 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
| Your Higher Education Marketing Newsletter |
|
28 February 2007 Greetings from Austin, Texas where the sun and the temperature are both admirable as I write this during a quick visit for a presentation on “Emerging Technologies: Communicating Tomorrow in the Internet World.” Then I’ll move on to the Academic Impressions conference in Boston. There’s a temptation to stay longer, at least until word arrives that spring has started in Michigan. Welcome to 29 new subscribers from the UCEA online marketing boot camp in San Francisco and 21 from the University of Texas System conference in Austin. If you know someone interested in higher education marketing, send them for a quick “name and email” subscription at www.bobjohnsonconsulting.com. You’ll find several entries in this news letter that deal with rising costs in higher education, and the best value schools that help offset those costs. What impact this round of cost attention in the media will have on individual schools isn’t easy to predict. The overall impact is probably a continuing advantage for the institutions profiled in the Kiplinger’s report that can combine a significant element of brand prestige with low cost, especially if that translates into less debt at time of graduation. We will see if this round of “cost concern” has more impact than earlier ones. I finished reading Gerry McGovern’s new book, Killer Web Content, while flying down to Austin. Visit www.gerrymcovern.com to read the first chapter. If you like that, buy the book. It will change how you think about your website. And there's an excellent chance that it will save you money and increase your market strength when you next plan a major website upgrade. Tuition “Adjustment” vs. Tuition “Jump” at Grinnell Grinnell College is increasing tuition by $4,200 for new freshmen in the fall of 2007, a move designed to reposition the college to the same cost level as primary competitors that include Carleton, Macalester, and Oberlin colleges at approximately $33,000 per year. The official Grinnell press release at www.grinnell.edu/tv/tuition_01_2007/ describes the change as a “tuition adjustment” intended to “reduce loans and increase summer opportunities.” The Des Moines Register didn’t run with the official interpretation, headlining the 12.6 percent change as “Grinnell stuns students with unusual tuition jump.” Read the news story here. Comparing the two stories is a lesson in message control. The news article does, in the second half, repeat much of what’s in the official press release but the focus of the first half is on the growing concern over rising college costs that the Grinnell increase represents. New Website for Teen Girls and College Stories "Flip” is a new social networking website aimed at teen girls that’s still in beta phase. Add this to the list of websites you plan to monitor to see what people are saying about you in the online world, although it is too early to say how popular this site will become. After an easy registration, a quick search for “colleges” found two students who plan to report regularly on their freshman year experiences at Vanderbilt University and University of California San Diego. And yes, Flip accepts advertising. You can join and review the site at www.flip.com/ Forbes Magazine and Expensive Colleges Forbes magazine highlights the rising college cost issue in an article that notes that colleges have no incentive for efficient operation but every incentive to be “the best” no matter what the cost to achieve that. The article headline is “America’s Most Expensive Colleges.” The main point: the 10 most expensive colleges in the United States, primarily smaller liberal arts colleges, averaged a 52 percent increase from 1999 to 2006, or triple the cost of living increase. Publics are also included, from Miami of Ohio as the most expensive list price for in-state students to the University of Michigan as the most expensive for out-of-state students. Miami discounts heavily for Ohio residents: Michigan does not do the same for out-of-state students. Read the Forbes presentation here. Enjoy the photo review at the end of the article that presents quick data on the most expensive schools, starting with George Washington University. 100 Best Value Public Colleges at Kiplinger’s People whose college selection process is driven by “value for money” criteria will find the Kiplinger’s report of special interest. And this year, it is easier to use than ever with an interactive feature that lets you sort the 100 institutions by state. What the best value of all? That honor goes again to University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where students “pay $13,584 or less and get small classes, a top-notch faculty and a supportive environment that enables 84% of students to earn a degree within six years.” Find the other 99 schools at www.kiplinger.com/magazine/archives/2007/02/colleges.html. “Finish in Four” Guarantee at Northern Arizona In the midst of increasing attention to cost, Northern Arizona University is taking a lead position among rival state universities by guaranteeing availability of courses needed to graduate in four years. Most but not all majors are included. And there’s an important caveat: you can’t switch majors after your initial enrollment. For full details of the plan, visit www4.nau.edu/gateway/finishinfour.htm. Advice for Novice SEO Keyword Choice If you want to become a keyword specialist, then Ken McGaffin’s series of articles for WordTracker is a good place to start. McGaffin is writing for people who are not SEO experts but still want to make intelligent choices among the many options available. SEO is an area where thousands of thoughts on best practice techniques are blooming at the same time. Best to keep reading and move forward with caution, remembering that the very best SEO practice is building content that is valued by the visitors you hope to engage at your website. Visit www.wordtracker.com/academy/choosing_your_best_keywords/. 9 Faculty Blog at a New University in Canada Yes, a blog on your website isn’t just something that students can write. At Quest University, faculty who are developing the curriculum for a new university tell their stories about that task at questfaculty.blogspot.com complete with photos of babies and spectacular mountain views. As Web 2.0 features continue to unfold in higher education, blogs by faculty groups built around common interest areas should continue to expand. Indeed, many of these already exist but are not yet highly visible on college websites. Search out your faculty who are already telling their stories, then link prospective students with interests in those areas to their writing. That’s a recipe for an effective marketing mix. The Quest faculty blog should be very popular with future students and their parents. Phoenix Stays High in Internet Advertising The University of Phoenix is under siege at it enters 2007, but in December of 2006 it continued to invest enough in online advertising to hold the 10th highest spot, just below TD Ameritrade and just above Bank of America, among the Top 50 Internet advertisers. How much are they spending? For December, the amount for online programs is $5.9 million. See the full “Top 50” list at www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3624924. No other spenders in the education sector made the December list. The financial report from the Apollo Group for the quarter ending in November reported overall “selling and promotional expenses” of $26.9 million in the previous three months. A press release describing the report in detail is here. Rats, Taco Bell, and Crisis Management How would unflattering video images of an incident on your campus harm your brand image if they spread throughout the online world? If you haven’t yet added that element to your crisis communication plan, be sure to read about a less than worthy response at adage.com/article?article_id=115184. Pay special attention to suggestions here about how to use search engines to help you survive an unanticipated round of nasty publicity. Above all, you have to prepare to act quickly. Very quickly. 7 Tips for Better Landing Pages Can you ever learn too much about effective landing pages that will increase conversion from any online marketing that brings people to your website? The first tip from Jeanne Jennings is so basic yet so often ignored: “Don’t Just Send Them to Your Home Page” where they just might get lost, frustrated and never return. And you’ll find 6 more worth reading at www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3625075. Advertising on MySpace If you’ve had any discussions about running banner ads on MySpace, be sure to read Luke Bodley’s article on the different ways you can segment your audience, including geographic options. The article is at www.marketingprofs.com/7/MySpace-Marketing-Tips-bodley.asp. Bodley notes that you’ll need a minimum of $5,000 to $10,000 to start a campaign. For a quick look at how about 20 colleges are setting up websites on MySpace, go to the bottom of the page at profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=127930188. My Upcoming Presentations in 2007 Share questions and answers with people like yourself who are building a competitive edge in higher education marketing. Hope to meet you in the New Year! February 28-March 2, Boston, MA: Academic Impressions Conference on Integrating Brand Messaging Across Media, “Writing for the Web” and “Conducting a Communications Audit” with program and registration details at www.academicimpressions.com/conferences/0207-brand-messaging.php. March 5, Web Seminar: Academic Impressions, “Writing for the Web.” Registration details soon. April 3, Dallas, TX: CASE District IV: “Writing for the Web” and “Communicating in Today’s World: the Challenge of Integrating Print, Web, and Email. Registration details are at www.caseiv.org/conference/?CONTAINERID=95&CRUMB=3. May 30-31, Chicago, IL: The Aslanian Group, Advanced Online Marketing. Details soon. June 4, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island: Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education National Conference, “Marketing Communications and New Technology: Keys to Successful Engagement.” Program details are at www.ccaeconf.org/en/. July 18-20, Chicago, IL: ACT Enrollment Planners Conference, “A Marketer’s Guide to Better Search Engine Visibility” (pre-conference workshop) and “The Evolution of Publications in an Internet World.” Expect a website link soon. July 22, Baltimore, MD: eduWeb, Keynote presentation. Follow development of the conference program and read the conference blog at www.eduwebconference.com. Expand professional growth opportunities right on your campus. Ask about creating a seminar to increase the Internet Marketing skills of people on your campus. Schedule your presentation soon for 2007. 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 I offer consulting services personally to colleges and universities and together with the marketing experts at these partner firms: Aslanian Group offers market research and enrollment management services to colleges and universities to increase their market share of adult students. Learn more at www.aslaniangroup.com. Creative Communication Associates is a 22-year leader in the design and implementation of marketing communication strategies for colleges and universities. Learn more about CCA at www.ccanewyork.com. Gerry McGovern offers unparalleled expertise in customer-centric website content and the Customer Carewords research program to identify what that content should be. More about Gerry at www.gerrymcgovern.com. mStoner helps colleges and universities with Internet strategies and website development to meet changing audience expectations, technologies, market pressures, and institutional positioning. For the details, visit www.mstoner.com. TargetX brings the power of the Internet to recruit students and communicate with alumni through higher education’s only integrated suite of online tools. Explore what’s possible at www.targetx.com. Newsletter Archive
28 May 2008 |