A brief overview of how colleges and universities can use Social Media to communicate with students.

1. Using Social Media as a
Communications Tool
FASFA SAT
DEADLINE TUITION
HOUSING STUDENT
LIFE

2. Admissions Social Media Strategy
• Increase overall online exposure of the Berkeley College brand
• Generate traffic to the Berkeley College website
• Build new relationships with prospective
students and community
• Bring in new qualified leads
• Monitor “real-time” online conversations
about Berkeley College

3. Berkeley College maintains a profile and
monitors activity on the following sites:

4. Berkeley College Social Media Site Users
Over 7,000 Users and Growing!
Future Students • Current Students • Alumni • Faculty & Staff
3,000
2,500
2,000
1,500
1,000 Users
500
0

5. Fan Page Growth
Fans
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0

7. Personal Profiles on
• Friends & Family Only • Create Events • Join Groups
• Personal • Invite your friends • Become a Fan
– Share Photos • Send Messages • Blog / Notes
– Personal Thoughts • Play Games • Share links
– Privacy Issues • Chat • Research

9. Followers Growth
Followers
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0

11. Tracking links posted on Twitter

12. Social Media Lead Generation
9/09 ‐ 4/10 ApplicaSons 85
Leads 227
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
Results from Social Media Outreach for the eight‐month
period of September 2009 to April 2010.
37.4% Conversion rate

13. People are talking on
and and we are listening!

14. People are talking on
and and we are listening!

15. People are talking on
and and we are listening!

16. This is an example of a
question on Yahoo
Answers where a
perspective student has
been misinformed and is
confused about Berkeley
College’s reputation.
By addressing this, we
were able to correct the
misinformation and provide
facts.
The asker then rates the
response and provides
feedback. These questions
remain posted on Yahoo
Answers for others to see.

17. Berkeley College Google Alerts
• E‐mails sent to you when Google
finds new results such as web
pages, newspaper arScles, or
blogs that match your search
term.
• You can use Google Alerts to
monitor anything on the Web
• Find out what is being said
about the college
• Keep up to date on a compeStor
or industry.

18. Berkeley College Bloggers
• 11 Active Bloggers
– 6 Traditional Students
– 1 Online Student
– 2 Alumni
– 2 Faculty Members

19. Berkeley College on
Over 120 Berkeley College
videos covering the areas of:
• Admissions
• Student Life
• Career Services
• Athletics
• Alumni
• Student Testimonials
• Campus Tours
• Campus Events
• Military & Veteran Affairs
• Professor Interviews
• Program overviews

20. Berkeley College on

21. Berkeley College Social Media links on Homepage
Social Media Links

22. Berkeley College Mobile Site
• m.berkeleycollege.edu
• Launched March 2010
• Mobile web usage is
increasing rapidly across all
age groups
• The mobile site for Berkeley
College is now accessible
across all mobile devices
– Blackberry
– Apple iPhone
– Android

23. Social Media Strategy Recap
• Social Media needs to be used to generate more brand awareness
of your insStuSon online
• Allowing open communicaSon between students and your
organizaSon is key
• If you don’t create it and control your social media real‐estate
someone else will
• Listen to your fans and engage them with content they are
interested in
• Don’t sell or push too hard this will drive users away
• Social Sites are not to be used as MarkeSng or Public RelaSons Blow
Horns
• Experiment and evaluate your results there is no right or wrong just
what works for your specific insStuSon and populaSon

24. Questions & Comments
Michael Iris
Social Media Manager
Phone: 201‐967‐9667 Ext. 1722
E‐mail: mki@berkeleycollege.edu
LinkedIn: hdp://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeliris
Twider: @Mike_Iris