May the Force Be With You: Why a Branding Task Force Matters

Tag: Articles

  • May the Force Be With You: Why a Branding Task Force Matters

    May the Force Be With You: Why a Branding Task Force Matters

    Acting as their institution’s personal branding Jedi knights, members of the task force share essential information with the campus community and provide the president and his/her leadership team with valuable advice and direct feedback from constituents on a host of branding initiatives related to public relations, advancement and fund-raising, and student recruitment.

    Duties of a branding task force

    Though each task force is unique, the focus, duties, and goals of these groups tend to be consistent across schools. Here are the foundational duties of a branding task force and why each of those duties is crucial to institutional branding success:

    • Share Information: The branding task force updates the alliance (i.e., your campus community) regularly about ongoing activities. This serves two purposes: First, it maintains transparency and visibility. Second, it encourages active feedback—an essential component of institution-wide participation in marketing, recruitment, and identity efforts.
    • Analyze and Recommend: Serving as a sort of Jedi High Council, part of a branding task force’s duties is to prepare a marketing resource analysis—a review of the combined marketing expenditures in each area of your college or university. Since, no single person at an institution knows the full extent of financial and staff resources devoted to marketing activities, the task force can coordinate with the finance office and individual administrative departments to prepare an analysis of how current marketing resources are allocated. It can then make recommendations to leadership on how best to achieve institutional branding goals.
    • Audit Communications: Information is your lightsaber; wield it with skill and purpose. An effective branding task force should review communications every 12 months to determine the consistency of primary branding messages and of brand identity symbols. Offices usually involved in a communications audit include admissions, advancement, alumni relations, public relations, athletics, and the president’s office. When the review is complete, the task force can share results with the president, the leadership team, and the broader campus community.
    • Survey Students: Not sure if your brand promise is fully reflected in the student experience? Well, in the words of Obi Wan Kenobi, “Use the force.” By sponsoring an opinion survey of new students early in the second semester each year, your branding task force can identify which expectations have been met, which haven’t been met, and what changes need to be made to improve brand alignment.
    • Survey Alumni: A task-force-sponsored alumni opinion survey can help determine the consistency of brand image and engagement among this key constituency. Pay special attention to the differences between alumni who support the annual fund and alumni graduates of the past three years.
    • Keep an Eye on the Competition: In a marketplace that goes at hyper drive, competitors need to be carefully scrutinized. With that in mind, your institution’s branding task force should monitor the recruitment efforts of three to five of your primary competitors on a regular basis. Engage a task force member to inquire as both an undergraduate and graduate student at each competitive institution. By examining the content, quality, and timing of the responses received (both print and digital), the group can develop a set of actionable recommendations.
    • Provide Branding Input: The task force provides content input for the president’s annual State of the Brand Report—a comprehensive document that covers major branding topics, ongoing initiatives, and goals.
    • Coordinate Plans: An institution’s strategic plan should serve as the foundation for its branding communications plan. The challenge is making sure that the internal campus community not only believes in the strategic plan, but lives it on a daily basis. An essential role of the branding task force is to coordinate these plans and discover new ways each person and each department can exemplify the institutional brand and truly “be one with the force.”

    At Stamats, we travel the galaxy looking for new ways to help colleges and universities apply their brands in innovative ways, reach a wider audience, and create meaningful connections with their constituents. If you’d like to learn more about our branding services, give us a call at 800-553-8878. In the meantime, may the (brand) force be with you.

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  • Student Safety in Subzero Temperatures

    Student Safety in Subzero Temperatures

    Temperatures like these can cause frostbite within minutes, a risky proposition for anyone walking to class.

    Many schools in the affected area cancelled classes in light of the extreme temperatures. The University of Iowa, for example, cancelled all classes for the first time since December 2009, while Iowa State University is observing its first closing since 2014. But suspending classes for a couple of days is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to keeping students safe during a deep freeze. Here are five things you can do right now to mitigate the polar vortex’s impacts on your campus.

    1. Master Your Mass Communication

    Just like any other emergency, you need to communicate with students through multiple channels to make sure everyone is getting the message. Use texts for one- to two-sentence missives – for example, “All classes are cancelled from 4 p.m. Tuesday until noon Thursday” – and include a shortened link to more detailed instructions on your website. Issue details by email too, since students are likely to check there before they think to look at your website.

    Longer messages should emphasize the importance of being prepared. Frostbite and hypothermia can develop in as little as 5 minutes when the windchill is this severe.

    2. Create Cold Prep Tips

    Not everyone at your institution is used to cold weather. International students and out-of-state students from warmer climates may have underestimated how cold winter can get, especially during a period as severe as this one. Make sure your communications include tips on personal safety and taking good care of residence hall rooms.

    “Our hall directors got multiple emails to tell us to keep our windows closed and locked because the wind might be able to push them open more, and if you’re not in the room at the time, you could freeze the pipes,” explains Andrew Grant, a freshman at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, majoring in electrical and mechanical engineering. “They’ve been reaching out to us with tips on how to stay safe in dangerous cold weather.”

    Students used to warmer weather may benefit from tips on dressing for the weather. Basic instructions like “wear layers” or “wear a warm coat” don’t fully convey the seriousness of the situation to anyone who’s not used to cold winters.

    “Invest in a coat that goes down to your knees, if not further,” suggests MacKenzie Male, a junior studying biochemistry at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa. “Coats have different temperature ratings, so get one that is going to be OK for negative degree weather. Hats, scarves, a good pair of gloves and a good pair of shoes to walk in the snow when the sidewalks aren’t completely cleared. You need something that will keep the wind from getting to your skin.”

    3. Coordinate with Faculty

    Encourage faculty to disseminate their own messages with instructions about each class. Students who expected to take tests or hand in papers this week will want to know what to do, especially if they’re expected to complete readings or assignments during the cancelled classes.

    Ryan Downing, a junior at the University of Iowa studying political science, ethics and public policy, noted that one professor recorded a lecture that students will watch instead of physically going to class. Other professors might send out lecture notes or PowerPoint slides or assign extra readings. For future emergencies that don’t warrant a school-wide closing, Kirkwood Community College sophomore Colin VandeWeerd urges faculty and administrators to consider students who commute to class.

    “If the school doesn’t cancel but you think people are going to have a rough time getting to your class or you yourself can’t make it, don’t put yourself in danger,” says VandeWeerd, a liberal arts major at Kirkwood’s Cedar Rapids campus. “Just call off class and have them do something in the book or by email. You could have people getting in pileups on the interstate. Some of that could be prevented if people just stay home.”

    4. Publicize Routes and Transportation

    Make sure students know the warmest routes around campus. First-year and transfer students will especially appreciate the tips. Josie Te Grotenhuis, a freshman at Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa, recommends “building-hopping,” or taking routes that pass through buildings rather than a more direct route that’s exposed to the cold the entire time. Students with cars can park closer to class buildings if spots are available, Downing notes.

    If you have the resources, consider making it easier for students to get across campus even if classes are cancelled. Central College in Pella, Iowa, notified students about a shuttle between the residence halls, the student center and the main dining area, says Zach Jansen, a Central sophomore studying business and computer science. Some of the residence halls are up to 10 minutes from these important areas, so reliable transportation is vital when frostbite can set in within five minutes.

    Schools with skywalks, heated underground tunnels or other sheltered infrastructure may even be able to maintain their regular academic schedule. Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, features skywalks that connect the library and academic buildings. The most distant residence hall is only a 3- to 4-minute walk from the nearest skywalk entrance, so Knights can safely get to class without difficulty, explains freshman Alex Stone, a biology major.

    5. Plan for Disadvantaged Students

    Not all students have the ability to invest in extra layers for weather that’s colder than they were expecting, Male says. Connect needy students with available resources so that they can get adequate gloves, coats and hats if what they have isn’t warm enough.

