These are the slides from my presentation with Brian Niles from TargetX about the recent release of the 2016 Social Admissions Report. The full whitepaper is available at http://edu.chegg.com/downloads

1. TL05:
Op)mizing
Mobile
for
Your
Future
Students:
Findings
from
the
2016
Social
Admissions
Report
• Brian
Niles,
TargetX,
CA
• Gil
Rogers,
Chegg,
CA

2. Social
media
isn’t
new.
This
year’s
study
updates
key
data
but
shiJs
focus
to
emerging
resources
and
influencers.
This
year’s
valuable
yet
oJen
misunderstood
asset
is
mobile
technology.
As
always,
there
is
a
balance
between
being
an
early
adopter
and
being
strategic
and
focused
on
your
goals.
Why
We
Do
This
Survey

3. Invita8ons
emailed
to
high
school
students
registered
to
Chegg
• October
2015
• Past
Social
Admissions
Reports
fielded
in:
Q2
2015
|
Q4
2014
|Q2
2014
Q4
2013
|
Q1
2013
|
Q2
2012
• Trends
highlighted
throughout
the
presenta8on
Survey
Insight
into
how
students
use,
and
are
influenced
by,
digital
tools,
mobile
technology
and
social
media
when
researching
and
evalua8ng
ins8tu8ons
Background
Methodology
High
school
seniors
and
college
freshmen
• 1,926
surveys
completed
this
cycle
(over
7,000
total)
• Weighted
data
to
42%
male,
58%
female
Audience

4. 52%
20%
20%
12%
7%
7%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Ethnicity
Respondents
25%
43%
20%
12%
1-­‐3
4-­‐6
7-­‐10
+10
Number
of
Schools
Applied
to
CA
14%
GA
3%
FL
4%
MI
7%
NY
3%
PA
3%
TX
7%
Top
States
of
Residence
IL
7%

5. Mobile
From
Recruitment
Through
Enrollment

6. 86%
of
young
adults
(ages
18-­‐29)
own
a
mobile
smartphone
9
out
of
10
young
adults
use
social
media
Half
of
young
adults
who
own
a
smartphone
also
use
messaging
apps
Mobile
provides
the
most
effec)ve
way
to
reach
and
communicate
with
students
Mobile
Technology
&
Today’s
Students

7. 0%!
10%!
20%!
30%!
40%!
50%!
60%!
70%!
80%!
90%!
Watched
video
from
college
Watched
video
from
student
Read
a
student
blog
Searched
for
specific
hashtag
Posted
ques8on
to
college
rep
on
sm
Posted
ques8on
to
student
on
sm
Tweeted
with
specific
hashtag
Par8cipated
in
live
chat
Peeked
at
a
specific
school
on
YkYak
Past 24 hours! Past week! Past month or longer!
81%!
45%!
42%!
32%!
20%! 20%! 19%! 19%!
9%!
4
in
5
have
watched
a
video
from
a
college
Connec)ng
with
Colleges
How
oaen
have
you
done
the
following
during
your
college
research
process?

8. Email,
69%
Social
Media,
4%
Call,
12%
Live
Chat,
4%
Text,
8%
Messaging
App,
3%
Email
Preferred
Communica)on
on
Mobile
How
do
you
most
prefer
to
communicate
with
college
admissions
on
your
mobile
device?

9. 71%!
32%!
26%!
7%!
5%!
1%!
Kik
GroupMe
WhatsApp
Whisper
WeChat
FireChat
Messaging
Apps
Are
So
Popular
7
in
10
have
used
KIK
Have
you
used
any
of
the
following
messaging
apps?

10. 53%
expect
a
response
within
a
day
of
contac8ng
college
rep
Aaer
you
contact
a
college
representa8ve,
how
soon
do
you
expect
to
hear
a
response?
Students
Want
Instant
Gra)fica)on

11. 93%
agree
“I
would
like
to
receive
communica)on
from
college
admissions
tailored
specifically
to
me.”
Students
Want
Personalized
Communica)on

12. 47%
Laptop
37%
Smartphone
or
Tablet
13%
Desktop
Primary
Device
to
Research
Colleges
#socadm16
Which
device
do
you
primarily
use
to
research
colleges?

