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Of the sectors throwing caution to the wind and making social media integral to long-term communications plans, I perceive higher education as dragging its feet. Fresh off graduation, I can still smell the ink drying on hastily-minted digital plans for universities of all sizes and ilk. That’s why I was surprised after a recent finding from the Society for New Communications Research: higher education is outpacing the Fortune 500 in social media adoption by more than 2 to 1.

We must consider such inferences carefully. The deeper one digs into the study, the more context must be added. In one instance, researchers found 95% of schools use at least one platform to recruit. While the for-profit equivalent of recruiting is acquiring new customers, social media serve many more functions in both sectors. In education, uses include informing current students, communicating with alumni, and promoting curricula, courses, and extracurriculars internally, among countless others.

The study’s broad statements must be examined carefully and, while the rate of adoption may be high, it may not translate to effectiveness. Social media shouldn’t be drooled over solely for external promotion and recruiting, but also for opportunities to create an enriching stakeholder experience. For example, Harvard University has been an early adopter in its use of social platforms to welcome guests with campus tips on foursquare, serve diverse audiences on Twitter, and provide students resources to get involved via Facebook.

“Well, that’s freakin’ Harvard!” one might say. Sure, but it could be any university with the strategic insight to serve disparate audiences through social media. While not every institution can offer a custom foursquare badge to visitors, it can bring a campus, its students, and the community to life with a fuller interactive, multimedia presence. Obviously it’s no cakewalk and schools must address four fundamental uncertainties that inhibit effective use of social media in higher education:

1) Who socializes the media? Many of the shocking stats cited from the study (51% have a blog! 59% use Twitter! 95% are on at least one platform!) attribute internal ownership to the admissions department, an interesting handler. Though many organizations have difficulties determining what department has dominion over Facebook, blows, and the like, ownership within educational institutions could be particularly prickly. Do social media fall under admissions? Isn’t marketing the obvious answer? How about community outreach or business development? An organization that addresses this question early and definitively will avoid a lot of standoffs and answer the other questions with more ease.

2) What happens when students move on? A school’s primary social media audience may be comprised heavily of students, who are as permanent as a particle-board bookshelf. The effort to grow social network followings must be ongoing as students apply, come, go, and eventually graduate. Even though network size isn’t the all-important metric, many social media marketers will tell you that adding 1,000 followers or spurring 500 “Likes” is no small undertaking – especially when network-building activities happen every one, two, and four years.

3) Who are they talking to? While a corporation may have multiple stakeholders, social networks primarily serve two audiences: current customers and potential customers. However, universities serve several groups with a wide spectrum of needs – prospective students, prospective students’ parents, current students, alumni, and so on – all at different stages of engagement. The breadth, diversity, and influence of this audience are unparalleled when compared to most consumer products. Therefore, schools must introduce a structure that is either highly segmented or broadly appealing – both of which could work depending on the mission. If it helps, think of social media as augmented reality for a student, alumnus, parent, and so on.

4) Does Twitter wilt the ivy? Even beyond Harvard, most academic intuitions consider themselves hallowed and social media, at first glance, may feel contrary to that image. What could Northwestern University, an institution that filed 158 patent applications in 2008, possibly say in 140 characters? Wouldn’t a tweet tarnish the gilded glow of such activities? Well, not that’s how I found out about the school’s pioneering work in clean fuel development and nanotechnology. Maybe promotion on social networks would even attract a PhD prospect to enroll or an alumnus to up a contribution.

Though not the only obstacles along a university’s brick-paved walkway, they are crucial to consider when creating an engaging social media campus. What bumps in the road or challenges do you see? Let us know what universities are effectively serving you as a prospective student, current student, alum, or general fan. In the meantime, I’m off to the batting cages – I’m terrible at mini-golf.

Check out the full study referenced above: Social Media and College Admissions: Higher-Ed Beats Business in Adoption of New Tools for Third Year.