    “Some students on campus don’t have the proper clothing or proper coats,” Male says. “I don’t know if they can afford them or not, but there are a lot of people who are unprepared for the weather and I don’t think administrators look at all the factors of students maybe not being able to afford things. A good [temperature-rated] coat is going to be well over $200.”

    Your students are counting on you to keep them safe, so make decisions based on the best available information and make sure the message gets to everyone who needs it. Staying in close contact and keeping students updated will ensure everyone has the information they need to stay out of harm’s way.

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  • Content Marketing: Balancing Both Print and Digital

    Content Marketing: Balancing Both Print and Digital

    But savvy digital marketers know that it’s never been print vs. digital. Shareable blogs and social media are the new word of mouth. Before digital, it was never print vs. word of mouth – it’s always been a combination of platforms, and will be for the foreseeable future.

    In fact, we ascribe to a method that deliberately integrates traditional and digital distribution – with the same hub content pieces. This method is not proprietary – it’s a content marketing best practice known as COPE: create once, publish everywhere.

    However, it can feel overwhelming for lean marketing and web teams to crank out content that is timely, relevant and useful on a continual basis. There are plenty of reasons to implement content marketing in any organization, but there are ample excuses as to why organizations don’t do it. Below, we address four of of the most common concerns clients have shared before they took the lucrative leap into content marketing.

    1. We don’t have anything interesting to talk about

    Do you sell a product or service? Do you have an opinion? Then, yes, you do have something interesting to share with your audience. Content marketing is an active conversation with your audience. Give the people what they’re asking for. Provide the information they want and need to drive business results.

    Every piece of content you distribute must be useful, relevant and interesting.

    • What is the story?
    • What is the problem you are trying to solve?
    • What are people asking?

    Your content also must be tied to business goals. And it must be created, produced and distributed in a way that is searchable and easy to find. If you want to be found for something, position the content as only your organization can around those topics, problems and questions, and relentlessly share it across digital and print.

    2. We don’t have time for content marketing

    Organizations say “we don’t have time” because their staff spends too many hours working on projects that don’t generate results. For content marketing, that means creating articles, emails, social media posts and mailers that no one engages with or reads. Some of this is an educated guess. You can’t say 100 percent whether a certain story or image will take off, but if you know your audience’s goals, wants and needs, you will learn what is newsworthy and relevant to them. Then produce more of that!

    On the flip side, some people say organizations don’t need more content, but rather more deliberate content. We have not found this to be true. Organizations that achieve content marketing success strike a balance between creating evergreen “cornerstone content” and new, trending content, as well as effectively repurposing and distribution strategies.

    For example, With one hub piece of content, you can expand and optimize the reach of your message to more and new people in a relevant way without investing excess time in recreating the wheel. You could produce a cornerstone content webinar and use the recorded content to produce a podcast with a transcription. Next, you potentially could use that content to create a white paper, multiple blog articles and a series of social media posts that are tweaked for the specific platforms and audiences.

    3. This is how we’ve always done it

    And it’s always worked just well enough that stakeholders haven’t fussed. But imagine complementing your print efforts with an integrated digital strategy to increase the reach and shareability of your content. Content marketing can take your current successes from meeting the goal to blowing it out of the water.

    When it comes to content production, we often hear organizations subscribing to standards from years past. For example, optimal web content used to be 300 – 500 words. However, this content might be flagged today by Google as too thin or non-expert content. Today’s best practice for how long an article should be is closer to 750 – 1,200 words. Next year, it will probably be different, and that’s the nature of marketing, especially on digital.

    The same principle goes for social media, which used to be entirely organic. Today, it’s almost entirely pay-to-play and driven by constantly changing algorithms. Without paid promotion, expect minimal views of your content.

    4. Our stakeholders want ROI, but content can’t produce it

    Not true. When done right, content marketing can drive 30 percent or more of your web traffic, resulting in high-quality lead generation and trackable conversions. You can achieve this by writing content that is optimized for search and that is tailored to active searches in your target audience. Write this way regardless of whether you intend to publish in print, online or both. The phrasing and keywords used in web optimized content pop out at readers on both print and digital.

    However, content marketing is a marathon, not a sprint. Most organizations need to create and distribute quality content for six months to a year to show return on investment (ROI). But the potential thereafter is limitless with continual publishing and strategic distribution of cross-channel content that is relevant to your audience.

    Challenges of content marketing

    We make content marketing sound easy because our job is to make it easy for clients But a lot of work goes into content creation. Successful organizations start with data. They investigate what people are searching, clicking and consuming in order to determine trends in user engagement and what to create next.

    Because of this and the ever-changing best practices across channels, writing has never been harder. Now we measure frequently, and we have goals for every piece of content in digital and print:

    • Reach: How many people are reading the story? Are we on the appropriate platforms, such as Flipboard, Alexa, and more?
    • Visibility: Is the story searchable and findable? What is our SEO ranking? Are social posts getting shared?
    • Relevance: Did we write for newsworthiness, whether the topic is a trending industry conversation or a unique angle on a traditional topic? We don’t aim for clickbait; we aim for click-worthy content.
    • Conversion: Does every article have a natural next step that ties user needs and behaviors with business goals?

    Content marketing strategy trends

    Content marketing works. As many as 80 percent of attendees to the annual Content Marketing World conference are new year over year. The Content Marketing Institute taps into the needs of these new attendees year round by creating content that answers questions this section of the market is asking online. What is content marketing? How can I get started?

    As you consider the nuanced needs of your audience, keep these content marketing trends top of mind heading into your next planning or production cycle:

    • New wave “influencer” content: This is when others share your content in an organic and useful way. They see your content as personally and professionally valuable and helpful, and they share it with their networks, but not for spammy or monetary purposes. Give your audience content they can’t help but share.
    • Personas: These ideal and general audience figures are key to successful content marketing programs. They can’t just be in your head – they must be written down and and made “3D” so others on your team and agency can ascribe to the key demographics and audience needs. Would Sally want to know this information? Would Joe care about this topic?
    • Refinement: Success requires evolution. Best practices change all the time. Every week, check what’s working and what’s not. Try new things and tweak the processes to gauge effectiveness and find areas of opportunity. Reevaluation leads to expert creation!
    • Relationships: Establish yourself or your organization as an expert in a particular field or topic, and give your audience the frontline advice and wisdom they crave.
    • Video: It doesn’t have to be highly-produced to be highly effective. We created a virtual reality video for our active shooter training at Stamats as well as 360 videos that capture live-action events effectively and without a lot of cost investment. Captioning is key for user experience, and don’t forget to transcribe or embed the video within a related blog for SEO purposes.

    Whether your goal is to reach more people, improve sales or generate more leads, a content marketing strategy that integrates print and digital media can help you drive business results.

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  • 6 Ways Income Share Agreements Can Change Higher Ed

    6 Ways Income Share Agreements Can Change Higher Ed

    Depending on the structure of the ISA, students will pay a portion of their salary for a specific amount of time (e.g., eight years after graduation) or until they reach a certain repayment cap (e.g., $30,000 in total repayments).

    Benefits and Criticisms of ISAs

    The purported benefits of ISAs are many. The primary benefit is that, under ISA arrangements, students and their families don’t need to take out pricey private loans to finance a college education. We’ve all heard horror stories of students graduating with mountains of student loan debt only to barely be able to afford the interest payments (let alone pay down principal) while earning a modest income.

    For colleges, additional benefits include greater motivation to retain and graduate students, prepare them for careers, and earn more tuition revenue in the long run.

    Critics are quick to use “indentured servitude” to disparage ISA arrangements. Others are concerned that ISAs disincentivize colleges from taking a chance on students who have a higher risk of not completing college and/or earning a high starting salary. Still others say that ISAs motivate students to study professional programs at the expense of worthwhile, but less remunerative, programs in the arts and humanities.

