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27 February 2008 Late February greetings to everyone. In Michigan we are not quite sure that Spring is anywhere on the horizon, but I’m recently back from UC Davis where the 60 degree temperature in the Sacramento area gave me extra inspiration for this month’s newsletter. Consider this year channeling your enthusiasm for Spring into a paper proposal for the AMA’s Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education in November in Chicago. Follow the “2008 Call for Papers” link here. As always, this is the best place to meet and mingle with hundreds of higher education marketing professionals. One of the great things about web conferences is that the number of people who can attend isn’t limited by the number of hotel rooms. So although 72 schools have already registered, you can still sign up yourself and your marketing friends for my March 25 “Writing Right for the Web” conference here. And there’s a bonus. Soon after we end, you get my written answers to questions you and others submit. Join us on March 25. And now, here are your marketing news and notes for February 2008. “Professors Strike Back” in Videos at Rate My Professors.com No doubt it takes a special type of faculty person to make videos in rebuttal of comments made by students rating their professors. If I counted right, 29 professors are online so far. My quick guess is that Rutgers is most heavily represented, as is the state of New Jersey overall. But you’ll find people from Boston University, Baruch College, Temple University, Honolulu Community College, Fordham University and other schools as well. See the feature prominently displayed at www.ratemyprofessors.com or go direct to www.mtvu.com/on_mtvu/professors_strike_back/2.jhtml. And of course, check the faculty who are rated at your school. You might want to encourage an online rebuttal as well. 12 Cs for Success in the Online World Is it time to move past the usual mix of “Four” letters for marketing and find anchors for the new and always changing online marketing world? In this case, Lee Huang is writing his first column for ClickZ and offering a variety of “C” thoughts to consider as we ponder the path ahead. Some of these are old favorites that deserve constant reinforcement. Three are especially important: Customers (“deliver an online experience that allows them to easily complete their goals”), Customer Experience, and Content and tools (“a good mix of compelling content and interactive tools that benefit your customers”). For Lee’s full list, visit www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3628445. 11 Internet Marketing Trends to Ignore in 2008 For some substance and some fun, check Ian Laurie’s list here. Ian starts with Facebook and ends with Podcasts, with Mobile Media Marketing in the 5th position. Good party conversation pieces along with expert advice on where not to concentrate your efforts this year. Not quite “man bites dog,” but close. New Web Awards for eduWeb 2008 Conference Is there something about your website that makes it stand out among colleges and universities? If so, consider entering it in one of 35 categories for possible award selection at the 2008 eduWeb conference in July. eduWeb has linked with eduStyle and you find the full details at www.edustyle.net/awards/. Nominations begin on March 5. Be sure to visit the extensive “Gallery” of college and university websites, where you can visit websites and then tell the world if a site is “My Style” or “Not My Style.” Your website may already be there, in between Abilene Christian University and York University. 5 Steps to Increased Web Engagement Spend just a few minutes to read through Stoney deGeyter’s clearly presented thoughts on steps that will better engage visitors at your website. My favorite was the last one: the importance of creating “textual links” that lead people in a natural way from one page to another through information of interest to them without forcing them to puzzle out your navigation system. Read more here. An Interview with Seth Godin Read through this short interview with the creator of “permission marketing” and find nuggets worth thinking about. My favorite was Godin’s comment on storytelling: too many marketers try to tell their whole story at one time, without understanding that the better plan is to unfold your story gradually and keep the reader interested and coming back for more. The interview is here. After the interview, learn more about his new book, Meatball Sundae. Best Fonts to Use in Email Here’s an article that reports on the relative impressions made by three fonts tested in a recent research project (Calibri, Comic Sans, and Gigi) and also includes a total of 20 in “rank order of fonts that should be used for email.” Good to see that my two traditional favorites, Arial and Verdana, rank in the top 7 listed. There’s more statistical analysis here than most of us want to see, but visit for the rankings and to see which of the three tested actually leads among the 20 listed. Visit psychology.wichita.edu/surl/usabilitynews/91/POF.html and decide if you might benefit from using a new font in your email. New “One Day” University If you’re like me, you’ve told yourself you’d never go back to college if you had to take a test on what you were learning. Now, two enterprising people have founded One Day University, presenting clusters of lectures by 76 faculty from well-recognized universities, including more than a few from the Ivy League, to tap into the lucrative continuing education market. But these marvelous people are doing even more than removing tests. According to an article in the Philadelphia inquirer, they seek out popular professors (definition: their classes are hard to get into) who speak normal