Last week, my mother-in-law emailed me a link to a press release on Social Media ROI for institutions of higher education from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research. I gave it a quick read and decided to check it out in more detail over the weekend.

It has been a long while since I applied to a college or university; I remember the recruiting process well. I received lots of VHS tapes, brochures and pamphlets that I tossed in the trash after a quick watch, but a lot has changed since 1998. Nowadays, schools are leveraging social media to get in front of potential students for their incoming classes.

This research report interviewed 570 admissions officers from colleges and universities in all 50 states. It shows that social media allows these institutions to more effectively target candidates while reducing marketing spend by up to 33 percent on certain mediums.

Below are some additional statistics that I found interesting:

• Social media has reduced traditional marketing costs:
  • 33% reduction on print advertising
  • 24% reduction in newspaper ads
  • 17% less in radio/TV ads
  • 92% of admissions officers think social media is worth the investment, with 86% planning to increase their investment in social media next year
  • 78% of respondents noted that social media has changed the way they recruit

To see the full study, click here. You can also download an infographic here. Below is a visualization of how impactful the major social networks are on attracting in-coming students.

While the survey shows a lot of promising statistics – I think there is still going to be a lot of growth and testing in this space – it also had one black eye: only 47% of universities are monitoring their school’s name outside recruiting conversations. This is a decrease from 68% in 2010-11 and 73% in 2009-10. I anticipate this number to swing back up next year as schools put more resources towards social and in light of the recent Penn State headlines.

Perception is reality, whether you are recruiting for academia or Wall Street. So knowing what is being said, both good and bad, is important – universities can help change their perception to a recruit by reaching out to him and addressing his concerns.

I wonder where I would have ended up if social media was around in 1998… guess I will have to wait 17 years to see how it impacts my son’s thoughts on colleges.

Last week, my mother-in-law emailed me a link to a press release on Social Media ROI for institutions of higher education from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research. I gave it a quick read and decided to check it out in more detail over the weekend.

It has been a long while since I applied to a college or university; I remember the recruiting process well. I received lots of VHS tapes, brochures and pamphlets that I tossed in the trash after a quick watch, but a lot has changed since 1998. Nowadays, schools are leveraging social media to get in front of potential students for their incoming classes.

This research report interviewed 570 admissions officers from colleges and universities in all 50 states. It shows that social media allows these institutions to more effectively target candidates while reducing marketing spend by up to 33 percent on certain mediums.

Below are some additional statistics that I found interesting:

• Social media has reduced traditional marketing costs:
  • 33% reduction on print advertising
  • 24% reduction in newspaper ads
  • 17% less in radio/TV ads
  • 92% of admissions officers think social media is worth the investment, with 86% planning to increase their investment in social media next year
  • 78% of respondents noted that social media has changed the way they recruit

To see the full study, click here. You can also download an infographic here. Below is a visualization of how impactful the major social networks are on attracting in-coming students.

While the survey shows a lot of promising statistics – I think there is still going to be a lot of growth and testing in this space – it also had one black eye: only 47% of universities are monitoring their school’s name outside recruiting conversations. This is a decrease from 68% in 2010-11 and 73% in 2009-10. I anticipate this number to swing back up next year as schools put more resources towards social and in light of the recent Penn State headlines.

Perception is reality, whether you are recruiting for academia or Wall Street. So knowing what is being said, both good and bad, is important – universities can help change their perception to a recruit by reaching out to him and addressing his concerns.

I wonder where I would have ended up if social media was around in 1998… guess I will have to wait 17 years to see how it impacts my son’s thoughts on colleges.

Last week, my mother-in-law emailed me a link to a press release on Social Media ROI for institutions of higher education from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research. I gave it a quick read and decided to check it out in more detail over the weekend.

It has been a long while since I applied to a college or university; I remember the recruiting process well. I received lots of VHS tapes, brochures and pamphlets that I tossed in the trash after a quick watch, but a lot has changed since 1998. Nowadays, schools are leveraging social media to get in front of potential students for their incoming classes.

This research report interviewed 570 admissions officers from colleges and universities in all 50 states. It shows that social media allows these institutions to more effectively target candidates while reducing marketing spend by up to 33 percent on certain mediums.

Below are some additional statistics that I found interesting:

• Social media has reduced traditional marketing costs:
  • 33% reduction on print advertising
  • 24% reduction in newspaper ads
  • 17% less in radio/TV ads
  • 92% of admissions officers think social media is worth the investment, with 86% planning to increase their investment in social media next year
  • 78% of respondents noted that social media has changed the way they recruit

To see the full study, click here. You can also download an infographic here. Below is a visualization of how impactful the major social networks are on attracting in-coming students.

While the survey shows a lot of promising statistics – I think there is still going to be a lot of growth and testing in this space – it also had one black eye: only 47% of universities are monitoring their school’s name outside recruiting conversations. This is a decrease from 68% in 2010-11 and 73% in 2009-10. I anticipate this number to swing back up next year as schools put more resources towards social and in light of the recent Penn State headlines.

Perception is reality, whether you are recruiting for academia or Wall Street. So knowing what is being said, both good and bad, is important – universities can help change their perception to a recruit by reaching out to him and addressing his concerns.

I wonder where I would have ended up if social media was around in 1998… guess I will have to wait 17 years to see how it impacts my son’s thoughts on colleges.

Last week, my mother-in-law emailed me a link to a press release on Social Media ROI for institutions of higher education from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research. I gave it a quick read and decided to check it out in more detail over the weekend.

It has been a long while since I applied to a college or university; I remember the recruiting process well. I received lots of VHS tapes, brochures and pamphlets that I tossed in the trash after a quick watch, but a lot has changed since 1998. Nowadays, schools are leveraging social media to get in front of potential students for their incoming classes.

This research report interviewed 570 admissions officers from colleges and universities in all 50 states. It shows that social media allows these institutions to more effectively target candidates while reducing marketing spend by up to 33 percent on certain mediums.

Below are some additional statistics that I found interesting:

• Social media has reduced traditional marketing costs:
  • 33% reduction on print advertising
  • 24% reduction in newspaper ads
  • 17% less in radio/TV ads
  • 92% of admissions officers think social media is worth the investment, with 86% planning to increase their investment in social media next year
  • 78% of respondents noted that social media has changed the way they recruit

To see the full study, click here. You can also download an infographic here. Below is a visualization of how impactful the major social networks are on attracting in-coming students.

While the survey shows a lot of promising statistics – I think there is still going to be a lot of growth and testing in this space – it also had one black eye: only 47% of universities are monitoring their school’s name outside recruiting conversations. This is a decrease from 68% in 2010-11 and 73% in 2009-10. I anticipate this number to swing back up next year as schools put more resources towards social and in light of the recent Penn State headlines.

Perception is reality, whether you are recruiting for academia or Wall Street. So knowing what is being said, both good and bad, is important – universities can help change their perception to a recruit by reaching out to him and addressing his concerns.

I wonder where I would have ended up if social media was around in 1998… guess I will have to wait 17 years to see how it impacts my son’s thoughts on colleges.