    However, the purpose of this article is not to repeat the conversations that others have had in the New York Times, The Atlantic, Forbes, and elsewhere. Rather, I offer a few reflections on ISAs as a concept, including their pros and cons, and consider a few ways that income share agreements – which, in many ways, are still “in beta” – will evolve.

    How We Expect ISAs to Evolve

    Adjustments Based on Income and Cost-of-Living Disparities: As mentioned above, some ISAs predicate repayment based on a graduate’s salary. For instance, a school may say that only graduates with salaries exceeding $50,000 are required to make payments back to the college. However, one thing that’s lost in that approach – and largely ignored in higher education in general – is the significant variance in cost of living across the country. Put differently, a $50,000 salary means one thing in Omaha and an entirely different thing in San Francisco. A blanket approach like that will undoubtedly impact some graduates more than others.

    1. Income Thresholds and Percentages Will Shift Like Actuarial Tables: Related to the point above, it’s likely that a lot will change in ISA structures in the next several years as colleges figure out what works and what doesn’t. What’s more, ISAs will continually change to keep pace with inflation. It is entirely likely that a sophomore and a senior could sit next to one another in class and have entirely different ISA agreements in terms of the percentage they will pay and/or the income threshold they need to meet for repayment to kick in.
    2. 80/20 Rule: It is entirely possible that a small segment of graduates will pay an outsized share of total revenues flowing to colleges. Under most ISA agreements, the percentage that one pays is not adjusted based on one’s salary. So a graduate earning $55,000 and another earning $90,000 each pay the same percentage. Moreover, there will undoubtedly be students who don’t meet the minimum income threshold for many years. These graduates in lower-paying jobs will drive up the percentages that their higher-earning peers must pay. This imbalance may disincentivize some students who know they want to pursue high-earning fields like software development from pursuing ISAs.
    3. Greater Focus on Student Services: One of the key differences between the current student loan model and income share agreements is that the college itself plays a greater role as creditor. The benefit of this, so the thinking goes, is that it motivates the school to retain students, graduate them in four years, and guide them toward employment (and high-paying employment, if possible). The college itself becomes more accountable for the success of its students, which in turn will lead to a renewed commitment to serving, advising, and guiding students throughout their college journey.
    4. Accelerate the Notion of College as Career Training: One of the knocks against ISAs is that they might force students to choose fields of study that will lead directly to employment and generate high incomes. Students who may otherwise choose a program in the humanities may instead study business or STEM. I don’t doubt this is true. But isn’t that happening already? By encouraging students to think hard about their career prospects in terms of the ROI on their degree, ISAs aren’t doing anything new; they’re merely driving that conversation more overtly and, if anything, speeding it up.
    5. Alumni Gifts Will Require More Time and TLC: In some cases, ISA repayments can be done in just a couple years; in others, there is a defined time period that could stretch the better part of a decade. Purdue University, for instance, offers an ISA with a pre-determined repayment period of 8 years after graduation. While every graduate’s situation will be different, it’s safe to assume that they may be loath to open their wallets (again) after spending years repaying their tuition. In the current model, colleges are in the clear because loans are managed by other entities. But under ISAs, the entity that requires mandatory repayment every month will be the same entity soliciting donations. Alumni Affairs and Advancement offices may need to take more time than they do today before reaching out to recent alumni.

    A Few Closing Thoughts

    It remains to be seen how disruptive income share agreements truly are, and we may not know for quite some time. But one thing is clear regarding ISAs and any other tuition restructuring: it would be a mistake for a college to think that an income share agreement will automatically increase enrollment. We know from years of research that students don’t make enrollment decisions on the basis of price alone, and certainly not for a pricing structure like an ISA. Rather, they make selections based on perceived value (quality for the cost). An income share agreement may enhance perceived value if the benefits are clear and consistent with institutional identity.

    If you’re interested in learning more, explore our tuition pricing or brand perception research.

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  • Marketing to Military Personnel as Non-Traditional Students

    Marketing to Military Personnel as Non-Traditional Students

    In this podcast, we’re joined by Ali-Reza Rajabzadeh, Area Coordinator of Troy University, for a conversational overview on the facts, methods, and logistics of active service member recruitment.

    Read the transcription below

    Christoph Trappe: Hello everyone. This is Christoph Trappe with another episode of our Stamats podcasts. And today, I’m actually joined by Ali-Reza Rajabzadeh. He is the area coordinator at Troy University. Thanks for joining us today.

    Ali-Reza Rajabzadeh: Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.

    Christoph: So, today’s topic again, we’re still focusing on topics that will be covered at the Adult Student Marketing Conference, which of course is in San Diego in February. And Ali’s topic is about non-traditional students that come from the military. Correct?

    Non-traditional, Military Students

    Ali-Reza: Yes, that is correct. It’s going to be our active duty military reserves and our guards, and also veterans.

    Christoph: And what, so this is a topic that wasn’t even top of mind for me at all and of course, Veteran’s Day was just not too long behind us here. And I was actually at an NFL game, saw some of those tributes and soldiers returning, and meeting their family and all those things. But how about active military personnel coming back and then going to school? What’s the typical scenario? Or is there a typical scenario?

    Ali-Reza: Yeah. There is a typical scenario and it’s kind of funny, I was one. I was a veteran, or I was in the active duty Air Force. And when I got out, I had to return to school and believe it or not, I didn’t know anything about school. And most of the enlisted side of the house does not know a lot about what it takes to go to school. Because a lot of these guys are joining when they’re 18 years old, right out of high school, like myself. And they are launched into a career.

    So, some of the most very important things to do when they get out, they’re usually around 21, 22 years old, so they are definitely non-traditional students.

    Christoph: So, the age range is typically, what’s the age range that we’re looking at?

    Ali-Reza: Well, they join at 18 and then they either do a four-year commitment or a six-year commitment. And so, once they’re out, you’re looking at a 22-year-old adult that knows nothing about school.

    And if they stay the whole career, they might take one or two classes for professional development while they’re in, but if they do the whole 20, they’re looking at a 38-year-old veteran getting out and now they’re starting life over again.

    Christoph: And then how do you get that path for a non-traditional student, how do you get that on their radar? Is that – as you said, they’re coming out of the military and they haven’t experienced that part of life. How do you even raise that awareness?

    How You Raise Awareness

    Ali-Reza: One thing, everybody today is military-friendly. All the schools are. They’ve kind of taken that and turned that into an ad campaign I would say. But the best way to do it is you have to be able to let them know what type of support you have on campus for that military student. Whether it’s an online support center, whether it’s – I know when I was working at Texas A&M, San Antonio, we had what we called the “Patriot’s Casa.”

    And what that was, was an actual center for our military students where had counseling, we had help with how to do your FAFSA. We had a Military Affairs Support Center where they come in and they start their GI Bill benefits. They get certified and they meet with the counselors so that they know what courses to take, what degree plan they need to get into. And then also, the additional support that goes on through educating the staff. That’s a big thing.

    Because a lot of – not only is the non-traditional, military student coming in unaware of what to do, but the staff is unaware for the most part on what that military students needs or may be experiencing.

    Christoph: Do you have any examples that you can share?

    What Sets Them Apart

    Ali-Reza: Oh yeah. With our military students for example, some of them that are coming back from Iraq, Afghanistan, they suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD. And large classes are triggers for them. Crowds, that’s another thing that can be very stressful for them. That’s why some of them prefer to go online.

    One of the bigger things is they’ll come into a room and they’ll want to sit as close to an exit as possible. And especially in a large room, and it’s not that student doesn’t want to be engaged or doesn’t want to pay attention in class, it’s this is how they’ve been trained, you know, to come in, assess the situation, identify the exits, and know how to get out of a situation in case something goes bad.

    Christoph: And those are things many other students of course, they wouldn’t even think about, right, for the most part.

