Andrew Hibel, HigherEdJobs: Panel, please briefly describe your current role on campus.
Beth DeMauro, Rutgers: In my 24 years at Rutgers, I’ve done everything from edit course catalogs and recruitment materials to writing university communications policies and playing a key role in the development and creation of the university’s comprehensive communication plan. I’ve worked at the unit level, the school level, and the central administration level. My current work as Director of Marketing and Strategic Communications revolves around clarifying the Rutgers brand and elevating the status of the university as a leading national research university system and the state of New Jersey’s preeminent, comprehensive public institution of higher education.
Christina M. Haggerty, MCC: My role as Chief Communications Officer (CCO) has expanded at McHenry County College (MCC) because the role and relationship of marketing has grown in higher education. Because we have a senior leadership team in place who value and support the marketing function, marketing and communications has a seat at the table to help advise and determine strategies to support institutional initiatives.
As CCO, I develop and oversee the implementation of a strategic, integrated marketing plan that combines direct mail, print, social media, web and advertising to support the institution’s strategic direction, enrollment management and development efforts. I lead an account team of graphic designers, copywriters, media relations specialists, and web developers. I also act as the College’s Public Information Officer and serves as a liaison, advisor and writer to the College president and senior leadership. Finally, I oversee the duplication center.
David Perry, Bentley: As Chief Marketing Officer at Bentley, I oversee a team that manages marketing and communications for the institution including brand management and key programs marketing (undergraduate and graduate programs), public relations and content marketing (earned and owned media), and digital engagement and creative services (web, social media, design and print).
Hibel: Many four-year colleges still focus on the traditional 18-year-old high school graduates, which recently is approximately 28 percent of the market. Why do colleges still continue to do this and is it a mistake?
DeMauro: Successful marketing strategies for colleges and universities are rooted in solid research target audiences that are directly tied to their marketing goals, regardless of what percentage of the market that audience represents. So, if a university wants to increase their enrollment numbers and they have research that tells them that 18-year-old high school graduates are the decision makers for taking that step, then they are on the right track for their goals.
Haggerty: While over 33 percent of our community’s high school graduates come to MCC to begin their college studies, we know that there is great(er) opportunity in the adult market. Perhaps colleges continue to focus primarily on the traditional age market because this group is easiest to identify/reach–rather than looking hard and close at all markets and creating a hierarchy of segments based on factors such as unemployment, underemployment, displaced workers, growing industries and job demand. However, at MCC we know that we must align our programs/offerings with those needs of the community and area businesses – it’s truly collaborative. In many cases, the programs that have the greatest growth potential are ideal for the adult student who is looking to be employable immediately and/or grow their earning potential in their existing career.
Perry: For many schools this is still their core market. Although it is obviously a competitive market that is only going to get more intense, there is still strong demand in this segment for the four year undergraduate experience. The bulk of our growth at Bentley is going to come from our growing graduate offerings — three MBA, eight MS programs and executive ed offerings. Some of these programs have an online component. I do think many of the traditional four-year colleges that focus primarily on the 18-year-old will face increased pressures and will need to look to other segments and revenue sources.
Hibel: How does your college market to recent high school graduates versus the remaing other 76 percent of the higher education market?
Haggerty: In all cases, the importance of social media has increased over the past few years. However, the type of social media platform(s) used can differ based on various markets and how they wish to receive information. In addition, high school students and recent grads are communicated to in a variety of ways that leverage the relationships they have with their guidance counselors and family members. In the case of all markets, at MCC we always use multiple channels to deliver consistent messaging — the specific market drives how we devise the right media mix of direct, print, online/interactive/social, radio, outdoor, etc.
Perry: We, along with other schools, are employing new ways to market to both to high school students (and their parents) as well as to adult prospects. The high school prospect is a challenging market because the media they consume and how they consume it is changing. In sum, they are very hard to reach via traditional media and shift their consumption of social media and emerging channels. I think we will continue to invest more in forms of inbound, content focused marketing for all segments.
Hibel: Social media has changed higher education marketing. What techniques or creative ways has your institution found beneficial? Is there anything that has not worked and why?
DeMauro: Rutgers uses a variety of techniques to generate buzz through social media. Karen A. Smith, Assistant Director of New and Emerging Media, shared these examples: Lately, we have been soliciting information from our fans using a series of prompts, such as “Tell us the one thing you have to do at Rutgers before you graduate.” or “Where is the best place for a late-night snack at Rutgers?” We’ve been getting great feedback and packaging the responses using Storify. We then push the content back out. We’ve also created a new #RUMyView program on Instagram. We turn over the account to a student for the day. Essentially the student hijacks the account (under our guidelines) and they post their view of the university. It’s generating great feedback and we have lots of students interested.
