I attended this morning’s presentation, Understanding the Impact of Social Media on College-Bound Youth, presented by David Peck from Azusa Pacific University and Pam Kiecker who heads up research at Royall & Company.  

While I don’t have specifics on the methodology used with the UrCompass panelists, here are some of the stats that I scribbled:

• 84% of high school students are on facebook or myspace. At colleges this number jumps to 94%.
• 16% of high school students have visited a school’s official page on one of these sites.
• 2.9% of high school students use social networking sites to get information on colleges.
• The top two things students are looking to gain from these pages are to check out current students and to get information from an official source at the school. 
• Most useful insider sites, respectively: College Confidential, ratemyprofessor.com, sparknotes.com 

Is this number small enough that schools can continue to stall on building their own official pages? The answer is no because students are building their own communities and relationships surrounding your institution. And if you aren’t part of that dialogue, you can’t influence the conversation.

Often times, admission offices and others in charge of outreach to prospective students worry that they are inundated with email and print publications, but the reality is that for students, MORE is BETTER. Information is power and students want as much as possible. This was found to be even more true with students from under-represented ethnic groups.

Will students perceive our efforts in social media to be forced? NO! They think it’s smart of schools to communicate through “their” media.

The most important conclusion from the session? Online interaction, however frequent and eye-opening, does not compare to face-to-face interaction. Use social media with the same goals as when institutions use viewbooks and email broadcast: Get them to campus! Visiting campus will reinforce and elevate relationships that might have started on social  networking sites.

Contributed by: Sherry Wade
Executive Web Producer, Stein Communications

Is your school twittering? If not, you may want to reserve your school’s name at twitter.com, just in case. More and more schools have begun to twitter. Think of it as a mini-blog — a simple, easy way to stay in touch with your constituencies. You have only 140 characters per post, so there’s no pressure to write eloquently. People who are pressed for time (and who isn’t) like Twitter because of that character limit — you can keep up with a person or an institution without being inundated with text.

Prospective students and alumni can choose to “follow” your school, receiving your “tweets” to their Twitter home page, their phone, their Facebook page, or their IM account. You can send out news items, admission reminders — whatever will fit in the character limit.

Most schools are using their Twitter accounts as a way to aggregate and distribute school news from a variety of sources. See http://twitter.com/valparaisolaw and http://twitter.com/calvincollege.

You can use twitterfeed.com to automatically post headlines delivered by reliable news outlets. For instance, you could search for your institution in Google News, and then share Google’s RSS feed with twitterfeed.com. A news feed may pick up some bad news, but using Twitter allows you to dispel rumors quickly or post a link to another viewpoint.

All you need to use Twitter is an internet connection or a mobile phone. To advertize your account, post a Twitter “badge” on your website. Set up your email preferences to notify you when you have a new follower, or click the “followers” link in the sidebar of your Twitter page.

Contributed by: Caitee Bloss
Web Project Assistant, Stein Communications

Previous to this issue of The Scoop, we have discussed podcasting in admissions, academics, alumni, and athletics. The last in our series, this fifth installment explores podcasts as a creative method of increasing and utilizing public relations (PR).

PR is a broad topic, as is podcasting. This article focuses on two main applications of podcasting within public relations: the utilitarian element of broadcasting university news and events, and the more emotional element of conveying the personality of the university while also enhancing reputation and extending the brand.

Broadcasting University News. Like blogs and email newsletters, podcasts enable universities to easily broadcast major news and events to a global audience. They are not subject to many of the boundaries and complications faced by print and email campaigns. Three main advantages of podcasting over more traditional news publication include:

• Cost — Podcasting can be done inexpensively. Podcast production costs, including equipment, can be minimal, and hosting plans are available to accommodate higher bandwidth and storage. You can imagine the savings compared to postage or email campaign fees.
• Archives — Once published, listeners can easily browse previous episodes. Software programs, such as iTunes, make this task especially intuitive.
• Convenience — Podcasts are as portable as music. Users don’t have to be sitting at the computer to catch up on the news — they can listen in their car, while they jog, on an iPod, etc.

