Ways to use social media for cost effective marketing of continuing education and distance learning programs.

1. Cost Effective Marketing Using
Social Media
Michael Dixon II
Assistant Director of Marketing, MTSU CEDL

5. – The traditional ways of
communicating are becoming
less effective
– 24 of the 25 largest newspapers
are experiencing record declines
in circulation

6. – Only 18% of traditional
TV campaigns
generate positive ROI
– 90% of people skip ads
via TiVo/DVR

7. – The fastest growing
segment on
Facebook is 55-65
year old females

8. – 25% of social
networking users
are between 35
and 44
– 57% of users are
older than 35

9. – The largest segment of social media users fit the same
demographic of non-traditional students
– Colleges/universities can reach larger audiences by
embracing social media
– Potential and current students are making themselves
known

10. The Big Players
• Facebook (social media leader) • YouTube (video sharing)
• Twitter (micro blogging) • LinkedIn (professional networking)
• MySpace (music promotion) • Flickr (photo sharing)
• Digg (news sharing) • Delicious (social bookmarking)
• Stumble Upon (content
sharing)

11. Who’s Using Social Media?
– LinkedIn, with its business focus, has an average user age
of 44.
– The average Twitter user is 39 years old.
– The average Facebook user is 38 years old.
– The largest age segments on MySpace and Bebo are 17
years old or less.

12. Mission
Give people the power to share and make the world more
open and connected
The Users The Content
– More than 400 – More than 5 billion
million active users pieces of content
– Average age of users (photos, links, new
is 38 stories, etc.) shared each
– The fastest growing week
age range is 55-65 – More than 3 million
active Pages on
Facebook

13. Personal Page Group Page Fan Page
– Content not – Post come from – Post come from
viewable to ‘personal’ ‘fan page’
public (friends account account
only) – Messages to – Messages post
‘inbox’ to ‘news’
– Intended for section
smaller groups – Allows for
custom
applications
Examples
NSCC Workforce Training and Continuing Education
University of Memphis Continuing Education

14. The CEDL Fan Page
www.facebook.com/MTSUAnytime
– Created in September
2009
– 340 total fans
– 30% of fans are between
35-44 years old
– Most vocal demographic
is the 45-54 female

15. How to Make it Successful
– Add links on website and
email
– Post often and quickly
• Program updates
• Important deadlines
• Photos from past events
– Always reply to
comments or posts
– Post trivia to spark
participation

16. MTSU Gear Contest
– Fans posted comments
on ‘Why MTSU online
classes are so great!’
– Contest ran for 10 days
– Three prize levels
based on comment
ranking
– 23 total comments

17. What’s Happening?
– Text-based micro-blogging
– 140 character limit
– Based on following, followers and list
– Has its own unique terminology (tweeple, tweeps, RT, #hashtag)
– Extremely quick, real-time response

18. Why is Twitter relevant?
– 105,779,710 registered users
– 300,000 new users per day
– Average of 55 million tweets a day
– 37% of active users use their phone to tweet
– Over half of all tweets (60 percent) come from third party
applications)
Data revealed at Chirp Conference in April 2010

19. Ways to Market
– Listen first!
– Reply to followers
– Post updates about new programs and events
– Post links to photos, videos and links (on other social networks)
More Content Ideas
– Create #hashtags for your school or upcoming event (#tnache)
– First person to reply or RT, wins! (@MTAthletics)

20. Broadcast Your Programs
– Set-up a YouTube channel
– Create short videos marketing
your programs
– Record an event
– Interview current students or
alumni for testimonials
– No Camera? Research on-
campus resources for video
equipment or producers

21. Lipscomb University
Adult Degree Program - Student Testimonials

22. The Statistics
– 14,000,000+ Professionals
– 500,000+ Senior Executives
– 65,000 new Professionals every week
– Average experience level: 15 yrs

23. – Create your own LinkedIn group
– Post discussion topics
– Announce new job openings
• Coordinate with your Career Center
– Connect students with advisors for recommendations

24. Finding the Right Mix
• If possible, explore
using more than just
one social network
• Give users a preference
• Link between your
various social media
sites
• Experiment first!

25. That’s great information,
but….. – I don’t have time to manage
a social network
– Our college/university
already uses social media
– Our audience is not large
enough
– Did I mention I don’t have
time?

26. Links & Resources
– Social Media Revolution (Video)
– Creating, Administering and Editing Your Fan Page
– Twitter Terminology 101
– Making and Optimizing YouTube Videos