Our Top Ten Tips from Ten Extraordinary Episodes

WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.879 --> 00:00:07.190 You are listening to the Higher Ed Marketer, a podcast geared towards marketing professionals 2 00:00:07.230 --> 00:00:11.910 in higher education. This show will tackle all sorts of questions related to student 3 00:00:11.949 --> 00:00:16.230 recruitment, don'tor relations, marketing trends, new technologies and so much more. 4 00:00:16.989 --> 00:00:20.829 If you are looking for conversations centered around where the industry is going, this 5 00:00:20.989 --> 00:00:30.739 podcast is for you. Let's get into the show. Hello and welcome to 6 00:00:30.780 --> 00:00:34.380 the High Ed Marketer podcast. My name is troy singer and I have a 7 00:00:34.460 --> 00:00:37.850 very special episode for you today. We're going to make a bit of a 8 00:00:38.009 --> 00:00:43.570 format shift for today's episode and recap the top ten most useful moments of the 9 00:00:43.649 --> 00:00:47.770 show so far. It's kind of like our best of whether you're brand new 10 00:00:47.810 --> 00:00:51.600 to listening or have been here since the beginning, you don't have to search 11 00:00:51.719 --> 00:00:55.759 for the best nuggets of information, because they're all right here, hand selected 12 00:00:55.840 --> 00:00:59.000 for you. So, without further ado, let's get into our list. 13 00:00:59.320 --> 00:01:02.920 Coming in at number ten is a snippet from Darrell Smith in episode three, 14 00:01:03.240 --> 00:01:07.629 where he tells us that marketing alignment should be the leading data insides for your 15 00:01:07.709 --> 00:01:14.150 institutions program let's have a listen. So they're already tracking and giving you some 16 00:01:14.310 --> 00:01:17.790 sort of sense of what type of engagement they're having, whether it's websites, 17 00:01:17.950 --> 00:01:22.859 landing pages, emails, text messages, but these are other data sources around 18 00:01:22.980 --> 00:01:27.299 campus that maybe emissions counselors understand, they want to have and you want to 19 00:01:27.340 --> 00:01:33.609 work into your marketing communications. And then making sure that the communication networks are 20 00:01:33.609 --> 00:01:38.170 there with those stay orders, you know, having that and data analysts there 21 00:01:38.450 --> 00:01:42.090 with the counselors, at the personal touts, with the Web Masters, with 22 00:01:42.650 --> 00:01:49.280 all the digital content experts in that conversation flow so you can align all these 23 00:01:49.439 --> 00:01:53.959 skill sets together and have them moving in the same direction when you want them 24 00:01:53.040 --> 00:01:57.200 to move so they kind of keep in sync and then, once you figure 25 00:01:57.200 --> 00:02:02.549 out that process, keeping that process repetitive. So that's always iterating, always 26 00:02:02.590 --> 00:02:07.229 cycling, because I'm sure you know you want the messaging, the marketing messaging, 27 00:02:07.310 --> 00:02:10.990 to be as flexible as it can when you want that, you know, 28 00:02:12.069 --> 00:02:15.300 message to change in shift. Next up at number nine, we hear 29 00:02:15.379 --> 00:02:23.659 jpiece Bignolo's two core elements of marketing. By truly we've marketing starts in a 30 00:02:23.699 --> 00:02:27.819 couple of core things. One is understanding your messages right. The messages are 31 00:02:27.819 --> 00:02:30.729 all about building relationships right. The intent is to be able to strengthen the 32 00:02:30.810 --> 00:02:35.289 relationships with the purpose perspective students, if that's the target market working with. 33 00:02:36.090 --> 00:02:38.610 In my role, you know, I sort of serve both the prospective student 34 00:02:38.610 --> 00:02:42.490 audience as well as the other elements of marketing on campus and in every one 35 00:02:42.530 --> 00:02:46.120 of those places it's about making sure that you have strong relationships and being able 36 00:02:46.159 --> 00:02:50.240 to help people understand and to learn from other people what it is that we're 37 00:02:50.280 --> 00:02:53.639 trying to do to create the right messages right, and so I think that's 38 00:02:53.680 --> 00:02:57.199 really important. I'd say another part of it is recognizing where your strengths are 39 00:02:57.319 --> 00:03:00.629 and also