It is common knowledge that of late Universities are relying more on social media to reach their prospective students. But now we have concrete proof to the claim.
According to findings from a recent study conducted by the Society for New Communications Research at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research, one in three responding schools indicated that social media was better than traditional media-including newspaper, television, radio, and print-for reaching its desired audience.
"This is the first time a study has documented ROI for those using social media in the higher education sector," said Senior Fellow and Research Co-Chair Nora Ganim Barnes, in a statement. "It is interesting to see that colleges and universities are moving away from printing and other traditional media tools and moving towards using social media tools."
Topping the list of most effective tools for recruiting undergraduates were Facebook and YouTube, at 94 percent and 84 percent, respectively. Twitter came in third at 69 percent, just above downloadable mobile apps at 51 percent. Mobile apps found favor among graduate students. 82 percent of top MBA programs report mobile apps as their most effective recruiting tool. 78 percent of the schools surveyed for this report indicated that "these tools have changed the way they recruit."
92 percent of undergraduate admissions officers interviewed report that social media is a worthy investment. 86 percent intend to increase their investment in social media for the next school year.While on the other hand, traditional media is experiencing a downfall with campuses reporting that they spent 33 percent less on print media, 24 percent less on newspaper advertising, and 17 percent less on radio and TV marketing, reports CampusTechnology.