Haggerty: MCC is highly immersed in various social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. While institutions are all over the board when it comes to social media policy, content management, etc., we have developed a series of social media guidelines that dictate appropriate/inappropriate process for use. This includes centrally managing all official social media through the marketing function, as well as how each platform is used in relation to the others. We have also leveraged scheduling tools to help manage, measure and regulate content. Our team regularly has strategy meetings to discuss repurposing content among social media platforms and other efforts (i.e. press releases, features, event calendar, etc.). One success for us has been enlisting others/followers to like, share, retweet and/or comment on posts. This increases post visibility and reinforces relevance of our messages to the reader.
Perry: Social media is dynamic and definitely evolving. It can take the form of a marketing channel, an engagement tool, and service recovery or crisis management vehicle. As a marketing channel I believe institutions should employ some pilots with different forms of social media. We have done this and will continue to do it. As a business school, LinkedIn has proven to be a viable marketing channel for our programs, an engagement channel for our alumni and employers as well as a great career planning tool for our students.
Hibel: A university’s brand is obviously critical for bringing students to a university, engaging alumni, involving the community to attracting faculty, with the list going on. How does each of your institutions focus on branding and what is your goal?
Haggerty: In 2012, MCC went through a thorough rebranding process. The focus was to better align our brand with our mission and core values as an institution, as well as create standards by which to follow. Ultimately, our brand is our reputation – and it is how we differentiate the institution from others. Our brand values and visuals now define what MCC is and what it represents. By creating internal brand champions early-on in the rebranding process, we focused on internal branding first, enlisting employee support, then ultimately rolling out the brand to the public. To help employees and students realize the value and relevance of MCC’s brand, we are transparent in providing guidelines, templates and access to files and relevant materials. This also helps everyone stay focused. Our brand standards and additional resources are updated and promoted regularly. You can see more on our brand webpage.
Perry: The brand is the umbrella or the entity that is at the top of our communications/messaging framework. The brand is informed by our mission and vision as well as our strategic plan. In fact, building the brand is one of the five goals in our strategic plan. The brand then informs our program marketing and overall outreach. Our framework with key elements like positioning and brand pillars dictate or direct everything from our thought leadership programs to our specific program marketing.
Hibel: An article on higher ed branding states, “The competition for the right students (or occasionally any students) has forced colleges to look at their marketing efforts in conventional business terms: lead generation, relationship management, etc. This business-like focus is largely a good thing for colleges, but too much focus on pure lead generation presents one risk: loss of focus on branding.” What are your thoughts regarding this statement?
DeMauro: Much has changed in the higher education marketing landscape in the five years since the article you reference was published. In fact, most institutions have jumped on the marketing bandwagon — unfortunately, not all of them armed with the right amount of research, expertise or resources — with the understanding that it may be the only way they can competitively achieve their enrollment, fundraising and alumni engagement goals.
Haggerty: At MCC, we certainly focus on key strategic efforts, such as enrollment management. However, the brand messaging and visuals are the standards used to support and move these efforts forward. I do not think it’s an either/or scenario. Rather, the brand must be viewed as an asset to the institution, supporting how we communicate business decisions and how we market to our segments.
Perry: I feel strongly that these efforts are or at least should be complimentary. Many progressive marketing organizations are moving from an outbound to an inbound model that incorporates content marketing. I believe this is the right approach for higher ed institutions because we are content based — we produce intellectual property. The brand should ultimately translate to content that engages audiences. Lead generation, CRM and other elements deployed effectively via marketing automation can help build the brand and engage key audiences in a much more meaningful way. Plus, you can really measure what is working and ultimately improve how audiences interact with your brand.
Hibel: How does emotional branding impact higher education marketing?
DeMauro: Emotional branding is critically important in higher education marketing. It cuts across every aspect of what we do at Rutgers, from educating undergraduates to studying the health sciences and improving health care. We depend on brand ambassadors (i.e., every person who touches the brand in a positive way) to carry our message forward in the most enthusiastic way possible, which would be unfathomable without some emotional connection.
Haggerty: Students have so many options to choose from in the higher education market. To truly differentiate, an institution must make an emotional connection leading a student to have an “experience” that is differentiated from others. This supports efforts in retention rates, as well as word-of-mouth/recommendations to others.
Perry: All of us ultimately are storytellers. Emotional messages and emotion based branding is required if we are going to effectively communicate who we are and engage our target audiences. I would argue that higher education, and in this case I am referring particularly to non-profits, offers a transformational experience and thus emotional messaging should be a core part of how we communicate and engage with our target audiences.
Hibel: Even though a college may have name recognition, how they can they reach for brand recognition and what are indicators to determine if they’ve succeeded?
DeMauro: Name recognition is not enough. When “Rutgers” is top of mind for all of our audiences in all of the categories to which we aspire, then we will have achieved success. Getting to this point requires a believable brand promise that can be coupled with buy-in and a positive experience at all levels of the university — from the students to the faculty, the grounds keepers, the senior leadership, and every other constituency that touches the brand.
