Social Media Strategy to Get into Indian School of Business (ISB)

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Importance of social media strategy to
engage with one of the Best Business Schools
– ISB (Indian School of Business)
Importance of Social media strategy today has evolved in such a way that the best
business schools use it as a great tool to stay in touch and engage with aspiring
applicants.
The Indian School of Business (ISB) is no exception to this rule. Conversely, the same
goes for applicants too – creating a two-way conversation between programs and
prospects.
A parallel can be found in the Columbia Business School. To quote from their
program blog: “The Admissions Office is active on Facebook and Twitter. We want to
offer both the student experience and insights into the admissions process to social
media users.” How will this help you? Well, for starters, you will get a first-hand
understanding of what the program is all about and what is expected of you. And,
equally important, you can research the program better through its social media
platforms and figure out if there is a mutual fit.
 What is the ISB school community all about? (Or the community at any
other top b-school, for that matter.)
 How will the community benefit from your presence in its midst?
 What contributions can you make to enrich the school experience for
everyone?
Understanding the importance of Social media strategy examples can help you find the
answers by allowing you to engage with students past and present, the teaching staff and
the admissions office – the equivalent of meeting each group personally. Think of the
enormous wealth of knowledge that you will gain about the program, and the people
involved with it! By constant scrutiny of the social media strategy pertaining to your
chosen b-schools, you can get a handle on everything about the program. And your
improved grasp will reflect in your application as well as the essays, and in the eventual
interview.

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As the Columbia blog further says: “Columbia Business School is a global program, and
social media is just one of the ways we are able to reach applicants no matter where they
live.” By the same token, you as an ISB applicant can interact with the program as
actively as you wish, irrespective of where you are.
How the best business schools in the world do it socially?
Quite a few among the best business schools’ programs go a step ahead and integrate the
different social media platforms at their disposal. Doing it well across all channels, and
synchronizing it well, can work wonders, as the University of Michigan’s Ross School of
Business has proven.
The school’s keenness to engage with applicants kicks off on the website itself, where it
invites prospects to ‘engage in the live conversation with Ross students and community
members’.
Below that is given a plethora of opportunities for interaction: Twitter, Facebook,
Google Plus, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn.
The University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, likewise, makes its welcome on
social media platforms very obvious. Its website announces that it ‘strives to connect
prospective and current students, faculty, staff and alumni through a variety of media
and social platforms.’
Importance of Social Media strategy and interaction
Just like how a virtual tour gives you a first-hand feel of a campus – short of visiting it
personally – engaging with your target b-school on social media platforms facilitates a
ringside view of the happenings. In fact, it does more: You start feeling a close affinity
with them almost as if you are physically present there and met the faculty, students and
the admissions office individually.
That apart, what precisely can you work on b-school social media strategy?
As an ISB applicant, you can
 Understand campus culture
 Stay up to speed on news
 Update yourself on research
 Track campus developments

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 Feel the pulse of the community
 Grasp the campus style
There are more ways to engage with them on various social media platforms of the best
business schools in the world:
 Facebook: Like your preferred b-schools to stay in touch with them.
 Twitter: Follow your target b-schools and your preferred MBA programs.
 YouTube: Subscribe to the channel of your shortlisted b-schools (if they have
one) and watch their videos.
 LinkedIn: Search for the faculty and alumni of your chosen b-schools. See the
career progression of former students. Check if any of them can grant you an
informal interview – it could prove invaluable in terms of insights about your
own program and helps you re-evaluate your b-school preferences.
 Blogs: Read up all of them, leave comments, be part of the conversations of the
best business schools in India – specifically ISB.
You may go through the blogs of the faculty, the admission office and students,
but, of course, take extra care to leave intelligent and relevant comments.
Anything that goes with your name under it must be appropriate and showcase
respect – and a true interest in the proceedings at the school.
 Live chats: Take part in them, especially with admission reps. But as always, do
remember that what you ask, reply or comment on will be out there online—so be
careful of what you say. You will get chat schedules on the respective websites or
on communities like Beat the GMAT (www.beatthegmat.com) and GMAT Club
(www.gmatclub.com).
 Videos: Watch videos about your preferred b-school uploaded by students,
alumni and the admissions office.
 Podcasts: Listen to them uploaded by your targeted b-schools.
Lastly, remember this golden rule for any activity online. You never know who could be
watching – it could even be the admissions committee from the b-school you shortlisted
– so be extra cautious about what you post.

