Find out what prospective students are doing to research your school.
About 2/3 of high school students use social media to research prospective colleges, says a new survey from online scholarship matching service Zinch. Of those students, about 1/3 use social media to decide where to enroll.
That’s good news for tech-savvy admissions offices, but while colleges use an average of 3.7 social networks, they may be missing the point. It’s not just about which networks schools are on – it’s about how they’re used.
For instance, while about 75% of the 7,000 surveyed students say they check Facebook at least once per day, more than half never use Twitter, the next most popular network. Even fewer go to Pinterest, Tumblr or Instagram.
That means it’s even more important that universities develop their social media strategies wisely, focusing on where they’re getting the highest return on investment. Prospective students value engagement and communication.
Interestingly, the results of the survey indicate that who students want to communicate varies based on ethnicity. White and Asian students were most likely to want to communicate with current students, while black and Hispanic students with admissions counselors.
How does your school engage with prospective students online? Tell us in the comments section, and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.
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