New UMass Study Shows Admissions Office Use of Social Media Outpaces Corporate America

Posted on January 27, 2009 by Jennifer Brady

UMassOnline Director of Marketing Jennifer Brady Dr. Nora Ganim Barnes, Director of the Center for Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, as well Chancellor Professor of Marketing, continues to lead the nation’s academic research of corporate and educational social media trends, adoption rates and uses across the country. We have featured her work here previously, and now have the honor of bringing you some of her latest survey results and analysis, this time again with the help of blog researcher Eric Mattson.

The new study compares adoption of social media between 2007 and 2008 by the admissions offices of all the four-year accredited institutions in the United States. In the findings there is both good news and, for the time being at least, some not so good news. Here’s how Dr. Barnes and Mr. Mattson frame the outcome of their latest project:

Given that a detailed wiki and a new longitudinal University of Massachusetts study now show that 13% of the Fortune 500 and 39% of the Inc. 500 currently have a public blog, it is interesting to note that college admissions departments continue to lead the pack with blogs at 41% of US colleges and universities… There is evidence of enthusiasm and eagerness to embrace these new communications tools but there is also evidence that these powerful tools are not being utilized to their potential. Schools using social media must learn the “rules of engagement” in the online world in order to maximize their effectiveness.

Click here for a summary report of the findings and for links to additional related data.