Using Social Media to Engage Today’s Online Student

Digital technology has changed everything. The digitization of the consumer experience has changed the way we shop, communicate, travel, and more. Online education is no exception, it has become the fastest growing segment of higher education and the most competitive. According to the U.S. Department of Education data, there are currently over 2,500 colleges and universities offering online programs, of which, the top 100 largest institutions have nearly 50 percent of the total student enrollment (Gallagher, Palmer, 2020). As such, it is now highly important for higher education institutions to develop new high-demand programs that cater to the online student demographic of adult, digitally savvy consumers in order to increase enrollment and revenue.

The increased accessibility and flexibility that online education affords, has millions of students enrolling in more online undergraduate and graduate-level programs than ever before. To recruit and retain this rapidly growing population of students, today’s colleges and universities are using social media platforms to recruit and retain students, but to to be successful, they must first clearly understand the fundamental differences in the expectations, needs and preferences of online students compared to those of the on-campus students they have traditionally served. Combining this key audience understanding with a sound content and messaging strategy with will be key to the success of the marketing efforts.

Understanding The Online vs. On-campus Student:

There are several key differences between the on-campus and online student.

Research shows that the average online student;

• Is highly concerned about cost
• Is older than their on-campus peers (around 33 years old)
• Works full time
• Has family responsibilities
• worries about succeeding in balancing work, life and education
• May not live near campus, making traditional, face-to-face interaction on campus difficult, if not impossible.

As such, flexibility, affordability and support are the key overarching necessities for those participating in online programs. Similarly, today’s Millennial and Gen Z online students are also very mobile, so advancements in technology, mobile social applications and today’s social climate make competing for student engagement much more complicated.

To remain competitive, higher education instructions must develop new marketing techniques and sophisticated content strategies on social platforms to keep pace with ever-changing communication preferences of the target demographic (Peruta & Shields, 2018). A recent Pew Research Center report shows that over 88 percent of adults aged 18-29 frequently use social media for researching university information, more specifically 81 percent use YouTube, 69 percent use Facebook, 40 percent use Instagram, and 31 percent use Pinterest (Auxier, Smith, 2021).

This information clearly shows that a heavy preference for social media use by the target demographic requires that higher education institutions develop engaging marketing experiences that speak directly to the preferences of the audience. This unique messaging content should focus on faculty support, flexibility, convenience and affordability presented in easy to digest formats, and when possible, combined with engaging short-form video that showcases the key benefits of the program.

Most importantly, do not forget about audio, important research shows 92 percent of social media users scroll through platforms with the sound off, so key value propositions and important information be provided in an infographic format or in captions when available (Lafayette, 2019).

References

Auxier, B., Smith, A. (2018). Social Media Use in 2021. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2021/04/07/social-media-use-in-2021/

Gallagher, S., Plamer, J. (2020). The Pandemic Pushed Universities Online. The Change Was Long Overdue. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2020/09/the-pandemic-pushed-universities-online-the-change-was-long-overdue

Lafayette, J. (2019). Mobile Videos often Watched Without Audio, Study Finds. Broadcasting & Cable. https://www.nexttv.com/news/mobile-videos-often-watched-without-audio-study-finds

Peruta, A., Shields, A. (2016). Social media in higher education: understanding how colleges and universities use Facebook. Taylor and Francis Online. https://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/doi/full/10.1080/08841241.2016.1212451