The Social Side of College Admissions

These past few weeks, Facebook has launched two major initiatives that can help colleges bring some of the Facebook experience to their own website. On June 24, Facebook rolled out the Live Stream Box, and followed that up with the July 8 introduction of the Fan Box. Both could be useful tools for colleges, in general, and admission offices specifically.

The Live Stream Box

You may have seen an early version of this if you visited CNN during Obama's inauguration. Facebook's Live Stream Box essentially creates a way for visitors to your website to comment back and forth in real-time. It seems best suited to allow your users to engage during a live event. Some ideas where this may be useful include a commencement speech, a live web chat by an admissions counselor, or an online broadcast of a college sporting event.

Some Benefits of the Live Stream Box

First off, the comments are in real-time and don't require page reloads. Secondly, Facebook is doing a lot of the heavy lifting for you. They are hosting the experience. You just have to drop a little code into your page. The system supported millions of users during the inauguration so it should be fine handling your events.

Finally, the biggest benefit is that comments users make in the Live Stream Box show up on their profile and in their friends' Facebook streams. And each of these comments includes a link back to your website.

Set-Up of the Live Stream Box

Facebook provides instructions for how to incorporate this feature into your website. Someone with some web expertise will likely need to be involved since it takes a little more than just copy-and-paste if you want to get the most out of it.

The Fan Box

Facebook's Fan Box helps you promote your Facebook Fan Page right on your own website. It gives you a way to bring these visitors into the conversation that is happening on Facebook. It also offers visitors a way to easily connect with your college or university as a fan.

Some Benefits of the Fan Box

First, the Fan Box enables users to become a fan of your Facebook Page without having to go to the main Facebook website. There is a Become a Fan option front and center. Second, you can show the Stream from your Fan Page. Visitors could read your latest Fan Page posts right from your admissions page. Finally, you can highlight the growing popularity of your Facebook Page. The Fan Box can display the number of fans your Page has and even some pictures of those fans. Nothing encourages people to join faster than seeing that others have already done so.

Set-Up of the Fan Box

Facebook has made it really easy to take advantage of the Fan Box feature. For Page admins, there will be an Add Fan Box to your site link under the profile picture. This will redirect you to a page where you can get some copy-and-paste code to drop into your own website.

If you want to learn more about these tools, you should check out these pages:

• Posting to the Stream in Real Time with the Live Stream Box
• Turning Website Visitors into Facebook Fans with the Fan Box

Labels: Community, Facebook, Public Profiles, Technology

Nothing can fully replace face-to-face interactions. An exchange of instant messages will likely never have the same impact as an in-person conversation. An e-mail isn't the same as a phone call. However, with state governments slashing budgets and college endowments taking major hits, the search for cost-effective recruitment solutions is becoming more important than ever.

The slumping economy has had a major impact on admission offices and families of college-bound students. Many admission offices are now facing budget cuts, meaning less money for student recruitment efforts, including trips to high schools and college fairs. Additionally, families now have less money to invest in the college search process. According to a Longmire and Company survey of 1,030 parents of college-bound students, a quarter said they would be making fewer college visits as a result of the economy.

It's now time to be creative in how you cost-effectively reach out to prospective and admitted students. With fewer face-to-face interactions, using virtual solutions may be the way to build relationships with these students.

Virtual Interactions May Be the Next Best Option

For several years, hundreds of colleges and universities have been utilizing online chat rooms to interact with students. Having participated in several online chats, it is by no means a fast-paced back and forth between prospects and the admission office, but it does offer an opportunity for students to get some of their more pressing questions answered. And chances are that the admissions office's answers are relevant for a good portion of those on the chat.

Wake Forest has gone even further. Starting this past December, Wake Forest began using Skype to conduct "face-to-face" interviews for students who could not make it to campus. While they would likely be the first to admit in-person interviews are preferred over these virtual alternatives, this solution has allowed admission officers to have a personal interaction with applicants when it otherwise would not have been possible.

Building an Online Community Around Your School

Many schools are still figuring out what to make of Facebook and whether they want to engage with prospective and admitted students within social networks. I think schools that sit by and do nothing to engage candidates on social networks are missing a huge opportunity. If a prospect can't make it to your campus, social networks like Facebook give you an opportunity to bring your campus to them, or at least a taste of it.

The stats about your school (standardized test scores, size, location, and diversity) are important, but it's the personal connections that a prospect makes with your school that will stand out and tip the scales in your school's favor. You don't want to hijack the conversation on these social networks, but there is plenty of room between taking over the conversation and not participating at all. You can be a facilitator, helping prospects connect with people and resources on campus. When they have questions, you can point them toward answers. If done effectively, you can even help them build relationships with each other. My guess is that there is no better sales pitch for a college than an excited student (whether it is a current student on campus or a high school senior that has fallen in love with your school and is dying to get admitted).

Play within the "Rules"

Don't forget that Facebook is a social space. If you are going to participate, make sure you participate in a way that is in line with how Facebook is used. Don't just recreate your admissions website in Facebook. Start conversations, promote events, build a community around your school.

Virtual interactions are unlikely to ever supplant personal interactions as the best way to build relationships. However, they may be a good alternative when live, face-to-face interactions are not possible.

Labels: Facebook, Marketing, Skype, Social Networks, Technology