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Avoiding data paralysis

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When I conjure up characteristics of a typical admissions professional, I immediately think of words like friendly, knowledgeable, professional, fun-loving (remembering NACAC 2011). My first thoughts aren’t about leveraging financial aid, predictive modeling or data integrity.

Being responsible for data can be a scary thought, even to those “techie” people in admissions who claim to love it. One hazard that CRM expert Mark Miller warns about is data paralysis. Sometimes knowing that all the data is out there waiting to be put to good use can be enough to stop you in your tracks. So, let’s talk baby steps.

Miller offers three suggestions for bringing things under control:

1. Favor smart data over big data. What data ...

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17
FEB
0

Categories: Branding/Marketing/Recruiting, CRM, Data, Uncategorized

Are you paying attention?

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Before parents and students set foot on your campus for a tour, you can bet they’re searching for reviews of your college online. You may have an archive of wonderful case studies, interviews or testimonials from recent grads and current students on your website, but do you know what the sad truth is? Parents and students don’t always trust them!

After surfing admissions site after admissions site and flipping through countless viewbooks, most of the marketing messages from each college begin to sound the same. So what are students and parents doing? They’re hitting up Google to find college reviews from each school on their list.

What can you do as a higher ed marketing professional? ...

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10
FEB
0

Categories: Best Practice Documents, Branding/Marketing/Recruiting, Website, Websites

“Take Your Parent To Work Day” and other tales of helicopter parenting

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For over a decade we’ve been attempting to understand Millennials and their relationships with their helicopter parents.  As a former latchkey kid, maybe I’m jealous of this dynamic; my own parents were fairly absent from a host of major and daily milestones in my development. Now I am a proud and somewhat bitter GenXer who is a bit fed up with Boomer narcissism and Millennial entitlement and having to see members of my generation serve as the managers in the work place caught in the middle of this overindulgence.

The helicopter is still hovering. Take a moment to see where and how.  Ranging from insane to the hilarious, here are some examples:

More parents helping adult children get homes, ...

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9
FEB
0

Categories: Generations, Millennial Generation, Millennials, Uncategorized

What the Superbowl can teach higher ed

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According to the Neilsen Co., an estimated 111 million people watched last year’s Superbowl. But I wonder how many people took their bathroom break during the game and stuck around for the commercials.

This advertising juggernaut has brought us some of the most iconic 30-60 second ads of all-time. Brands bring out the creative “big guns” to catch people’s attention and hopefully have them talking about their product long after the Lombardi Trophy has been awarded.

So you are probably asking yourself, “What does the Superbowl have to do with higher ed?” Well, if you’re in recruitment marketing those ads are doing something that colleges and universities need to be doing much more of — using creativity to grab ...

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3
FEB
0

Categories: Authenticity, Branding/Marketing/Recruiting, Millennial Generation, Millennials, Uncategorized

Would you like fries with that?

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Ever heard the one about “How the liberal arts major says hello?”
(answer: “Would you like fries with that?”)

[go ahead, guffaw]

An NPR reporter recounts the old joke in a recent piece on how new trends could be challenging the notion that specialization in higher ed is the only path to success. They go on to tell the story of how food giant ConAgra — think Chef Boyardee and Marie Callender’s — has revamped their internship program to include the recruitment of such “off the beaten path” employees as journalism or biology majors.

Could it be? Are media outlets finally recognizing that there is value in educational pursuits that don’t reduce to 1′s and 0′s?

USA Today seems to think ...

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27
JAN
0

Categories: Uncategorized

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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26
JAN
0

Categories: Authenticity, Branding/Marketing/Recruiting, Marketing

How to redesign a website

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When Marketing VP Adrienne Hamson decided to redesign the TargetX website, she immediately thought about making it faster and simpler to navigate.  She knew it had to be more interactive.  And she vowed to make all the product information easily digestible.

But the real challenge, she realized, was to build upon all the best-practice advice that TargetX has become known for — and make the site a place where admissions professionals can go for content that will make them better recruiters and marketersShe succeeded, and TargetX just launched a new website that offers:

  • A video library consisting of the company’s popular “Free on Friday” webcasts aimed at admissions officers.

  • The iThink Blog, a compendium of posts about student recruiting from a variety of ...
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20
JAN
0

Categories: Campus Visit, College Recruiting, Websites

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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13
JAN
0

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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11
JAN
0

Categories: Authenticity, College Recruiting, Communication, Marketing

A New Year’s Resolution Toward Authenticity

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Most of my friends and colleagues know I’m not one for the November and December holidays. My nickname is Scrinch , a combination of Scrooge and Grinch. But, I do love New Year’s. It’s global, non-sectarian, and is about a fresh start and beginning.

For years I’ve been preaching about the experience economy and what it means to recruiting students, especially through more authentic, engaging, and memorable campus visits.

I have two titles at TargetX: VP, Consulting and Apostle of Authenticity. My mission as the Apostle of Authenticity is to get schools to be comfortable with who they genuinely are and to embrace their core DNA.

But our industry is overrun with a generation of leaders (most of whom have been raised ...

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19
DEC
0

Categories: Authenticity, Branding/Marketing/Recruiting, Campus Visit, Millennial Generation, Millennials

Admissions’ Wish List

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During our holiday Free on Friday webcast last week — “Admissions’ Wish List for Santa” — admissions professionals were asked to submit their “wishes” for the industry. Many of our colleagues submitted a letter to Santa (TargetX’s very own Trent Gilbert) and the content did not disappoint. From the basic needs of an admissions office to campus-wide strategic planning, here are just a few requests we wanted to share.

Office and campus essentials included items like iPads for admissions staff (and a strategy for their use), and an additional staff member on the “social media” team. Taryn from Lynn University had a larger request, “A new student center that highlights campus life.” But she wasn’t the only one; many admissions officers ...

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16
DEC
0

Categories: Branding/Marketing/Recruiting, Free on Friday Webcasts

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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9
DEC
0

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

Season's E-Greetings

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Holiday emails are a great opportunity to engage prospective students. You can share with them the celebrations and traditions of your institution, or share all the fun and interesting activities that the New Year will bring to your college. Not sure how to execute the perfect holiday greeting? You’re not the only one.

“Season’s E-Greetings! Great Examples of Year-End Outreach” by Jennifer Doak provides us with some best practices for creating effective holiday e-cards, videos and messages that resonate with your audience (and she shares some examples from colleges and universities too).

Here are a few tips from Doak’s post to keep in mind while creating your college or university’s message:

Tap into student and alumni talent. Alumni can tell stories of their ...

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2
DEC
0

Categories: Best Practice Documents, Branding/Marketing/Recruiting, Email, Email Campaign Ideas, Email Recruiting, Videos

Going mobile in higher ed

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Colleges consider a variety of communication channels important to recruiting best-fit students — and many would say mobile should be in the mix too.

“Given the increasing use of smartphones among the college-aged, this is an excellent time for your admissions staff to familiarize themselves with QR codes and with mobile marketing in general,” says Daniel Fusch of Academic Impressions. To learn more about this, Fusch interviewed web and mobile marketing consultant Bob Johnson about what he thinks campuses could be doing to kick-start their efforts.

QR (Quick Response) codes have become a popular choice for colleges and universities to begin building a mobile presence. Bob Johnson cites an example from Westminster College, which uses QR codes in their view book, leading ...

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18
NOV
0

Categories: College Recruiting, Mobile, Mobile 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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11
NOV
2

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

Tracking trends

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Keeping up with what’s happening in higher education is easier said than done. So when articles like Nancy Griesemer’s “15 College Admissions Trends Worth Watching” comes out — it’s perfect for “on-the-go” counselors and directors of admissions.

Griesemer’s 15 trends come from the 2011 State of College Admission report provided by the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC). This collection of data from NACAC, the College Board and the federal government makes up a comprehensive document with significant information about college admissions. Here’s just a sampling of Griesemer’s list and what it means for admissions:

The total number of high school graduates is down. We’ll continue to see this decline through 2015. Enrollment and retention offices will be working ...

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4
NOV
1

Categories: Applicants, Branding/Marketing/Recruiting, Change, Data, Social Networking, Tracking

Curb your…Millennial-bashing?

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These days I’m hearing more and more complaints about Millennials.  ”They’re lazy,” “They can’t solve problems on their own,” “They’re so entitled” — you name it and someone’s got a gripe.

Sadly, it seems “Millennial-bashing” has become the obsession du jour for some circles in higher ed.  And I have to say it’s getting a little old.

True, my jaded Gen-X cusper status makes me an unlikely defender of these close-in-age-but-miles-away-in-mindset peers of mine.  But I’d argue there’s not much to be gained from ragging on a generation that will most likely rule the world someday — if not by deservedness then by sheer numbers alone.

From my point of view, we’d be better off spending our time seeking ways to let our differences ...

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28
OCT
0

Categories: Branding/Marketing/Recruiting, Millennial Generation, Millennials

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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21
OCT
0

Categories: College Recruiting, CRM, Graduate Recruiting, Marketing

Email metrics that matter

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Admissions offices are always seeking ways to be more effective. Especially when it comes to communicating with prospective students. With email still one of the most popular channels, how can you be sure that your email messages are effective and breaking through the clutter?

Measuring email effectiveness doesn’t have to be difficult; and Chris Chariton of MediaPost Publications identifies the most important metrics to evaluate when sending email communications. Chariton establishes which metrics matter most through three simple questions:

1. Is my list good? Make sure your list is up to date and accurate. It’s the foundation of good email communication. The metrics for review include — emails sent versus emails delivered and your soft and hard bounce count.

2. Is my content ...

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14
OCT
1

Categories: Email, Email Recruiting

In pursuit of the best-fit student

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Numbers no longer have the same appeal for admissions officers at the University of Tennessee. They’re moving away from the SAT, ACT and grade-point average in favor of a more complete view of their prospective students, according to reporter Joan Garrett.

It’s a familiar goal among the nation’s colleges — go beyond test scores and other statistics to get a fuller picture of a prospect to help determine if he or she will be a best-fit student. Increasingly, Facebook and other social networks are serving as allies in the search.

The number of admissions offices using Facebook to learn more about an applicant has quadrupled in the past year, reports Garrett of the Chattanooga Times Free Press. While schools are sensitive to ...

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7
OCT
0

Categories: College Recruiting, CRM, Facebook, Social Media, Social Networking

The pulse of NACAC

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Common themes surfaced as 3,000 plus admissions professionals gathered last week in New Orleans for the annual conference of the National Association for College Admission Counseling. The mood among the crowd was filled with excitement and ideas for change in higher education.

In the midst of the conference action, admissions officers from across the country shared their thoughts with us at the annual iThink event which was held on the exhibit hall floor. We asked our friends and colleagues to complete this phrase — “I think admissions…” — and here’s what attendees had to say:

“Admissions is at a crossroads.” Many factors contributed to this widely used phrase, like the higher ed balance between being market driven and education-oriented, branding versus authenticity ...

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30
SEP
0

Categories: Branding/Marketing/Recruiting, Change, Free on Friday Webcasts, Misc., NACAC, Webcast

iThink for the masses

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For the last three years, the most impressive collection of admissions talent gathered in one room has been at “iThink” — the unofficial kick-off to the annual NACAC conference. A two-hour open discussion with VPs, deans and directors, TargetX’s iThink event has offered an accurate barometer of where college recruiting is headed.

The company responsible for iThink is changing things up this year, but the goal is the same: Find out what’s on the minds of the nation’s college recruiters and identify any enrollment trends that will dominate the year.

Instead of inviting top admissions officers to gather before the start of NACAC, TargetX is broadening its reach and hosting a live broadcast from the floor of the Exhibit Hall at the ...

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23
SEP
0

Categories: College Recruiting, NACAC

Is branding the solution?

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Vince Lombardi would begin practice each spring by lifting a football and, with deep resonance, announce, “Men, this is a football.”

To winning teams, the fundamentals are etched in stone; they make up the DNA of every player. When it comes to enrollment, many colleges and universities have lost sight of the fundamentals.

Over the years, I’ve helped build the importance of “institutional branding” as it became a taskmaster, dictating to all who follow. Many say that branded messaging is the cornerstone for enrollment success and the engine driving the perception of institutional significance.

After more than two decades of creating institutional brands, my experience has proven otherwise.

Institutional branding should begin to form after the fundamentals have been drilled into the team. When ...

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16
SEP
1

Categories: Branding/Marketing/Recruiting, College Recruiting, NACAC, Uncategorized

What Mercedes and other auto brands can teach you about your visit experience

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I’m a car guy.

Back in 6th grade I had subscriptions to Road & Track and Car and Driver. My father sold cars and managed dealerships. He used to quiz me on the year, make, and model of cars we passed while driving – by day and by night (Yes, I can identify a car based upon its headlights).

Take a look at the Global Fortune 500 top 25 companies list. It’s inundated with oil and car companies.

So what does all this mean to you in admissions? At TargetX, we always encourage you to look beyond the school up the road for best practices and to look outside of admissions. Car companies are a great place to look for best ...

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15
SEP
1

Categories: Best Practice Documents, Branding/Marketing/Recruiting, Campus Visit Audits Sidebar, Campus Visit Experiences, Change, Customer Service, Uncategorized

Social media marketing IQ

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Getting more and more excited about marketing your school via social networking? That’s great, says interactive marketer Heidi Cohen, but first you need to check your social media marketing IQ.

“Here are 30 questions,” she writes in a recent ClickZ article, “that will help you assess where your organization is in terms of social media marketing maturity and where you may need to improve effectiveness.”

Cohen divides her questions into such categories as goals, strategies, content, metrics, budget — and the all-important “listening” factor. Included among the 30 are:

- Do you have brand monitoring and/or other analytics in place? These can range from professional social media monitoring to free options such as Google Alerts and Twitter Search.

- If you are listening as ...

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9
SEP
2

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

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