    Ali-Reza: Right. Exactly. Our military members, they’re trained differently. So, especially, you know, the 22-year-old first time college student from the military is not going to think the same way the 22-year-old college student that just transferred over from the community college or is in their final year of school.

    Christoph: And you know, so I was actually at an NFL game on Veteran’s Day this year in Tampa Bay. And at one point they said, “Could everybody who has served in the military stand up?” And it was just a tremendous amount of people who were around me, who were standing up. And I mean I couldn’t tell you for the whole stadium. So, there is a pretty big pool of people who are serving or have served in the military of course. And then, I assume also a relatively good-sized pools would want to go to a college. Is that correct or no?

    Ali-Reza: Right. Oh yeah. Definitely. A lot of our military students, especially the ones that are still on active duty, one of the things as they progress in rank, professional development which includes going back to school and earning a degree, whether it be an associate degree, a bachelor’s degree or a master’s, is actually encouraged now. Where before, it wasn’t really that encouraged. Before you would hear if the military wanted you to have a degree, they would issue you one.

    So, now the military sees the benefit of having an educated airman, soldier, Marine or a seaman. And they understand that as they move up in rank, the more educated they are, the better they develop professionally.

    Best Ways to Reach Military Students

    Christoph: And what is the – I know in your talk at the Adult Student Marketing Conference in San Diego, you will talk about how to reach influencers, right, for the subset of non-traditional students. What are some of the best ways to reach non-traditional students who are serving in the military?

    Ali-Reza: Now, with our non-traditional students that are serving, everything goes through the education service officer or the Education Center. So, in order to really get on a base or post to be able to reach these students, you have to be able – they have literally cracked down on these schools like the for-profit that are just out there to get the money I guess you would say. And so, you have to be vetted through the education service officer before they let you on post.

    And part of that is a lot of times a lot of schools will get invited to come out to education fairs. Showing up is half the battle, you know? Showing up, making sure that you take care of that military student when you do have them – our office has gotten tons of referrals just from other students that we’ve recruited, and we’ve taken care of.

    So, word of mouth is another big thing. Luckily, my Support Center is located in San Antonio, Texas. And we have four large bases within our area. So, we get military students just walking in sometimes, you know, wanting to go back to school, calling us. But for those who are a little bit farther away, you want to make sure that you have that support that they need, and you go through the education service officer and follow the guidelines that the service officer puts in place so that you don’t get banned from base as well.

    Christoph: Oh, the ban – that would be the education marketers, right? Is that what we’re referring to?

    Ali-Reza: Education Service Office.

    Christoph: Got it.

    Ali-Reza: They call them the ESO. And so, the ESO kind of holds all of the power on who gets to come onto base and recruit.

    Christoph: Okay. Yep. Got it. All right, what are some other things that we need to think about for the recruitment of these kind of non-traditional student? I mean how else do we reach them?

    Ali-Reza: Other ways you can go out and reach them, we do a lot of military events. For example, we help the minor league baseball team in San Antonio, we actually sponsor the military dollar night. So, we pay the remainder portion of the ticket and all they have to come in there and pay is $1 for them and their families.

    We also go to military events that are hosted around the city. The city does a lot to salute our veterans, salute the military events. We take part and sponsor those events as well. I’m also on the Military Affairs Committee for Kendall County. So, these are ways that you can go out and help and work with our military members rather then just trying to get on base and picking them up.

    Christoph: Okay. Great.

    Ali-Reza: And community, that’s…

    Popular Academic Programs for Military Personnel

    Christoph: Yep. And are there any specific areas of studies that active military personnel go after more than others? I mean any kind of areas…

    Ali-Reza: Yeah. Definitely. For us, our top three master programs that they go after are our master’s in business administration, our international relations and our master’s in public administration. Our undergrads, we have a lot of criminal justice, social work and business.

    Christoph: Interesting. So, like criminal justice, then typically they end up going in law enforcement or something like that?

    Ali-Reza: Yeah. Law enforcement or they go to the federal side of the house and do cyber security or national security affairs.

    Financial Assistance

    Christoph: What – I know you will talk a little bit about financial assistance in your Adult Student Marketing talk. What are some of the specifics there for marketers to keep top of mind?

    Ali-Reza: With financial assistance, there’s different types of programs that are available. There is the Post-9/11 GI Bill, which for the most part, all veterans have now. Or all military people. And those are for our non-active duty. That our active duty personnel have what they call tuition assistance.

    And tuition assistance will pay a total up to $250/credit hour per course. So, one of the things that you definitely want to make sure that you are willing to meet that $250/credit hour and accept it.

    A lot of schools, what they’re doing is they’re bringing down their cost of tuition for military members. And they bring it down to $250/credit hour, so that the student doesn’t pay out of pocket. And those are big things.

    Now, also they can file for financial aid and FAFSA. And a lot of them don’t know how to do that. So, the more you can educate them and help them understand FAFSA and financial aid, the better chance that you have of actually getting them on to your program.

    Christoph: Great. Well, we’re looking forward to having you in San Diego in a few months here. Is there anything else you want to share with the listeners on your topic? On the conference? And anything else that we haven’t discussed?

    Don’t Forget the Military Spouse and Children

    Ali-Reza: One of the things that a lot of people forget when we deal with our military dependents – or our military families is we forget the spouse and we forget the children. And one of the biggest things that we kind of preach is it’s the military community, you know? Keep that in mind. Keep the children, the spouse in mind because they also receive benefits from the VA depending on the disability rating of that member.

    So, we have to make sure that: 1.) We have a strong Student Veteran Association on campus. 2.) Make sure we let the spouse and the dependents know they can be a part of that as well. And that they’re welcomed on campus.

    Those are big things, big issues that we hear time and time again that they feel forgotten. They shouldn’t be because especially the spouses, their job doubles when our men and women deploy. You know? Because now they’re both Mom and Dad, you know, and they have to do a lot more than what we have to do and they’re worrying about their loved one. So, my biggest thing is let’s try to keep them in mind.

    Christoph: Yes. That’s a very good point and very easy to forget, certainly. When these non-traditional students go to college class, do their classmates typically know that they’re veterans? There’s an age difference, but it’s not – it’s only a couple years, right? Four years, maybe, six.

    Ali-Reza: Sometimes. I know when I returned to school, I was 28. And there was another veteran in the class and he was 38. So, I knew he was a veteran because I could pick him out, but for the most part, unless we kind of bring it up and self-identify, most students don’t know. They just view us as an older student returning to school.

    Christoph: On one of the other episodes – go ahead.

    Ali-Reza: And sometimes, it can be frustrating because we’re older and here we are sitting in a class of youngsters and, you know, they think they know everything, but we’ve seen other aspects of life, you know?

    Military Student’s Return on Investment

    Christoph: Yeah. Very different aspects, personally. So, one of the other episodes of our podcasts, we were talking about the ROI of going to school as a non-traditional student. Do the service men and women, do they think about that, the ROI? Do they weigh that? Is that something marketers should think about in their marketing message?

    Ali-Reza: Yeah. The return on investment, definitely. One of the things that – and this is a big concern with a lot of veterans is they get out or they retire and they have a ton of experience, but they don’t have the degree to solidify anything. So, it’s kind of the opposite of somebody who goes in traditional and they have the degree, but they don’t have the experience.

    So, the return on investment is huge, especially for that young man or woman that’s getting out, they’re getting ready to start a second career. I think if we can emphasize how much a degree can help your earnings, it’s a good way to recruit our military members as well.

    Christoph: Great. Well, if you want to hear more from Ali, if you will be at the Adult Student Marketing Conference as we mentioned in San Diego, of course, the signup link is on Stamats.com. Unless we have any final words, those are all the questions I have.

    Ali-Reza: No. That’s it. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it. And I look forward to meeting you guys in San Diego.

    Christoph: You bet. We’re happy to have you and thank you for the insight ahead of the event.

