Presentation forming part of a workshop at the Association of Learning Development in Higher Education CPD event on 14 January 2011

1. Using emerging technologiesto engage students Stuart Johnson & Marta Ulanicka University of Leicester

2. We’re on the fringes StudentDevelopment

3. Needy students will seek us out StudentDevelopment

4. Traditional advertising reaches a few more StudentDevelopment

5. There has been massive growth in social media Numbers represent unique visitors. Data from www.compete.com

6. If Facebook were a country Source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population

7. So we’re using social media… * StudentDevelopment *NB. Facebook pagenot group

8. …to help us reach many more StudentDevelopment

9. Students can communicate with us… StudentDevelopment

10. Students can communicate with us… StudentDevelopment

11. Students can communicate with us… StudentDevelopment

12. Students can communicate with us… StudentDevelopment

13. …and they tell their friends about us StudentDevelopment

14. …and they tell their friends about us “I think that the Facebook page is a great idea and I have since spread the word to mates and got them to join” StudentDevelopment

15. …who then follow our social media StudentDevelopment

16. And the number of ‘Likes’ increases…

17. …and so does the number using our services StudentDevelopment

18. But rather than them coming to us… …they give us permission to go to them

19. Our website traffic has gone up

20. *Facebook fan dashboard But, meaningful content is vital “Page admins who post meaningful contentwill retain fans, while admins who post spammy or low-quality material will lose fans and subscribers”*

21. News and events feeds we automate See http://studentdevpt.com/2009/10/09/trying-hard-to-connect

22. Tone of voice is important too

23. But most of what we say is proactive (proactive/responsive) (proactive/responsive) (automated)

24. And it’s having an impact here This happens a lot This never happens This sometimes happens

25. And here…

26. They still like email! We have >4,000 signed up We needed to subscribe to a mailing list manager The reports are very useful

27. Email tips Make it easy to subscribe Allow public sharing if possible Don’t email more than you say you will Say one thing at a time Learn from the reports Make it easy to unsubscribe

28. Tips to engage* Start a conversation Quick, direct and simple Attach, attach, attach! Announce, remind, excite It’s about time Remember It’s not a magic bullet They can turn us off * Courtesy of David Morgan, see http://goo.gl/qXkQ

29. What we’ve learnt We're definitely reaching more students this way A base of RSSnews and events feeds is a good start But you've got to invest in conversations Our helpdesk staff do a great job Distance learners like it too