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28 November 2007 Readers in the U.S. have just about recovered from our Thanksgiving holiday, the fall semester is almost over, and early admission applications are arriving at many colleges and universities. The next and final stage of the 2008 recruitment cycle is about to begin. And many of you are well into preparations for 2009. Good luck to everyone as December starts. If you plan ahead, mark your calendar now for the 2008 Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education in Chicago, November 16-19. The 2007 Symposium set a new record with 614 people registered. Still the most comprehensive conference you'll find for higher education marketers. Up in Canada, the University of Manitoba is starting a new branding campaign that highly integrates traditional media with an effort to get people reading one or more of 17 student and alumni blogs that focus on the primary brand theme. See for yourself how blogs can play a central role in a branding campaign at www.itsmyfuture.ca/index.html. The list of college and university “presidents who blog" has hit 25 here I’m starting to review the entries to learn more about what people are writing about, how often they write, whether or not they allow comments (and if so, how many comment) and more. You’ll find a first posting about how many use a brand theme on their blog pages here. And now here are the marketing news and notes for November. Student Engagement Challenges at Community Colleges The special challenges community colleges have in engaging and retaining students get center attention in the most recent findings of the Community College Survey of Student Engagement. The report focuses on the critical first four weeks of enrollment, noting among other points that less than 50 percent of students met with an academic advisor during that time. You’ll find a summary of the results at www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/11/12/ccsse. The executive summary and the full report are at www.ccsse.org. Parents and Teens and the Internet The Pew Internet & American Life Project issued a report in October detailing the differences and similarities in how teens and their parents use the Internet. Teens, for instance, are much more likely to use iPods and other MP3 players than their parents. Aside from this difference, the habits of teens reflect to a great extent the Internet use of their parents. To understand more about the Internet practices of each group, visit the 11-page PDF from a summary page at www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/225/report_display.asp. Early Admissions Forge Ahead Harvard and Princeton aren’t leading the way in college admissions if leadership is measured by how many others followed their example in trying to stop the flow of water down hill this year. Instead, “early” admissions applications are surging forward at most colleges and universities that use this practice. Early application is up 36 percent at Yale, 42 percent at University of Chicago, and 30 percent at Georgetown University. The Harvard and Princeton decisions aren’t seen as the primary reason for the increases elsewhere. Instead, there is a continuing trend to submit more applications. And, the Wall Street Journal reports, “more students prefer to apply early.” And so goes the reality of marketing influenced by the preferences of those to whom we market. More details in the WSJ article here. Increasing Your Email Advertising Results If you send regular email to prospective students and alumni that include action steps, don’t miss this article about how the New York Academy of Sciences increased online conversions by various tweaks in the way it presented ticket sales and other items in monthly newsletters. Effective changes included placing ads within the text of the newsletter rather than in the right hand column. Learn more at www.marketingsherpa.com/article.php?ident=30212 with open access until December 4. ROI for Online Marketing Activities If you’re wondering how to set up a system to harness your web metrics into a process that will give you understandable information about what you are getting for your web investment, start by reading Neil Mason’s article “Web Measurement Strategies for Small Businesses” at www.clickz.com/3627682. Despite the “small businesses” in the title, this is an excellent introduction for budget-minded places like most colleges and universities who have a need to know what to expect from their website endeavors but don’t have a huge corporate budget to find out. Better Online Forms Create Higher Conversions Whenever I review a college website from a marketing perspective, one of the first things I check is the inquiry form. And I’m always amazed at how many of these are designed to collect information that someone in the organizations wants to see rather than to maximize the number of people who complete the form and become an inquiry. For a quick review on building better online forms, visit here for Garrett Dirnon’s article on “Better Web Forms: Redesigning eBay’s Registration.” Yes, everyone can learn from the eBay experience. My favorite line comes near the end: “Its more important to have the form be clean, simple, and comprehensible than it is to try to create the most efficient form possible.” Notre Dame Alumni and Social Networking Conventional wisdom might suggest that Notre Dame doesn’t have to do much to engage with alumni. The reality is that every college and university today has to take part in the online social networking phenomena that’s attracting people of just about every age. The real question is how to best do that. The