn more about mobile phone marketing with text messages...

8.) Spread the word through online forums

Online forums are a great way to educate applicants about your college, answer questions, create a “buzz”, and even improve search engine rankings. They are also very inexpensive to set up. Chances are, your prospective students are already finding out about your college on forums. Join in the conversation and communicate the real benefits of your institution. Learn more about online forums...

9.) Turn your college website into a powerful marketing tool

Take your site to the next level by making it more relevant, more appealing and more search engine friendly. Include the tools mentioned above for a well rounded integrated website. Learn more about intelligent websites...

10.) Create personalized digital catalogs

Give each prospect a personalized version of your catalog that’s targeted to his or her specific interests and goals. Relevant information provides a faster more enjoyable experience for the prospective student, while allowing your school to build an intelligent database of responses. Admissions departments get extensive, relevant data on every prospect who requests this personalized catalog. Learn more about personalized digital catalogs...

What do you think? Feel free to comment on this post.