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Features of Involving Prospective Students in the Online Space of the University

Skvortsova VS1*, Shtanko MA2, Sviridova KD1, Tumalanov VA1and Scherbinin AI3

1Department of Social Communication, National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, Russia

2Department of History and Philosophy of Science and Technology, National research Tomsk polytechnic University, Russia

3Department of Political Science Faculty of Philosophy, Doctor of Political Sciences, National research Tomsk state University, Russia

Corresponding Author:
Skvortsova VS
Department of Social Communication
National research Tomsk polytechnic University, Russia
Tel: +7(38-22) 56-34-70
E-mail: skvortsova227663@mail.ru

Received date: February 15, 2016; Accepted date: February 25, 2016; Published date: March 05, 2016

Copyright: ©2016 Skvortsova VS, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

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Abstract

A wide spread Internet development manifests in the appearing of new marketing, advertising and PRtechnologies associated with the virtual environment activities. The forming of marketing communications on the Internet differs from traditional marketing. It is connected with Internet communication peculiarities concerning to the definite characteristics of web space. These peculiarities influence the behavior of consumers represented by world network users, that is reflected in the radical changes of consumers trends and therefore in changes of promotion strategy. Internet marketing implies a permanent communication keeping not just with auditory groups, but with every consumer separately and a long-term relationship building with each client. On-line marketing can be determined as an Internet resource management for the purpose of information distribution. Provided that, the aim of on-line marketing is the same as of traditional marketing-to impel definite human action. However, marketing information message on the Internet means not only a motivation for ware or service usage but also a willful distribution of this message by users. Traditional marketing is changed by content marketing. Content marketing considers a preparation of high quality, relevant and valuable information, but not advertising, which convinces the audience impliedly to make a gainful for the distributor decision, to choose his ware or service. The advantages of content marketing are in the more effective attraction of audience attention and its trust gain by means of inconspicuous product promotion. The article deals with the research results of TPU internet communications with possible applicants and improvement directions of promotion of National research Tomsk p

Keywords

Internet space; Internet communications; The internet audience; Online marketing; Content marketing; SMM-marketing

Introduction

The peculiarities of the Internet: globality, cumulativeness, availability, interactivity, multimedia, targeting [1] determine the fact, the communication in and of itself between organization and target audience is defined by some different mechanisms other than traditional marketing communication. Communication channel on the Internet–is more an interacting network than an unidirectional flow of messages.

Internet audience in tercommunicates. Companies’ operations became a discussion matter on the Internet, and very often it is public discussions. For most cases, a company is one of the participants of communication and cannot control or limit the discussion [2].

Internet audience has access to many information sources. That is why the communicator represented by a company sending messages should consider that these messages can be interpreted, analyzed and contravened for the shortest time.

Internet audience “drags out” information. Usual channels of traditional marketing used for message “pushing” to the audience have a low credibility level on the Internet and are often taken by the audience like a “noise”, which can be successfully filtered. The audience drags out information of interest from all public information sources. What is important is that this information is easily available for audience and the company itself as a source of the information is welcome [3].

Now therefore, Internet communication is characterized by substantially more control and choice freedom on the part of users. Communicators’ interaction on the Internet takes place in a specific infomedia. This infomedia allows realizing multidirectional communication by the formula “many to many” including organically the pattern “one to one” and “one to many”. Put the matter another way, each Internet communicant has an opportunity to address to some other users or user groups both in his own name and in the name of the group [4]. Communication on the Internet permits enterprises to interact with customers, to users with each other and with environment, to enterprises with each other and with environment.

Many researchers have noted the presence strongly pronounced feedback of this communication pattern improves efficiency of interaction communicative devices and ability for enterprises to respond to internal and external events appropriately: Voloshin K [5], Androsov N [6], Galitckaya I [7]. Consumer control of search and choice of information on the Internet makes enterprises pay acuter attention to consumer need, and in the issue, it increases general competitive ability of enterprises [8]. Internet marketing implies a permanent communication keeping not just with auditory groups, but with every consumer separately and a long-term relationship building with each client. Traditional segmentation according to demographic properties has changed transform into behavioral-motivational model, where users are divided after interests, behavior or attitude to a brand or a product [9].

Nazaikin A [10] summarizes all these peculiarities and point out three main characteristics for marketing activity on the Internet, which should be remembered by every marketing expert:

Key role transfer from producer to consumer. Nowadays, consumer attention becomes the most value, and determined intercommunications with clients become the main interest for enterprises.

Activity globalization and transaction costs reduction.

Personalization of interaction and transfer to “one to one” marketing. Using on-line interaction facilities, companies can receive detailed information about each individual customer’s request and provide goods and services automatically according to individual demands.

Defined peculiarities of internet environment permit English researchers Malcolm MacDonald and Hag Wilson to create “The E-Marketing Mix” concept, elaborating classical marketing 4Pʼs framework with six items determined by researchers as 6I's on the analogy of 4P's.

Integration implies a complex use of technologies, creation of combined consumer profile in its development dynamics. This item of the framework has something in common with integrated marketing communication; this tendency is illustrative of marketing in general. M. MacDonald and H. Wilson describe the integration from a perspective of a customer relationship management.

Interactivity is a common peculiarity of the Internet environment, which is described above. M. MacDonald and H. Wilson suppose the use of interactivity approach; constant multichannel communication establishment would promote a transfer from traditionally impersonal buy and sell process to interaction within the context of exchange value. The exchange becomes a common goal, and exchange partiesseller and buyer-are not opposed to each other.

Individualization described by Nazaikin [10] as well as a some kind of side effect of interactivity. Customer properties of goods or services are now in need of personal “fitting” or matching to individual demand of every separate buyer.

Independence of location is a factor distinguished by the Internet global character. The Internet provides an essential opportunity of a seller to make an ascertained offer to all the buyers wherever they may be found.

Intelligence is supposed to be a seller’s maximum possession of information about the current market situation in virtue of such Internet peculiarities as information availability and accumulativeness. It allows producers’ management optimizing decision-making process.

Industrial restructuring is a factor estimated not so much by the information technology possibilities themselves as by necessity of their implementation in the company’s activity and changes in its processing connected with it. The result of such restructuring can be maximum dramatic, up to the company’s turning into a virtual organization [11].

The purpose of this work is to identify the characteristics of prospective students involvement in the Internet space university.

Method

Internet marketing or on-line marketing has its techniques and tools such as corporate site, contextual advertising, media advertising, search engine marketing, promotion on social media, direct marketing, viral marketing and others [12]. According to 6I's Internet marketing management concept by M. MacDonald and H. Wilson, the first “I” is integration, it reflects intention of many researchers to recommend marketing on-line communication forming up on the base of integrated marketing communication strategy, which are used today in traditional off-line marketing.

However, if in traditional marketing integrated marketing communications represent a strategy of consistent use of all marketing tools, and the core of the strategy is either a product or a brand, then in Internet integrated marketing communications put the content first. Internet is an information environment, so information has the highest value here. After Shama Kabani [13], a famous American expert in the sphere of internet marketing and promotion on social media, user on the Internet becomes first a user of a content, or in other words, of information, which is distributed by a company on the Internet and only then he will probably become a user of its goods or services. Sometimes, transformation from content user to goods/services user happens contemporaneously. Usually it occurs in the situation when a client searches the ways of immediate need satisfaction on the Internet. When he gets in the site he either confirms a purchase or service order on-line if possible, or he contacts to organization in a different way, for example, by telephone. But the most frequently on the Internet a user searches informative or entertaining content of interest to him. Organization should be a producer or promoter of such content. Kabani [13] determines on-line marketing as an Internet resource management in order to distribute an information message. However, the aim of on-line marketing is the same of traditional one-to motivate a person to the action. But marketing information message on the Internet means not only a motivation for ware or service usage but also a willful distribution of this message by users.