Utilizing podcasts as another means of news syndication is becoming increasingly popular among universities. Yale University’s Yale Netcast discusses news, events, and major initiatives with university faculty and administration. Duke has a dedicated Office of News and Communications for keeping the news media and others up-to-date on school happenings. Their News & Communications podcast (iTunes link) is a component of this initiative, and covers everything from March Madness to Durham revitalization.

The University of Florida News podcast supplies listeners with regular updates of university news and events. Rather than focusing on just one campus issue or event, each “Update: Weekly” is structured as a summary of recent news.

As we have mentioned in previous articles in this series, a large advantage that podcasts have over traditional media is universal syndication. Because campus content can reach a global audience, individuals not enrolled in the institution can get a taste of the university’s excellence and expertise. By broadcasting such information as recent research, public speakers, and discussions on popular issues, the university expands its reputation as a credible and competitive institution.

Vanderbilt has many podcasts to promote and feature different facets of the school. Their podcast, That’s Vanderbilt, highlights the newest research at both the university and its medical center. In addition, Stellar Conversations, Medical Center Podcast, and The Sounds of Blair feature specific departmental happenings.

The Georgetown University Forum is another great example of a podcast series highlighting current research and faculty initiatives.

Simply put, podcasting is one of many Web 2.0 tools you can use to increase university exposure and recognition. As we’ve shown through this series, podcasts can help you reach many different audiences, such as prospective students, alumni, and sports fans. In addition to just getting your name out there, you can establish your school’s authority on a topic, project a personality, and extend branding initiatives.

Podcasts as a personal connection. PR podcasts are important on another, non-informative level. Each one reflects the university’s personality and can give the listener more insight into the school atmosphere or attitude. In addition to helping distinguish the university from others around the country, podcasts can contribute to the development of an emotional bond with constituents. Several elements factor in to this personal feel, such as focusing on a specific target audience, welcoming user feedback, and providing frequent episodes. Each element helps listeners better acquaint themselves with your university.

Branding and Exposure through Podcasting Directories. iTunes provides one of the largest podcast directories. Recently, they added a dedicated university division of their iTunes store — iTunes U. iTunes allows schools to create custom sites for their institution to organize and brand their series of podcasts. iTunes U sites are also designed to allow faculty members to contribute their own audio and video content. All schools are eligible to participate on iTunes U, and Apple provides instructions on how to get started.

Three advantages of an iTunes U site include:

• Publicity — With so many individuals already using iTunes for music, video, and other media, your site is exposed to a much larger audience. By enabling users to subscribe to your series (a great feature of iTunes), you are retaining listeners who may never have visited your podcast again. Also, because episodes for subscribed podcasts can be automatically downloaded to the individual’s iTunes, your listeners don’t have to continually check for new releases. Essentially, your iTunes store can help retain first-time visitors and increase the listening rate of existing listeners.
• Personality — Customizing your University iTunes U site allows you to demonstrate your school’s personality, extend your brand, and create a visual and emotional connection with the listener.
• Reputation — Your podcast is listed with some of the best academic podcasts on the web. Having a customized iTunes U site portrays a professional image of your podcast, and being listed in this higher-education-only directory affords you authority and respect.

Although it is the largest, iTunes is not the only academic podcast directory out there. Two other notable web sites are Open Culture and Princeton’s UChannel.

Open Culture organizes podcasts into two categories: General (ordered by university) and University Courses (ordered by subject). A university can appear in both sections, and the University Course list may be very helpful if your podcast is subject-specific. Anyone can recommend a podcast to be indexed.

Princeton’s UChannel emphasizes vodcasts (video podcasts) just as heavily as it does podcasts. Instead of providing links to entire podcast series, the UChannel invites universities to contribute individual episodes. Their goal is to create an online resource for academic media. For this reason, episode contents must be highly academic — lectures, seminars, panels and interviews. While initially focusing on public and international affairs, the channel describes the directory as having “unlimited potential.”

