Social Media ... in the Middle of the Enrollment Funnel

E-Marketer just released a report that further supports one of my on-going hypotheses ... that social media doesn't drive significant enrollments. It helps with conversion, but not necessarily random and cold leads. It is clearly more effective in academic circles supporting existing students, those that are in the pre-application stage, alumni and others.

Trendy and cool, social media has its place in the marketing toolbox. However, most people do not bang a nail with a pipe wrench. Why do many educational leaders believe that social media, such as Facebook, mySpace or even SecondLife, drives enrollment? I've broken down what I think the reasons are:

• Every Facebook posting that they see on their fan page looks like an inquiry to them, but in reality, they may be farther down the pipeline ... having responded to some other marketing effort.


• There is a buzz in the academic circles as to the instructional benefits of tools such as Facebook and SecondLife and administration sees this as a marketing benefit that can be leverage for inquiries.
  The envy or cool factor. Their peers or competition are using it in ways that are exciting, which many feel are transferable to generating leads or that the millions and billions of people on the Internet will naturally stumble across it in random searches? Quite frankly, Facebook Groups doesn't work that way. There's usually some other stimuli that gets some one interested in a group well ahead of that.

Don't get me wrong in that I am stuck in time. I love my Facebook page, but for the right reasons. I use it to stay in touch with distant friends and family, but it can never replace the experience of a beer at the beach or over the bar-b. It is what it is and nothing more.