language that real people can understand. Academic jargon, no matter the subject, is a disqualifier for these classes. Read the general news at here. Review 20 One Day University events from March 1 to June 8 at www.onedayu.com. Maybe you’d like to take “Linguistics: Words and Where They Come From” or “Music: The Genius of Bach.” Online Help for Search Engine Optimization Time to repeat here a recommendation I include at the end of my “Writing Right for the Web” workshops. If you’re interested in improving the standing of your website for search engine marketing and just getting started toward that goal, don’t miss the resources offered by Gradiva Couzin and Jennifer Grappone at www.yourseoplan.com. These folk would like you to buy their book, “Search Engine Optimization, An Hour a Day.” But in the meantime, they offer a variety of templates and recommendations that will help you whether or not you ever read the book. A highly recommended website. $200 Incentive for MBA Enrollment Financial incentives are unusual in higher education marketing. That’s why an offer from the MBA program at Regis University caught my attention. To introduce a new “Fast Track” option for the online MBA, Regis is offering a $200 tuition discount plus free books with free shipping to students who enroll in the “Spring II 2008” term. View how the offer is presented here. A Breeze Stirs in Massachusetts A state representative, Paul Kujawski, is suggesting that universities with endowments in excess of $5 billion pay taxes to the state. That level would impact Harvard and MIT. Kujawski argues that the Harvard endowment of $34 billion is larger than the Massachusetts state budget of $28 billion and that his proposal should be considered as an alternative to raising other state taxes. The news story closes by noting dissatisfaction in the U.S. Senate with how tax-exempt universities are using income from endowment funds. Will the breeze turn into a wind and then a gale? Don’t bet your retirement funds, but increasingly more people are suggesting that some members of the higher education empire are not wearing clothes. Read the full story here. Yale Moves to Increase Enrollment A few years from now the benefits of an Ivy League education will be available to about 700 more students as Yale University moves forward with a plan to build two new residential colleges. The impending decision reinforces the image that higher education does not do things in haste. Expansion, the Yale Daily News reports, has been under consideration for about 10 years. It marks the first major enrollment increase since women were first admitted in 1969. The paper reports that only about 25 percent of student support the expansion. A member of the Yale “Corporation” replied that “it’s not the students decision to expand or not.” Read more at www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/23722. The formal statement from the president to faculty, students, and deans is at www.yale.edu/opa/president/statements/20080218.html. Apollo Group Expands to Chile The parent corporation of the University of Phoenix, Apollo Group, Inc. has purchased a private, accredited university in Chile that specializes in online degree programs. This is the first acquisition in an international expansion plan launched in 2007 with the formation of Apollo Global, Inc, a $1 billion joint venture with a private equity firm. Price details and information about the new member of the Apollo family are at here. Demographics on Internet Access Our Pew Internet & American Life Project friends have put 4 PowerPoint slides online that give you a quick look at demographic information compiled from earlier research reports. You can easily see what ethnic and income groups have passed the 50 percent adoption level for mobile phone use and home broadband. The slides were prepared for a February meeting of usability professionals. Download the pages here. My Upcoming Presentations in 2008 Share questions and answers with people like yourself who are building a competitive edge in higher education marketing. Hope to meet you at one or more of these events! March 7, Harrisburg, PA: College and University Public Relations Association of Pennsylvania: “Communicating in Today’s World: The Challenge of Integrating Print, Web, and Email” and “Writing Right for the Web: Engage Your Visitors and Improve Your Search Engine Visibility.” Check the conference highlights at www.cuprap.org/default.aspx?pageid=14. April 8, Little Rock, AK: CASE District IV: “Search Engine Marketing” and “Marketing Communications and New Technology: Keys to Successful Engagement.” Program and registration details are at www.caseiv.org/conference/?CONTAINERID=95&CRUMB=3. May 29-30, Chicago, IL: The Aslanian Group Spring Seminar: Adult Student Marketing: Electronic, Mass Media, and Print Practices that Work. Session details will be online by next Monday at www.aslaniangroup.com. June 3, Illinois Institute of Technology, Wheaton, IL: REACh Professional Development Day, “Using Technology to Attract and Recruit Adult Students.” Get a better ROI on your online marketing. Expand the writing, editing, and search marketing skills of people on your campus. Host a campus seminar on online marketing. Contact me at bob@bobjohnsonconsulting.com. That’s All for Now Be a marketing champion on your campus.
Bob Johnson, Ph.D. (bob@bobjohnsonconsulting.com) Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC Improve your online marketing success with these six services.
Marketing Communications Website Review Customer Carewords Research with Gerry McGovern Content Copywriting Services Competitive Website Reviews Writing Right for the Web On-Campus Workshops Start now at www.bobjohnsonconsulting.com/whatwedo.html. Newsletter Archive
2 December 2008 |