If the content considered to be the basis, around which integrated marketing communications on the Internet are built, in the many researchers’ opinion, a corporate site is a main support of the strategy, a storage of desired content, which is spread and promoted through the networks, a place, where all links lead, in one way or other referring to the company. Compared to a representative website and business card website, the main feature of a corporate site is regular refreshing of information and tools, which integrate a corporative site to the surrounding environment: news feed about the company and opportunity to subscribe for the news by e-mail distribution or RSS, poster of events, actions of the company, possibility of search and filtration of content, information multimedia: photo and video materials, chats or forums, links to community on social media, corporate blogs [14]. Such site gives an opportunity to create a topical distributable content; it is a main guarantee for efficient internet communication system. Kabani [13] introduces a corporate site classification, but remarks that not all corporate sites are equally effective. She divides sites in two groups: megaphone sites and host sites. After Kabani, corporate megaphone site is just a prospect site oriented to the goods sell. A megaphone site is characterized by generation of typical, depersonalized promotional content. Content is distributed by automatic repost in social media and blogs and by promotion in search systems. In spite of operational site updating and possible acquisition of sufficient traffic to corporate site, a megaphone site does not perform the most important function of the content the involvement function. A host site is aimed at the users’ involvement and motivation for their regular willful return to the company site. A host site is a site attempting to build in the personal field, to become its part. Principally it teaches, provides socialization of users, amuses them and only the last thing sells.

Currently AIDA concept (classical pattern of advertising impact-attention, interest, desire, action) transformed in AIDS, where “s” is satisfaction, which achievement is the main aim of marketing. The peculiarities of the Internet permit users to avoid of aggressive advertising impact used in traditional marketing. By the way, there are free applications for blocking of advertisements. They block displaying of advertising banners on the sites and in search systems, in order to prevent user's contact with advertising messages. In on-line marketing concept by Kabani [13] items “attention” and “interest” advertisement of a product is replaced by promotion of Internet content. The main aim is to create a loyal attitude to brand, to attract users' attention to the interesting for them content created by the company until the moment when user will have a need, which the product of the company can satisfy. So, content marketing supplants traditional marketing. “Content marketing is a complex of marketing techniques based on the creation and/or promotion of information useful for consumer for the purpose of confidence gaining and potential clients attracting” [15]. Content marketing implies preparing of overqualified, topical and valuable information, which is not an advertisement, but indirectly convinces the audience to make decision necessary for promoter, to choose his goods or services. Advantages of Internet marketing are in the most efficient drawing of audience attention and gaining of confidence by means of soft sell. For effective transformation of a consumer from the user of the internet content to the user of the product, Kabani [13]has worked out a pattern CCT: C (catch, engage, attract) - an action aimed to the traffic driving to the site, content marketing usage; C (change) - a turning of exterior user first into the contents user and then into the goods consumer. T (transform) - the use of feedbacks and attraction of loyal audience help to transform the histories of successful cooperation with clients into a new content, “catching” new users. By this means a loopback interaction appears, that allows to attract more and more new consumers, to raise knowledgeability about a brand and as a result to facilitate a sale increase.

Orientation of Internet marketing to the content promotion first is reflected in the concept of “three pillars of on-line marketing”:

Content itself

Message content and its designing is the principal and the only way to attract buyers’ attention.

Involving

The content should be aimed to the involving of buyer to the interaction. It should lead user to want to share with it, to comment it, lead him to create his own content with reference to the content of the company. Involvement, engagement of audience into the company’s content promotion, and creation of the own content on its base make it possible for distribution brand to integrate in the private internet space of every individual representative of a target group.

Speed

High speed of information updating: the quicklier we create a high quality content according to the orders of the day the more follows we have. Fast response to the users’ comments in the Internet is a trust surety of mobile internet audience [16].

Analyzing the character of such communication, we can say that internet marketing is not based on the advertising method, but on the PR methods: the use of covert information action on the audience aimed to the focusing of attention on the company [17].

It is concerned to some advantages of PR, which correlate directly with Internet peculiarities:

PR companies give the audience much more information about the company and its preferences, values and advantages than advertising. Such closer acquaintance with the company affords more grounds for trust. PR information usually implies undetected influence on the consumer, which corresponds to the users’ trend to ignore a direct advertising and to take only interesting for him information.

PR means feedbacks: gathering, analysis and response to feedbacks of users, many of whom go on the Internet for comparison in the market of demand and supply. Interactivity of the Internet permits to realize this PR advantage to a full degree.

PR is aimed to the forming of loyal audience in social media and blogosphere that pushes up sales upon the recommendations and develops reselling. The loyalty is the very thing, what the company achieves first when doing the Internet users the consumers of its content.

PR in the Internet allows starting up buzz marketing. Expenses for creation and viral seeding are well below than off-line and the speed of its spread is higher.

The audience dealing helps to improve search engine results for key requests. Trough loyal, involved audience PR on the Internet addresses the issue of SEO-optimization. Except the company site there are articles, feedbacks, groups and other useful things, created by the users themselves for the content on the Internet [18,19].

In the context of on-line PR we may safely talk of multieffect on a targeted audience. Information is delivered to the targeted group by several channels at the same time:

Own media-area of the company, such as site, blog, communities on social media, which provide a quick delivering to the recipient;

Traditional mass-media (printed matter, TV, radio-stations), which tell often about “interesting on the Internet” and make reposts on their sites;

Word-of-mouth advertising or informal communication. The can take place both on the Internet and out of it. People are ready to share by interesting facts and news from the Internet [19].

One of the recent trends is the use of social media for promotion of goods, services, image and brand of an enterprise. SMM (social media marketing) is a promotion of internet resources in the social networks and blogs, on the web-based message boards, portals and so on. The key objective of SMM is attention attraction of target audience. Social media marketing becomes a tool of loyalty forming among active and potential consumers, an instrument of company site traffic increase-and as a result-stimulation of trade. A big advantage of this promotion tool usage is its low costs.

Social media can be determined as “services, which are based on the concept of Web 2.0 which allows users creating content and exchanging it taking into account their social relations” (Social Media Marketing. Internet marketing communication, 2013). The researchers Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein [15] add to this definition a term “usergenerated content (UGC)”-users’ news item; it is content created by the users themselves. Social media development consists of 4 steps: guestbook, web-based message board, blogs and blogging platform, social networks. Social networks mean “a variety of interacting actors (points, nodes, agents), which connections have a social character, for example, friendship, team-work or information exchange” [19].

Promotion in social networks is represented by SMO-social media optimization and SMM- social media marketing. SMO means optimization of site content in order to attract to it the audience from social media (blogs, social networks etc.). It is achieved by attractive content creation, raise of quotation of the content on the third-party resources with reference to original source, by usage of tools which provide an opportunity to confide content in social media (RSS distribution, “share” button for different social networks). Unlike SMO, SMM is connected with the users’ traffic attraction to the site by direct work on social networks. The main ways of this promotion are foundation of company communities on social networks, promotion by means of personal branding through the loyal to brand reputed persons, opinion leaders or company staff, who is users of social networks or blogging platforms.

SMM usage in the higher professional education sphere has its specific features. First, the targeted audience of possible consumers of educational services in other words applicants is highly restricted by the age limits. This audience age is usually from 14-15 till 18 years. Secondly, by contrast with the other market sector, delivery of educational services is delayed in time and cannot be reusable. So, the intercommunication with applicants should be established in advance, to form a strongly marked loyal attitude to the university before entering. The educational service consumers can be both individual consumers and company customers such as enterprises, organizations, bodies of state and local administration which can make use of educational services in the nearest future. The individual consumers are:

Pupils or graduates of schools, lyceums, colleges having secondary general education;

Persons having vocational secondary education;

Persons demobilized from the ranks of the Russian army;

Persons having a higher education and wanting to get an additional or second higher education;

Persons wanting to complete a further training.

The surrounding of possible consumers-parents of future applicants should be worth noticing, because they influence on their children when goosing a university and they also can be educational services customers and pay for the education of their children. Strongly pronounced feedbacks increase the efficiency of this means of interaction and university opportunity to respond properly to the events of inner and outside environment. Consumer control on the Internet makes us to pay more careful attention to the consumers needs, and as a result, it increases the competitiveness of the university.

