The (Recruitment) Long Tail
Brad J Ward
Butler University
The conversation is in the Long Tail
If the conversation - the answers, the dynamic content - isn't there, users (prospects) go elsewhere. (This is why we need blogging at DU)
Having this all on your website makes your job a lot easier-because ...
As participation increases, content increases and engagement increases. The more you can engage, the more likely they are to start/stay
Question on how to find bloggers:
Facebook ad: Do you want the coolest job on campus? Email me. Got 76 responses for 9 spots. Butler pays bloggers $8/hour for 3 hours a week
Cautionary to bloggers: Parents, peers, professors are reading.
Twitter is between the blog posts. It's not the tool for recruiting, but by embedding in the blogs, it enhances
Getting buy-in from the admissions reps has been a struggle (I can bet)
We are in the middle of a huge shift in how we communicate. You need a whole set of tools - not just one-way sell
Social media is people having conversations online
Return on conversation:
monitor the conversation - opportunity to make sure the information out there about you is correct
information in those conversations is ongoing and accurate; authentic, what prospects want to know
Seth Godin - It's not about what you think the (students) want ... it's about creating and assembling a collection of tools that captures the attention of people who truly care
Are you listening? (Get the RSS from Twitter on Davenport University; expand on my Google alerts - DU Panthers, etc.)
The train is coming - What would it look like if you could spend 20% of your time each week on new stuff? Four hours?( that would be so sa-weet I can't imagine. But I need to! )
Secrets:
- Think niche - where can you really connect with certain kids? target. Become as good at narrowcasting as you are at broadcasting
- One size does not fit all - no one strategy is the be-all
- Lose control - you no longer control the conversation
- Crowd source - example: give video cameras to your bloggers and tell them to go out and have fun
- Think 'and' not 'or' - think bigger. Facebook AND MySpace
- Understand 'free' - Most of these tools are; don't pay if you don't need to.
- It's about relationships not technologies
Check out Class of 2012 research etc. on SquaredPeg.com
****How many apps did you get out of it? It's about the connection (YESSSS)
2 comments:
Thanks for taking the time to view the video and blog!! Appreciate it a lot. Nice to see your key takeaways and great to meet you! :)
Brad, your presentation pretty much tied everything together for me - I want to use your ideas and experiences as a stepping off point for getting DU seriously off the ground in social media. (I REALLY wish I had been there in person though)
Great meeting you, too - and all the presenters that made the conference as great as it was
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