The Higher Ed Marketer

As higher ed marketing teams look towards an unpredictable future injected with AI technology, one question is now on everyone’s mind: what qualifies as quality written content? Ann Handley , Chief Content Officer of MarketingProfs and best-selling author of Everybody Writes , believes it’s writing that inspires your reader and makes them the hero of the story. Ann shares insights from the latest...

Higher ed marketers all know the struggle of reaching target audiences, but real audience-centric content is in the eye of the beholder. With so many digital mediums to choose from, how can schools know that their brand messaging is what their audience is looking for? Jerra Toms , Director of Marketing and Communications at the University of Arkansas ­- Sam M. Walton College of Business , has a si...

We’re all still students of social media content creation, but some schools are bringing their A-game when generating content that speaks to Gen Z. Owen Knight , Director of Admission Engagement at Tulane University , shares how he and his team reach their target audience by leaning on their peers - current students within Tulane’s walls. By building a team filled with bright, young interns who gr...

Alumni and students have so many incredible authentic stories to tell about their colleges and universities. But higher ed marketing teams can sometimes get in their own way by curating those stories till they’re just another batch of overly processed advertisements. People want to hear about real experiences. But if schools want to share those stories, they first have to find them. Chris Miano ,...

How much should colleges and universities lean on legacy branding? Advancement departments undoubtedly love promoting the “glory days” to their school alums, but should legacy be a major factor in your enrollment marketing strategy?    In the late 1970s, Indiana State University produced one of the most famous basketball players in NCAA and NBA history - Larry Bird. Jason Trainer , Vice Provost fo...

Short-form video content has exploded on social media platforms over the last few years. Colleges and universities are scrambling to take advantage of these content marketing goldmines, but some are still missing the mark. But as Rob Clark , social media influencer and creator of That Tall Family , told us - it’s not rocket science. You just have to put yourself out there. Rob shared the work he’s...

Working in higher ed advancement can be discouraging when you hear the word “No” from potential donors. But by imprinting philanthropy on your student culture, you can encourage them to pay it forward to their future fellow alums the second they set foot on campus.      In this episode, the University of Findlay ’s Director Of Annual Giving, Amanda Nicol , and Assistant Director of Annual Giving a...

Search engine marketing is top-of-mind for most higher ed marketers, but it’s still a drastically underutilized marketing mechanism. In fact, according to our guest, Faton Sopa , co-founder and CEO of Manaferra , only three of the top ten websites that commonly show up from higher ed search terms are school websites. In Part Two of our discussion around search engine marketing, we address some com...

Search engine marketing is still considered a 21st-century mystery to many higher ed marketers. But the fact is that, with a solid content marketing strategy, any college or university can turn its website into an SEO darling. In part one of our interview with Faton Sopa , Cofounder and CEO of Manaferra , we discuss the sub-disciplines of search engine marketing and how to establish authority thro...

Despite fifteen percent of the world’s population having a physical disability, the disability community of students is often an afterthought in DEI-focused higher ed marketing. While some schools have made massive strides in telling these students’ stories, many others could do so much more - and it starts with building relationships. Ryan Wilson , CEO of Team Trust Productions , tells us how col...

Imagine a personalized website experience that adapts in real-time to the home region of prospective students who visit your homepage. We’ve seen the potential of geocaching with popular mobile applications like Pokemon Go . What if you could employ similar technology to customize your school website’s visitor experience? Kyle Pucko , Owner of Geofli , tells us how colleges and universities can ha...

Too often, colleges and universities put themselves on a pedestal on their school website’s homepage. Be it celebratory news stories, sporting events, or faculty profiles, higher ed institutions sometimes neglect the most important patrons of their website: prospective students. Bob Johnson, Ph. D. , Founder of Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC , tells us why every school should focus their website on e...

