Week 12 Part 2- Other Social Media Tools

The four other tools I would use would be:
1.  Google+ - I could use the CIRCLES to create different circles from past and present ELI students.  I would also have a circle for our educational consultants.  Communities would also work for our institute to possibly help answer questions for our future students.  Lastly, the hangouts would be a great place to hold a study group for our institute to have a pre-departure meeting for new arriving students.

2.  Linkedin- This would be a good tool to connect with potential ESL teachers and educational consultants.

3.  Yelp- This is a tool I will start using right away with my current ELI students.  I will try to get them to Yelp our language school and offer incentives for doing so.  (Maybe extra credit or free T-shirt)

4. Google Maps- Just a great idea to get our Institute out there and let people know where to find us!

Week 12- Coupon Deal

I thought of a couple coupon deals I could develop for our English Language Institute.

1.  I would offer a coupon to educational consultants or agents of a $200 referral fee for any student who enrolled in any one of our ELI sessions.  This would encourage more agents to advertise our school and hopefully bring more students to our program.

2. I would offer the ELI students a coupon for a $200 discount if they enroll in two sessions and pay in full.  Most of our student do attend several sessions but this would encourage them to sign up and pay for two which would ensure retention.

3.  I could offer a coupon for a free Institutional TOEFL test to any student who "likes" our facebook page. ($30 value)

4.  I could offer a free text book to any student who gives us a rating on Yelp! ($60 value)

Week 11 part 2

There are so many ways to advertise for free with social media.  You can open free business pages on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, etc.  However, much more work needs to be done by the business if you are going to do the advertising yourself and not pay for ads on these sites.  Business must post updates, blog, tweet, post pictures, add videos, and engage customer in every way possible if they are going to do it for free.

Here are some screen shots of future Facebook posts to engage my customers.

I added information and invited people to come to a Thanksgiving potluck and added a link you tube video of how to apply for our spring 2014 session at MiraCosta for international students.

Comments on Blogs

I commented on Manuel Acero, Becky Beamer and Anjelica Wilsons Blogs this week.

Week 11 -Online Advertising

My business could use lots of online advertising.  The more the better as we have to reach so many different students in different countries who want to come to the U.S. to learn English.  Then we have to stand out from all the other thousands of colleges and universities.  I still feel Facebook is our best social media option currently for reaching international students.  I have learned from our current students that they are not as familiar with Twitter and Instagram until they come to the US.  I really would like to get on some international social media that is not used in the US.  For example China is not allowed to use You Tube or Face book so we miss a large part of our target market in this country.
The different kinds of Facebook advertising that is available are:
1. Facebook pages (fan pages, groups)
2. Facebook Ads (sponsored story, sponsored social story, video sponsored story, box ad unit, display ads)
3. Gift sponsorships

I would like to use the ads on Facebook everyday but our budget which is minimal could probably afford to do an ad once or twice a week.  Timing is difficult due to our target market being in so many different time zones. I also plan to develop a group page this week and have my current students start posting on it for their class assignment.

I chose these two pictures for my ads as they show many different students from different countries in a group having fun.  I would also create a few ads of students in a classroom learning and even a few pictures of our campus or the beach so they can see the community connection.  I think they are effective because the pictures are fun and exciting and hopefully students will want to click on them to learn more about our program.

Blogs I commented on

So far I have commented on Cameron's and Dee's Blogs about email marketing this week.  Will try to find another student who has finished the assignment later in the week.  So far these were the only two I could find.

Week 10 -Email Marketing

For the English Language Institute I would send two different newsletters to two different audiences.
My first newsletter would be to current students in our program.  This newsletter would be sent bi-weekly or once a month.  Topics on this newsletter may include but are not limited to:
1. Class assignments- (due dates, topics, group projects, extra credit)
2. Important dates (TOEFL test, applying for college deadlines, etc)
3. College Events (weekly or monthly campus events)
4. Fun things to do in San Diego- (highlight different places or cultural events of student interest)
5.  Idioms or the week or month
6. Pictures- (fun pictures of our classes, activities, or campus events)
7. Instructor Section- (instructor assignments, hobbies, interests)

The next newsletter would be sent to our prospective students and educational consultants or agents who refer students to our program. This newsletter would sent monthly.  Topics on this newsletter might include:
1. Pictures- (current students, campus, events, local area, San Diego attractions and highlights)
2. Registration information (dates, times, prices, orientations, requirements)
3. College events
4. Promotions- (referral discounts, student discounts, session length discounts)
5. Local cultural events
6. MiraCosta College information- (statistics, enrollment, types of degrees, transfer, student services)
7. Instructor Bio's
8. Helpful hints - (Driving in USA, travel, food, money, home stay services, apartments, transpotation)
9. Current student section- (quotes, papers, helpful tips for new students, instructor reviews, class details and reviews)

Week 9 Cont. Categories

Some types of categories I thought about using when I start a blog for my English Language Institute might include:

1. Student Learning and Resources- A blog where students can find resources to different types of online documents, ESL support, teaching materials, online practice materials

2. Teacher Corner- A blog each week from a different instructor.

3. Director's Corner- Blogs about TOEFL tests, student ID cards, events on campus, international student hot topics, visas, counseling, etc.

4. Former ELI Student Blog- Former students blog about what they learned at ELI, tips for new students, teacher recommendations, fun things to do while attending ELI

5. Current Student Blog- talk about upcoming weekly events, homework, study groups, networking, class assignments


I commented on Kyle's blog as of today I was unable to find any others to comment on yet.  Many not finished with this assignment yet.  Will try back on Sunday when it is due.