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.

Week 9 Blogging for Business

It is a fine line when it comes to being personal, or too personal on a blog.  For the business I am representing I feel it is natural to be somewhat personal due to the target age of some of my audience. 

There are two factors I have to consider:  Prospective students vs. current students.

For our prospective students I would not want to be too personal on my blog because I want them to feel the school is professional.  I want to provide information about our school, our teachers, class content, the campus, life in Oceanside.  

Once the students choose our program, arrive and start to settle in then I feel I can be more personal on my blog by posting pictures of the students in class learning or out of class participating in fun activities with other students, or enjoying fun parties, events, etc.  

This may not be the best marketing idea for prospective students whose parents are helping them choose a school and want the student to be studying for most of the time.  Also, a large portion of the audience is from Asia and from my past 10 years of experience working with this population they tend to be a bit more reserved and conservative at first.  However, once they get comfortable in our program, they loosen up and enjoy the many activities we provide besides an excellent education.  I am confident if I wrote a blog addressing the students before they arrived telling them that every Friday for their English in Action class they would be doing the following activities: paintball, stand up paddle boarding, rock climbing, flag football and horseback riding, they might feel intimated to come or feel nervous if these types of activities were offered.  However, if I wrote this blog after they arrived and met a few friends then this type of blog information would not scare them.  Instead, they might feel excited to try a new experience.  

On our Face book page I tend to be more personal by posting lots of fun pictures of the students enjoying classes, activities, and local events.  I also post lots of campus information and fun facts at ELI and MiraCosta College.  On our school website we have a more professional feel with information about the classes, application processes, school information, visa requirements.  We do have a few personal aspects such as a fun You Tube video about our program and some recorded student testimonials.  If you dig deeper on the website, you will find some fun pictures of the students interacting in class and at fun events.

In general I feel customers do want some personal aspects on a blog.  They want to know your opinion, thoughts, and feelings. They want to learn more about your company and being a little personal gives the customer a better feel of the type of product you are selling or company you represent from a personal prospective.

Week 8 - Twitter

Using the advanced search tool on Twitter I was able to find several other Intensive Language Schools and colleges in the area that I believe would be beneficial to my business.  I was also able to find some networking connections for my business of other professionals in my area.  I just used the business or college name and then weeded through all the different accounts in the search until I found the one I was looking for.
This week I also set up my business Twitter page.  I plan to start using it as soon as I can figure out how to link it to Facebook without using my personal page or information.

I am having trouble with the extra credit part of this week's assignment.  When I try to link Facebook and Twitter accounts I can't get yo my Facebook business account, only my personal account.  I had this same problem with trying to set up a You tube account for my business since I already had a personal account it kept saying email address was already used and it would not allow me to create a business account since some of my personal information was store.  This was true also with Pinterest.  I am going to give it another shot this week.