    (Transcription by Katie Downing)

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  • Stamats Hires Sandra Fancher to Drive Innovation

    Stamats Hires Sandra Fancher to Drive Innovation

    Sandra has served as a trusted internal and external partner in digital strategy leadership roles over the last two decades. She has collaborated with client executive teams and mentored hundreds of colleagues in the creation and implementation of cutting-edge digital marketing strategies. “From my first conversation with the Stamats leadership team, I knew the agency was ready and eager to take the next steps with this already successful brand,” Sandra said. “Stamats’ partner-centric, UX-focused, solutions-driven approach aligned perfectly with my values.”

    Executive Vice President Bill Stamats, says Sandra joining the Stamats team in November 2018 was perfect timing. “Sandra has proven to be a great cultural fit, and her expertise is instrumental in supporting our growth and reflecting our commitment to higher ed and a growing portfolio of partnerships.”

    Innovation at Stamats

    As Chief Innovation Officer, Sandra has embraced the opportunity to combine passion for client success, digital strategy and innovation into one role. “Stamats fully embraces change, and innovation is about listening, then connecting and implementing. My first focus has been to create integrations between the incredible depth of experience and knowledge of the many disciplines in the organization. I’ve appreciated the opportunity to construct the role parameters as needed.”

    Sandra is eager for the opportunities that await. “Immediately, I was impressed with the significant advancement in predictive modeling and marketing automation at Stamats. The organization is already a step ahead of the competition in this area with potential for additional unique and exciting applications of their technology.”

    More than 70 percent of all higher education institutes have partnered with Stamats over the years. Under Sandra’s leadership in 2019, Stamats will increase its robust digital services offerings in higher education, as well as strategically expand into additional B2B markets.

    About Sandra Fancher, PMP

    Sandra holds a BS from Northwest Missouri State University and is a certified Project Manager Professional, Pragmatic Marketing and ScrumMaster.

    X formerly Twitter: @sandrafancher

    LinkedIn: sandrafancher

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  • The Costs of Program Delivery: What the Research Shows

    The Costs of Program Delivery: What the Research Shows

    These are some of the questions explored in a recent paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research titled, “Why is Math Cheaper than English? Understanding Cost Differences in Higher Education.”

    The authors analyzed what it costs to deliver education in 20 academic fields ranging from fine arts to electrical engineering. They compiled data from a variety of public and private institutions and examined the costs to deliver each program.

    If you or your colleagues are asking any of the questions listed above (and a lot of people are), take a moment to read the full study. But your time is precious and, at the end of the day, it’s still an academic paper so it’s not exactly a beach read. With that in mind, I’ve summarized the key findings of the paper, my observations from doing similar research myself, and implications to think about for your institution. If you’re interested in learning more about market research, explore our research solutions.

    This blog post is a bit different from our other writings, but I hope you enjoy the takeaways I’ve distilled and consider their implications for your own situation.

    Four key takeaways from the study:

    1. Over the past 15 years, average instructional costs have stayed relatively flat. However, the overall picture obscures the variation between programs (see chart below).
    2. Costs vary widely between fields. The average cost to deliver a program is $222 per credit hour, but electrical engineering topped the list at $475/credit hour and math was at the bottom at less than $175/credit hour.
    3. Increases in class size and teaching loads explain declines in costs along with a general shift toward lower-cost faculty (adjunct appointments and teaching assistants as opposed to tenure-track professors).
    4. Online instruction leads to a modest reduction in costs but only for undergraduate programs.

    In addition to the key takeaways, there are several highlights from the findings worth reviewing:

    • Economics, business, accounting, and political science generally have higher faculty salary costs, but these costs are offset by larger class sizes.
    • Engineering and nursing are more expensive due to higher faculty salaries and lower teaching loads (fewer sections per term) without larger classes to offset the cost.
    • The natural sciences—such as biology, chemistry, and physics—generally have higher non-personnel expenses for things like lab materials, but these higher costs are offset by high teaching loads (due to lab sections).
    • Programs vary widely in the percentage of professors who are on the tenure track.
      • Nursing has the lowest share of tenure-track professors (due, in part, to the challenge of finding full-time nursing faculty).
      • STEM fields have the highest shares of professors on the tenure track.
    • Class type—lower division undergraduate, upper division undergraduate, and graduate—also affects program costs, and class types vary between programs. Lower-division courses are less costly because they tend to have larger class sizes and because they are more likely to be taught by lower-cost faculty such as TAs and lecturers.
      • Biology, chemistry, and physics tend to offer a lot of lower-division courses.
      • Professional programs such as accounting, mechanical engineering, and nursing tend to have more upper-division undergraduate and graduate courses.
    • Merely offering a few online courses does not lower a program’s costs, but a program that offers a substantial number of online courses will lower costs.
      • A fully online program is 29 percent less expensive to offer than an in-person program.
      • There is less evidence to suggest that this is true for graduate programs, which is noteworthy because so many graduate programs are available online.

    Two key implications of these findings:

    1. Differential pricing for academic programs: Differential pricing has become more prevalent in recent years as colleges (logically) charge higher tuition for higher-cost and higher-earning fields. When colleges offer differential pricing, students in programs such as nursing, engineering, and business pay higher tuition than their peers in the humanities or social sciences. This analysis would seem to support differential pricing for programs that cost more for institutions to deliver. However, in my view, the stronger argument for colleges is to focus on value and return on investment. Programs that produce graduates who are in high demand with high average salaries can justifiably charge more because the value for the student is greater.
    2. Potential effects of lowering costs: The research is clear: Colleges can reduce the cost of delivering academic programs by increasing class sizes, requiring professors to teach more sections, using non-tenure-track faculty, and limiting non-personnel expenses such as lab equipment. Granted, many within the higher education community will find these “solutions” cringeworthy. It is therefore critical for colleges to be aware of what impact these measures have on the quality of the academic experience (and subsequently, how that influences the college’s reputation). No cost-saving attempt exists in isolation. Because universities operate within a dynamic system, every decision carries multiple ramifications. Colleges concerned about cost should take a holistic view of expense management and consider the effects on academic quality.

    One final thought: The researchers do an excellent job of analyzing the costs of delivering academic programs, but no consideration is given to the revenue side of the equation. (In all fairness, revenue was outside the scope of the research). It is important to consider both because, just like costs, revenues can vary between academic programs. Consider two examples we’ve seen in our work:

    The first is a university that awards scholarships to student-athletes. Therefore, the net tuition revenue for student athletes is, on average, lower than for other students. We’ve seen in the past that student-athletes tend to enroll in majors related to athletics such as sports management or exercise science. If that’s the case, then the net revenue for these programs is going to be lower than for other fields.

    The second is an institution that offers a finance program. Students who enroll in finance programs often have parents who work in the financial sector (for some reason, this field seems to be “hereditary”). Since finance is often a lucrative field, the children of those who work in finance are less likely to receive need-based financial aid. Therefore, the net tuition revenue from students who enroll in finance programs may be higher than the average net tuition revenue for students in other programs.

    Both scenarios illustrate why tuition revenue should be considered in any financial analysis of academic programs. Furthermore, a program’s revenue can come from other sources such as research grants or licensed products.

    Clearly, there are a lot of things to take into account when analyzing the “profitability” of academic programs. And more colleges are likely to conduct this analysis as institutions continue to grapple with the economics of higher education. For those considering the types of questions listed at the beginning of this article, this research is an excellent resource for understanding program costs.

    One takeaway is clear: It’s not only important to have the right data, it’s crucial to understand the potential implications of acting on that data. Increase your institution’s revenue and reduce overhead with research.

    Learn more about Stamats’ Customized Research Services.

