UTILIZING SOCIAL MEDIA FOR RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION

Nicest cease-and-desist letter

Why should we focus on social media? 74% of students expect colleges to have social media sites 1/3 of prospective students reported searching for colleges on various social media sites 76% of prospective students said they would join a private social network for their college. (Noel-Levitz, 2011)

Traditional and Non-Traditional Social Media Usage

How to use social media to recruit online? Very Carefully!! Most students do not want colleges to reach out to them through social media. Invasion of privacy…. “My space, My time” “Annoying” “Rude”

But you can -and are- still recruiting - passively Peers posting about the college Shares about the college from their network Images and announcements that get circulated When they are ready, they will reach out to you – so be prepared!

Recruitment content for your facebook page Links to recruitment forms Detailed contact information Link to online viewbook (coming soon!) College facts – College Fast Facts

Provide relevant content and plenty of opportunities to make one-on-one relationships. Pictures- students look for candid “real” images Take the first step to explore campus Links- Contact form, online viewbook, KCTCS Tweets Give them a way to contact you or learn more about you Utilize Facebook Messages – Check your facebook , often! Safe way for students to ask questions…and they are Keep content coming – and keep it relevant! The more we push out the more likely others are to share, which increases our reach. Encourage Use – know your FB url and TW handle by heart! Give students the opportunity to come to you.

Social media advertising and promotion Promoted Tweets YouTube Promotions Facebook Advertising E-recruitment – Search engine marketing

How to use social media to retain students? “Social engagement is an essential component of retention, especially during the first year.” Our goal: Creating supportive communities for students using online social tools

KCTCS Retention Plan: Create class pages Utilize Groups for Schools as soon as you can KCTCS Tweets

“Class of” pages

Groups for schools Facebook is adding colleges at their own pace Retention tool with admitted students only Students can make their own relationships

What Are Groups for Schools? Only students and faculty of a college or university can join groups for schools. Who can join groups for schools? Only students and faculty with an active school addresses can join groups for their school. Can I turn an existing group into a group for my school? No, it isn't possible to turn existing groups into school groups at this time. Who is the admin of school groups? The creator of a school group is the initial admin. They can later choose to add or remove admins.

KCTCS Tweets Creating a sense of campus community

Best Practices for Social Retention: Stick to where the majority students are: Facebook, Twitter, Youtube Provide a private community with groups just for them with groups. Monitor, but engage only when necessary within groups. Continue to provide relevant information with tweets, posts and pictures. Measure friends, likes, posts, and reach. Build a social media team!

QUESTIONS

UTILIZING SOCIAL MEDIA FOR RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION