Researching media and social networking strategies to enhance enrollment in an undergraduate level health care administration program which will prepare the healthcare leaders for future administrative challenges

Better, faster and cheaper are the three underlying principles healthcare administrators at Northeastern State University, Tahlequah, Oklahoma are utilizing in order to be most successful and efficient in marketing students to seek a degree in the Health Care Administration (HCA) undergraduate program. These three principles are vital in recruiting new students into specific fields of study with the potential student no longer being contacted by the means of “mass media” as effectively as in the past. Using technology such as “social media” will provide recruiters a method to target specific demographics of students and strategically optimize the success of recruiting those potential students. Facebook, one method of social media, is set up to target demographics such as location, age, gender, social status in any combination. Although the general public will not be exposed to the advertising through social media informed potential students will be targeted and will have a method to contact administrators regarding their interest in being accepted into the HCA degree program. This presentation will explore the steps taken during the marketing analysis and report the outcomes of student recruitment. Questions' answered include: Why will social media be more effective? How will social media allow for immediate information? How can social media save resources for the department? What is needed to allow optimal success in the transition from mass market to social media?