Go to analysis of the internet communications of TPU with the main consumers of its services-applicants. National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University is one of the leading technical universities in our country and it got ahead in Top 500 of QS World University rankings 2015. Among the Russian universities included in the rankings TPU took the eighth place and showed the best progress in the positive dynamics with the universities in Russia. At present time the process of TPU integration into the world academic space and international partnership is developing. The TPU presence on the Internet is one of the ways for its promotion in the world educational market. Internet Communications Office of TPU exercises the following functions in the Internet:

• Formation and promotion of the image of TPU and its subdivisions, projects and scientists in the city, region, Russia and abroad through the organization and maintenance of Internet communications: TPU corporate site , online media, Internet portals;

• Formation and implementation of a unified concept of Internet presence with TPU to help strengthen the status of the Tomsk Polytechnic University as a world-class university in the framework of the Russian and international scientific and educational space;

• Informational support, content presentation and promotion TPU version of the site;

• Development of TPU advertising campaign on the Internet;

• SEO-optimization of TPU content on the Internet;

• Monitoring of TPU and its divisions mentioning on social media, analytical report preparation based on the results of the monitoring performed;

• Advise for TPU staff on work in social networks and blogs.

Results and Discussion

In 2015 at the Department of Cultural Studies and Social Communication in cooperation with Public Relations program students a scientific research of TPU Internet communications with possible applicants was conducted. Monitoring the functioning of "VKontakte" group I am entering TPU and other communities and accounts of applicants in other social media showed that a serious problem is week response to messages from TPU communities members. Messages are not moving away from the community, members do not share the information received with other network members creating a situation of a self-absorbed community. There arose a question: how to make groups in social media more popular among TPU applicants?

During the marketing research, potential TPU applicants (14-18 years of age) using social media were interviewed via questionnaire. The research subject was the expectations of potential applicants regarding the content of TPU communities in social media. For online questionnaires, stratified (area) sampling was used. Population was 397 persons (applicants being members of "VKontakte" group I am entering TPU, 14-18 years of age). 280 questionnaires were sent, 166 fully completed questionnaires were received back. Accuracy of sampling was 90%. As the questionnaire was held among "VKontakte" group I am entering TPU members it is obvious that 100% of respondents were registered in that social medium.

The survey showed that 60% of respondents are applicants from other cities, mostly unable to arrive at the university and visit Welcome days. For them, membership in social medium’s community is actually the only way to informally join TPU. The results obtained give the grounds to suggest that "VKontakte" group for applicants may be used as a tool to attract attention to the university of the applicants from remote areas which are hard to address via other means of marketing communication.

Most respondents enter social media every day. Only 5% of respondents do it more seldom. Meantime, 43% enter social media over 5 times a day, 45% from 2 to 4 times a day. That acknowledges that applicants spend in social media enough time while many enter social media throughout the day but not during peak hours: morning, lunch break, evening. The data obtained may be used to make graphs of posting in community.

The results answering the question how respondents knew about that group evidence that the university does not carry out any targeted work to attract applicants. So, no applicant chose the variant “invitation from group administrator, 15% found out from advertising, 40% clicked the link on the web page abiturient.tpu.ru, 34% found the group through searching, 11% learnt via friends. Thus, 45% of the audience found the group independently which evidences the urgent need for SMM promotion among applicants.

The answers to the questions about the factors effecting university’s choice turned out expectable. The most important factors, as per 80% of respondents, were the availability of their concerned major specialty, university’s prestige and image. Also, important factors included guaranteed job opportunities after graduating and opinions of relatives, friends and acquaintances.

The answers to the question which information placed in the group is the most interesting for applicants showed that the most required information for applicants is that in connection with entrance conditions (81% of responses). The information on specialties of profession-orientated nature is of interest for 77% of applicants. Publishing interesting facts about TPU life and students’ life in general is attractive for 57% of applicants. Off-class life of the university needs to be highlighted for 39% of respondents. Announcements of competitions and various activities are monitored by 46% of applicants.

