Press Releases

For Immediate Release
April 11, 2012

For more information, contact
Janet Roy
(585) 395-2267
jroy@brockport.edu

The Effectiveness of Social Media in Higher Education

How are colleges reaching prospective and current students through social media? And, what approaches work?

Brockport, NY - For Megan Mahaney ’12, choosing a topic for an Honors Thesis was a no-brainer. After working in a variety of jobs around campus — including stints as a phone-a-thon representative for the Division of Advancement, marketing chair for Brockport Student Government, and a marketing intern with the Office of College Communications — she knew that the focus of her paper would be about marketing.

Megan, an international business and Spanish double major, says that her involvement in a variety of areas at the College piqued her interest in marketing and how Brockport approaches it. “I wanted to focus on a topic I was familiar with, and marketing has been a big part of my experience at Brockport.”

In her presentation during Scholars Day, Megan discussed her project, which was a study of the use of social media in higher education. Platforms compared included Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr and blogging. The focus was on two questions: 1) how to effectively implement a social media marketing campaign at a college or university and 2) how to engage prospective and current students in social media.

“In my research, I have examined the various approaches you can take for a successful social media campaign through analysis of survey research, case studies and best practices. I will complete a case study on The College at Brockport as part of the project, comparing Brockport to other college’s based on usage among a variety of social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr and blogging,” she said.

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The College at Brockport, State University of New York
350 New Campus Drive * Brockport, New York 14420-2931
(585) 395-2754 * FAX (585) 395-2723 * www.brockport.edu