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  • Stamats Hires Top Content Marketer Mariah Obiedzinski to Expand Service Offerings

    Stamats Hires Top Content Marketer Mariah Obiedzinski to Expand Service Offerings

    As more clients ask for actionable, conversion-centered content, Stamats is prepared to heed the call. In December 2018, Mariah Obiedzinski joined the Stamats team as Director of Content Services to expand web content creation services at Stamats and help develop and launch a new content marketing program.

    Mariah has a decade of digital strategy experience, having helped small-to-enterprise clients achieve millions of revenue-generating pageviews through engaging, actionable content marketing techniques. She is a nationally recognized expert in the content marketing industry. “Relevant, actionable content—from the words and headings to videos, podcasts, images, and calls-to-action— is a win-win for organizations and site visitors,” Mariah said. “When properly executed, content marketing can drive upwards of 50 percent of total web traffic, resulting in substantial return on investment and user satisfaction.”

    Peter Stamats, CEO, says Mariah’s addition is a strategic growth opportunity for Stamats. “We have always been founded in content and publishing. The future is digital, and we are adjusting our content delivery strategies to support growing client demand. So far, our clients are extremely pleased with their results.”

    Content Marketing at Stamats

    For the last decade, Mariah has provided content expertise and digital project management to clients ranging from independent organizations to national academic institutions. “Effective content governance and content marketing is about meeting people where they are with a clear, useful, measurable user experience. What hinders most organizations is how to marry these concepts while maintaining an optimal publication and distribution process — that’s what Stamats will provide.”

    At Stamats, Mariah will collaborate with Chief Content Engagement Director, Christoph Trappe, to grow a data-driven, conversion-centric content marketing program. Christoph said, “Mariah is a recognized content marketing expert who always puts the client’s needs and goals first. She will certainly help our clients across industries take their content marketing programs up a notch and drive business results.”

    “The progressive attitudes of the team members at Stamats is remarkable,” Mariah adds. “For such a tenured, respected company to venture into a new enterprise content marketing program is thrilling and humbling all at once. I’m eager for the opportunities with this program in 2019.”

    More than 70 percent of all higher education institutes have partnered with Stamats over the years. In 2019, Stamats will increase its content services and content marketing offerings in higher education, as well as strategically expand into additional B2B markets.

    About Mariah Obiedzinski

    Mariah is a two-time presenter at the international Content Marketing World conference. Her areas of expertise include content conversion strategy, integrated digital strategy social media, writing and editing, and interviewing for blogs, podcasts, videos, and webinar. She holds two BAs from Mount Mercy University.

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  • How to Target Non-Traditional Student Prospects in Your Higher Ed Marketing

    How to Target Non-Traditional Student Prospects in Your Higher Ed Marketing

    In this podcast Stamats Chief Content Officer Christoph Trappe and Davia Lassiter, director of marketing at College of Continuing and Professional Education at Kennesaw State University, discuss the enrollment funnel and share tips on how to hit your target prospects.

    The success of attracting your target audience depends on the accuracy of your aim. Our highly interactive workshop will explore the prospective student journey and examine how to identify and successfully target population segments. Attendees will also learn practical copywriting tips and get a crash course in branding guidelines to help lead prospects from the top of the funnel to the bulls-eye. Davia Lassiter, Director of Marketing at College of Continuing Professional Education, leads the workshop with her adult student marketing expertise.

    What You’ll Learn

    • How messaging and the brand experience directly influence engagement, response, and conversion
    • Crucial points in the adult student journey that require more focused and frequent communication
    • Best practices for target marketing across channels

    Read the Transcription Below

    Christoph Trappe: Hello everyone. Christoph Trappe here with Stamats and the Adult Student Marketing Conference. Our first episode for the podcast to talk about adult student marketing and some of the latest trends and information that you should know about.Today I’m joined by Davia Lassiter. She’s the director of marketing, College of Continuing and Professional Education at Kennesaw State University, which is near Atlanta. Thanks for joining us today.

    Davia Lassiter: Thank you for having me.

    Trappe: You bet. Always glad to talk with you. So, Davia is one of our speakers in San Diego in 2019 and of course her topic, which officially is called “The Bullseye, a Multi-layered Approach to Target Marketing” is something that’s really near and dear to my heart, because that’s what I do all day long.

    How do I market to the right people? And not just how do I market to anybody, but how do I actually figure out who my target audience is? How do I reach them? What channels to use? And so, Davia, how does that kind of fit in with Adult Student Marketing?

    Lassiter: Well, what’s interesting is that I work in continuing education. And so, our students are really non-traditional. A lot of people when they think of colleges and universities, they focus on 18-years-olds, 19-year-olds, kind of your typical student.

    So, with those of us who market to adult learners, we kinda have to take a little bit of a different approach. And there’s a lot of technology, a lot of best practices, but you could do all these wonderful things, but if you’re not targeting correctly, then it will really all just be in vain.

    So, it’s just super important to understand your target audience and then focus on the strategy of what to say to them, how to deliver the message to get the maximum ROI that you desire.

    Trappe: Yep. And that is of course, sounds a lot easier than it is in real life.

    Lassiter: Exactly. That is absolutely correct. But just takes some education, some training and just connecting with the right people that could lead you in the right direction. Which is why this upcoming conference is so important.

    Determining Your Target Audience

    Trappe: Absolutely. That’s great. And so, when you talk about how do you determine who your audience is? How do you actually determine who to go after? Who is the non-traditional student that fits for your higher education organization? How do you do that?

    Lassiter: Well, what’s interesting about what we offer is that we have such a variety of programs. So, our core is professional certificate programs. So, these typically target people who have been working for a while. So, they’re not these 18-20-year-olds. They’re mostly late-20s, early 30s and up in the 40s. So, we kind of can target them based on age as well as where they are professionally.

    We also have a program based on the Osher Life-long Learning Institute. And this targets adults 50 and older. Last, we have Summer University, which is for children who arriving first graders all the way through high school seniors. So, knowing that we do serve a large audience, but also being able to segment them really helps us to determine, okay, this is the message that we want to deliver. And based on this segment of the population, this is how we should deliver.

    For example, and these are things that I took on in our presentation. If you’re trying to target adult learners in the OLLI Program, Snapchat is not where you need to be. Whereas for Summer U, you probably don’t want to have anything on LinkedIn.

    So, it’s just researching where your target audience lives online or if it’s something that you need to do in direct mail. And then forming your message to really get their attention and persuade them to select you.

    Because there’s so many options out there for education, so many options for camps and all types of things just regarding education. So, it’s just a matter of reaching those target audience members, delivering a message that resonates with them and getting them to be in your enrollment file, stay there so that they convert to one of your students.

    Trappe: Yeah. And of course, that’s a pretty wide range, right, of ages. When you go from the late-20s to the early 50s or later, do you prioritize who to go after with the message? Or how do you do that?

    Best Choices for Your Marketing

    Lassiter: Well, I wouldn’t say we prioritize. The way our cycle works is that we are pretty open year-round. So, we don’t get summers off, you know, we don’t have that type of schedule. So, we base our marketing on when our classes are. Focusing on professional certificate programs, some programs start once a year and they last maybe 9-14 months.

    Other programs last about 12 weeks, so we offer them 2-3 times per year. So, it just really depends on when the programs are offered. Summer U, of course, is only in June and July, so we have a very specific marketing cycle.

    And then our OLLI programs, they’re so vast. We have classes that are offered 2 or 3, maybe four times a year. We’ve also introduced international and domestic travel to OLLI. They also have socials that are three times a year.

    So, it’s very specific on the type of program. And then the different offerings within certain programs as well.

    Trappe: It’s so interesting. And I wonder how long is the sales cycle, for a lack of a better term, the conversion cycle? So, I’m thinking of myself. I went to the University of Iowa to get my journalism degree, jumped right into the professional life. Went back, got a couple certificates from Cornell for change leadership, marketing strategy, something like that.