knowing where you need to have partners and have other people take the 40 00:03:00.669 --> 00:03:04.509 weight and, you know, make sure that they are able to express, 41 00:03:05.750 --> 00:03:07.990 you know, what it is that they bring the table. And so, 42 00:03:07.669 --> 00:03:09.509 you know, I would say in the role that I have, a lot 43 00:03:09.550 --> 00:03:15.539 of it is that ability to really recognize what the needs are and make sure 44 00:03:15.539 --> 00:03:19.099 that we're organizing in a way that we're using the strengths of those around us 45 00:03:19.099 --> 00:03:22.580 to be able to craft our message in a clear and concise manner to the 46 00:03:22.620 --> 00:03:25.340 different audiences that we're trying to do that with. In episode eleven, however, 47 00:03:25.379 --> 00:03:30.330 we get introduced to Suzanne PERTRUCIA's more measured approach to High Red Marketing, 48 00:03:30.610 --> 00:03:37.650 where she reminds us that great marketing is all about the subtle reminders. The 49 00:03:37.889 --> 00:03:43.280 other two people have been situated under digital marketing so that we would have a 50 00:03:43.919 --> 00:03:51.319 digital marketing specialist whose primary responsibilities focused on social media. That can take up 51 00:03:51.360 --> 00:03:54.710 such an Andre enormous amount of time and it's not just a matter of going 52 00:03:54.870 --> 00:04:00.789 out and capturing what's happening that day. It really needs to be a strategic 53 00:04:01.430 --> 00:04:06.629 planful exercise so that we have a full editorial calendar with it, but we 54 00:04:06.870 --> 00:04:13.500 also can be agile enough to be able to pick up of the moment happenings 55 00:04:13.580 --> 00:04:16.620 on campus so that we don't miss those things we need. In number seven 56 00:04:16.740 --> 00:04:21.019 is a little gym from episode twelve and something that we all know all too 57 00:04:21.139 --> 00:04:25.930 well. A picture is truly worth a thousand words, and we'll hear why 58 00:04:26.050 --> 00:04:31.170 we should invest in video, according to Peter Ashley at Hanover College, and 59 00:04:31.449 --> 00:04:35.649 so we needed more video resources. So we had a chance to hire a 60 00:04:35.730 --> 00:04:42.879 new videographer and I was able to hire two videographers because we great final candidates. 61 00:04:43.399 --> 00:04:46.240 That I made the case that he we will put these these guys to 62 00:04:46.360 --> 00:04:53.069 work quickly, and we did and we hired both and one is a young 63 00:04:53.069 --> 00:04:56.829 woman who graduate from Depaul University, one is a gentleman who greased and graduate 64 00:04:56.910 --> 00:05:02.389 from Hanover, and so, having those two perspectives, both very talented videographers 65 00:05:02.470 --> 00:05:08.740 and photographers and within a few months they created more than a hundred plus videos 66 00:05:10.019 --> 00:05:15.220 on campus life, generating like a hundred thousand views very quickly, everything from 67 00:05:15.220 --> 00:05:19.100 campus dining to Greek life to a series we've created called beyond the classroom, 68 00:05:19.139 --> 00:05:27.370 where we take either a music program or even a kinesiology program and take it 69 00:05:27.410 --> 00:05:30.490 outside the classroom and show what goes on in that program that doesn't just happen 70 00:05:30.529 --> 00:05:34.920 in the actual room. You know that for one program there was a whole 71 00:05:34.959 --> 00:05:40.439 focus on the using the natural setting up Hanover to go on hikes and look 72 00:05:40.480 --> 00:05:45.680 at count waterfalls and to identify bugs and different things like that. Number six 73 00:05:45.879 --> 00:05:49.430 is a huge challenge for dealing with donors because, honestly, when someone drops 74 00:05:49.470 --> 00:05:54.230 an eight figured gift on your donor program, it's hard not to treat them 75 00:05:54.269 --> 00:06:00.029 like the favorite episode thirteens, calling garland and Janet Martson at Kenyon College, 76 00:06:00.149 --> 00:06:05.300 have you covered on creating the proper management of these donors? In addition to 77 00:06:05.420 --> 00:06:12.819 just knowing that intuitively, we had under taken a study with a the group 78 00:06:12.860 --> 00:06:16.939 called the art and science group to really understand our our constituency donor motivations, 