With so many available tools and resources, it is now easier than ever to create university podcasts. Our five-part article series explored podcasting in higher education — a topic covering a myriad of topics and attracting an equally varied audience, all of which are tuning in specifically to your university. Experience the power of this Web 2.0 tool for yourself — with a little time and energy (and a microphone), we think you’ll find that the rewards are worth it.

Contributed by: Caitee Bloss
Web Project Assistant, Stein Communications

In the last three issues of the Scoop, we’ve investigated methods in which admission offices, academic departments, and alumni use podcasting in higher education. This fourth installment unites these groups over a common interest: college athletics.

Who are these university athletics podcasters?

When thinking about college sports, the first enthusiasts that probably come to mind are loyal team fans — whether they are current students, alumni, or hometown natives. Two such fans, University of Iowa seniors Ryan Wallace and Will Marchino, host a podcast From the Cheap Seats. Their show provides game commentary, reviews, and insight into several collegiate sports.

Intercollegiate organizations have also taken up the task of podcasting. The first of these, the SEC Podcast Network (not officially affiliated with the Southeastern Conference) has a very specific mission:

“The Goal of The SEC Podcast Network is to help the independent podcast producers who cover the 12 schools of the SEC and to foster peaceful bonds between those producers.”

Several schools are members of this network, including:

• Louisiana State University: Geaux Show
• University of Alabama: TideCast
• University of Arkansas: RazorPod
• University of Georgia: DawgCast

In addition to supporting the podcasts of other universities, the SEC Podcast Network publishes its own podcast that covers SEC games, makes predictions, and contributes a league commentary.

Another sports association, the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association), sponsors an intercollegiate podcast that provides one-on-one interviews with NCAA President Myles Brand and focuses on issues facing student-athletes, intercollegiate teams, and the NCAA organization. Mondays With Myles is part of the NCAA’s larger Double-A Zone, which also features a blog and a video news program.

As expected, some of the most popular college athletics podcasts are those hosted by their respective universities. Purposes vary widely, from game announcements and athlete interviews (Virginia Tech’s Hokie Podcast and University of South Carolina Upstate) to original game broadcasts (Oklahoma Sooners). At West Chester University, their student newspaper The Quad hosts its own sports news podcast. At the University of Arizona, podcasts are integrated with corresponding news articles and blogs to form an AZ Sports Hub.

What’s in an athletics podcast, anyway?

The range of information available is as varied as the podcasting population. That said, there are a few common components:

• Talk about the game: If there is one element that most university athletics podcasts have in common, it is sports commentary. One notable podcast, From The Cheap Seats, offers valuable reviews and insight into University of Iowa games.
• Get to know the team: Interviews with coaches and athletes are a great way to help students and fans feel more connected to the team. The University of South Carolina Upstate and the University of Oklahoma podcasts offer discussions with the Spartans and the Sooners, respectively.
• Discuss college athletics: With so many students participating in college athletics, organizations are starting to use podcasts to educate the public about relevant issues. Experts from the National Collegiate Scouting Association give advice on the college recruiting process, and Mondays With Myles focuses on NCAA and student-athlete issues.

So, why a podcast?

Not all sports shows started out as podcasts. From The Cheap Seats was originally a radio broadcast. When scheduling required the producers to tape delay each episode, Will and Ryan decided to take the extra step to host the recordings online.

The ability to keep students and fans engaged has been a desirable draw to collegiate athletics podcasting. To interact with listeners, podcasters incorporate additional media such as:

• Videos: Both the TideCast and the Oklahoma Sooners include video clips, which technically makes them vodcasts.
• Blogs: Blogs allow for the continued discussion of issues touched upon in the podcast, along with listener comments.
• Listener activities: While podcasts are static episodes (especially in comparison to live sports radio), more groups are enabling listeners to offer input for future episodes. The Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association’s CollegeLAX podcast voicemail number allows anyone to leave comments or questions. You can even win a prize by listening to the TideCast — if you correctly answer their weekly trivia question.

