Sorry for the long hiatus: 2 weeks without a post is probably too much. Anyway, let’s go back to our regular programming ;-)
I’ve just read an interesting piece of information in “MySpace, TheirSpace,” an article written by Tamara Simpson and published yesterday in the Valley News Dispatch.
As other articles published recently in main stream media (MSM), this article warns students about the danger of using their accounts on MySpace or The Facebook to share too many details about their lives as employers and college officers are… lurking in the dark ;-)
Ok, nothing new under the sun. But, something else has caught my attention in this article:
“Bernie Punt, director of sales and marketing at the Bryce Jordan Center at Penn State, found an innovative way to use Facebook.
Punt said ticket sales for student concerts have almost doubled since he began using the site to research students’ favorite musicians. When students sign up, they fill out a questionnaire about music, movies, TV shows and other things they like.
Punt searches through the profiles and compiles marketing information he passes on to agents and producers in the music industry. “Traditionally, agents and promoters would want to reach students through regular advertising,” Punt said. “But they’re not watching TV, listening to the radio or reading a newspaper. When they get home to their dorm or apartment, they’re almost addicted to this Web site, this social network.”
By using Facebook, Punt has been able to bring musicians such as Kanye West and Black Eyed Peas to the Bryce Jordan Center.”
High school and college students spend a lot of (too much?) time on these social networking websites, so they have definitely become great mirrors of their interests and likes. Moreover, The Facebook and MySpace are also huge adverstising channels to reach college kids.
The University of Phoenix and other major players in online education have realized it.
Maybe, it’s also time for YOUR institution to revisit its marketing strategy and media mix?