Transparency: The Millennial Mindset Kerry Salerno Director, - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Transparency: The Millennial Mindset

Kerry Salerno

Director, Admissions Marketing and EMSA Communication

Makeda Keegan

Senior Assistant Director, e-Communications

Northeastern University Boston, MA www.northeastern.edu

A Word on Northeastern University

• Private, urban, research university, located in the heart of Boston‟s

Back Bay

• A leader in the integration of study and practice: the world’s most

powerful way to learn

• Signature cooperative education (co-op) program, celebrating 100

years

• Approximately 19,000 full and part-time undergraduates, 4,500

graduate and professional students; on-campus population 7,400

• Northeastern‟s neighbors include the Museum of Fine Arts, the

Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Huntington Theatre Company, the New England Conservatory, and Fenway Park

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Presentation Objectives

– The Millennial Mindset – Social Media

• Components to Consider
• Importance of Integration

– The Added Value

Who are the Millennials?

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Graduate College High School Elementary and Middle School

Born in 1982 Born in 200?

Finished college in 2004 Will finish college in late 2010s/early 2020s

Millennials are….

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• Already over 90 million strong
• Most ethnically and racially diverse generation in

US history

• Fewer immigrants than previous generations
• The “busiest generation”
• Decreasing employment in high school
• Concerned about student debt and its perception

Millennial’s Activity

• Teen Web users are most active users of online media:

– 90% used e-mail – 83% watched online video – 72% are social networkers

• Close to 50% of online teens read blogs, listen to podcasts,

watch peer-generated video

• About half of U.S. teens use Facebook; 67% update their

page at least once a week – 57% use social media to solicit advice

• 2,899 average text messages per month (sent or received

by the typical U.S. mobile teen) as compared to 191 calls

Combination of sstamats (Amherst study & Forrester), Pew, Facebook and itstats

Summary

• Understand your audience
• Know what they do online
• Expectations are constantly shifting
• Strategic positioning vs. generational mindset

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Social Media:

Integration and Factors to Consider

Integrating Web 2.0

• Goal of any communication plan is to inform and

connect

• Your Web 2.0 plan needs to supports that goal
• Everyone is talking about it but the question

should be: “How do we integrate it?”

• Other resources are needed to assist in integration

– Recruitment Plan – Media Plan – Marketing Plan/Priorities

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Social Media & Traditional Communication

Factors to consider: Usage

• Facebook usage is up 24% among users under 17

years old between January and July of this year.

• Twitter growth 1227% in 12 months

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http://social-media-optimization.com/2009/02/top-twenty-five-social-networking-sites-feb-2009/

Factors To Consider: Strategy

• It‟s not about „getting on Facebook‟
• It‟s about choosing the right tools for your
• rganization
• Plot your list of potential sites to understand the

impact of perception and to allocate resources

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High Penetration Low Penetration Low Activities High Activities

Campusdi pusdirt Prince inceton review Liv ivejour ejournal nal Faceb ebook

• ok

Myspace pace Colle llege ge confidential fidential Yelp lp Frie iendst dster Coll lleg egeB eBoa

• ard

rd Die iehardd arddogs.co

• gs.com

Importance of Understanding Perception

Twitt itter er

Factors to Consider: Beyond Facebook

• Social networking goes beyond conversations
• Sharing visual elements through video and photo

content

• Visual introduction to campus
• Mobile applications extend boundaries,

multiplatform development extends reach

• What‟s next?

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Mobile Applications

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• 71% of teens (ages 12 to 17) in 2008 are more

likely to own a cellphone (up from 63% in 2006)

• 85,000 iPhone applications available (up from

5000 this time last year) Northeastern‟s Admissions iPhone Application Interactive campus map Building search with events Social media sites Photo Gallery

Factors to consider: Resources

• Social media strategy should reflect a selective and

efficient use of resources

• Set expectations for yourself – and your

institution

• Use the tools you have to maximize results

– Set yourself up to win by identifing use of existing resources

• Be creative

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Summary

• Factors to consider:

– Usage – Building a strategy and integrating with enrollment/recruitment efforts – Resources

• Not just about „getting on Facebook‟
• Plot your „targets‟
• Recognize the challenges

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Value Add: More than Chatting

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Push, Push vs. Listen, Listen

Social Media’s Value

• Test of messaging against „reality‟
• Students seeking “real” interaction
• Parents engaged in their own review
• Extend campus community
• Reinforce institutional values

• Perception becomes reality at warp speed
• Conversations are multidirectional; organic; can turn

around quickly

• Culture shifts
• Control is not an issue; never had really it
• Its potential impact on our market is huge
• Long term planning equates to 3-6 months of forward

planning

Challenges of Social Media

Transparency is not an option, it IS a reality of the new world.

What becomes transparent?

• The strength of our brand
• Our brand advocates
• Where/what de-brands our universities
• Quality of experience