Social Media Can Save MBA Programs
Apr. 22, 2013 at 08:00 AM | By Eric Bahn | Comment Count
The 2012-2013 admissions season has been challenging for many MBA programs. Applications are down for programs across the industry, with some schools reporting up to a 21% drop year over year.
Despite the difficult climate, it is still possible for MBA programs to attract great applicants. The path to success moving forward will be to adopt a marketing plan that emphasizes a S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Active, Relevant, and Timely) social media strategy.
Why Use Social Media?
Social Media is a powerful tool for MBA programs for two reasons: personalization and scale.
With a well-executed social media strategy supported by specific goals and objectives, MBA programs can engage in and measure the impact of meaningful dialogues with prospective applicants in a direct and personalized way. For instance, recruitment staff can host weekly tweetchats on Twitter to address questions from students interested in learning more about their MBA program, admissions requirements, financial aid, etc.
As a best practice, institutions should encourage their prospective applicants to ask questions via tweets, Facebook posts, and MBA Watch comments. Schools should respond quickly and concisely, providing useful “calls to action” – such as signing up for an event or visiting a personalized landing page. Remember, social media is not a spectator’s sport; results require an active voice in the community that is both relevant to the prospective candidate and committed to a campaign timeline. This responsive engagement via social media can go a long way to inspire a prospective applicant to become an actual applicant.
Social media interaction also allows an MBA program to scale their communications. Social media exchanges are public by nature since conversations between a school and a prospective student are accessed and observed by a much larger audience. For example, in the MBA Watch social network, prospective applicants use an MBA program’s Comment Wall to ask questions, get advice from other applicants through profile evaluations, and announce when they submit applications or are accepted to b-school. Even though these questions concern an individual’s issue, thousands of other prospective applicants can monitor the dialogue between the prospective applicant and the school to learn something about the school’s MBA program.
S.M.A.R.T. social media at its core is another channel for MBA Programs to develop lasting relationships with prospective applicants during the admissions cycle and into enrollment. Social media shows that these one-to-one, individual discussions can actually transform into one-to-many for any school.
How can I learn more about Higher Education Marketing?
Our team can help, with recommendations on best practices as well as effective ways to engage with prospective applicants through communities like MBA Watch.
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