Even though the organization I used to work for was a pioneer in on-line video distribution, we concentrated on our distribution channel and only grudgingly accepted other video distribution channels.

The questions 10 years ago for academic institutions was “why do it? What’s the pay-off? Who sees it? What are the ratings?” Now as a consultant the questions are very similar but added into the mix are many more social media channels. The questions now not only include why should we do something but what should we do? Then its usually followed by “why bother? This is all a fad anyway.”

It is evident to me that a university, like a business, needs to be engaged in a number of channels. 30 years ago we talked about impressions or “eye balls” but there were only newspapers, TV and radio to worry about. Now the channels are expanding and changing almost daily. The encouraging thing from your study is the positive correlation between engagement in social media and profits. Even if there is no direct link this is something to point to. My job now is to translate that information to educational institutions whose success metrics are not strictly a profit-lose ledger.

Thank you,
Timothy J. Lorang