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Friend or Foe? - Business Schools in Social Networks

MBA News Barbara Ward / 03-22-2010

HEC Paris has launched its profile on iTunes U, a dedicated area of the iTunes Store that offers free audio and video content from leading educational institutions. Their move is another sign for the importance of social networks and online media not only in the teaching of business schools, but also in their marketing.

The launch of HEC Paris on iTunes U involved professors, administrators, technical and audiovisual teams as well as students recording content for iTunes U through a system allowing semi-automatic video editing. A selection of podcasts have been specifically designed for iTunes U. However, the content is not just lecture-based and science-oriented. HEC Paris will make a wide range of information available to the public such as programs, conferences and research into contemporary issues like social business and corporate social responsibility.

HEC is not alone: A growing number of business schools is reaching out to applicants and students alike using new forms of media. Nearly all reputable schools run their own channels on the video platform YouTube. Twitter profiles are springing up all around the globe informing about placement quota, new rankings and in some cases on the cafeteria’s lunch menu. At the same time blogs written by deans like Thunderbirds Angel Cabrera or Robert Bruner at Darden turn into premium content on many business schools’ websites. Only a few years ago these forms of communication were rather student-based, created and used by a grassroot community. Nothing that would have made you thought of venerable educational institutes. How come that business schools have so quickly adopted these new channels?

This development is particularly surprising since using the tools of the so-called Web2.0 implicates the principle of sharing, normally without charging. In order to be an accepted part of the Web2.0 community, schools offer entire lectures, seminars and tutorials in podcasts and videos for free along with downloads of teaching material on their websites. Considering that MBA programs are usually a pricey future investment, schools must get something in return.

The magic word is 'Consumer Engagement'. In Marketing the term refers to a company getting their potential customers to interact with a product. The higher the interaction, the more potential buyers are tied to this specific brand and won’t go shopping anywhere else. Business schools are also brands competing in a dense, globalized market. Getting potential students involved with their MBA programs or life on campus - something the University of Chicago is pioneering in with their BoothLife-campaign – enhances the chances of more applicants.

A recent study on the impact of Facebook and Twitter by Chadwick Martin Bailey comes to a similar conclusion: An impressive 51% of Facebook fans and 67% of Twitter followers are more likely to buy the brands they follow or are a fan of. Considering Facebook’s over 400 million users, it is quite obvious why business schools set up one profile after another.

Furthermore, social media have simply become the communication channel of choice. Said Business School just presented the initial research findings of their €2.5 million project examining the changes in social behaviour through social networking. “Companies not actively engaging are saying something to consumers – intentionally or unintentionally - about how willing they are to engage on consumers’ terms.” comments Josh Mendelsohn a vice president at Chadwick Martin Bailey.

While most universities’ official explainations on their “online freebies” have a more altruistic touch claiming this was their contribution to free education, Anthea Milnes, Marketing Manager at Said has come to the point in her statement to Financial Times earlier this week: “We consider our return on investment in the context of the number of views, cost per view and cost per conversion. Overall, we consider this to be an essential and cost-effective part of our promotion to prospective students.”

In times where even reputable rankings, the classic tool for selecting a school, are questioned, access to a wide range of information about business schools, teaching methods and academic standards is certainly a positive effect. MBA applicants should make use of this offer, shop around and find out as much as they can about their potential MBA program. But they should also keep one thing in mind, that goes for the real world as much as for online networks: Choose your friends wisely!