path for alumni at Notre Dame is to create a private online space that, it is hoped, will appeal to alumni reluctant to share information on a public network. Fundraising Success magazine gives front page prominence to this new effort in the current print issue. You can read all about the ambitious undertaking online here in the article titled “The Blue and the Gold (and the Green).” One goal of the new effort: increase known email addresses for alumni from the present 50 percent to 90 percent “over the next few years.” Colleges Converting to Universities for Brand Strength That’s the rationale reported by the Boston Globe as the primary reason for a proposal by most state colleges in Massachusetts to adopt the “university” designation. The change, it is said, would give them greater brand position in the marketplace since people respect a “university” more than a “college” and thus allow them to compete more effectively for students. The college presidents, of course, are promising no additional costs from the move. Two are ready to introduce doctoral programs. Read the full story at here. Accountability and Marketing As the Department of Education continues pressure from the Federal Government for greater accountability standards for colleges and universities, more schools will have to respond with information about the outcomes of their educational efforts. In a recent Link of the Week selection I noted how Slippery Rock University was meeting the challenge at www.sru.edu. That listing brought a note about a similar “Open Book” effort at Augustana College at www.augustana.edu/index.php What’s special about both of these listings is the high visibility each receives from a prominent listing on the front page of the website. Visit them both and decide how you can provide similar information to bolster your marketing position. For the most part, the information is easy to read and understand. 10 Point Guide to Online Viral Videos You’ve noticed that videos are becoming a more important part of the marketing communications mix. Have you thought about how you’re going to join this part of the New World? Start with Kevin Nalts’ “Ten Lessons for Marketers Using Viral Videos,” built from the experiences of a Fortune 500 marketer who is also a creator of popular comedy videos. He notes that YouTube is for now the only place to post your videos since it has a huge lead in market share. Since only about 2 percent of your video viewers will move from there to your website, the total number of viewers is a key metric and viral marketing is a key to this success. Read more about those and other points at adage.com/digital/article.php?article_id=122205. 14 Search Engine Marketing Columns If search marketing interests you, visit searchengineland.com/columns.php and select your favorite topics from among 14 weekly columns. You can elect to receive notice of new columns by email or by RSS feed. Two are special favorites of mine. “Link Week” focuses on the challenges of building a stronger system of links to and from other websites. “Small is Beautiful” presents successful practices from small businesses that often will also work for small colleges and universities. Web Ruins Organizational Control Today, the “people” rather than those who lead and manage organizations are more in control of information than ever before. That’s due to the ability to create information on the Web. And thus we have the popularity of Wikipedia, Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, and more. Here’s a quote from a recent column by Gerry McGovern: “Traditional organizations are not used to this and they don’t like it. They are used to organizing. Governments are used to coming up with policies and procedures which citizens are then supposed to adhere to. Citizens are supposed to learn government language and how government works.” Substitute “colleges and universities” (indeed, any large organization) for government, and the shoe fits. For more insight into what’s afoot here, read Gerry’s article “Thinking Web, not website” here. Paper Costs Might Jump 25 percent in 2008 AdAge is reporting yet another challenge for magazine publishers that might also impact printing of college and university viewbooks. Changes current and pending in the paper business will very possibly result in a significant increase next year in the cost of paper, especially the higher quality paper that magazines use. Read the informed speculation, “Expected Rise in Paper Costs Leaves Publishers Shuddering,” at adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=122187 and check soon with your printer. 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 at one or more of these events! November 29-30, San Francisco, CA: The Aslanian Group, “Recruiting and Retaining Adult and Graduate Students.” Program and registration details are at www.aslaniangroup.com. December 5-6, Miami, FL: The Aslanian Group, “Everything Online.” Register now at www.aslaniangroup.com. December 10, Chicago, IL: CASE District V Conference, “Writing Right for the Web: Engage Your Visitors and Improve Your Search Engine Visibility.” Read the session description at www.casefive.org/conference/2007/web.cfm. Expand professional growth opportunities on your campus. Host a seminar to increase the Online Marketing skills of people on your campus and get a better ROI on your future investments. New 2008 presentations are already scheduled. Look for them soon on my website and in the December newsletter. Schedule a presentation on your campus. 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 Gerry McGovern’s Customer Carewords Research 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 |