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Let’s get visual

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I consider myself a “visual” learner. Draw out my thoughts on a whiteboard, watch a video tutorial, type out my weekly tasks in Evernote. So I wasn’t surprised to see Fast Company’s article “Fast Talk: The Visual Shift” — where industry experts were asked to weigh in on how businesses can adapt to our image-obsessed culture.

Experts from retail, news, government and more shared tips on how to infuse more imagery in your user and online experience, and they had some valid points that translated well to higher ed.

The Creative Visionary: Joe Stewart, partner and global creative director at Huge
“Consumers expect the same level of quality and service from digital that they would get in a store,” says ...

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Categories: Branding/Marketing/Recruiting, Communication, Experience, Marketing, Online Experiences, Social Media, Storytelling, Student Recruiting

Pinpoint what’s hot on campus

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Pinterest is growing up. The showy image-sharing social media site is not just about pinning pretty pictures anymore, says higher ed marketing specialist McKenzie Coco. Now colleges can measure user engagement thanks to a new built-in analytics tool. pinterest

“Pinterest has taken social media by storm, already catching up to Twitter in its short existence,” says Coco, founder and president of FSC Interactive, an online marketing agency that specializes in social media strategies for higher education. “The addition of metrics solidifies its place in the online marketing sphere. This is not a shiny new toy, but rather a formidable and results-driven online marketing tool.”

The addition of data-mining means colleges can now answer such ...

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Categories: College Recruiting, Marketing, Social Media, Social Networking, Student Recruiting, Tracking

If you’re not content marketing…

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If you’re not content marketing these days, you’re not marketing. That’s the battle cry of Joe Pulizzi, author, speaker and content marketing evangelist.

Six years ago he launched a marketing services website that has evolved into the Content Marketing Institute, aimed at helping organizations move away from interruption-based marketing and toward the creation of a content-centered strategy. Content that is relevant and valuable to readers, likely to generate a sense of trust, and perhaps over time, prompt them to buy from you.

“Basically,” says Pulizzi, “content marketing is the art of communicating with your customers and prospects without selling. Instead of pitching your products or services, you are delivering ...

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Categories: Branding/Marketing/Recruiting, College Recruiting, Communication, Content Marketing, Marketing, Student Recruiting

Brand shifts and yield in 2013

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Coming back from holiday break means that it’s time to kick into high gear your accepted student communications, yield events and many conversations with students and parents. It’s the time of year where the conversation shifts and families are getting serious about where they might go to school in the fall. It’s important for admissions (and the rest of campus) to start thinking about what message you want to be sending to those students in order to help them make a final decision.

My colleague Jeff Kallay passed along an article before the holidays, “A Brand Shift for 2013: From Aspiration to Inspiration” by Alan Snitow. It’s an interesting concept that I thought was worth holding onto and sharing at ...

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Categories: Authenticity, Branding/Marketing/Recruiting, Change, College Recruiting, Communication, Communication Plans, Marketing, Storytelling, Student Recruiting, Student Yield, Yield

Hide not your talents

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“Hide not your talents. They for use were made. What’s a sundial in the shade?”
-Benjamin Franklin

As we come to the end of what seems like a fast year, many of us take stock in what has been and what could be. We’ll celebrate the successes we’ve achieved, and for some, mourn the losses hoping for a better new year.

New Year’s Eve has become a special holiday to me — excited about the potential that lies ahead and what I could do to improve my life going forward.

Many people will do the same, but will focus on their weaknesses, trying to improve through starting a weight-loss program or joining a gym, cutting out the swearing, drinking less, being more ...

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Categories: Authenticity, Branding/Marketing/Recruiting, College Recruiting, Marketing, Professional Development, Student Recruiting

Is this message necessary?

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We live our lives in a rush. Don’t be late to work, hurry home… it’s exhausting! Five minutes to yourself can be a welcome gift.

As busy as we are in the professional world, imagine being 17 again. Going to school 7 hours a day (keeping your grades as high as possible to get into the perfect college), followed by working as many hours as possible to save up for college, to buy a car, to take a date to prom — participating in enough extracurricular activities to put on your college applications, studying all night, and still having an active social life.

So how do students process the messages that we send? Before you hit the Send button, think: Is this ...

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Categories: Branding/Marketing/Recruiting, Communication, Email Recruiting, Marketing

A picture is worth a thousand words

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Popular photo-sharing site Instagram has been added to the social media mix by many colleges and universities. Proving itself to be a useful tool not only for prospective students — but current students and alumni too.

While you might cringe at the thought of adding something else to your “to do” list, there are a few articles making the case for the new(er) channel with examples of how it’s working for campus communities.

Highlighted in a BestCollegesOnline.com article, here are just a few from their “top ten” list:

Going behind the scenes.
University of Florida is using Instagram to go behind the scenes of the university. Sharing photos from a variety of locations like class lectures, the university TV station and ...

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Categories: College Recruiting, Communication, Marketing, Online Experiences, Social Media, Storytelling, Student Recruiting

My baby, the marketer

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Having a new baby at home has led to a change in my reading habits. I never thought I would spend my time studying infant sleep patterns, best performing bottle warmers, or the finer differences between identical-looking car seats.

Brian Millar’s article “5 Things Toddlers Can Teach You About Marketing” seemed like a great opportunity to read outside the infant literary spectrum, but not too far.

Millar is the Strategy Director at Sense Worldwide, but during a two-year stint as a stay-at-home Dad, he found himself immersed in a culture that taught him some valuable marketing lessons. Yes, marketing lessons… from his children.

1. Emotional benefits sell better than rational ones. Ravioli was only a hit in Millar’s house after being renamed “pasta ...

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Categories: Branding/Marketing/Recruiting, Marketing, Student Recruiting

3 mistakes that are killing your marketing efforts

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I admit it.  I was pretty jazzed about the Spice Girls reunion at this year’s Olympic Closing Ceremony.

Love ‘em or hate ‘em — for me it was a fun journey down memory lane with the gals who literally laid the soundtrack for the era of “girl power” (plus I’ll take anything that brings me back to the 90′s).

In honor of those brassy Brits, today I’m relating some advice on how to, ahem, “spice up” the writing in your marketing communications.

It comes from “copyblogger,” a favorite of the Marketing team here at TargetX.  If you don’t already subscribe, you should.  I mean it.  Don’t even read the rest ...

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Categories: Blogs, College Recruiting, Communication, Communication Plans, Email, Email Recruiting, General, Marketing, Online Experiences

Think outside the box

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Here at TargetX, we’re in full Xpert Summit mode (for those of you that don’t know, that’s our annual users group event) so it’s only natural that it would be mentioned in today’s RM.

We’re busy preparing to bring our clients, prospects and friends together next week to discuss trends in higher education, day to day challenges and thinking outside the box.

Many of our presenters are clients, working with our products and services. And while they come from colleges and universities across the nation, they all have one thing in common — they are bringing with them the knowledge and expertise on how to do things differently (why else would we have chosen them to present at our event;) ...

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Categories: Authenticity, Branding/Marketing/Recruiting, Change, Marketing, Xpert Summit

WPI videos and Oxy website get it right

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Next month we’ll be in Las Vegas for our Xpert Summit and many of our clients will be presenting about technology, the campus visit and recruitment marketing.

But I want to take a moment to highlight some new recruitment marketing creative work by a few other TargetX clients; Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and Occidental College (Oxy).

WPI videos
I love them because they tell a story, cut through the clutter and say something definitive. The animation is such a departure from the normal voice-over and standard shots of campus.

WPI “Rowbots”

WPI “Special Delivery”

OXY Website
Oxy launched ...

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Categories: Authenticity, Best Practice Documents, Branding/Marketing/Recruiting, Communication, Marketing, Mobile Marketing, Videos, Website, Websites, Xpert Summit

“I didn’t know we had a pool”

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There’s a scene in Disney/Pixar’s WALL-E where the humans are in their space cruiser, floating about on hover chaise lounges, focused only on their computer screens and oblivious to their surroundings and to reality. Two of the characters’ computers break and they have an epiphany. They discover that their space cruiser has a pool and they dip their toes in and begin splashing about. They live in the moment.