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How clean is your social media image for best business schools in India- ISB?
If you are fairly active on social media platforms, you need to worry about the quality of
your presence online. More precisely, about how clean your image is in cyber space.
It is quite possible that, over the years, you may have been a tad indiscriminate on social
media platforms. Even a stray comment on a little known website could show up in a
random Google search. And that has the potential to damage your image online, with
possible repercussions offline as well.
Officially, one in three admission officials is known to Google prospective applicants.
This necessitates a cleansing act across all media platforms where you have a presence.
Now that you are seriously pursuing an MBA career and seeking admission into a b-
school of international standards, you need to revisit your membership in all the
platforms. You will need to make sure that there is nothing abusive or impolite in any of
your posts anywhere online.
The second part is keeping it professional. Keeping your MBA application in mind, you
will need to stay true to any information you may have filled up in any of the sites – or
conversely, correct the details on the sites to match your MBA application data. The
point is, you need to be consistent in the profile information about yourself so that
admission officers will get the same picture wherever they search about you. The least
you ought to do is clean up your information is the most popular social media platforms.
Operation clean up – a step-by-step approach
You may not know what to do or where to begin your cleaning up act. Here are a few
steps you can follow when you are applying for one of the best business schools:
 Start, as in most cases, with Google. Key in your name in the search field and see
what it throws up. If you find anything that could hurt your interests (or your
chances at the MBA admission), try to delete or alter that information.
In case you are unable to remove the objectionable parts of the information, you
could plan for it by building up your defenses in your application and in your
essays. You may also need to prepare for related questions during the interview.
 Is your profile shared publicly? If yes, change your privacy settings to display only
the parts you prefer to be seen in public. Though you cannot go completely
private on social media strategy plan, you can still enjoy reasonable privacy on
Facebook and Twitter. Change this in the privacy settings on both sites.

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 Focus on the business and professional platforms (like LinkedIn) that are likely
to be searched by the admission officials. Ensure that there are no inconsistencies
between the information you have uploaded online and the data given in your
application. Let not your Twitter say one thing about your career goals and your
MBA resume another.
 A picture is worth a thousand words, and your profile picture is worth a lot more.
If you do use a photograph (and it is recommended that you use one), choose a
professional picture. And for some reason if you do not, go for a graphic or icon
that best represents your thinking and value system. None of those funky or
weird pictures in wonky poses for your business profile.
 In a party, what kind of crowd would you be a part of – the loud and noisy group,
or the quiet and subdued group? It is the same with the online groups and
networks you belong to. Minimize your groups and associations, and get out of
those that may be seen as dubious. You do run the risk of being categorized due
to your online affiliations.
 As a general rule, delete anything that could be in the grey area of being
objectionable, disrespectable or in bad taste. This includes posts or pictures that
show your wild side (alcohol, drug abuse, profanity), negative reviews about past
employment or other b-schools, and anything that suggest extremism in political
or religious views.
 If a section of your social media platforms’ presence is simply beyond repair, it is
wiser to suspend those accounts at least in your application phase. At the same
time, ensure that there are some key platforms still open with your information
on them. A social media strategy plan of not having any social media presence is
as suspicious as having too much of it.
Turn yourself into a ‘brand’ online for getting into ISB – one of the best
business schools
Knowing the power and importance of social media platforms and the role it plays
today, just doing cosmetic changes in your online presence is merely touching the tip of
the iceberg. When executed strategically, your social media activity can do a lot more
than help your name to pop up in search engines. If you are able to ideate well, you can

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create an online ‘brand’ of yourself and add value to your presence. It will also help to
give out an impression of being a larger-than-life persona.
Of course you need to be realistic and stay grounded in this exercise. Any exaggerations
or bloated claims can backfire and cause irreparable damage to your reputation and
spoil your chances at admission.
Before you begin, understand that every brand caters to a specific target audience. The
same goes for you as a brand. Your target customer is the admissions committee at ISB
(or an equivalent b-school) and you already know their requirements. Armed with these
two critical pieces of information, you can now start building ‘Brand You’.
Building ‘Brand You’ #1:
Do a SWOT analysis of yourself
What are your biggest strengths? What qualities are special to you? What are the values
that drive you, the passions that motivate you? What are your weakness and threats?
Understand them – you need not publicize them anywhere, much less on the social
media platforms. But the answers to these questions can unravel the mystery about the
real you. Pick your own brains and take time framing your responses. It can influence
your admission outcome to a large extent.
Your answers to the above will distil the key messages you want to upload online. And
being a professional sharing platform, LinkedIn is your best bet to start showcasing your
new persona. Think of your LinkedIn profile as your cutting edge resume and focus on
getting it right the first time. It is the go-to site for recruiters anyway – they must be
keeping an eye peeled for emerging stars for future use. And admission officers from b-
schools have begun scouting the platform for feelers and insights on prospective
candidates, too.
Optimize LinkedIn
 Write an interesting career statement. Stay away from the beaten, boring
headline statements that say a lot but convey nothing. Make yours offbeat while
ensuring that it announces your career goals and strengths. It should be a
showstopper – work on it till it is smart, compelling and to the point. An
arresting headline can catch the admission official’s eye.

