The document discusses creating an online community called "Café New Paltz" on Ning for accepted students to the State University of New York at New Paltz. It describes setting up the community to build relationships and provide a space for conversation. The Café New Paltz community had over 600 members who posted photos and videos. It provided marketing research and engagement opportunities at low cost. The community helped increase enrollment of highly selective students and provided support through the transition to college.

1. Doing More with Less:
Creating an online community for accepted students
Rachel Reuben
Director of Web Communication & Strategic Projects, SUNY New Paltz
rachelreuben.com doteduguru.com @rachelreuben

2. we’re all feeling the budget
crunch
• travel/conference budgets slashed
• departmental budgets slashed
• programs cut
• endowments falling

3. we’re all feeling the budget
crunch
• losing positions through attrition, retirements & non-
renewals
• temp service budgets cut
• reducing print even more
• relying on Web and electronic media even more

4. what can you do?
• partner with other departments
• share/pool resources
• interns, existing student staff
• OLs, RAs, student ambassadors, greeters, etc.
• task variety
• beware of job enlargement / workload creep

5. how social media can help
• Personal attention
• One-on-one and one-to-many conversations
• Social proofing & viral marketing
• Comfort level in their environment

6. how social media can help
• Put personal face(s) to university
• Build relationships & trust
• listening - “grow bigger ears” http://is.gd/Nb8J
• some free, most relatively cheap
• reach more - targeted - with less

7. how social media *can’t* help
• Not another bulletin board
• Not a place to blow your horn
• Not a place to jump up & down

8. another spoke in the wheel

9. online community for fall 2009
accepted students

10. what is Ning?
• like Facebook
• an online platform for users to create their own
social Web sites and social networks
• forums, videos, events, groups, personal profiles
• ning.com
• premium services / costs

11. admissions strategy
• Accept ~4,400 students
• Enroll ~1,100 students
• Accept ~1,400 early action students
• Maximize most highly selective students

12. admissions strategy
• sticker on accept packet
• invite students (upload file from Banner)
• early action accepts Jan 1 - Feb. 21
• launched 1/2/09, invited 1,323
• all accepted students Feb. 21 - May 1
• invited 1,000 initially, then batches every 2 weeks
• all transfer students mid-April - on

13. Café New Paltz: content
• Baristas
• Regular updates (videos with custom jingle)
• Daily interaction, encouragement, conversation
starters & joiners
• “Café-shaped conversations”
• personal, intellectual

14. Café New Paltz: results
• Members: 690
• Paid PED: 52%
• 70% from highest selectivity group
• Photos: 1,168
• Videos: 22
• Forums: 93

15. Café New Paltz:
additional benefits
• free(-ish) marketing research
• no overhead account management - all done
through Banner export / Ning import
• give them a place to talk & converse on “our turf”
without intimidating them

16. Café New Paltz: costs
• $24.95/month to remove ads ($149.70 for 6 months)
• ~$50 for props
• existing resources
• 2 HD Sony video cameras
• Flip Mino video camera
• student interns

18. Café New Paltz: anecdotes
“I must be going. I’m definitely going to login
again though. This is an amazing resource.”
“Yeah, this is a pretty great thing set up here.”
“Yeah, I’ve never run across a school with
something this helpful & people this nice before!
It’s great!”
“I am really liking Café New Paltz. It is making it a
lot easier to adjust & I think between this &
orientation we should be good. :)”

19. Café New Paltz: after May 1
• asked the community
• pitched to Student Affairs
• Orientation connection
• new baristas
• fall

20. what about Facebook?
• groups vs. Pages
• member management nightmare
• lack of design customization

21. our secrets
• answer questions promptly
• join in the conversation, encourage interaction
• show examples at group tours & general info sessions
• include links in e-mail correspondence
• bags
• interact postcards, Web site

22. things to consider
• loss of control
• time commitment
• information overload
• anyone can create an “official”
account for your university

23. measurement
• ROI --> return on influence
• long tail effect
• Café New Paltz
• yield more highly selective students
• think outside the box - Ning limitations &
programming
• quality not quantity (# of fans/followers/subscribers)

24. ? ?
questions
Rachel Reuben
reubenr@newpaltz.edu
site: rachelreuben.com
blog: doteduguru.com
Twitter: @rachelreuben