Does Your School Have an Online Community?
Does your school provide a social networking community for current students, prospective students, and graduates? OK, let’s rephrase that. Does your school have a social networking community that provides new content on a regular basis and engages with students, prospective students, and graduates?
Social media is not a fad and not going away anytime soon. It is a tool for real-time management, which means being involved at the moment things are happening. Social media benefits not only students, prospective students, and graduates, but the school as well.
By providing a social media community students have the ability to connect with other students, share experiences, learn from each other, and ask the school and/or other students or graduates questions. Other student benefits are:
- Ability to share or view photos/videos of activities on campus
- Spread on campus events that they know of or are involved in
- Raise questions and concerns
- Provide answers to other students, prospective students, and graduates
- Share success stories
- Start discussion topics and gain insight from fellow students, prospective students, and graduates
Schools can benefit from social media, too! Social media can act as a promotional tool. Graduates can be highlighted on Facebook wall or Twitter broadcasting how successful they are thanks to their degree from your school. Facebook can act as an opportunity for lead generation – just place a form under any customized tab you choose and pull in leads from there.
If you’re worried about questions or concerns being raised publicly, you should be, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. One of the best parts about social media is the advantage of listening to how people feel. If students continue to complain about similar things, then that is a red flag that something needs to be changed. Valuable information is being given without having to ask and the reputation of your school is being managed if the issue is properly addressed in a timely fashion.
Social networking is an entirely different level of interaction between current students, prospective students, and schools. The online presence of the school is not enough. Properly managed and well maintained social networks will drive positive results as the community begins to evolve. What are you waiting for? Get connected!
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