79 00:06:17.060 --> 00:06:23.250 what was working, and so we knew that there was a risk and when 80 00:06:23.290 --> 00:06:27.649 associating a gift of this magnitude, that somehow your other donors would sit on 81 00:06:27.689 --> 00:06:31.209 the sidelines and applaud but not necessarily see how it was impacting now. So 82 00:06:31.370 --> 00:06:36.519 that's definitely it formed our strategy and fortunately we had a group that that met, 83 00:06:38.000 --> 00:06:43.120 including Janet, every other week for about nine months trying to think through 84 00:06:43.279 --> 00:06:46.120 carefully, if this gift were to come to fruition the way we were hoping, 85 00:06:46.670 --> 00:06:49.389 how would we be prepared to roll it out? So it's definitely a 86 00:06:49.470 --> 00:06:55.149 team effort to be prepared for the messaging. Calling Nin Janet get a second 87 00:06:55.189 --> 00:06:59.709 mentioned here with tip five, by sharing their way of shifting video strategy to 88 00:06:59.870 --> 00:07:04.180 fit the message your institution wants to set. And the piece I would say 89 00:07:04.220 --> 00:07:08.699 that became very apparent, though, was just the importance of video and the 90 00:07:08.860 --> 00:07:13.060 increase use of video and photography because, as we've been talking about, like 91 00:07:13.540 --> 00:07:19.250 the place is so powerful and when alumnic see photos and images it immediately brings 92 00:07:19.329 --> 00:07:23.689 them back, it tugs at an emotional connection to the place and worry, 93 00:07:23.850 --> 00:07:28.529 but in ways that words alone can. So we did indeed increase our use 94 00:07:28.810 --> 00:07:31.959 of video for things like this big gift announcement, which of course we couldn't 95 00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:35.959 do in person, but other things that we did as well in terms of 96 00:07:36.279 --> 00:07:43.399 we renamed our big Athletic Center for a very beloved and wellknown alumnus. That 97 00:07:43.639 --> 00:07:46.709 was all done through the use of video, and so we tried to really, 98 00:07:46.750 --> 00:07:53.509 as Janet said in the beginning, appropriately share good news but in the 99 00:07:53.709 --> 00:07:58.230 context of what was going on in the world, and that required just what 100 00:07:58.430 --> 00:08:03.100 felt like a near constant pivoting and adjusting and, you know, waiting till 101 00:08:03.139 --> 00:08:07.620 the last minute to make sure everything was, you know, just right to 102 00:08:07.860 --> 00:08:11.339 that moment when it was going to be released. I mean it in number 103 00:08:11.420 --> 00:08:15.850 four, some of you might be just getting started in the arena of high 104 00:08:15.930 --> 00:08:20.410 read marketing and Dan Freeborn at Northern Michigan University has this advice for your journey. 105 00:08:22.209 --> 00:08:26.800 Find more from Dan in episode fourteen. I took what I knew from 106 00:08:26.800 --> 00:08:31.840 that and understanding the main touch points that students had with the university throughout the 107 00:08:31.840 --> 00:08:37.840 enrollment process really just helped me build a shell of what our email communication was 108 00:08:37.919 --> 00:08:41.590 going to look like. So, looking at when they submit an application, 109 00:08:41.669 --> 00:08:45.830 they should probably get something initially confirming that we receive their application, what their 110 00:08:45.870 --> 00:08:48.389 next step was. Same with after they were admitted, making sure they knew 111 00:08:48.389 --> 00:08:54.429 what their next steps for enrollment where. So building out content related to those 112 00:08:54.470 --> 00:08:58.460 specific action steps was my key point and that allowed me then to rest a 113 00:08:58.539 --> 00:09:01.620 shirt that they were getting the main points delivered to them, the main pieces 114 00:09:01.659 --> 00:09:03.220 of content that needed, and then from there I was able to kind of 115 00:09:03.220 --> 00:09:05.940 step up, take a step back and look more at that information at a 116 00:09:05.980 --> 00:09:11.610 whole and was able to develop the communication plan much further than building out and 117 00:09:11.649 --> 00:09:15.129 filling out those gaps in between the pieces of messaging there. So it did 118 00:09:15.289 --> 00:09:18.929 take a lot of time, but