Like most industries, the education sphere is continuing to experiment with and grow its use of social media. But which tools have proven most effective, and why? In a new survey by the Software & Information Industry Association, together with edWeb.net and MCH Strategic Data, education technology companies were posed the question: how do you use social media?
Social media allows companies to engage in conversations from a many-to-many standpoint – going beyond talking at customers – to including them in a conversation. The report, Social Media Marketing in Education, describes some of the challenges of using social media in this niche market, and highlights some of its benefits beyond lead generation and ROI measurements.
The benefits of social media in the ed-tech sphere include brand awareness, increased customer loyalty, and general market knowledge and insights. As one respondent stated, “it’s like creating a virtual 24/7 conference.”
However, the 182 education industry executives who were surveyed also pointed to the specific challenges they faced when developing social media initiatives. Though 35 percent of respondents stated that their company did, indeed, have a social media plan – the same percent reported that they had no defined strategy. Companies report continued challenges including finding staff to manage it and generating activity and content. Suggested solutions include repurposing existing content and spreading the information workload among insular experts within an organization.
As the trend to utilize social media tools continues to grow, the indirect benefits remain hard to measure, but difficult to ignore. One respondent states, “it’s a community that educates us as a company, turning the market into networks.”
To learn more about the current leveraging of social media networks within the industry, read the full report here.