Note: Before starting your own podcast or incorporate third-party media, be sure to investigate any copyright or legal concerns.

Does anyone really listen to podcasts?

Podcasts are becoming increasingly popular. In addition to their radio broadcast population, From The Cheap Seats receives between 50 and 100 subscribers during the semester. The AZ Sports Hub, which averages 175 plays per podcast, has been known to receive 300 listens to a single episode. Even more popular is Mondays With Myles, the NCAA’s weekly podcast. The show’s RSS feed received over 24,000 clicks last month — a 4,000-click increase over the previous month.

Boosting podcast reputation and recognition is one of the goals of the SEC. The second half of their mission states:

“Our ultimate goal is to create a group of individuals who have as much respect as other large press organizations, but are closer to the fans than anyone else.”

As we mentioned in the last article in this series (Podcasting in higher education: alumni), podcasts have many advantages over traditional media. They can feature several types of multimedia, are updated frequently, and offer followers the option to subscribe. Additionally, podcasts are available globally. With graduating students and hometown natives moving to the far ends of the earth, widespread team fans will consider these valuable resources.

In our next issue of the Scoop, we’ll explore public relations — our last type of podcasting in this series. To contribute your college’s experiences, thoughts, and concerns about podcasting in education, please email mgwaltney@steincommunications.com.

Contributed by: Meg Gwaltney, Web Content Manager,
and Caitee Bloss, Web Production Assistant, Stein Communications

In previous issues of the Scoop, we’ve explored podcasting in higher education by admission offices and academic departments. While podcasts are most often created either for classes or as a recruitment tool, an increasing number of schools are expanding their student audience and including their university alumni.

The third in our series in podcasting in higher education, this article covers podcasting both with alumni and for alumni. We’ve shared several examples of alumni podcasts, in hopes of sparking ideas for your own institution so that you may better serve your alumni while also giving them additional outlets to contribute to their alma mater.

Podcasts designed for alumni:

While alumni and parent podcasting are often one and the same, several university alumni associations have created their own alumni-specific podcasts. They usually aim to keep alumni informed about campus news, recent research, higher education issues, and life-long learning.

Utah Valley State College publishes an alumni magazine, the Sequel. In conjunction with their magazine, they supplement each issue with audio and video podcasts. The audio podcasts contain readings of articles and other writing from each episode, while the vodcasts include interviews and “bonus coverage” of the articles.

The Alumni Association at the University of Michigan maintains a podcast, True Blue Podsquad. They record speeches, lectures, and interviews that provide “educational content on-demand and on-the-go.” In addition to lectures on career success and entrepreneurship, many of their episodes address common issues in parenting and post-graduate life such as adoption, child tantrums, learning difficulties, and self-esteem.

While less concerned with parenting and family life, Winston-Salem State University does specifically target alumni. Their WSSU Alumni Podcast helps alumni stay up-to-date and connected with the university through campus news and student spotlights.

Podcasts with alumni contributions:

In several university podcasts, alumni join faculty for interviews and lectures. This strategy allows universities to maintain alumni connections, utilize their research and knowledge, and exemplify the success of their own graduates. The promise of listening to an old classmate attracts alumni who may not otherwise subscribe to the podcast and the familiarity of the speaker invokes a greater audience interest in the subject matter.

Johns Hopkins has published a podcast containing a series of discussions over a range of topics, such as evolutionary biology, nation building, national security, and the U.S. healthcare crisis. In addition to contributing to the knowledge base, alumni are also included in panel discussion on campus affairs. Colgate University’s Colgate Conversations podcast follows a similar track. By spotlighting alumni and including them in their presentations, both universities are making statements about their continual interest and investment in their graduates.

