Another university adds a custom social networking community to its web presence. Pearse Street Inc a company specializing in social network design and development has built a custom social community for Furman University.  Jonathan McInerney VP of Pearse Street Inc says “Furman University is ahead of the curve. Its surprising more universities haven’t jumped on this opportunity. We have built a social software which will increase applicants, engage alumni and lead to greater donations”. Most higher education institutes are developing a presence on social media websites. The forward thinkers have been building student and alumni online social communities. McInerney says “Social media integration is changing the face of higher education marketing, we’re interviewing potential clients for our next university social network. There is a lot of demand for our services in this higher education niche and we want to work with the client we can help the most.”

At Pearse Street we’ve designed and developed many social networking websites. We’re now wrapping up our first development of a University social networking website. What we’ve done is create a site similar to Facebook that caters more to the needs of a University. We’ve incorporated social media features that cater to the needs of educators, students, education departments, admissions & administrators. The University plans to use the website as a recruitment tool & one would think that with  the cost of tuition these days they will recoup all expenses rather quickly.

Can a College or University social networking website be a viable recruitment tool? Will integrating your website or a custom built social network with FaceBook connect increase the flow of applications? Will a Social application that is passed from wall to wall increase enrollment? Will colleges reap additional benefits on top of improved enrollment numbers?

I would contend Yes! Social networking websites are so successful because they increase efficiency. We have a desire to be informed & stay in touch. Online communities make it easy to connect. Major Colleges, Universities & even some Prep schools are seeking social network design & development services. At Pearse Street we currently only except jobs that we believe in. Our clients tend to have to convince us to work on projects. I’m particularly interested in accepting more projects in the education niche because the business model makes so much sense. The development of a school social networking website will be of great benefit to the admissions department and will improve communication between students, faculty and other departments.

Pearse Street inc has built out our university social media software debugged & tested. This social university software can be easily manipulated and added to. New features specific to the needs of any University can be developed and integrated into the platform. Design & site layout can be fully customizable with no restriction. To find out more about Pearse Street social networking website design or application development services visit http://www.pearsestreet.com .