13. 82%
37%
37%
19%
15%
12%
6%
Visited
college
website
Scheduled
campus
visit
Taken
virtual
campus
tour
Downloaded
na8ve
app
from
college
Asked
ques8on
on
social
media
Texted
with
college
rep
Live
chat
with
college
rep
Admissions
Ac)ons
Completed
on
Mobile
Which
of
the
following
have
you
done
on
a
mobile
device
when
considering
which
colleges
to
apply
to
or
where
to
enroll?

14. 4
in
5
visit
college
websites
1
in
5
download
na8ve
apps
Admissions
Ac)ons
Completed
on
Mobile
Which
of
the
following
have
you
done
on
a
mobile
device
when
considering
which
colleges
to
apply
to
or
where
to
enroll?

15. Your
ins)tu)on’s
website
is
the
first
marke8ng
tool
to
airact
and
engage
prospec8ve
students.
Mobile
Browsing
vs.
Mobile
Apps
Mobile
browsing
is
a
key
element
during
the
discovery
phase
of
college
search.
Mobile
apps
accelerate
engagement
with
your
ins8tu8on
once
students
have
demonstrated
interest.
Na)ve
apps
are
used
most
during
decision
phase
of
the
college
choice
process.

16. Once a day,
21%!
Once a
week, 36%!
Once a
month,
14%!
Every once
in a while,
29%!
Frequency
of
College
Website
Visits
16%!
64%!
14%!
7%!
Quality
of
Mobile
Experience
Your
Website
Must
Be
Mobile
Op)mized
How
frequently
do
you
visit
college
websites
on
a
mobile
browser?
How
would
you
rate
your
mobile
experience
interac8ng
with
college
websites?

17. 73%!
66%!
54%! 54%! 53%!
Updates on admissions
info
Learn about college-
specific info
Submit an application
Communicate with
college rep
Take a virtual campus
tour
Students
Download
Na)ve
Apps
Half
of
Students
would
download
app
to
communicate
For
what
purpose
would
you
download
a
na8ve
app
from
a
college?

18. University-­‐Branded
Mobile
App

19. 85%
35%
5%
College
Website
Common
App
Other
Submijng
Apps
on
Their
Phone
12%
submiied
an
applica8on
through
mobile
Did
you
submit
a
college
applica8on
on
a
mobile
device?
Which
methods
best
describe
how
you
submiied
a
college
applica8on
on
your
mobile
device?

20. Don’t
miss
the
mark.
Five
years
ago
social
media
was
the
hot
new
thing.
Now
it’s
mobility.
Don’t
fall
flat
by
not
adap8ng
your
content
to
your
prospec8ve
students’
mobile
devices.
Know
their
boundaries.
As
restric8ons
around
student
data
and
privacy
increase,
understanding
boundaries
is
key.
Consider
how
private
messaging
through
a
na8ve
app
compares
to
opt-­‐in
strategies,
like
tex8ng.
Double
down
on
what
works.
Understand
where
email,
messaging
apps
and
social
media
fit
into
the
rou8ne
of
your
prospects.
Mobile
Insights

21. Digital
for
Discovery

22. 60%
indicated
using
at
least
one
of
these
sites
Informa)ve
Social
Specialized
nearly
Segmen)ng
Digital
Tools
Which of the following online resources have you used to research colleges?

23. 87%!
81%!
75%!
63%!
60%! 59%!
Information about
college (e.g., specific
majors)
Scholarship
information
Admissions
information
Information about life
on campus
College ratings
Financial aid
What
types
of
content
do
you
look
for
on
these
sites?
Students
in
Discovery
Mode

24. 15%!
19%!
29%!
49%!
26%!
35%!
40%!
35%!
40%!
34%!
27%!
15%!
19%!
7%!
3%!
2%!
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Social
media
sites
Ranking
sites
(e.g.,
US
News
and
World
Report)
College
review
and
scholarship
sites
(e.g.,
Chegg,
Niche)
College
and
university
sites
Extremely useful
Very useful
Somewhat useful
Not very useful
How
useful
were
the
following
types
of
sites
during
your
college
research?
#socadm16
69%
say
very
to
extremely
useful
41%
say
very
to
extremely
useful
Most
Useful
for
College
Research
How useful were the following types of sites during your college research?