Haggerty: Part of the brand process is to stay the course and continue to measure. Continuous changing of the brand — visually and/or messaging confuses people and therefore equates to a seemingly confused organization. Every few years, an institution should be conducting a brand survey to determine if the perception of its brand and reputation is changing, improving, etc. — with employees, students, other stakeholders. True brand recognition is when your stakeholders’ perception mirrors the institution’s brand statement and purpose.
Perry: I think if you want to measure brand recognition or awareness, you can start with some basic research to determine awareness, perception and consideration. If you want to measure success, it would probably involve a scenario where you do pre and post research before and after a marketing initiative or campaign.
Hibel: Have MOOCs become a part of your campus and, if so, how is this connected to the branding of your college?
DeMauro: Rutgers has for many years extended its reach beyond the borders of our campus, both face-to-face and virtual. Rutgers joined Coursera and offered its first two MOOCs in 2014. The first two courses, Analyzing the Universe and Soul Beliefs, together generated 75,000 enrollments. These courses are being offered again. A Chemistry course was developed and offered and was a partner resource for on campus students. Additional MOOCs are in the planning stage. In addition to the MOOCs, like many of our land-grant institution peers, we provide learning opportunities to hundreds of thousands of people in New Jersey and the world through one-day and longer course workshops, conferences, seminars and training sessions. Rutgers’ membership in the Big Ten and the Committee on Institutional Cooperation provides an opportunity to collaborate with our peers to train education and government leaders, medical professionals and many other constituencies, all of which elevates the Rutgers brand.
Haggerty: MCC has conducted three MOOCs to date – all very successful. They reflect our brand very well, as one of our brand attributes is “change ready”. As one of the first community colleges in the nation to offer MOOCs, we embraced this technology/delivery system to deliver something fresh and new.
Hibel: Why is the technique of repurposing content important and how is this best done?
DeMauro: Repurposing content is important as a way of stretching resources and getting the word out more broadly. My colleague, Carla Cantor, Managing Editor of Rutgers Today, our online news center, shared that Rutgers’ Office of Media Relations repurposes work done by other communications units at Rutgers and vice versa. Media outlets often repurpose the content as well. For example, our statewide newspaper, The Star-Ledger, recently picked up a Rutgers story, wrote a three paragraph lead in and credited Rutgers Today. Another good example of how repurposing adds legs to a story is Rutgers’ recent “Happy Wife, Happy Life” story. This is a study that was co-authored by the University of Michigan and Rutgers and originally issued as a media release from UM. Our Media Relations team did some rewriting and added quotes from the Rutgers researcher. In a few days, the story was up to 110,000 views and was being picked up all over the world by media, including NBC Nightly News.
Haggerty: Repurposing of content is critical for a variety of reasons, including:
- Alignment of messages /brand continuity
- Repetition assists in retention of information
We have regular team meetings with a content calendar, outlining the message, call to action/goal, each marketing channel and the variable content appropriate for each. This keeps the team on track and organized when managing multiple messages and campaigns.
Perry: We all have limited resources. If we can repurpose content we can enjoy efficiencies but more importantly we can deliver consistent and complimentary messaging across multiple channels.
Hibel: With so many different platforms available to digital users, why is responsive web design important? What is the effect for colleges and universities who don’t use it?
DeMauro: I asked my colleague Eve Burris, Assistant Director of Web Communication at Rutgers, for her guidance. Here’s her reply:
“Responsive design is important precisely because there are so many platforms available. A school’s website is its main marketing tool, so it’s important that it be easy to use and look good on whatever device people are using to view it. In the past, mobile devices were specific widths so it was possible to develop a site that could be properly displayed at two or even three different sizes depending on whether people were viewing it on their desktop, tablet, or phone. Today’s devices are all different sizes — anywhere from 5.09″x2.5″ to 9.5″x6.9″. Building a responsive site is the only way for a website to function well and look good at this wide range of sizes. It is no longer cutting edge or innovative development. It is becoming standard development practice. The alternative is a website that sometimes provides a good user experience, but at other times may be difficult to navigate because the links are too small and is difficult to read because viewers have to zoom in and scroll and text does not wrap around images and other page elements appropriately. And a site that is difficult to use will leave viewers with a negative impression about your institution.”
Haggerty: Responsive web design is the new direction for marketers and web experts. Smartphone and tablet adoption is dramatically increasing. With so many devices and ways in which users are viewing content, a responsive webpage allows for more flexibility without removing valuable content. At MCC, we are in the process of converting all of our pages to be responsive so that we can accommodate the various ways in which students/prospects are viewing our information.
Perry: We use responsive web design. It is driven by user experience in that you want your audiences to be able to engage with your content in the most optimal way whether they are on a PC, a mobile phone, tablet, etc. I think it is something most users have come to expect. If you are not employing responsive design I think you are ultimately missing an opportunity to attract and retain key audiences and not being as efficient with your development resources.
Hibel: Our conversation continues next month when our panel discusses: Careers in Higher Ed Marketing