I believe the central Web and/or marketing units of a university should also be the campus experts to create and maintain a strong and effective social media presence.

For most small- to mid-size universities, I think a tool like Facebook can be seen structurally as the university Web site. There is one main home page, otherwise known as a Fan Page on Facebook, for the university.

Hop on Facebook and search ‘[your school] Class of 2012′ and see what comes up. If nothing comes up, you still have some time

our bloggers and forums on the site

and try to have the conversation start on our turf, with the Bloggers answering questions

5 students who emailed/messaged me are now the Admins of the group, so they already feel like a part of the Butler community.  The more you can share this experience and feeling with others, the more you will yield.

finding new ways to market to prospective students and raise their profiles for potential philanthropy and research funding.

in fiscal year 2008-2009, UCLA had about $4 billion, Maryland had $2.7 billion and Cornell had $2.9 billion -- these schools could afford to spend tens of millions on advertising and marketing. But they spend far less.

the figure reflects only paid media spending, not the university's total marketing outlay.

The marketing focus of enrollment management is on the “admissions funnel,” the model that visually describes moving prospects down through the admissions process and into the university’s enrollment.

A 2008 UMass-Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research study states that colleges and universities are adopting social media tactics faster than Fortune 500 companies. More than 700 institutional Facebook pages were launched by December 2007 shortly after the site opened its doors to corporations and nonprofits.

the review of eduStyle’s Gallery of Social Sites reveals a strong similarity among Facebook school pages. They typically include the kinds of photography and images available from campus marketing sources, don’t necessarily make the best use of outside applications and other robust Facebook features, and sometimes have startlingly few friends.

Because of its relationship-building power, social networking could become a brave new tool to help achieve a number of significant goals for a higher ed institution, in particular: • Expanding admissions inquiry pools • Tracking prospective students as they move through the recruiting funnel • Improving yield and conversion rates • Bringing alumni back home and integrating them into recruiting and fundraising document.writeln(AAMB6); • Expanding potential donor pools, particularly for annual funds • Broadcasting your brand through “viral word of mouse” • Expanding the reach and constancy of institutional identity