It’s summertime! And millions of us are escaping our offices and computers (do you go off the grid on vacation?) and are heading to the pool, beach, shore, mountains and amusement parks. And many prospective families are including a visit to your campus as part of their summer ...

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Categories: Campus Visit, Campus Visit Experiences, Marketing, Uncategorized

How’s your ROI?

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It’s one of those terms that fills most of us with dread.  ROI.  Return on investment.  Justify your existence.

The pressure on higher education seems to be coming from all directions these days, including internal.  And one of those internal pressure points is a growing emphasis on showing where, how and how effectively you’re spending marketing dollars and resources on student recruiting.

The American Association of Community Colleges has recognized this, and is devoting much of its professional development this year on helping members measure return on investment.

Kathy Corbalis, who serves as executive director of college relations at Atlantic Cape Community College, notes that higher-ed marketers “are being asked to demonstrate the value of their work,” and she offers some suggestions for ...

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Categories: College Recruiting, Communication Plans, Marketing, Return On Investment

A little less conversation

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Change.

It’s an emotionally charged word in higher education, if not a dirty one.  And it’s been the war cry here at TargetX since day one.

When I joined the company back in 2005, I was quickly immersed into a culture of higher ed professionals trumpeting the need for industry change.  Defects from a world of cushy benefits and questionable accountability, they struck out on their own to become a voice of change in an industry sliding desperately into denial.

Together the team here wrote blog posts and email newsletters outlining how colleges needed to engage a new generation and operate more efficiently.   We spent years speaking at conferences about the impending shifts in technology, generations, demographics and more.  We even created our ...

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Categories: Branding/Marketing/Recruiting, Change, College Recruiting, Leadership, Marketing, Overthrowing Dead Culture, Uncategorized

Ch-Check it out

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Yes, that’s a Beastie Boys song title. While some may scoff at the idea of learning something from three guys who go by Mike D, MCA and Ad-Rock — their 25-year career, international fan base and 2012 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is certainly no joke. And higher ed would be smart to listen up — there are serious lessons to be learned from this Brooklyn rap trio.

“The Beastie Boys Guide to Brand Storytelling” by Kimberly Bordonaro identifies seven elements that explain why their loyal following over the years didn’t happen because they got lucky. It happened through a unique blend of what the kids today would call “sick” rhymes, funky fresh beats, and for ...

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Categories: Authenticity, Branding/Marketing/Recruiting, Communication, Marketing, Storytelling

Marketing is like sex…

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Why?  Everyone thinks they’re good at it!

All joking aside, it’s true. Everyone from your brother to your boss has got their own definition of what marketing is and what makes it great (or horrendous, or remarkable, or offensive, or inspired…)

So much so that it can make it quite difficult for someone in my shoes to be confident my team and I are hitting the mark.

If you’re feeling my pain, then don’t miss this list of “10 Companies with Insanely Great Marketing.”

Of course you’ll glean insights from legends like Apple, Nike and Geico (I confess, I can’t get enough of Maxwell, the pig who cries “weee weee weeeee” all the way home. Never gets old.)

But as much as we all have ...

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Categories: Branding/Marketing/Recruiting, Communication, Marketing

Facebook without the whining

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“I would have written this article sooner,” says business journalist Lydia Dishman, “but I was busy on Pinterest.” Turns out, she wasn’t alone.

In her recent story in Fast Company magazine — entitled “Why Pinterest Is So Addictive” — Dishman explores the reasons this relatively new social networking site is attracting so many people, including, perhaps, students you’re trying to recruit.

Launched in 2010, Pinterest has suddenly exploded in popularity, with nearly 12 million unique U.S. visitors last month. The site is a virtual bulletin board that enables you to create online image collages, then easily share those collages — called pinboards — with other users.

Part of Pinterest’s appeal is that it is visually beautiful and overwhelmingly positive (“like Facebook without the ...

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Categories: College Recruiting, Marketing, Social Media, Social Networking

All Purchasing is Emotional – Especially Where to Attend College

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I will never understand the mind of teenagers. When we’re conducting tour guide workshops we ask students why they chose their school. There are always two repetitive answers: I visited and it felt right and I could see myself here.

