Low Cost eRecruitment:

Text Based, Social Media & Google Analytics

Travis MerriganCommunity Colleges of Spokane2010 TYROOC Conference

Starting Assumptions

• Limited time and money

• “Technology 2.0” is a low priority • Your school is falling behind

technologically

Focus on the easy and cheap

1.Cheap text-based tech

2.Explore social media

3.Improve your website

Email: Old people communication?

• Email is fading for sub 30s, but not dead• Needs to be targeted and personalized

• Use eBlast technology to help target

Text Communication

Write better emails

• Short

• Clear

• One point

• Targeted

Text Communication

Chat – too labor intensive?

• Real time chat with students?

• Good for one-time events

• Hard to staff all the time

Text Communication

Text – only opt in

• Text is sub-30s favorite communication mode

• But be careful sending too many

• Targeted, personal, limited and opt in

Text Communication

Social Networking:Figure out a plan

Social Networking

My take

• Worthwhile

• YouTube – Easy if you have videos

• Digg – Search what they’re saying about your CC

• Blogs – Good but labor intensive (ambassadors)

• Maybe• Facebook – Everybody uses, not for college research

• Worthless

• Twitter – Admissions offices love, students don’t

• Myspace – On a downhill slide

Social Networking

Use traditional media to push social media

Social Networking

Most important web content*

• $$$ info

• Program info

• Catalog, Class Schedule (not PDF)

• Cost Calculator (federal requirement, fall 2011)

• Online inquiry/visit request

*Noel-Levitz E-Expectations 2010

Improve your website

‘Great if you can’ content

• Videos

• Give Ambassadors a Flip

• Model release forms?

• Challenge: video editing

• Private social networks

• Portals

Improve your website

Improve your website

• Free

• Tracks web traffic

• Make informed decisions about site changes

• Easy set-up (1 min/webpage)

Improve your website

Improve your website

Hit locations – TYROOC.org

Improve your website

Focus on “new visitors”

Improve your website

The mobile challenge

Improve your website

Traffic sources

Improve your website

Content Drilldown

Improve your website

Site Overview – best feature

Improve your website

Demote unpopular content

Improve your website

‘Locations’ is working

- 6.95% exit rate!

Improve your website

‘Outside Spokane’ working

- 14% exit rate

Improve your website

‘In Spokane’ not working

- 64% exit rate- Add content

Improve your website

That’s all, folks