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 Photo focus: Make your picture speak – let it be formal yet friendly. If need be,
take a few trial pictures of yourself before you finalize one. (More on this later.)
 Without echoing your resume, summarize your jobs in reverse order – last or
current job downwards, with dates. Do not give details; just the job title with
perhaps a one-liner on each position should be adequate.
 Track your undergraduate university and alumni groups.
 Track organizations and companies in or related to your chosen business or
industry.
 Join and track networks aligned to your line of business.
 How wide is your own network? Populate it with at least a hundred active
connections (work on this if necessary).
 Request your current and former bosses to write a recommendation for you, and
post it with their designations and company details. Your peers or colleagues can
write a review on you (you can do the same for them – also increases your
visibility by default).
 Upload samples of your best work – could be presentations, reports, articles (post
material that do not violate organizational confidentiality or infringe copyright).
 Do not take ‘Other Information’ lightly. This is the place to highlight your awards
and honors, including any special mention or congratulatory messages (even if
they are internal – let merit guide your selection).
 Make it a point to include any skill upgrades, short courses attended (with
institution name for badge value), certifications received or volunteer work.
Important: When doing these sweeping changes, or even while building your LinkedIn
profile, remember to turn off ‘Notifications’. If not, all your connections will receive a
barrage of needless notifications – one for each change you make – getting them to
speculate on your immediate career moves.

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Look beyond LinkedIn
Understand the minds of the best business schools. Being a professional platform,
LinkedIn could be limiting in terms of demonstrating only the work side of your
personality. This is where other sites can be maximized to showcase your other passions
and interests.
It is a matter of considerable significance. Any MBA hopeful knows that top b-schools
look for more than just academically brilliant applicants; they also want candidates with
well-rounded personalities who are multidimensional and dynamic. Use sites that are
‘pure play’ social media to uncover the diversity in your character and depth of your
experiences.
Here are a few examples on how to do that: If you are a film buff, write movie reviews on
Tumblr. If you love travel, post pictures of your adventures on Instagram. If there is a
musician in you, upload your videos on YouTube (you could even have a channel with
followers where you post regularly). If you are a tree-hugger, spread awareness about
your cause on Facebook. If you are a keen photographer who is click-happy in your free
time, upload your pictures on well-known photography blogs.
You get the point – no matter what your interests are, there is bound to be a platform
online where you can show off your stuff. And if your activity is so unique that you could
find no channel to post your work, start your own blog – it is a good idea to have one
anyway. Keep writing, keep uploading, keep replying to comments, have a vibrant
community on your blog. An active and thriving blog – say, for a techie who shares the
latest in technology – is a sure barometer of your passion in that area.
There is one thing to keep in mind, though. Once you start any such activity, make sure
you stay on top of it. Never, ever, abandon your blog, or Twitter or Facebook account.
Nothing is more irritating than visiting a Twitter account to find tweets that are two
years old. Being active is the key online – if not every day, at least make entries once a
week. Even frequent visitors should be able to find something new on each visit. A
highly active and happening blog or Facebook page with plenty of traffic and sensible
conversation via comments would be a very pleasing sight for any admissions official of
one of the best business schools.
How do you achieve this? We already made a point about importance of social media
platforms and social media strategy plan being a place for conversations – it is not a
one-way street. The crux of it all is interaction and the ability to keep the dialogue alive.
So when you get tweeted on an important business article, re-tweet it. That way you stay
on top of the tweeting game and project yourself to be super active. Share posts on
Facebook that are relevant to your industry or line of business. Similarly, leave a

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comment on company blogs – especially organizations you are keen on post your MBA.
Because of importance of social media, do unto others as you would expect others to do.
When you expect traffic on your page or blog, you also need to be that traffic for your
fellow bloggers. Never leave a blog without commenting – of course, making sure that it
is a sane and relevant comment.
The second point to remember is to link all your social media profiles, more so if you
have one username for Facebook and a different handle for Twitter. Connect it all at one
point to make it easy for the admissions official to visit any channel he or she wants. The
more you can link, the better it is in a Google search; and the more you will appear to be
a multi-dimensional candidate with a wide variety of interests.
Putting the right face forward
Now for the most important factor in ‘Brand You’ – your profile picture for the best
business schools. How to choose the right one without either overdoing the professional
angle and without erring on the side of playfulness?
When it comes to social media platforms and social media strategy examples, your face
is more than the index of your mind. It should all the right signals, to all the right
people. Typically, posing in front of a pie chart on the screen in a strict no-no – that
would send the message of you being an eager beaver. At the same, sitting in a pub with
your tie loosened and holding a mug of beer is also undesirable. And do not sit at your
work desk, laptop open, speaking into the phone. It would strike anyone at once as fake.
What you need is a professional yet friendly pose, your formal appearance offset by a
bright smile. Check out these tips on how to take a profile picture for business purposes:
 Before taking the picture, get into a happy, winning mindset. This is important
because how much ever you try, what is on your mind ends up reflecting on your
face. Think positive and bring all your positivity to your face for the picture.
 Sport a smiling, expectant, approachable expression – not a sleepy, bored one.
Your face will then show an open-mindedness that is perceptible.
 Make sure your face is clearly visible. Other people in the picture are not a
welcome sign, and so are distracting backgrounds. Keep it focused on you.
 Strictly no glares. You are not on a modeling assignment.