25. Differen)ate
between
digital
and
social
tools.
While
it
may
be
appropriate
for
a
youthful
member
of
your
team
to
manage
your
social
networking
presence,
they
may
or
may
not
be
the
best
fit
for
managing
your
en8re
digital
recruitment
strategy.
Nearly
60%
of
students
report
using
one
of
the
sites
in
the
Chegg
Network
for
their
research.
These
sites
are
oaen8mes
the
first
(and
even
last)
stop
on
a
student’s
college
search.
Digital
sources
are
used
for
discovery
and
informa)on
gathering.
An
effec8ve
digital
recruitment
strategy
focuses
on
reaching
students
on
the
channels
they
use,
when
they
are
using
them.
Digital
Insights

26. Social
for
Decision

27. 8%!
34%!
32%!
56%!
49%!
6%!
9%!
18%!
10%!
15%!
11%!
7%!
10%!
5%!
7%!
13%!
8%!
8%!
4%!
4%!
14%!
9%!
11%!
6%!
6%!
49%!
34%!
21%!
20%!
19%!
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Pinterest
Twiier
Facebook
Snapchat
Instagram
Mul8ple
8mes
a
day
Once
a
day
Once
a
week
Once
a
month
Every
once
in
a
while
Never
Frequency
of
Social
Media
Usage
How
oaen
do
you
use
the
following
social
media
websites?

28. 48%
87%
51%
31%
33%
64%
63%
82%
54%
37%
26%
81%
80%
79%
66%
51%
39%
Instagram
Snapchat
Facebook
Twiier
Pinterest
Tumblr
2013
2014
2015
Trended
Social
Media
Usage
increased
growth
by
percentage
points
17
Year
over
year
comparison:
How
oaen
do
you
use
the
following
social
media
websites?

29. Social
Media
as
Decision
Engine
61%
have
liked
or
followed
a
college
in
their
considera8on
set
Have
you
liked
or
followed
a
college
that
is
in
your
considera8on
set?

30. 1
in
2
use
social
media
deciding
where
to
enroll
4
in
5
say
social
media
conversa8on
influenced
their
enrollment
decisions
Social
Media
as
Decision
Engine

31. Visual-­‐First
Apps
Used
Most
4%!
18%!
16%!
15%!
22%!
14%!
5%!
8%!
11%!
12%!
12%!
11%!
5%!
7%!
9%!
16%!
13%!
14%!
9%!
5%!
7%!
9%!
7%!
13%!
12%!
12%!
15%!
16%!
16%!
19%!
65%!
50%!
42%!
32%!
30%!
29%!
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Pinterest
Snapchat
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube
Multiple times a day
Once a day
Once a week
Once a month
Every once in a while
Never
#socadm16
Has
used
ever:
Vine
26%
YikYak
20%
LinkedIn
17%
How
oaen
do
you
use
the
following
social
media
sites
during
college
research?

32. 41%
58%
19%
6%
49%
28%
60%
31%
14%
62%
48%
67%
46%
26%
20%
71%
70%
67%
56%
48%
21%
YouTube
Instagram
Facebook
Twiier
Snapchat
Pinterest
2012
2013
2014
2015
Increased
Growth
and
Fragmenta)on
1
in
2
use
5+
planorms
Year
over
year
comparison:
How
oaen
do
you
use
the
following
social
media
sites
during
college
research?

33. Social
is
Mobile:
89%
of
students
access
social
media
on
a
mobile
device.
Know
your
networks:
Facebook
s8ll
isn’t
dead,
but
video
and
visual-­‐first
planorms
con8nue
to
gain
ground.
This
age
group
understands
intui8vely
how
to
filter
inauthen8c,
brand-­‐heavy
messaging.
Make
students
your
story.
Social
is
fragmented:
Students
today
use
mul8ple
planorms
to
find
and
engage
with
you
and
your
students
on
social
media.
It’s
important
to
priori8ze
your
8me
accordingly.
Social
Insights

34. Thank
you
• Gil Rogers, Chegg, CA
• gil@chegg.com
• Brian Niles, TargetX, CA
• niles@targetx.com