The open question asking which information was not sufficient for applicants in the group was replied by 65 out of 166 respondents (39%). Meantime, 12 of them (7%) replied that the available information is sufficient and nothing needs to be added. The remaining answers may be divided into 3 groups: a) information on entrance conditions and results of examinations (49%); b) profession-oriented information about major specialties (28%); c) information about informal off-class life of the university (10%). So, the priority for applicants is the information about the formal aspect of entrance conditions. Insufficiently comfortable and not always clear to applicants navigation of abiturient.tpu.ru page causes them to seek for information in the social medium group. Profession-oriented information about specialties is the second important thing for applicants. However, considering that the most popular factor in choosing higher school was the availability of a particular major specialty of interest, the activity in connection with highlighting the gist of each educational program provided by the university comes to the fore.

The findings have shown the most popular social network among respondents of required age is “Vkontakte”, it means this network is the most appropriate ground for SMM promotion of TPU. The use of other social networks in this case is less appropriate.

According to the research findings, it is recommended to hold events in the following areas:

Provision of filling of the portal abiturient.tpu.ru with a great number of interactive inbound content. Currently the structure of TPU portal for applicants is not attractive enough to be a core of communication with applicants and offers not so much interesting content, which could make users to return to the site. Except promotional information oriented to the university introduction, there should be an item “Enroll easy with TPU”, where applicants could find an informative entertainment content of following forms:

Instructions performed in informal, semi-humorous form “How to enter university of your dream”, “How to prepare for examinations”, “How to behave like a real student (for those who enrolled)” and so on. These instructions are recommended to be in infographics for visual presentation and viral distribution on the networks. Distributions of Internet address of TPU portal and link to the group of TPU applicants on “Vkontakte” social media on the pictures is obligatory.

Interactive career guidance tests “What profession suits you best?”, “What temperament do you have?, “What chief will work out of you?” “How enterprising are you?” and USEexercisers.

Informal description of TPU specialties performed in unobtrusive, amusing form. The use of infographics is possible here as well.

Reportages, including video reports from the TPU events: festivals, concerts, sport competitions, mind games, scientific conferences. Correspondents (journalists, photographers, cameramen) can be from students’ community, and it is possible to use a potential of TPU students media-centre.

1. All materials of item “Enroll easy with TPU” should be completed with button “share on social media”.

2. Navigation optimization in the group "I enter TPU" of "VKontakte" network for getting by applicants of all necessary information within the group, without link to the site. "VKontakte" functions allow turning the group into a kind of a social catalogue. It is recommended to create a catalogue of specialties within the group. For this purpose, in the group item "The Latest News" it is required to create a new section "Catalogue of specialties." Specialty cataloging should be done on the grounds similar to attributes of the portal abiturient.tpu.ru: in alphabetical order, according to institutes and fields. The page of each specialty is required to contain the following data:

• General information about the specialty (duplication of information from the portal for applicants);

• TPU division, where the specialty trainings are held;

• Modes of study;

• Admission requirements;

• A link to the specialty page of the portal for applicants, where you can get an additional information: the number of budget places, the competitive situations of previous years, etc.;

• Reference to an informal portrait of specialty under the item "Enroll easily with TPU." Additional information is necessary: the level of wages in the industry, the functions of a professional figure working in this specialty, alumni success stories, historical facts about the profession, opinions of students and graduates of the educational process and their experience.

Creation of this catalogue will help to simplify the applicants work with the community and get all the necessary information and links to their specialty of interest in one place, without leaving the comfortable space of social network.

To maintain interest to the catalog, and career guidance for applicants it is recommended to held the event "Week (days) of specialties" within the community. During one day or week interesting facts about the profession, interviews with graduates and students talking about their work or studies are laid out in the newswire. It is recommended to involve applicants by means of enquiries and posts creation devoted to a particular specialty in the item “Discussions”. Active students studying a specialty should be involved to communication where applicants can ask all the questions in a special topic of the item "Discussions".