I think taking it in bite size chunks 119 00:09:18.970 --> 00:09:22.129 was the most with the key for me to be able to do this successfully 120 00:09:22.250 --> 00:09:26.240 resting a shirt that they had the main points out there, and then every 121 00:09:26.320 --> 00:09:28.679 so often, maybe every six or eight months, I would introduce some more 122 00:09:28.759 --> 00:09:33.120 content to build out these campaigns and flows. That way we're into our top 123 00:09:33.279 --> 00:09:37.879 three tips and our bronze medalists for this is episode number nine with the University 124 00:09:37.879 --> 00:09:43.950 of Kentucky's Julie Baylog. Her insight into creation of segmented messaging for prospective students 125 00:09:43.110 --> 00:09:48.990 is tremendously valuable, showing how creating unique messaging for each student creates an opportunity 126 00:09:50.110 --> 00:09:56.820 for transformation. So what we did is, for instance, we've created an 127 00:09:56.860 --> 00:10:01.539 oped, a joint oped with some of our other universities across the state, 128 00:10:01.980 --> 00:10:05.379 and so we're publishing those with other university present presidents from our president. We 129 00:10:05.500 --> 00:10:13.730 also are creating some social media assets and we are going to push those out 130 00:10:13.169 --> 00:10:18.970 and then, working with our there's a person on Jay Plant and staff, 131 00:10:18.090 --> 00:10:24.720 Marque, who specializes in media pitching and he's going to help us by reaching 132 00:10:24.759 --> 00:10:30.480 out to small town newspapers, radio stations and TV stations across the state to 133 00:10:30.600 --> 00:10:35.029 really share listen, we need college is possible for you, but it has 134 00:10:35.070 --> 00:10:39.509 to start with filling out your fast but and at the end of the day, 135 00:10:39.070 --> 00:10:41.590 this is one of those things where I like to say where the University 136 00:10:41.710 --> 00:10:46.629 for Kentucky Not Just University of Kentucky, because at the end of the day 137 00:10:46.110 --> 00:10:50.700 we just want these students to understand that they that going to college can be 138 00:10:50.820 --> 00:10:56.820 transformational for them and and if they don't come to UK, that's okay. 139 00:10:56.539 --> 00:11:01.419 They just need to find the place where they can get that transformational experience. 140 00:11:03.179 --> 00:11:07.889 Our number two tip comes from episode eight and you and see Charlotte's Christy Jackson. 141 00:11:07.330 --> 00:11:11.529 It's one of the most pointed pieces of advice about marketing and communication. 142 00:11:13.090 --> 00:11:18.129 For anyone who has to interact with the public. Crisis Means Different things depending 143 00:11:18.169 --> 00:11:24.279 on your experience and your institution. After the institution that I was working at 144 00:11:24.320 --> 00:11:31.840 announced closure, I was in conversation with the president of another institution and we 145 00:11:31.960 --> 00:11:35.629 were talking, talking about what had happened and how it had happened and the 146 00:11:35.710 --> 00:11:39.429 response, and this person was trying to empathize with me and they said to 147 00:11:39.470 --> 00:11:43.269 me, you know, I get a crisis is so hard. I understand 148 00:11:43.309 --> 00:11:46.940 what you're going through. Last year the Health Department gave our dining hall a 149 00:11:48.139 --> 00:11:52.500 be writing and this person minute with every good intention and to them, to 150 00:11:52.580 --> 00:11:58.059 them that was a crisis because they had they had never really experienced that level 151 00:11:58.100 --> 00:12:01.370 of scrutiny before and their students were upset. The families were upset. They're 152 00:12:01.409 --> 00:12:05.450 paying for this money, for these dining plans and you're giving my child subpar 153 00:12:05.529 --> 00:12:09.169 food, and it was awful for them in the moment they were in it. 154 00:12:09.889 --> 00:12:13.649 Now, for me and others of my colleagues who have perhaps experience something 155 00:12:13.649 --> 00:12:18.440 that's a little more intense, we would say that's probably a Tuesday right. 