With each successive graduating class being increasingly wired and web-savvy, podcasts hold much promise as a means of staying connected. Alumni podcasts are a great strategy for several reasons:

1. Subscription. The ability to subscribe to a feed ensures that alumni stay connected, even when they move or change email addresses.

2. Frequent updates. Offering short but frequent updates on campus news and recent research is relatively painless for both the university and alumni subscribers.

3. Multimedia. Podcasts can feature audio from familiar professors and video clips of campus events — elements not possible in as timely a manner in most other marketing mediums.

As universities increase their use of academic podcasts and more students encounter them in their classes, it is likely that graduates will be more interested in creating or contributing to podcasts as alumni.

In our next issue of the Scoop, we’ll tackle the fourth type of podcasting in our series — athletic podcasting. To contribute your college’s experiences, thoughts, and concerns about podcasting in education, please email mgwaltney@steincommunications.com.

Contributed by: Meg Gwaltney
Web Content Manager, Stein Communications

In the last issue of The Scoop, we talked about podcasting in higher education in terms of how it is being used as a recruitment tool. Admission offices across the country are hosting some amazing podcasts, with respect to content as well as design and production quality. In my opinion, the most effect podcasts, by far, are those created by current students, for prospective students.

Continuing our series of articles on podcasting in higher education, this article focuses on podcasting for academic courses, programs, and departments.

Podcasts for Course Lectures
Probably the first example that comes to mind when you think of academics and podcasting is course lectures. Remember the media buzz in 2004 when Duke University handed out iPods to every freshman student on campus? Their ongoing Duke Digital Initiative to improve technology-enhanced learning (including podcasting quite a few course lectures) has been and continues to be extraordinary, despite the challenges mentioned in their DDI End of Year Report (PDF).

Additionally, iTunes U made a big splash when Apple partnered with higher ed institutions such as Stanford, UC Berkeley, and Duke’s Fuqua School of Business to provide them with their own school-branded version of iTunes. With iTunes U, course lectures and other campus recordings became even easier to deliver to students, faculty, and the community in both restricted- and open-access portals. What’s even better, it’s free — for the institution and the user.

While podcast lectures should not replace the experience of classroom learning and interaction, they have proved beneficial to students and faculty, particularly in the areas of music, performing arts, languages, and other disciplines with audible components.

Promotional Academic Podcasts
In addition to podcasting course lectures, some colleges are also using podcasts to promote specific majors or departments to prospective students, as well as to share research findings with the community.

For example, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology hosts a compilation of podcasts under the umbrella of AMPS: Academic Media Production Services. Users may subscribe to the podcasts for free from MIT’s web site or directly from within the iTunes Music Store. AMPS includes a small, but well-produced collection of video podcasts, all related to a research venture, an academic course, a performing arts event, or other on-campus events. Personally, my favorite is “2.007 Retrospective.” It documents in a fun, engaging way the thirty-year history of MIT’s famous undergraduate robot contest. Prospective students would do well to view the AMPS vodcasts to get a better feel for the types of projects they will work on as students.

Another great case in point: Asbury College’s broadcast journalism podcasts of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy. The group of 29 students, three alumni, and one faculty member posted blog entries and podcasts on their web site. If this project isn’t an excellent opportunity to get real-world experience, I don’t know what is.

In the coming years, it seems like a given that an increasing number of colleges will begin to podcast more of their course lectures, whether it is through iTunes U or another method; I hope the same will prove true for the promotional academic podcasts. They have great value in providing an intimate, in-depth look into an institution’s academic programs in ways that even a campus visit may not provide. With a myriad of voices — students, faculty, alumni, and special event speakers — contributing to these productions, they have the potential to be an excellent marketing tool.

In our next issue of the Scoop, we’ll continue our podcasting discussion with a focus on alumni relations. To share your college’s experiences, thoughts, and concerns about podcasting in education, please email me at mgwaltney@steincommunications.com.