Social Media marketing is becoming more important to business of all industries every day. This presentation speaks specifically to Universities and Graduate Business Schools. My goal is to convince my audience of the importance of Social Media marketing in attracting prospective graduate students and explain how it can be used to gain (or keep) a competitive advantage over other Universities.

1. Social Media Marketing for
Business Schools?
Erin M. Wiles
Marketing Professional
www.ErinWiles.com

2. Social Media marketing is becoming more
important to business of all industries every day.
This presentation speaks specifically to
Universities and Graduate Business Schools.
My goal is to convince my audience of the
importance of Social Media marketing in
attracting prospective graduate students and
explain how it can be used to gain (or keep) a
competitive advantage over other Universities.

3. Social Media Defined:
“Activities, practices and behaviors among
communities of people who gather online to
share information, knowledge, and opinions
using conversational media.”
Safko, L., & Brake, D. (2009) - The Social Media Bible

4. Social Media transfers information
through:
• Content (i.e. blogs or micro blogs such as Twitter)
• Photos (i.e. photo sharing sites such as Flickr or Facebook)
• Online videos (i.e. YouTube)
• Audios (i.e. iTunes Podcasts)
Safko, L., & Brake, D. (2009) - The Social Media Bible

5. “If you’ve ever used your computer or cell
phone to read a blog, watch a YouTube video,
listen to a podcast, or send a text message to
other members of your group”...then you have
used social media.
Safko, L., & Brake, D. (2009) - The Social Media Bible

6. So, Why Use Social Media to Help
Business Schools Recruit More
Students?

7. Point I
The MBA Market is Growing

8. GMAC Applications
Trend Survey 2009
• Graduate schools are experiencing
an influx of applications from
potential students
• In one year, application volume
significantly increased in 3 of the 5
MBA program types:
• Full-time 1-year MBA programs
(↑ 21%)
• Flexible MBA programs (↑ 14%)
• Part-time MBA programs (↑ 7%)
Murray, M., (2009) - 2009 GMAC Application Trend Summary

9. Point I Summary
• If your market is growing, it’s
time to increase your efforts to
capture more share!
• The bigger your share the more
graduate student applications
are submitted
• The more applications
submitted, the more selective
your program can be
• The more selective your
program, the higher your
University reputation is

10. Point II
Social Media Marketing
is Highly Valued

11. 2009 MBA.com
Registrants Survey
• Surveyed 97% of all students who
registered to take the GMAT in the
first nine months of 2008
• 97% of prospective students had
visited the websites of schools
where they either had applied or
planned to apply
• 73% of respondents considered
the school’s website to be
extremely or very influential in
their decision
Schoenfeld, G., (2009) - 2009 MBA.com Registrants Survey

12. School websites had greater
influence over prospective students’ 2009 MBA.com
Registrants Survey
decisions about which school to
apply than published rankings.

13. One Year Later...
2010 MBA.com
Registrants Survey
The main sources consulted by
potential students in selecting a
graduate school
1. School’s website
2. School-related websites*
3. School’s published rankings
*New Figure in 2010 report
Schoenfeld, G., (2010) - 2010 MBA.com Registrants Survey

14. School websites and school
2010 MBA.com
related websites have a greater Registrants Survey
influence than published rankings

15. Point II Summary
• One contributing factor to the high
website statistics is the fact that they
detail vital program information such
as tuition, course descriptions, etc.
• However, the website can act as a
trunk that branches out to
supplementary websites, videos, or
social networks that can further
enlighten and convince a potential
student to apply
• If 97% of students are visiting your
University’s website, it would be in
your best interest to use and showcase
all social media marketing efforts to
persuade and recruit potential students

16. Point III
Traditional Marketing Efforts
are Not as Effective

17. Traditional
Marketing Efforts
•Television
•Radio
•Newspaper
•Magazines
•Direct Mail
•Online Advertisements
Schoenfeld, G., (2010) - 2010 MBA.com Registrants Survey

18. Traditional advertisements had
(at best) a “somewhat” 2009 MBA.com
influential effect on influencing Registrants Survey
a prospective student to apply