    And then every once and a while, now I run into people who talked about master’s degrees and leadership and other things. And I’m always talking about it, I’m thinking about it, I’m talking to my wife, “Should I do this? Does this pay off? Is this worth my time right now?” So, the sales cycle for me is relatively long.

    Lassiter: Right? That’s makes sense. And it’s funny. I also have a journalism degree, so we have that in common.

    Trappe: Excellent. So, how far do you – so sometimes what I see when we talk about marketing strategy, we have – you start a marketing campaign or marketing initiative and people want to see results tomorrow, right? Like, is this working yet? The thing we started yesterday? No, it’s not.

    What have you found – how long does it typically take to actually convert somebody? Is it longer or shorter? And of course, maybe the answer is often “it depends.”

    Be Aware of the Enrollment Funnel

    Lassiter: It depends. That is exactly right. But it helps when people are familiar with the enrollment funnel. So, the funnel that we refer to has five different levels.

    So, the first level is “Awareness.” And that’s just really casting a very wide net so that people really know that you exist. So, you’re trying to get their attention. And then you move down to interest.

    So, for example, someone saw your Facebook ad and clicked on it and filled out a form, so they could get more information. Someone received a course catalog in the mail, which is something we mail out quarterly and they called or visited your website and requested more information.

    So, once people are aware of the programs that you offer and they follow up with you, they are in your funnel. So, they indicated interest in something that you have to offer. From there, you nurture them.

    Nurturing for Conversion

    You follow up with them, you answer their questions, you give them information about upcoming events, whether it’s an open house or a webinar, or a meet-and-greet, or a tour of our facilities. You’re pretty much dangling a carrot.

    And the nurturing part is so important because they’re not only vetting your program, but they’re vetting your competitor’s programs as well. Adult learners are very smart and they definitely want their own ROI. So, just like marketers are looking for ROI, so are these adult learners.

    So, the nurturing part of the funnel is very, very important. From there, you want them to convert. You want them to make a purchase. Which in our case is enrolling in our programs or in the Osher Life-long Learning Institute or putting their kids in Summer University. And what we do special here at KSU is in our marketing, we utilize our students in our marketing.

    So, we love to get testimonials, we love to hear success stories, because that brings us to the bottom of the funnel, which is being a brand ambassador, or being an advocate for the program. And from there, we move back to awareness. We use those testimonials and those success stories and we put them into our marketing to make others aware of what we have to offer.

    So, for us, we know that students can take a month to make a decision, some take two years to make a decision. And that’s just based on information that we’re seeing from the data.

    Another example is that we’ve done quite a few Google AdWords campaigns. And we had someone reach out to us in 2015 about a particular program and they wound up enrolling in 2017. So, it really depends on the price of the program, the length, whether it’s online, whether it’s during the daytime, whether it’s on the weekend.

    So, again, it’s very, very dependent upon a variety of factors. But again, out of everything that’s in the funnel, the nurturing, is super, super important because that’s what – that part is what will get people to again, convert and then potentially be an advocate for your program.

    Trappe: Yep. And I like how you say “Non-traditional students also look for their ROI,” which is exactly what I’m doing as well, right? I mean if I go back and I study whatever the MBA might be, as a non-traditional student, I’m doing the math, you know? Is this going to pay off and how quick is it going to pay off?

    And interestingly, I was talking to a non-traditional student actually last night, just kinda happened. And I asked her that same question. I said, “Did it actually pay off?” And she goes, “Absolutely. I did the math and here’s how quickly it paid off.”

    So, very interesting to see how strategic non-traditional students – many people are about it.

    You are also going to talk about some copywriting tips that our Adult Student Marketing Conference in February. Any tips you can share along those lines?

    Impact of Testimonials

    Lassiter: Absolutely. So, I mentioned advocacy and brand ambassadorship. So, a testimonial is so powerful. If you include that in your copy, that is a direct example of ROI. So, you just mentioned that you asked someone, “Well, did it pay off?”

    Having someone who’s gone through your program and graduated from your program and then go on to secure a job, or get a certain certification, for them to come back to us and say, you know, “I took this program. I had this goal and I exceeded it thanks to you,” that is perfect for your marketing copy. That is really marketing gold.

    Answer 3 Questions in Marketing Materials

    1. How much will it cost?

    So, we try to answer three particular questions in our marketing copy. The first is, of course, how much is it going to cost? People are going to make an investment of money as well as their time. But it could be a barrier of something is out of reach for them financially. That’s going to be very important.

    So, with us also providing the cost, we also say, “Here are our multiple financial aid opportunities,” whether it’s a scholarship or education benefits or payment plans. We definitely try to provide solutions to anyone who makes cost as a barrier.

    2. How long will it take?

    The second question is, “Well, how long is it? How long is it going to take me?” And again, delivery is very important. If it’s online, first is you coming here twice a week or a Saturday for 12 weeks. So, we do have some variety there. And for the sake of the time that adult learners will need, balancing education in their personal lives, we definitely want them to know, “Well, this is how long it’s going to take you.”

    3. What is my ROI? Will I get a job?

    And then the last is again, ROI. “Will I get a job?” Testimonies are important, like I said before. But we also provide occupational outlooks. So, we are great about citing sources from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Department of Labor, websites such as Salary.com, just so people can get a full picture. This is how much it’s going to cost. It’s going to take you this long, but these are my possible outcomes. And here’s a student that was successful after going through this same program that I’m interested.

    Trappe: Testimonials, they’re painting the dream, right, for you to follow. Yeah. That is great to hear. When you have testimonials, so what I like to say, when you have good content, throw it a parade, right? Put it on every channel.

    Lassiter: Exactly.

    Trappe: Do you do that?

    Lassiter: We absolutely do. We are great at repurposing content, simply because – just because we have something doesn’t mean that everyone’s going to see it. Just because we have something on our social media channels or in our course catalog or in a press release, everyone’s not going to see it.

    So, the smart thing to do is if we have one example of content, so if we have a blog that we’ve written, say we’ve interviewed a student, they tell us their success story, we put it on our website, well we can also share that blog via social media in an email.

    We can also as I say “flip it” into a press release to try to get media coverage. We can also put it in our course catalog, which is mailed out quarterly to over 250,000 people. So, we definitely try to repurpose our content and multiply this storytelling so that people can see it across different platforms.

    Trappe: And you know, it’s so funny. It’s actually funny to me because 15 years ago, people would say, “Oh my goodness. You need unique content for every channel.” And what you described, I’m a big believer in that concept, create once, publish everywhere, of course. But 15 years ago, people would say, “We need unique content for every channel because everybody will see everything on every channel.” Which of course, we know today is not correct.

    So, that’s great to hear. What are your tips for people to keep up on what channels to currently use and is there any change that’s worth sharing?

    Which Social Media Channels are Most Effective?

    Facebook

    Lassiter: Well, Facebook definitely is king whether it’s organic content or even paid. I’ve actually read a report this morning that Facebook ads as far as generating awareness are still #1. Marketers are seeing a lot of ROI from Facebook ads. Can you repeat the question?

    Trappe: Yep. So, that was kind of really the answer here. But then is there any other channel? So, Facebook, of course, is a big one. Is there any other channel people should be aware of? We talked about Snapchat quickly. Probably not for the non-traditional student.

    Lassiter: Right. Okay. So, for older populations, again Facebook, what we’re seeing is that older populations are able to connect with maybe family members, grandchildren, old friends who may not be in the same time zone, but they can still connect with them online. Instagram is another one. It’s very popular.

    We have a culinary program, so it is always great for us to get content that’s beautiful food and we post it everywhere. But having it on Instagram is definitely a plus, since it’s so visually focused. Twitter is also great as well. And that’s just for quick little snapshot updates. We get a lot of engagement. Really most on Facebook, but also Instagram and some on Twitter.

