The Higher Ed Marketer

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...

Since the pandemic, many higher ed marketers have gone to pay-per-click ads to generate leads. In the near future, Google is changing its cookie-based metrics andthe playing field will change significantly. Today’s guests have a new approach to generating leads for institutions.  PJ Wenzel and Marty Gray are the President and Vice President of Ring Digital , and their goal is to help their clients...

Businesses and organizations lose the most impact and productivity by not working together. The same goes for higher education. To solve big problems, you must be able to cooperate with others.   Dr. Michael Horowitz is the President of TCS Education System . TCS is the community solution for higher education and is all about working collaboratively to advance institutional sustainability, student...

Many higher ed marketers think that paid media and PPC (Pay Per Click) ads are the answer to their problems, but most fail to realize that this is a long incubation process, and often, decisions won't be made from one ad. Our job as marketers is to create curiosity with our campaigns, and our guest today shows us how to do it. Today we talk with Matt Wszolek , the Senior Executive of Marketing &am...

The only way to truly impact is to align particular strategies with particular audiences. To continue pushing the needle forward as marketers, we must think strategically about why we do what we do.  Chris Bender , the Assistant Dean for Communications at the University of Maryland , joins us today to discuss why marketers should think more strategically. Chris brings a wealth of experience and kn...

As marketers, we cannot be short-order cooks just serving up dishes, but chefs who figure out what the consumer wants and create a meal.   Kymm Bartlett Martinez is the Chief Marketing Officer at the American Cancer Society . Before she took over this role, Kymm spent 20 years with General Mills before she took the Chief Marketing Officer position at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. Kymm...

People often look at websites from just a technical or aesthetic point of view but overlook how a website can be an excellent marketing tool to help shape communications and marketing goals.   Joshua Charles , the Director of Web Strategy and Technology at Rutgers Business School , joins us to discuss how you can utilize your website to market your college. Joshua brings excellent insights from wh...

The goal is not to be good at social media; the goal is to be better in Higher Ed because of social media.   Jay Bear , founder of Convince & Convert , a content marketing consulting and social media strategy company. Jay is also a bestselling author of 6 content marketing and customer experience, a hall of fame keynote speaker, and an emcee. Jay joins Troy and Bart to offer a wealth of knowle...

If there was ever an episode to give you a roadmap to success in higher education, it's this one.   Kathy Payne, VP for Enrollment Management, and Kathy Howell , Associate VP for Marketing Communications at Delaware Valley University , join us today to talk about their roadmap to success by amplifying their students' voices.   Join us as we discuss: The two Kathy's road map to success at Delaware...

Since the pandemic began, we have had to adapt to a new online environment, but platforms like Zoom and Microsoft teams aren’t giving us the human touch that we need. Remo is an interactive virtual event platform that empowers users to create natural interactions in online settings.  Hoyin Cheung is the Founder and CEO of Remo.co and is on a quest to humanize the virtual experience. In today’s con...

It’s no secret that college athletics can play a role in deciding where a student will go to college. All across the country universities use different marketing strategies based on their athletic programs to help increase their enrollment.   Jim Carr, who is the President and CEO of the NAIA joins us to discuss how athletics programs can have a positive impact on your university and if marketed c...

In higher ed marketing, it is important to stand out from everyone else and create a sense of belonging for prospective students. One of the best technological tools for accomplishing this are live chat systems.   In this episode, Ben Congleton , CEO and CoFounder at Olark , talks about his journey to live chat systems from the early days of website chat providers and how they create a more access...

How do you market a school that is in the process of being built?   Know your mission.   In this episode, Dr. Michael Rice details his next exciting opportunity: Director of Admissions at the Osteopathic Medical School at Duquesne University . The catch? The school is currently being built from the ground up and will start matriculating students in 2024. Dr. Rice shares the mission behind the scho...

Community colleges often operate with limited resources. This can result in prospective students not knowing that there is an affordable and accessible path to higher education within their community.   In this episode, Shauna Davis and Mary Laphen from the Lumina Foundation , provide an overview of what the Million Dollar Community College Challenge is and why helping community colleges brand and...

Higher ed marketing is a constantly evolving industry. From the early days of MySpace to connecting with prospects on WhatsApp today, the need for continuous learning is paramount.   In this episode, Stephanie Geyer , Director of Digital Strategy and Innovation at the University of Montana , shares how she has watched and contributed to the progression of higher ed marketing, why connection is so...

A small liberal arts college education comes with many benefits, but most also come with an expensive price tag. Does it have to be that way?  In this episode, Dr. Scott Feller , President at Wabash College , shares how to provide an elite education without an elite price tag. Dr. Feller explains the benefits leading with student outcomes, embracing comparison, and building a philanthropic alumni...

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, international student applications have more than tripled, but the way to market to international students has significantly changed.  In this episode, Christian DiGregorio , Director of International Recruitment at York College of Pennsylvania , speaks to the new ways to successfully connect with and build relationships with international students.  W...

We talk with a lot of guests about college admissions from the higher ed perspective, but what can we learn from having the conversation from a secondary school angle?   In this episode, Chris Cleveland , Principal at Wesleyan School , shares his perspective on how colleges can transparently and effectively market themselves to prospective students.    We discuss: How to effectively market to high...