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 You picture should be simple and straight, without using any special effects or
manipulation. Avoid using filters.
 For reasons of clarity, a close up of your face is important. While shoulder level is
preferred, head to waist is also passable. Avoid pictures where you are just a dot
in the distance. Also to be avoided are selfies; it is plain unprofessional.
 To look professional, wear professional. Again, do not overdo it; just stay with
what you normally wear to work. If it is a three-piece suit, so be it, but often, just
a smart tie would serve equally well. Casual and revealing clothing is strictly
forbidden.
Keep refreshing your online presence as a part of social media strategy
The truth about search engines is that the results they throw up are, at best,
unpredictable. And today, most admissions officials are bound to Google your name at
the very least. What kind of picture of you will emerge on Googling?
There could be some much information about you online that you would not be able to
‘correct’ all the ‘wrongs’ out there. Yes, you may not be able to delete certain results
altogether; all you can hope for is to add new information to your profiles and accounts,
and hope to ‘cloud out’ the unwanted material for securing that seat in ISB – one of the
best business schools.
With a little strategic thinking, you can boost your online presence and enhance search
results to swing them your way. Try these tips:
 Create a LinkedIn profile if you do not have one already. Keep your profile
simple, pithy and to the point. Follow the steps given earlier to make it robust.
 Create a Facebook account if you do not have one. Tweak it to lean towards your
professional ambitions using the tips listed earlier.
 Create a Twitter account. Tweet and re-tweet often, and keep it busy.
 Start a blog. Again, stay active. Write frequently (it also helps to hone your
writing skills), invite comments, reply to them, and keep the blog buzzing.

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 You may not have thought of it but having your own website takes your online
persona to another level. Imaging having a ‘yourname.com’ link in your profile
and resume! If nothing else, it gives the admissions committee the impression
that you take yourself seriously enough to have a space and forum of your own
online.
Fortunately, domain names are easily available today and the prices have come
down, too. You can check domain name availability in sites like GoDaddy.com,
where you also get the yearly costs alongside the domain name. You could engage
a web designer to create the pages in your site, you could do all the writing
yourself, and your website will be up and running in a matter of weeks.
In addition, more practically, it gives you room to further consolidate your
presence on the World Wide Web. You can have an elaborate ‘About Me’ section
that will be your window to the world. This should be written well, must include
elaborate information on yourself, your academics, ambitions, career goals and
professional mindset. More often than not, this ‘About Me’ section comes up in
search engines so it should be crafted to the highest standards.
That is not all. You can write your different profiles in such a way that search engines
pick them up more easily and more often. These tips and tricks can help you to optimize
search results:
 Have the same user name (or your full name) across social media platforms. As
part of social media strategy This enables search engines to find it easily.
 Your full name in LinkedIn will be recognized as an important keyword by search
engines, optimizing search results.
 Add your photo to your profiles across channels – it shows up in Google Images,
improving results in the search.
 Keep updating all your profiles frequently. This helps in burying negative results
down below over time.
 Since you understand the importance of social media, integrate your social media
channels by sharing content between them. For example, you can announce your
blog on your Twitter account and help drive traffic there. You must definitely
include your blog link on your LinkedIn for cross traffic. The result is a whole
that is greater than the sum of its parts.

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 Enhance your presence on high-rank networks like Facebook, Twitter and
LinkedIn. This way, search engines pick up more of your content and rank you
higher in search results.
 Beware of being inactive! Keep posting updates as often as you can to maintain a
highly dynamic online presence. For example, adding content at least once a
month to your LinkedIn profile will get noticed by search engines and helps to
spot you faster and more often by them.
Remember, ‘Brand You’ online could be the single most important factor to work in your
favor. It is the cumulative outcome of all these efforts working in unison. It is not easy,
but it pays rich dividends in terms of a commanding presence in cyberspace. If you
succeed in creating a brand of yourself online, over time, it gets you robust results on
search engines. And you would have achieved a lot in favor of your admission
endeavors.

Social Media Strategy to Get into Indian School of Business (ISB)

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Social Media Strategy to Get into Indian School of Business (ISB)