Patrick Arsenault presents key findings in the literature to help student affairs professionals come up with superior social media strategies that take into consideration the expectations online users have in terms of customer service and experience. A few real life examples of what leading colleges and universities are doing are also included.

1. 140 Characters to make a difference
Using Social Media For Effective Customer Service in Higher Education
By: Patrick Arsenault

2. With increasing costs of higher education, colleges and universities
increasingly share challenges with traditional businesses.
Colleges could no longer solely seen as education institutions; they are held to
the same standards and expectations than other businesses by students
(Anctil, 2008).
Students want to be seen as customers and expect more value from their
institution (Halbesleben, Becker & Buckley, 2003; Woddall, Hiller & Resnick,
2012).
To remain attractive, institutions should engage with various stakeholders,
especially prospective students, to foster meaningful experiences, which
becomes part of the institution’s offer (Pine & Gilmore, 1998).
For many institutions, social media has become a promising way to engage
with stakeholders from around the world (Constantinides & Stagno, 2011).
140 CHARACTERS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE (BY PATRICK ARSENAULT)
It has become crucial for colleges and universities to
engage on social media

3. 140 CHARACTERS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE (BY PATRICK ARSENAULT)
Student Satisfaction Increases
Recruitment and Retention
Customer satisfaction was proven to
increase business (new and returning
customers) in most industries (Lightner,
2004; Meuter, Ostrom, Roundtree, & Bitner,
2000).
Higher education is no different, student
satisfaction directly impacts how students
and prospective students perceive their
institution, which leads to increased
recruitment and retention (Athiyaman, 1997)

4. 140 CHARACTERS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE (BY PATRICK ARSENAULT)
Adapted Social media
Customer Service Strategies
For over 30 years, organizations have been
using the SERVQAL to develop their customer
service standards and strategies.
This instrument is really a roadmap to basic
customers’ expectations, on which any
customer service strategy should rely
(Parasuraman, Zeithaml & Berry, 1988).
However, the SERVQAL was not designed
with the world wide web and new
technologies in mind and although it has
been proven to be effective countless times
in the brick-and-mortar domain, higher
education institutions that was to use social
media need to look at more adapted
determinants of online customer
satisfaction.

5. 140 CHARACTERS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE (BY PATRICK ARSENAULT)
Social Media and
Higher Education Institutions
Social media are now ubiquitous (nearly
three quarters of the population uses them)
(Pew Research Center, 2013), it is crucial for
institutions to not only be active on social
media but to also build distinct customer
service strategies, carefully adapted for
these new media.
Several colleges already show increased
interest in the potential of social media,
especially to help prospective students make
better-informed decisions (Constantinides &
Stagno, 2011).

6. 140 CHARACTERS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE (BY PATRICK ARSENAULT)
The E-Service Determinants of Customer Satisfaction
Customer
Satisfaction
Trust, reliability,
security, or
safety
Customer
support and
empathy
Responsiveness
and usefulness
Web design and
content
(information)
Personalization
Accessibility,
delivery, and
ease to use
Self-service
Communication
and advertising
or
complementary
relationship
Entertainment

7. Theory-to-Practice:
Examples of Easy
Best Practices for
International
Higher Education
1. Customer Support or Customer Service
Higher education institutions should consider having social media accounts solely for
customer service. The University of Ottawa in Canada created a “uOttawa Direct” that
specifically exists for customer support. This also allows to keep negative queries and
personal questions out of the accounts for each individual schools or programs
accounts, which would dilute de banding. It is important to make sure that employees
monitoring these accounts know about international students’ experience.
2. Responsiveness and Usefulness
Athabasca University in Canada has a section on its website that lists typical response
times for all means of communication including phone, email, and social media. It also
lets you know right away which services are online (available) in real time, which can be
useful to international students that are used to different cultural norms and perhaps
living in a different time zones.
3. Personalization
The Telfer School of Management, in Canada, has two Twitter accounts: one in French
and one in English. This way it can better tailor to its stakeholders as a bilingual
institution. Universities should consider having accounts in an alternate language if it
has a large proportion of its stakeholders speak a different language. Also, Harvard
University’s Branch for Continuing Learning has separate social media accounts as
executives and professionals that come on campus, from around the world, are not
interested in the same topics as current full-time students, prospective students or
alumni. The University of Vermont master’s in Higher education and Student Affairs also
has its own Twitter account for prospective students. Institutions should create channels
specifically for international students and adapt content accordingly.
Higher education and
student affairs professionals
should build purpose into
their social media
interactions and come up
with informed strategies
built on the E-Service
Determinants of Customer
Satisfaction. Many
institutions have already
started to create ingenious
strategies using these.
140 CHARACTERS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE (BY PATRICK ARSENAULT)

8. Conclusion
140 CHARACTERS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE (BY PATRICK ARSENAULT)
Higher education institutions should engage with stakeholders via
social media, because this is where they are paying attention. In
order to build adapted social media interaction strategies,
institutions should consider the E-Determinants of Customer
Satisfaction, like the examples presented.

9. References
140 CHARACTERS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE (BY PATRICK ARSENAULT)
The information presented is directly taken from:
Using Social Media for Effective Customer Service
By Patrick Arsenault
The Vermont Connection: The Higher Education and Student Affairs Journal
of the University of Vermont

10. Patrick ArsenaultHIGHER EDUCATION • STUDENT AFFAIRS • MARKETING • IMMIGRATION
PROFESSIONAL
WWW.PATRICKARSENAULT.COM
140 CHARACTERS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE (BY PATRICK ARSENAULT)