Social Networks, Bloggers, and Marketing Your Web Site

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As a non-profit, whether you are an institution or an education-related organization, you provide a socially oriented service to the community that gives you a stature and an awareness that many commercial organizations do not enjoy. Relatively speaking, this can make your web site more likely to be the topic of a blogger, hopefully in a positive manner. You may have heard about bloggers destroying companies overnight in the press, and that has happened, but in your case, there is a good chance that bloggers can be passionate missionaries for your cause. I encourage you to harness the power of blogs in the same manner you would manage your press relations. Use web site statistics to identify where blog traffic is coming from, develop a list of the bloggers that have helped increase traffic to your web site, and reach out to them. When something new is coming up that you will be posting on your web site, send the bloggers a quick note providing the inside scoop. Tap into their knowledge and opinions to provide feedback on your organization and your web site. If it fits within the context of your web site, you may even give them some recognition.

Due to the low cost and effort of this activity, this may end up being your best technique for attracting students or increasing exposure to your web site. This is a great technique for many of the smaller organizations and programs with little or no marketing budget, but can also be effective for larger programs that have tapped out other resources.

I know what you are thinking - isn't it ironic that I am a writing about this in a blog?