Very often, by many different people across campus, I get asked “how many facebook fans does Dean College have?” or “how many twitter followers do we have?” I answer, and usually that is followed up with “is that good?” People often think in numbers. It’s a fair question since I am the “facebook genius” or the “social media guy” or whatever anyone else wants to label me. But if you asked me to name the one thing I really like about Dean College, as an employee and someone who is on campus everyday, I’d say it’s that we do not think in numbers.
Dean College Admissions Building
I have the privilege of working in the Admissions building with our awesome admissions counselors and staff. It would be very easy for this group of people to get caught up in numbers. Yes, we strive to bring in a certain amount of students, just like McDonalds strives to sell a certain amount of burgers and Ford strives to sell a certain amount of cars. But the difference is (the “Dean Difference, if you will), we are a non-profit institution, and no one walks away profiting off of a students education. Our admissions staff genuinely care about every individual that commits to Dean. It’s not “get em in the door and never
A used car salesman…
see them again.” We are not a used car dealership, and in fact, it is likely that you will maintain a relationship with the counselor who admitted you to Dean. That is unheard of at most institutions.
Another benefit to my job is I get to connect with all different people across campus. Business school staff, dance school, student activities, athletics staff; etc. they all want to see something tweeted or facebooked about them, or “hey can we make a Youtube video for this…” The one consistency I see when I meet with all of these people? A passion for our students. A commitment to their success. You’re not Student #12091. You’re Mark Olivio, studying criminal justice, from Meriden, CT.
You may be reading this, and you may not be buying what I’m selling – and that’s OK. It may sound very market-y and salesman-ish. I’ve been educated in social media, emerging media, communications, google, web sites, etc. etc. I’ve read the books about how to reach a mass amount of people on facebook, get massive amounts of followers on twitter, etc. But that is not who I am or what I do at Dean. It’s not about facebook, or pinterest or this very blog- those are just the 
mediums I use to help connect with our students, alumni, parents of students, etc. The one thing those all have in common? They are all people. They are all individuals with different backstories, all unified by a connection somehow to Dean College. So to me, it doesn’t matter how many facebook fans or twitter followers or instagram likes Dean College has – because I don’t get caught up in numbers. I guess it’s just contagious around here.
Josh Singer is the Online Marketing Coordinator at Dean College. Follow him on twitter @JoshSinger33, and don’t believe a word he says – the only reason he doesn’t get caught up in numbers is because he is REALLY bad at math.