156 00:12:18.600 --> 00:12:20.919 A be health writing on a college campus elly Tuesday. You need to address 157 00:12:20.960 --> 00:12:24.000 it as an issue, but you can manage it. It's not. It 158 00:12:24.240 --> 00:12:28.279 is not a seismic potential, seismic chef for your organization if you don't handle 159 00:12:28.320 --> 00:12:33.190 it correctly. Finally, at number one is the snippet from episode five, 160 00:12:33.230 --> 00:12:39.629 Christy Live Free and Butler University's truly unique approach to getting some beloved family members 161 00:12:39.669 --> 00:12:43.820 involved in the higher a journey. Phido usually doesn't have a say where a 162 00:12:43.899 --> 00:12:50.299 student chooses to attend, but by interacting with prospective students pets, they create 163 00:12:50.379 --> 00:12:54.980 a whole new layer of connection with their prospect but I think this will be 164 00:12:56.019 --> 00:12:58.850 the fifth year that we've done this campaign and we call it our pet comflow 165 00:13:00.169 --> 00:13:03.490 and it's exactly what sounds like we send direct mail to the dogs and cats 166 00:13:03.809 --> 00:13:09.490 of admitted students with a little piece of Butler gear and that note just reassuring 167 00:13:09.570 --> 00:13:13.919 them that blue is going to look after their human and have their humans back 168 00:13:13.159 --> 00:13:18.759 and be there for anything they may need at Butler and there's so many things 169 00:13:18.799 --> 00:13:20.720 about this campaign that I love. You know, of course everyone loves getting 170 00:13:22.200 --> 00:13:26.759 their gear and the personalization factor is really fun, but I think the I 171 00:13:26.840 --> 00:13:31.149 think the piece that makes it most successful is that message, the message that 172 00:13:31.190 --> 00:13:35.149 we're kind of subtly sending in that piece that we've got their back and they're 173 00:13:35.190 --> 00:13:39.269 going to find a family, a Butler and that community that the high schoolers 174 00:13:39.309 --> 00:13:41.620 are often looking for, and we have just found it. That really resonates 175 00:13:41.779 --> 00:13:46.899 with the Butler way and resonates with who we are as an institution. The 176 00:13:48.059 --> 00:13:50.259 real gold in this campaign too, I think, is the awareness piece. 177 00:13:50.539 --> 00:13:54.929 So the yield part of it great, fantastic be awareness those is the piece 178 00:13:54.970 --> 00:13:58.929 that's a little bit harder to measure, but we have found is that for 179 00:14:00.049 --> 00:14:03.009 every family who receives the piece, they tell their friends, their neighbors, 180 00:14:03.049 --> 00:14:09.330 their co workers, etc. and they're often posting to their own social accounts. 181 00:14:09.409 --> 00:14:13.159 So that piece we've been really pleased with to just knowing that were able 182 00:14:13.320 --> 00:14:16.240 to get the Butler brand in front of a whole bunch of eyeballs. But 183 00:14:16.279 --> 00:14:18.360 yeah, the first time I pitched it rightfully. So there were some questions 184 00:14:18.440 --> 00:14:22.240 about what do you want to do and how are we going to do that? 185 00:14:22.440 --> 00:14:24.029 But we have a lot of fun with it and it's by far one 186 00:14:24.110 --> 00:14:28.870 of our favorite, our favorite campaigns to execute. That rounds out our top 187 00:14:28.990 --> 00:14:31.629 ten tips for the show so far. We're looking so forward to continue to 188 00:14:31.710 --> 00:14:35.629 bring you great guest and content to help your High Reed Marketing Journey. I'm 189 00:14:35.750 --> 00:14:41.860 troy singer. Thanks for listening. The High Red Marketer podcast is sponsored by 190 00:14:41.899 --> 00:14:46.940 Kaylor solutions and education, marketing and branding agency and by thin patented a marketing 191 00:14:48.019 --> 00:14:52.460 execution, printing and mailing provider of hire its solutions. On behalf of my 192 00:14:52.580 --> 00:14:56.490 cohost, Bart Taylor, I'm troy singer. Thank you for joining us. 193 00:14:58.370 --> 00:15:03.250 You've been listening to the Higher Ed Marketer. To ensure that you never miss 194 00:15:03.250 --> 00:15:07.879 an episode, subscribe to the show in your favorite podcast player. If you're 195 00:15:07.919 --> 00:15:11.399 listening with apple podcasts. We'd love for you to leave a quick rating of 196 00:15:11.440 --> 00:15:15.279 the show. Simply tap the number of stars you think the podcast deserves. 197 00:15:15.320 --> 00:15:16.840 Until next time,