Social Media is Now the Most Important Channel for Brand Research Amongst 16-24 Year Olds
In their recent report, The Global State of Digital, Hootsuite revealed the growing impact of social media on research habits. For all ages, search engines are still the primary source of information when researching brands, but social networks are not far behind:
The most important takeaway for higher ed and independent school marketers is that younger prospective students and parents are more likely to turn to your social media than search engines and even your website when researching you:
When a young prospective student learns about your brand, the majority will look you up on Instagram, TikTok, or some other social channel.
You may be thinking, “Isn’t this a good thing? I want prospects to visit our social profiles!”
Yes, anytime a prospect is looking into attending your school, it’s a good thing. But remember, prospects aren’t going to your profile just to look at your campus shots and cool photos. After all, they can see your best photography in your pretty print pieces and read all about you on your website.
Young prospects are going to social media to learn about who you really are. Do you get positive comments and lots of likes? What do people say about you? Your website will tell prospects what you want them to know about you, but social media shows a more authentic, genuine version of who you are, how others feel about you, and what life is like at your school.
As education marketers, we need to pay attention to trends that impact the habits of our target market to better understand their user journey. For example, we spend a lot of time on our institutional websites—and for good reason. For the past 20 years, the website has been the single most important marketing tool in education. Comparatively, how many resources are going into your social media presence? We often talk with our clients about how social has become the ‘second website’, and it should be treated as the valuable marketing tool that it is. If prospects are using your social profiles as their primary research channel and they don’t like what they see there, they may never make it to your website.
Here are some ways to use this data to your advantage:
Sharpen your social media strategy. You don’t need to invest considerably more resources into social media (although, that helps) but understanding social media’s place in the student journey will focus how you use the platforms.
Keep a positive social vibe. No one wants to buy a product if all the reviews and comments are negative. Craft posts that are designed to attract positive comments and engagement from your satisfied stakeholders.
Poll your students. Each institution is different, so determining the role social media plays in your typical student journey will help you determine how to prioritize social channels in your marketing mix.
Make your website more like your social profiles. If prospects go to your social profiles to hear student voices and see more authentic content, identify some ways to incorporate those elements into your current website.