Social media
Architects of Education 2.0
During a casual conversation today, I complimented a young marketer on her MBA from the University of Maryland. She went on to tell me that she never met any of her professors, never set foot on campus and never so much as shared a beer with a fellow student. She had completed her MBA from her home in Atlanta completely online.
While distance learning is not a new concept, this particular conversation begged the question about how far the Internet will take higher education. According to a recent Fast Company article entitled Who Needs Harvard?, American higher education is being transformed by the Internet at an accelerated pace.
Startups are poised to harness the exhaustive amount of open courseware, social media and video capability. Though, it’s still too early to tell whether the Internet will disrupt our college and university systems to the same degree it impacted the newspaper and music industry, exciting market forces are at work bridging the gap between free information and less expensive education.
It’s no surprise that venture capitalists have mobilized in support of for-profit online education, as well. Many attractive, innovative companies have solved the technology and knowledge-sharing challenges and are now working on establishing rules for accreditation and assessment. In the meantime, colleges and universities gain an opportunity to generate new revenue streams by considering to license content, which could point to a win win scenario.
If nothing else, we should probably all prepare for more complex answers when simply asking about someone’s college education.
Let’s Mingle360
Mingle360 is a new way to connect and exchange information at a tradeshow or event. The technology is new, the reason is old. Connecting with people usually involves an exchange of business cards, or a scan of your trade show badge. With the MingleStick you simply find other people with a MingleStick, ask them if they want to “mingle” and violá an instant exchange of email, address, phone number and a photo, if your so willing.
My introduction to Mingle360 was at the recent TS2 Trade Show in Chicago — “The Trade Show about Trade Shows”. It is the premier event for exhibit and event professionals.
At the end of the show you simply return your MingleStick to the MingleStaff and by the time you get back to your office your contacts are neatly stored in a password-protected section of the Mingle360 site. A few weeks later you will receive a follow-up email that contains your Mingle contacts already formatted as a database file.
I found the technology fun; it really was a conversation starter. Tradeshows and events will definitely benefit from the use of the MingleStick. I certainly hope to see this technology take off. Until the next trade show, event or other creative use, check it out at www.mingle360.com
Gen Y Poised to Change B2B Marketing
Our recent national study conducted with Bart Zehren and PeanutLabs finds that Gen Y’s propensity for social and interactive communication is changing the B2B buying process. We encourage you to join us at the International DMA09 Conference and Exhibition October 20th where we will unveil detailed insights from the research.
Until then, there are a few interesting outcomes to keep in mind. For example, we found that only 4 of the 13 tools younger professionals are using to research business products and services fall within traditional media categories. The research further demonstrates that while these traditional methods have a place in an integrated marketing strategy, their use is declining. In anticipation of the changing behavior of these up-and-coming buyers, marketers need to move now to increase their digital proficiency and re-allocate their marketing mix.
Insights into how to incorporate emerging marketing technologies and channels will be further demonstrated during our DMA presentation by panelist Pam Evans, Senior Marketing Manager, Web Marketing, Worldwide Software Group, IBM. She will speak to how Gen Y and early adopters are driving a transformation in the way marketers must reach prospects by identifying how their influence is re-defining the landscape.
One big difference is that Gen Y engages online to harnesses the value of conversation as media and trying to control the conversation will be counterproductive and potentially harmful. Other large lessons learned from this discussion will be which rational brand web elements truly support this new customer’s choice.
Dick Strassburger, Integrated Media Director at Colman Brohan Davis will round out the conversation with revealing details on consumption, including facts on how social network usage among these professionals has increased 152% year over year, and that video is emerging with the largest potential to connect with this audience.
Social Media For Teachers
Dear Class: For the paper that’s due next week, I’d like you to include a section about the perspectives of other students. Therefore, I expect each of you to participate on this site, and discuss the central ideas…by the way, be sure to access the following links as they are the only approved online reference sources. Study smart! Your teacher, Mrs. Drake.
Taking the lead from their students, teachers are integrating social media into the class experience. Using it as a way to drive collaboration, as well as to post instructional and inspirational content, teachers are finding that they can also learn a lot from the online interactions of students. A large percentage of “teaching” actually happens outside the classroom. Teachers encourage students to work as small groups to complete projects and assignments. Social media gives teachers an accountable way to observe the progress on assignments, as well as the dynamics of leadership, participation, problem solving and communication skills.
Technology is emerging to capitalize on this trend. The Social Media Classroom is soon launching a simple open source interface that will feature online teaching tools, blogs, wikis, forums, microblogging, social bookmarking, video-sharing, chat, RSS, and more.
Introducing Engage Social Media Program
Like most higher education marketers, you know it’s important to engage in social media conversations. You also wonder how you’ll manage this vast space. Our new social media starter kit, Engage, helps you unlock the true potential of recruiting new students and retaining existing ones with a customized engagement plan that won’t lock up your most precious resource – your time.
This flexible strategy is designed to launch your institution into social media, at the level of engagement that’s right for you. Because we live in the social media universe ourselves, we understand how to help you find the specific channels that best represent your institution and can most clearly satisfy your marketing objectives. Plus, we know what it will take to manage that engagement – in terms of content, tone and time.
You can request more information on this custom-built social media program by leaving a comment here.
New Consumer Behavior Insights
Recently I had the pleasure of attending the Food Technology & Innovation Forum, where I gave a presentation along with Kent Spalding, the marketing director of Weetabix/Barbara’s Bakery. We talked about how consumers engage with brands online. In this case, the Puffins Cereal brand, which is a natural for social media.
As much as I enjoy learning about new products and industry trends, I truly love delving into consumer behavior. The presentations that opened and closed Day One delivered some very specific ideas relevant to mapping minds and developing products.
