Posts Tagged ‘social media’

CourseSmart®, the world’s largest provider of eTextbooks and other digital resources, recently launched its latest innovation: a social commerce shopping experience that will allow students to rent CourseSmart materials directly from the brand’s official Facebook page.

Students will be able to access CourseSmart’s catalog of eTextbooks and eResources directly on Facebook through a secure shopping cart and tab on the brand’s page. Shopping within the tab, students will be able to search for eTextbooks by title, ISBN number or keyword and then add the items to their cart. When ready to checkout, students will be linked directly to secure checkout at Coursesmart.com.

“CourseSmart has always made it a priority to provide students with the course materials they need in the most convenient way possible, and our new Facebook experience is the latest breakthrough in that arena,” said Jill Ambrose, chief marketing officer at CourseSmart. “We are excited to provide accessibility to more than 20,000 of the latest eTextbook offerings to college students where they already spend time, on their favorite social networking site.”

With so many college students already on Facebook, using the social network for social commerce was a natural transition for CourseSmart. This new Facebook feature is the latest in a series of industry firsts for the brand, which launched a beta version of its first-to-market HTML5 eReader earlier this summer, allowing users to access CourseSmart materials online and offline.

To purchase eTextbooks via Facebook or for more information on CourseSmart’s new social commerce tab visit www.facebook.com/CourseSmart.

Huffington Post College recently reported on a Kaplan survey that found more than 80% of college admissions officers used social networking profiles when considering applicants. If students ever needed more proof that their social media presence could affect them in a positive or negative way, this is it!

Most high school and college students are quick to point out their profile privacy settings prevent any questionable content from reaching the eyes of future employers, college admissions officers, or worse, their parents. But, is completely isolating your profile from public view in a students’ best interest? With the newest round of changes to sites like Facebook, a students’ social media profile can be an asset rather than a liability.

In its latest round of updates, Facebook enhanced users’ ability to create pages that function more like a personal profile. How does that affect the average student? Any user can now create a page that can serve as a public professional profile, keeping their personal profile visible only to friends. By creating a personal page, students can use status updates and wall posts to showcase, interests and hobbies, volunteer work, or share content that is relevant to their area of study. A page can now “like” other pages, allowing students to “like” and showcase their favorite schools, membership to professional organizations, and even brands or companies they love. Students, especially arts majors, can use page elements like the photos banner and albums to showcase their creativity, making the page an interactive portfolio. Much like the info section on a personal profile, the page info section can feature educational experience, internship information or anything that might be of importance to whomever will be viewing the page. Making a Facebook page an extension of a resume or college admissions essay, could prove to be a valuable piece of gaining admissions or getting that dream job.

Need some creative inspiration for making a professional Facebook page? Check out some cool uses on Mashable.com.