So many companies depend on social media to make their brands relevant, there can be both risks and challenges associated with this strategy. In the #HigherEducation industry though, it is very important to take your brand social. Without social media, many prospective students would never learn about a lot of universities who choose to advertise online.
When it comes to the university that I work for, our brick and mortar campus was established in 1932 and it has been very popular within the local community. Of course this was long before social media or even the internet. Although the school found ways to get their name out there before the internet, having that access now has helped tremendously. Now social media plays an important part in our day to day work here and I don’t think I would be successful in my job without it.
If universities chose to not take their brand social this could mean less exposure to prospective students. As new generations begin looking at potential colleges, universities need to realize that social media plays a big part in the lives of younger generations.
Challenges & risks of not taking your brand social
- The university would be unable to show the culture of their campus and local community
- Students can’t connect with their peers to get questions or concerns answered on a student level
- No promotion of upcoming events for current students
- Students want to feel a part of the university, having that social connection with their school can help in a big way and aid in their success
- The university loses some of its transparency for students to make an educated decision on whether to attend or not
- Loss of potential advertisement and brand recognition
Challenges & risks of taking your brand social
- Potential students may not take your brand seriously if you are too reliant on social media
- Any negativity about your brand can be instantly accessed
- Oversaturation of the brand to the public – pushy sales tactics – increasing a negative viewpoint of your university / brand
According to research done by Study Break Magazine in 2013, 90% of college students were on Facebook; where as 80% on Twitter and 73% of students were on Instagram. Four years later and you can only imagine how much these social media platforms have been the foundation for students.
Does your university have a large social media presence? Do you think it’s beneficial?
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The Social World As I See It 
Ashley – great blog. I do think that universities need to have a social presence today. SM platforms is where the traditional college aged students hang out. To not have a presence there would mean that they were not capturing the attention of those they are attempting to attract.
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Exactly Brenda! I don’t know my students my age NOT on social media. It gives universities the chance to interact with potential and current students from al backgrounds.
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Great Post! I love how you were able to demonstrate the importance of promotion.
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Thank you! Social media is such a huge tool for promotion whether it be for a product, service, or just for self promotion.
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Hey Ashley it is true that universities need to have the social presence. It is more common for social media now then a decade ago. There should be a space where students are able to learn the different aspects of social media besides just in the classroom. It could be sort of like a game room only for social media. Nice Job!
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I love that idea! I think it’s important even for employees. My company has training where they have social media experts come in & show us how to properly set up out LinkedIn accounts!
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You are totally right, it is essential for universities to have a social media presence. Prospective students are likely heavy social media users and if you want to get their attention universities must provide them with content in the social media space. When universities think about ads for TV, print, and digital media they consider placement across suitable outlets, social media is an essential outlet that should be a part of any marketing plan.
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The review feature within Facebook is especially important in regards to higher education and social media. So many prospective students are probably looking at their potential universities social media platforms, and having those reviews available for them to see can possibly make or break their decision.
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Excellent points. Social media is so commonplace today, especially among university students. Not having a strong social media presence would be a serious mistake for universities. You make a great argument that the risks of NOT using social media are much greater than taking the brand social.
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Isn’t it crazy that 90% of college students utilize Facebook? I thought Facebook was slowly dying away, but I’m clearly the minority in that thought. There are so many risks to not using social media to promote your brand. Thanks for reading!
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Hi Ashley,
Great blog! I love your use of headings and bulleting lists underneath. I think this makes it easier to read and jump to main points!
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