19. School websites and school related
websites have a greater influence 2010 MBA.com
than traditional school publications Registrants Survey
and school related publications

20. Social Media
Marketing Campaigns
• Social media marketing
campaigns are naturally
cost-saving in comparison to
traditional marketing
campaigns
• Social media (aka “inbound”)
marketing efforts are more
cost effective and average
60% lower cost per lead than
traditional outbound
marketing efforts
Burnes, R. (2010, February 16) - Hubspot‘s 2010 Inbound Marketing Survey

21. Point III Summary
• Traditional marketing
campaigns are costly and
aren’t as effective
• Social Media marketing
campaigns are naturally
less expensive and
generate higher returns

22. Point IV
Your Students Want Social Media
and Will Share It

23. Student communities are
Schoenfeld, G., (2008)
key drivers of overall 2008 GMAC Data-to-Go Series
Impact of School Culture: Part-Time
student satisfaction with MBA Programs
an MBA school culture

24. Satisfaction with school culture Schoenfeld, G., (2008)
correlates with assessment of 2008 GMAC Data-to-Go Series
Impact of School Culture: Part-Time
overall program value MBA Programs

25. Satisfaction with school culture
also correlates with whether a Schoenfeld, G., (2008)
2008 GMAC Data-to-Go Series
student would recommend their Impact of School Culture: Part-Time
MBA Programs
school to others seeking a
graduate business education

26. Point IV Summary
• Social Mediums such as
Facebook, Twitter, and
Linkedin foster virtual
communities
• If current students want to have
a close-knit community, then
Universities should foster that
both inside and outside the
classroom
• Virtual communities through
Social Media will contribute to
a better student experience and
lead to future prospective
student referrals

27. Point V
Your Competition is Doing It

28. GMAC Applications
Trend Survey 2009
• Nearly one-fifth of the average
recruitment budget (19%) for
graduate management schools
was allocated to electronic
marketing outreach:
• email campaigns
• online chats
• instant messaging (IM)
• social networking sites
• website enhancements
Murray, M., (2009) - 2009 GMAC Application Trend Summary

29. Dartmouth Study
85% of University Admission
departments utilize at least one
form of Social Media
• 61% use Social Networking
• 48% use Video Blogging
• 41% have a Blog
• 36% use Message Boards
• 16% have a Podcast
• 10% use Wikis
15% of University Admission
departments fail to use any
form of Social Media
Barnes, N. & Mattson, E., (2008) - 2009 Social Media and
College Admissions: The First Longitudinal Study

30. GMAC: New Media
Come to Business School
• The Fuqua School of Business
at Duke has a You Tube and
iTunes Channel
• The Mays School of Business
at Texas A&M is on Facebook
and shares videos, news, and
reports from students abroad
• The Paul Merage School of
Business at University of
California-Irvine uses a Twitter
feed to reach prospective
MBAs
New Media Come to Business School (2009, March)

31. Point V Summary
• Budgets are quickly
being allocated by
competing Universities
to invest in Social Media
outlets
• 85% of Universities are
using some form of
Social Media
• These efforts are
producing results

32. Point VI
Your Competition is Doing It Well...
VERY Well

33. Top 50 Universities Using Social
Published Social Media Media successfully
Rankings from • From private to public, large
CollegeSurfing.com scale to small scale Universities
• Given Gold, Silver, or Bronze
rankings
CollegeBound Network Editorial Staff (2010, February 10)

34. Mashable! Social
Media Recognition
• University of Phoenix has created
a virtual recruitment location on
YouTube with hundreds of videos
that emotionally connect with
each type of targeted student
• Emory University is engaging,
fund raising, and connecting
students with alumni through
social media
• Stanford University showcases
their faculty and student’s
projects or achievements
throughout their social media
outlets
Reinhard, C., (June 2009). Lavrusik, V., (July 2009). Lavrusik, V., (July 2009).