    LinkedIn

    LinkedIn is perfect for us, considering again that our core is professional certificate programs. So, connecting with our graduates, encouraging them to list our colleges page on their LinkedIn profile is huge because we want to present them as professionals, right? And they should want to present themselves as professionals. They have this certificate, they’re trying to get these promotions, move up in their professions. So, LinkedIn is pretty big as well.

    YouTube

    And then there’s YouTube. People love videos. It’s just a different way to deliver content. So, earlier I mentioned how we interview students and we put it on the blog as well as other platforms. Well, we also use video as well. So, that’s perfect for us just to share in a tweet, on LinkedIn. Sometimes we embed videos within blogs. So, there’s a lot of opportunity there as well.

    For things like Snapchat and Pinterest and whatever else is out there on the horizon, it’s just a matter again of knowing your audience and knowing where they live. On a basic level, definitely Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. That sounds like a lot, but there’s so much I guess intermingling that you could do among those different platforms.

    Trappe: Yeah. It is a lot. But that’s kind of the world we’re in. Things are continuously adding on top of what we already have to do. On Facebook too, I don’t know if you saw this, but people do go to the Facebook page of universities.

    So, it’s really important to have that looking nicely for them, even if you have a nice cover image. Now you can do a video even. I don’t know if you knew that or not. I just saw that the other day to do a nice video.

    Lassiter: We have that. Yeah. We actually have that on our Summer U page, just to get the parents and the kids engaged. And one other item that I wanted to point out is we are one of the colleges that comprises the university, so we actually have our own Facebook page.

    So, of course, there is a university-wide Facebook page as well as other platforms on social media. But with us having our own, we’re able to control the content. And that way everything that we push out online on the social media platforms is all about continuing and professional education.

    Stamats Adult Student Marketing Conference

    Trappe: Yep. Absolutely. Great. This was a great overview of your session at the Adult Student Marketing Conference in San Diego in February. Anything else you’d like to share that I didn’t ask you?

    Lassiter: Let me think. Well, I really hope that for those who are new to Stamats, that they definitely consider coming to the conference. Number one, I know that they enjoy conferences in an area when there’s a beach. So, it’s always enticing, but this year in February was my first time attending and also presenting. And it was really, really wonderful.

    I attend conferences pretty regularly, but this one was actually one of my favorites. I just love being able to network with everyone and just meet other people who deal specifically with adult learners. So, it was just very, very refreshing.

    And we have a lot of great people, a lot of subject matter experts who are ready to share their best practices. Because we all have the same goals, getting enrollment and educating others. So, it’s just a great time to come connect with others, learn a lot of information and bring it back to your own team so you can meet your respective goals.

    So, I just really hope everyone comes out to Stamats, it’s going to be an awesome time.

    Trappe: Great. Thank you so much. And certainly the marketing team here at Stamats knows their audience because that’s why they planned them where there is a beach every year. But thanks for the overview of marketing for non-traditional students. And always appreciate it. And hope to see everyone in San Diego in February.

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  • Using Instagram and Snapchat for Higher Ed Marketing & Recruitment

    Using Instagram and Snapchat for Higher Ed Marketing & Recruitment

     However, this is not to say that text doesn’t matter because we’re too lazy to read, only that images have been complementing or even supplanting headlines. Now the question becomes, should you invest your resources into still photography, video, or both? It depends on many factors, but it ultimately comes down to your staff, equipment, and goals.

    While social media has given us the flexibility to be lo-fi with the picture quality and art direction, it has also presented with new challenges, such as content expiration, limited metrics, and shorter recording time. To keep this simple, let’s focus on the two hottest social media services: Instagram and Snapchat.

    Instagram—where images are worth 1,000 words

    Think of Instagram as a 1-to-many photograph broadcast tool, which you can tag and view other photos based on the location. Although they allow video clips, Instagram is better known as a platform to show off a lifestyle. Celebrities use it to give their fans a glimpse of their exclusive lifestyle. For mere mortals, the platform is used to show the local scene with the help of preset filters to add a nostalgic or an artsy look.

    Many colleges use Instagram to showcase the campus beauty, brag about the reach of their brand, or show how they’re a part of the community through reposts or likes of the local businesses and events. Instagram is a great way to connect with the community—particularly with prospective students in the area—and even encourage commuter students to participate in more campus activity. More broadly, Instagram is a great way for prospective students to catch a glimpse of campus life beyond what’s on the website and other marketing materials. As such, we recommend you show off your students in your Instagram photos as much as possible. Keep the photos authentic and natural to the platform.

    Snapchat – embrace, don’t fear the ghost

    Unlike Instagram, Snapchat is a video service that is better known for its 1-to-1 or 1-to-few broadcast. Although snaps can be shared with more people, the content creator defines the users in a group. The videos expire in 24 hours, replays can be limited, and the content creator is notified whenever someone takes a screenshot of the snap, in efforts to hold individuals accountable and curtail bullying. Snapchat functions more like a contact list on your phone, since users have to be manually added, and the relationship tend exist in real life.

    What makes Snapchat fun is the myriad of lenses (their term for “filters”) users can apply, and the platform introduces one new lens each day. The lenses can be as similar as the face swap or aging apps that have existed for a while, or a simple sticker the user can place over the snap. Some colleges and businesses have been hesitant to adopt Snapchat due to the lack of metrics—although this may change soon, with the introduction of advertisement. Here’s a list of colleges and universities with their own Snapchat account.

    Colleges, however, have the advantage of Campus Stories—whenever someone creates a snap on a college campus, the app verifies the user’s location via the smartphone’s GPS, and makes their snap discoverable via Campus Stories as to increase serendipity among its users within a certain area. Compared to Instagram, Snapchat has a stronger impact but limited reach due to its exclusivity. It’s a great tool to build school pride with the current students, but it may alienate prospective students since some of the snaps may fly above their heads.

    Instagram vs. Snapchat—which one to use?

    More and more teens are adopting Snapchat, and this is a platform all colleges should adopt or at least seriously consider, even if it’s difficult for those teens to participate in the campus conversation. Teens can still get an intimate view of student life, but only if they view the Snapchat on that day. So find out which day of the week your target demographic will be most available and publish on schedule. If they’re in a high school located in the southeast in a Friday night in the Fall, they will probably be attending a football game instead of checking Snapchat.

    Producing good quality snaps on a daily basis to attract new followers can be very time-consuming, and it’s better if someone in your team has a video production experience to create a storyboard with different shots, lenses, captions, and then coordinate the talent with the location or event. Alternatively, hand over the property to vetted students or interns to create more relevant snaps, and it’ll also feel more authentic. Make it clear that it is a student-managed Snapchat.

    Again, the biggest downside of Snapchat is the 24-hour expiration, the current lack of metrics, and the amount of time required to produce a snap. In our interviews with college students, they mention loving Snapchats because it’s fun and it gives them a sense of privacy with their group, but they later quit so they can focus more on their studies and social life. Apparently, watching and creating snaps are both time-consuming for them, so don’t feel obligated to create a new snap every day either.

    Instagram is easier to produce and more forgiving with their built-in filters. Meet with your marketing team to brainstorm themes and create an editorial calendar with specific hashtags. Virtually anyone can take a picture with their smartphone, and it’s even possible to add photos from your digital SLR. Instagram posts are also easily shared across Facebook (since they own it), and more discoverable through hashtags. One of the easiest way to engage users is to simply repost or click “like” on their images, since it carries a similar “social economy” as Twitter (like, retweet, reply). By integrating Instagram on the homepage, visitors will have a better understanding of you college’s values and mission—the attributes behind your brand. However, they may also be skeptical if the images are overly produced or do not contain reposts.

    So which one to use? Both if you can, but understand that even though they both overlap to some extent, Instagram is more likely to have an impact with prospective students who aren’t aware of your college, and Snapchat is better at engaging current and prospective students that already know your college. Audit your resources (staff and equipment), and define your goals (brand awareness and/or engagement).

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