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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...
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.