35. Point VI Summary
• Experts in Social Media
are noticing and
applauding the efforts of
savvy Universities
• These Social Media
efforts are aggressive and
are reaping huge rewards

36. Point VII
Your Future Target Market
Will Expect It

37. BusinessWeek:
Gen Y is at the Door
University Business Schools:
• Trying to understand the mind-set of
the potential Gen Y MBAs
• Increasing the use of technology in
the classroom
• Embracing social media such as
Facebook, blogs, and Twitter
“(Gen Y’s) don't just use the new
technology that has revolutionized
business over the past decade—
they eat, sleep and breathe it.”
Door
Symonds, M., (January 2010) - Business Schools Beware: Gen Y is at the

38. Point VII Summary
• Prospective MBA students
now may not fully
appreciate new technology
and Social Media, but the
next generation “eats,
sleeps, and breaths” it

39. Conclusion
Universities need to enter into the social media world in
order to:
• Recruit more potential students (of all generations)
• Provide more service and value to their current
students
• Stay competitive with other Universities

40. One Example
My influence and independent initiative* to get my
University on the Social Media bandwagon.
www.BucMBA.com
This school-related website features a student-run
blog with links to social networking sites and a
YouTube portal to showcase students and their work.
*With permission of the University

41. Social Media Marketing for
Business Schools?
Erin M. Wiles
Marketing Professional
MBA (Expected May 2010)
www.ErinWiles.com
emwiles@gmail.com
Twitter @emwiles

42. References
Barnes, N. & Mattson, E., (2008). Social Media and College Admissions: The First Longitudinal Study. University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing
Research. Retrieved from http://www.umassd.edu/cmr/studiesresearch/mediaandadmissions.pdf
Burnes, R. (2010, February 16). Survey: Inbound Marketing Cost Per Lead Is 60% Lower Than Outbound. Message posted to http://blog.hubspot.com. Retrieved
from http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/5587/Survey-Inbound-Marketing-Cost-Per-Lead-Is-60-Lower-Than-Outbound.aspx
CollegeBound Network Editorial Staff (2010, February 10). The Web 2.0 College Olympics. Message posted to http://www.collegesurfing.com. Retrieved from http://
www.collegesurfing.com/content/web-20-colleges/
Lavrusik, V., (July 2009). 10 Ways Universities Are Engaging Alumni Using Social Media. Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2009/07/23/alumni-social-media/
Lavrusik, V., (July 2009). 10 Ways Universities Share Information Using Social Media. Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2009/07/15/social-media-public-affairs/
Murray, M., (2009). 2009 Applications Trend Survey. Graduate Management Admission Council. Retrieved from http://www.gmac.com/NR/rdonlyres/
32D2B92A-776F-4DFA-9903-C251B1B7862D/0/2009AT_SR_Web.pdf
New Media Come to Business School (2009, March). Graduate Management News. Retrieved from http://www.gmac.com/gmac/NewsandEvents/GMNews/2009/Mar/
Bschool_NewMedia.htm
Reinhard, C., (June 2009). YouTube Brands: 5 Outstanding Leaders in YouTube Marketing. Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2009/06/01/youtube-brands/
Safko, L., & Brake, D. (2009) The Social Media Bible: Tactics, Tools, and Strategies for Business Success. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Schoenfeld, G., (2009). 2009 mba.com Registrants Survey. Graduate Management Admission Council. Retrieved from http://www.gmac.com/NR/rdonlyres/
99B4D1C3-4347-4F12-969C-0D9DB1E5481F/0/RegistrantsSurvey2009SR.pdf
Schoenfeld, G., (2010). 2010 mba.com Registrants Survey. Graduate Management Admission Council. Retrieved from http://www.gmac.com/NR/rdonlyres/
B363A4D7-E477-41D1-B2B1-4F72B49AA668/0/mbacomRegistrants_2010Survey.pdf
Schoenfeld, G., (2008), Impact of School Culture: Part-Time MBA Programs. Graduate Management Admission Council. Retrieved from http://www.gmac.com/NR/
rdonlyres/E0E72085-ABBB-474D-83C0-55AC86D038F3/0/PTMBA_SchoolCulture2008.pdf
Symonds, M., (January 2010). Business Schools Beware: Gen Y is at the Door. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/jan2010/
bs20100121_624849.htm