Technology-driven solutions in branding are remarkable tools. But shiny gadgets can make it easy to lose sight of your higher ed marketing team’s ultimate goal: giving prospective students a quality value proposition. William Faust , Senior Partner and Chief Strategy Officer at Ologie , shares his insights on brand management and how smaller schools can raise the stakes in their branding game thro...

In higher ed marketing, it can be a struggle to understand who our target audience is and what their needs are. Sometimes, that means pausing and stepping back to make space so we can meet them where they are through empathic storytelling. Cutler Andrews , Senior Associate Vice President for Engagement, Communications, and Marketing at Emory University , shares how his team elevates Emory’s brand...

As Generations Z and Alpha transition into the college student ranks, it is multi-generational marketing’s time to shine. Yet, as Jennifer McChord , Vice President of Enrollment & Marketing at Asbury University , tells us, traditional institutions tend to drag their feet when making big albeit necessary changes. Jennifer shares how corporate culture is helping speed up decision-making in her u...

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is top-of-mind for many colleges and universities today. Marketing inclusive content in a respectful manner requires a unique perspective, one that marketers who don’t come from an underrepresented group can fully understand and appreciate. Katie Jensen , Associate VP of Insights & Analytics at University of St. Thomas , talks to us about the DEI Viewfind...

Marketing can be a difficult proposition for small institutions in higher ed, but intentional collaboration with vendors and other schools can add incredible value to their brand. Dr. Nathan Long , President of Saybrook University , gave us the secret sauce on how they found partners who helped double their enrollment in less than a decade. By coming together as collaborators rather than competito...

Whether you’re a small faith-based college or one of the largest schools in the country, immersive storytelling is a powerful marketing tool. First-hand authentic accounts of student culture, the classroom, and your faculty give recruits exclusive insight into your school’s vision. Terri Hughes , Director Of Communications at Michigan State University - College of Osteopathic Medicine shared with...

A few months ago, we spoke with Shauna Davis and Mary Laphen Pope from the Lumina Foundation . They provided an overview of their Million Dollar Community College Challenge and explained why assisting community colleges with branding and marketing is so important. Shauna and Mary return for this follow-up episode along with Dr. Angel Reyna , President of Madera Community College - the proud winner...

QR codes have made a furious comeback in business circuits over the last couple of years. The folks at spokenote saw a unique opportunity for marketers: embed QR codes with personalized videos for a targeted audience. We spoke with spokenote’s CEO, John Weschler , and CMO, Mike Harmon , about the potential for personalized QR code videos in the higher ed space. In an age of short form content, can...

University rankings play a big part in where a prospective student chooses to go to school, but most rankings focus on prestige and what other peers of institutions think of each other rather than the influence the university is making on the students and alumni.   Dr. Jed Macosko is the President and Research Director at Academicinfluence.com and a professor of Physics at Wake Forest University ....

Many marketers struggle to keep track of photo and video assets on campus, but with the proper techniques, you can implement a campus photography program that can enhance the experience of your university. Cindi Farmer is the Director of Strategic Marketing and Communication at Arizona State University. Cindi manages teams of designers, photographers, videographers, and writers to create content a...

The most important part of storytelling in higher education is creating stories where students can easily insert themselves and be an active participant.    Chad Wilson is the Vice President and Executive Creative Director of Marketing at Grand Canyon Education , an education service company that provides an array of support services in the post-secondary education sector, including work with thei...

The liberal arts education has evolved. Students not only need skills developed from classic education subjects for career readiness but also to be able to continuously adjust as the world around them changes. They need the ability to learn how to learn.  Dr. Lake Lambert began his tenure as the 16th President of Hanover College in 2015 and is the former Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Merc...

While there are common elements across marketing (the 4 P’s), higher education marketing presents some unique challenges with the diversity of audiences, the buying cycle, and the customer journey. Today we welcome Teresa Flannery to talk about her book, How to Market a University . In this episode, Teresa unpacks the language, frameworks, tools, and tactics that CMOs or aspiring CMOs will need to...