I. Summary
・Suny WCC’s PR efforts seem to be exceptional to a point. But, it seems as if the school seems to not take a persistent route in trying to engage others to apply. The rankings are good and the schools reputation seems to uphold well but the engagement efforts do not stand out.
II. Analysis of Suny WCC’s Current Image and Reputation
1.Media Coverage:
•Press coverage of the college has been exceptionally well highlighting expanding programs of the school and having great loan programs.
•Media coverage of the school also well shows how diverse the school is.
•Educational rankings: National Best Hispanic-Serving Institutions in America. 134 of 377. Best Community Colleges in America. 176 of 755. New York- best community colleges in New York. 7 of 36. NYC area, best community colleges in NYC area. 7 of 23.
2.Social Media Presence:
•Social media activity is active, especially on instagram uploading at least once a day on updates about the latest happenings going on at the school and other events.
•Followers: 4,390. Likes: about 1-5 per post, Posts: about 3 times a week
•Style of the posts seem to be pretty professional.
•Compared to other schools Suny WCC seems to lay back on not sticking with trends and posting on TikTok or doing more things to engage the students more.
III. Competitive Benchmarking
1.PR Strategies of Other SUNY Community Colleges:
•Suny Schenectady had a campaign for affordability, funding scholarships and renovating their library into a modern day learning commons. This campaign was deemed successful, reaching those to see this news effectively. WCC renovating or the same as funding programs does not reach as many platforms or news sites as other colleges.
•Suny Schenectady seems to be more effective in the media though on instagram they have 2,000 less followers than WCC. Their likes and engagement of their posts seem to be more effective with likes ranging from at least 20-60 per post.
2.Best Practices:
•Other colleges such as Suny Oneonta have strong social media presences reaching their students in effective and relatable ways. They attract their students to engage in posts by making them fun and trendy, unlike WCC which comes off with a more professional tone throughout their social media platforms.
•WCC can improve this weakness by relating more to the students and making an effort to stay up to date with the current trends.
IV. SWOT Analysis
1.Strengths:
•WCC is widely recognized for its affordability and accessibility which are definitely two major strengths needed for a community college. These two strengths make it easier to those students who want to continue their educational journey off at a 4 year school.
•Though their social media might not perform as well as desired, it is a start that they do have the option of having those platforms for potential students to find them through.
2.Weaknesses:
•WCC may not have a strong enough presence outside its immediate region. It’s PR efforts could potentially focus more on positioning the college as a leader against other SUNY schools.
•Social media definitely needs more improvement in engaging with more trends of the students rather than a professional tone found throughout all platforms.
3.Opportunities:
•WCC could improve its outreach to nontraditional students, such as adults or people that want to change their career.
•They could also strengthen their alumni relations which could, in turn, enhance their public image.
4.Threats:
•Nearby 4 year colleges and universities pose a threat to WCC’s PR efforts since they are not community colleges and most students would rather go into a 4-year college than a community college.
VI. Conclusion
•WCC’s PR efforts are definitely something and are acceptable in some aspects but other aspects such as social media coverage and community-centered events could definitely be types of things that could help fuel the reach of the college, finding those who would love to apply. Overall Suny WCC’s local reputation seems to uphold well but there is definitely significant room for growth and to expand more socially.