Social Media for Continuing Education and Contract Training

Social Media for Continuing Education and Contract Training Units

Kathy Yeager Contract Training Edge

David TothWorkSmart IntegratedMarketing

Copyright WorkSmart Integrated Marketing and Contract Training Edge, 2009 Page �

Contents

Introduction 2

ToughTimesCallforDifferentMarketingTechniques 3

Butwhatissocialmedia? 4

AddressingtheconcernsofHigherEducationManagers 7

WhyYouShouldLookatSocialNetworking 11

FinalThoughts 13

Conclusion 14

AbouttheAuthors 15

AppendixA—SurveyResults 16

AppendixB—10WaysUniversitiesShareInformationUsingSocialMedia19

Copyright WorkSmart Integrated Marketing and Contract Training Edge, 2009 Page 2

Aparadigmshiftisoccurring,thankstotheonslaughtofsocial

networking.Eventhoughthismovementisnotgoingaway,

organizationsaroundtheworld—includingcolleges—havebeen

slowtoshiftwithit.Theshiftischangingthewaybusinessesand

organizationsaremarketingthemselves.Shouldsocialnetworkingbe

partofthemarketingmixfortoday’scolleges?

Thiswhitepaperwillexplorethephenomenalgrowthofsocial

networking—anddetermineifit’saviablemethodformarketing

ContinuingEducationandContractTraining.

KathyYeager,babyboomerandPresidentofContractTraining

Edge,alongwithDavidToth,GenYentrepreneurandPresidentof

WorkSmartIntegratedMarketinghavecompiledacomprehensive

viewofhowsocialnetworkingisaffectinginstitutionsacrossthe

countryandhowitmayormaynotbeimpactingyourschool.

Tobetterunderstandifcollegesanduniversitiesareutilizingthese

tools,weconductedasurveyofover200institutionsacrossthe

country.Theresultsarereviewedwithinthiswhitepaperandcanbe

foundinAppendixA.

Thiswhitepaperwillbefollowedbyaseriesofwhitepapersand

webinars that take a closer look at specific types of social media, such

asFacebook,TwitterandLinkedin,aswellasaguideformanycurrent

eMarketingtechniques.

Introduction



Theeconomyhaschangedtheway

wedobusiness.Withunemployment

atanall-timehigh,peopleofallages

aregoingbacktoschooltolearnnew

skillstobecomemoremarketableor

are leveraging social networks to find

jobsandmakeconnections.Despitethis

hungerforeducation,openenrollment

forContinuingEducationandContract

Trainingisdowninsomestatesbecause

businessesarecautiousaboutspending

moneyonclassesandtrainingfor

employees.

Inaddition,mostcollegesarealso

facingbudgetcuts.Thecutshave

affectedpositions,programs,traveland

growth.Collegescannolongeraffordto

marketthesameoldway.Theprinted

catalogues, glossy brochures, and flashy

mailersaren’tproducingtheenrollment

resultstheyonceenjoyed.Manycatalogs

neverreachtheintendedrecipientand

are either lost in the shuffle or discarded.

DVRsandsatelliteradioarehurtingthe

effectivenessoftelevisionandradio

commercials. And it’s difficult for colleges

totracktheReturnonInvestment(ROI)

withthesemediums.

The result:

Money wasted in a time when every penny counts.

Therefore,ContinuingEducationand

ContractTrainingAreasmustdevise

newwaystoreachindividualsand

businesses with their specific programs.

Theymustdifferentiatethemselvesfrom

onlineschoolsthatareutilizingthemost

modernandviralformsofmarketing.

Takingadvantageofsocialnetworking

toolscouldbethesilverbulletto

marketingyourinstitutiontothemasses

andtrulycreatingapersonalized

educationalexperience.

Tough Times Call for Different Marketing Techniques



Socialmediaisallabouthavinga

conversation—atwo-waydialogue

thatallowsforrealdiscussionthrough

variousonlinemediums,suchas

forumsandblogs,socialnetworking

sites,YouTubeandothertools.Social

media,oruser-generatedcontent,

allowsanyonetodevelopconversations

andengagewithothers.Itsstructure

presentsmultipleviralandword-of-

mouthopportunities.

Forexample,onFacebookKathy

andDavidhaveafewfriendsand

organizationsincommon.WhenDavid

postsavideoonapagethatKathyis

connectedto,sheseesthevideoon

hernewsfeed.Fromthere,people

visitingKathy’spagecanseehernews

feedwhichnowcontainsDavid’svideo,

resultinginaVIRAL,extendedsocial

circlethatspreadscontentrapidly.

Thepurposeoftheseconversations,

engagingpeopleindiscussionand

spreadingthecontentvirally,isto

developrelationships.Therelationships

arewhatultimatelyresultinactivity(or

enrollment)fromtheviralrecognition.

Another benefit of using social networks

isthatitprovidecost-effectivewaysfor

youtosendyourmessageandprovide

informationtopeopleinapersonalized,

one-to-oneway.

Intoday’seconomy,collegesarelooking

fornewmarketsandnewbusiness

tohelpthemgrow.Therecouldbe

huge benefits for colleges to use social

networkingforbothresearchingand

recruitingprospectivestudentsaswell

asmaintainingcurrentones.Social

networkingtoolscangivecollegesand

universitiesanopportunitytospeakto

audiencesdirectly,reachingthousandsof

But what is social media?