I’ve also heard the most irrational reasons to support their choice:

  • “It was snowy and everyone was wearing flip flops when I visited in January and I thought they were cool.”
  • “My mom is afraid to drive over bridges, so I decided when I was crossing the Delaware river on the Ben Franklin bridge while driving in for a campus visit.”

As an emotive marketer, I was thrilled to read an article in a recent issue of The Economist about Ernest Dichter, an acolyte ...

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Categories: Authenticity, Branding/Marketing/Recruiting, Marketing

Mailing Millennials

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Talking about “snail mail” as an effective recruitment strategy is sure to raise an eyebrow or two, but don’t discount its benefits and the value it adds. In the second half of this year’s recruitment cycle, admissions offices are thinking more about acceptance letters, open house invitations and financial aid packages — all traditionally print recruitment pieces — that still work according to Deliver Magazine.

In the article “Making sense of the Millennials” by Allan Nahajewski, Millennials don’t mind direct mail. According to one study, Millennials say 75 percent of the mail they receive is valuable, and 73 percent of them have used direct mail coupons.

With this in mind — what’s the most effective way to use direct mail? ...

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Categories: Authenticity, Branding/Marketing/Recruiting, Communication, Communication Plans, Marketing, Millennial Generation, Millennials

Writing your school’s resume

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You’ve heard it a thousand times — Be distinctive; stand out from your competitors. You can’t do that with your faculty/student ratio, no matter how impressive. Or with your small class sizes, no matter how important. Or with the personalized attention your professors provide their students, no matter how beneficial.

Start your story with something that cuts through the college marketing clutter, say all the experts. But perhaps no one has said it quite like advertising executive Angie Jones.

“I have a Bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in marketing,” Jones writes in a recent blog post. Pretty good, but unfortunately millions of people in America have the same degree and emphasis, she says. “Education-wise, I don’t stand out from ...

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Categories: Authenticity, College Recruiting, Communication, Marketing

Marketing is the future

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American universities are not the only ones struggling with change these days. Sharply rising tuition and increasing competition from abroad have schools in the UK relying on marketing like never before.

For a higher education system that has hummed along since the 12th century, aggressive marketing was something other industries had to worry about. But that is changing, says Britain’s William Annandale, and he offers five predictions for the future of higher education marketing that may have relevance for those of us in the colonies:

Differentiate or die. “All HEIs [higher education institutions, as they're known in the UK] need to think clearly about their proposition and how they differentiate themselves. Importantly, this should be addressed from the perspective of target audiences: ...

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Categories: Change, College Recruiting, Communication, CRM, Marketing

And the winners are…

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As one of the leading change agents in higher education, Jeff Kallay is always looking for kindred spirits. Especially when it comes time to select winners of the X Award, the annual prize from TargetX that goes to those who did the most to “overthrow dead culture” in college admissions.

Kallay lobbied hard for two of the top private colleges in the South for their innovative approaches to recruitment marketing, and his colleagues at TargetX agreed.

As a result, Saint Leo University in Florida has received the 5th annual X Award in recognition of an institution that has made great strides to overthrow dead culture, the phrase adopted by CEO Brian Wm. Niles to represent the company’s philosophy of modernizing student recruitment.

And ...

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Categories: Change, College Recruiting, Marketing, Overthrowing Dead Culture

Relationship building with CRM

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Jill Dougherty Cleary is busy. As Director of Marketing and Recruitment for Graduate Arts and Sciences at Saint Joseph’s University, Jill is responsible for generating qualified inquiries and leads for over 40 graduate programs.

“In the course of a day, I may have radio and online campaigns going,” she says. “I may have a niche publication advertising one of our programs.” Add to that monitoring search engines and social media marketing and it would be easy for Jill to get overwhelmed in the noise.

Jill and her colleagues rely on a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to help them rise above the media din.

“What the CRM enables us to do is take a more global look at the ...

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Categories: College Recruiting, CRM, Graduate Recruiting, Marketing