3. A holding of competitions among applicants within the group of "VKontakte". An example is a comic contest "I enter TPU." Such competition will provide the involvement of applicants into the group's activities, the creation of usergenerated content. Reposts of competitors projects during the voting will create awareness on community among competitors’ friends and will help to attract new members to the community.

4. The "VKontakte" group supposed to be one of the main grounds that provide information support for the applicants’ activities: open days, walking tours, workshops. While preparing for events at the departments it is possible to conduct quizzes and contests among the members of the group connected with TPU divisions, which prepare events for the applicants. Awarding of winners is public during the event for applicants. As prizes souvenirs with symbols of TPU can be used. This will help to involve students in community life and to awaken interest of those applicants' who have come to the event.

5. Distribution of stories and reports about the events for applicants in the group of "VKontakte" is necessary. Post about the event should be a full report with link to photos of event in the group, with attached video about the event and brief text reportage. The full version of report should be available via the link to the portal for applicants. Similarly, the coverage of student activities: festivals, concerts, sport competitions etc. should be organized. Presentation of students’ events will serve as a representation for applicants what leisure opportunities there are within TPU, means of applicants’ inclusion to the corporate culture of the university.

6. The introduction of topic hashtags to posts in the community. It helps to regulate messages in the news feed, to provide information search for applicants in the community and to contribute the search engine optimization of group content. The complete hashtags system with indication of each hashtag should be placed in the header of the group in the item "Description". Offered hashtags are:

• Heshtags for news concerning admission requirements, preparatory courses, exam and the results of competitions: # receipt, # Olympiad exam #USE

• Heshtags for event announcements, as well as stories/ reports of past events: # announcement, # event. In addition, for each event it is relevant to use a separate hashtag, e.g. # DenOtkrytyhDvereyTPU, # TvoyDenvTPU_ISGT etc.

• Heshtags for competitions announcements: # contest. An additional hashtag is the name of the competition, for example #YaPostupayuvTPUkomiks, # PostupayRazUmno etc.

7. When placing the information on the results of the qualifying competitions and other events, it is necessary not only to place reference to the news on the site, but also to attach a document with results to a post on the network for applicants’ possibility to see the results without visiting the site. Link to the website should be just a support for confirmation of the information trustfulness.

8. Address of the "VKontakte" group must be placed on all printing materials TPU for applicants

9. The use of contextual advertising is recommended for promotion of the group "I enter TPU" for applicants from regions outside the traditional impact environment of the university: the Far East, the Urals Federal District, and Central Russia.

10. The use of Facebook as a platform for attraction of foreign students appears to be ineffective. Facebook is a platform, where the percentage of the Russian audience under the age of 18 is very small. On this site it is recommended to create an English-speaking TPU community directed to the foreign students with the focus on information about academic mobility opportunities and education for foreigners at TPU.

Involvement of applicants is recommended to conduct by means of inquiry and creation of new topics devoted to different specialities. It is recommended to engage active students studying this speciality, whom applicants can ask in the item “Discussions”. Thus specialists [20] advise to remember that most materials on a web-site look over and only insignificant part from them is read. Accordingly, all materials on a web-site it is recommended to do on 50%% shorter than the traditional printed analogues. He must be contained in the screen of computer and consist of a few indentions. Every indention-rom 2-3 middle suggestions. Thus it is not needed to place material on the general topic on a few different pages, each time compelling an user to go across on new reference, to open the next piece of information. It is difficult to work with such "sparse" pieces-it is necessary to bring them together, to process, and from them it easily to go away not there.

Conclusion

As can be seen from the above, corporate site is the main outpost of organization on the Internet, which is megaphone and host at the same time accumulating the internet activity of a company around itself. On the base of site content the system of marketing communications is built up, such as media advertising including banner and contextual advertising, search engine optimization, direct marketing on the Internet, communication on social media and special advertising projects. The mentioned above recommendations do not actually require the involvement of the financial costs and support of additional specialists. As a result of the implementation of these recommendations will be the increase of the applicants’ loyalty and the potential increase of the number of applicants in TPU. In addition, the forming up of such personalized communication with customers will improve the general image of TPU.

References

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