The SMILE Podcast: Recent Episodes
SMILE
All things digital for the HE, FE, and broader education sector - bought to you by SMILE (wearesmile.com) - dedicated to helping universities and colleges become more authentic, timely, and personalised through creative services and tools.
If you’re involved with digital for the education sector - and looking for news, insight, and opinions - you’re in the right place!
It's harder than ever to be personalised. Universities have been trying to achieve widespread personalisation in websites for years. No one has cracked it. So why is it still a desirable website feature?
Almost every university uses GA. France’s data protection watchdog, the CNIL, has issued updated guidance on the use of Google Analytics following a decision early last year that found the use of the tool to be in breach of European Union law under certain circumstances.
Would you comply with the strict GDPR-based guidance?
Image Credits:Thomas Trutschel / Getty Images
Lewis Wake from University of St. Andrews Digital Communications team recently wrote about how Jakob's Law applies to the university website landscape. It makes sense, but how does a university stand out if you all have to look the same?
JISC has written a thought-provoking article on digital transformation for universities. It's lines like "I hope to see universities breaking away from the traditional academic calendar and the tyranny of the timetable" that not only feel new, but totally possible too. But are universities prepared to mobilise? And what will happen if they don't?
Read the article now: https://www.jisc.ac.uk/blog/what-does-a-university-need-to-be-digitally-successful-07-sep-2022
According to CampusESP, 85% of students' parents (sample size 21,000) desire to hear from universities at least ONCE PER WEEK. That’s 20% more than it was in 2020.But there’s an issue: Less than half of students communicate with their parents about university regularly.
Cleveland State University dropped $1.4m on a rebrand. Let’s see what it got for its trouble: New logo attacked on Twitter - check. A well-paid media provider - check. A “sleek” promotional video with half a million views (but zero engagement) - CHECK. It’s not the most expensive rebrand, but funnelling some of those funds to its website wouldn’t have gone amiss.
In 2020, the entirety of the HE sector pivoted to online learning within days. Since then we’ve tried to take the best of digital education forward. But The Telegraph, The Mail (and about 80% of the UK press) didn’t like that, and despite a lot of signals that students enjoyed the flexibility of online learning - headlines said otherwise. Well, Susan Orr’s report removes all the ideology and (surprise) reveals that blended learning is actually pretty good.
A group of alumni are suing University of Southern California and the online education provider 2U for “artificially inflating rankings.” Allegedly, the University cherry-picked data and used the success of its in-person doctoral students to represent ALL its online cohorts. Again, the ranking in question is U.S. News & World Report but I’m sure it’s not an isolated incident. How many other ranking organisations accept data without question? It’s fascinating how much emphasis universities still place on league tables considering students don’t seem to care. For the last few years, UCAS has reported the declining influence of league tables on student decision-making. On UCAS’s applicant survey in 2020, rankings were ranked in 8th place. In 2022, they didn’t even feature in the top 10 with students having a preference for student reviews. Why the change? 10 years ago, ranking organisations held all the information, but today students can get the same insight from “the crowd” in seconds. Expect more league table revelations in 2023 and significant reform to follow.
For all the hype, you’d expect TikTok to be the preferred social platform for students. But it really isn’t. Based on a survey of 20,000 UG, PG and PhD students globally, TikTok ranks way lower than I expected. Now, this doesn’t mean that students aren’t on TikTok. It just means it’s not their favourite or “go-to app.” Just because students are on TikTok doesn’t make it their no.1 platform. Be careful if you’re planning to pare back efforts on Facebook and Instagram. They are still very much in the game.
Kwantlen Polytechnic University invited its “almost-alumni” Ryan Reynolds to share his favourite holiday movies - which he did on their blog (presumably to crickets.) But then Kwantlen shared the list on LinkedIn and BOOM! Reynolds picks it up and the University gets its name in front of a stupid number of people. Just like you would with student creators, do partnerships with your most influential alumni - the reach on LinkedIn is among the best right now.
The University of San Francisco has partnered with the automated taxi company Cruise to provide free driverless rides for students. What could go wrong? Cruise highlights that the programme is a “first-ever” (so they’re using students as guinea pigs?) with USF's chief information officer saying "there's a cool factor here... [Students] feel like they’re part of the future." Wow. Sounds like they understand their audience.
The University of Hertfordshire knocked it out of the park with a video game campus tour. Honestly, we expected a horror story, but it clearly has taken inspiration from Animal Crossing. You run around campus completing tasks and learning about the uni. You even get to try out facilities - we made our own hoodie (but screwed up the stitching.) It never feels forced and above all: It’s fun!
ChatGPT made waves when it was launched in Q4 2022. Is this the iPhone moment for Artificial Intelligence? Now it's freely available and easy to use - what does this mean for marketers and educators? Do we all need to learn prompt writing skills?
Have a go for yourself: https://chat.openai.com/chat
AI #ArtificialIntelligence #HigherEducation
Not a big player university? Neither were National university. But they're bucking the US trend of terrible financial health. They took lessons from one specific type of business. We go through the incredible story as posted on Forbes.
We are joined by very special guest Joel Goodman from Bravery Media! You can find him on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelgoodman/
Watch the article for yourself - https://www.forbes.com/video/6313563662112/how-a-littleknown-school-earned-top-marks-on-forbes-2022-college-financial-grades/?sh=19f7bcf56bea
HigherEducation #NationalUniversity #Forbes
Google is extending its “Grow with Google” education initiative to university partners. Similar to degree apprenticeships, each programme addresses in-demand skills gaps like Data Analytics, however, there is no work experience offered as part of the package. That said - the cost is attractive. $49 a month is the price to enrol on a programme which takes around four to five months to complete.
Considering the average cost of a college degree now stands at $35,000 per year - it feels like a no-brainer for time and cash-strapped adult learners. The portfolio isn’t bad either. Right now, students can study qualifications in finance, engineering and even sustainability. Another model nipping at the heels of the traditional 3-year campus degree.
Find out more: https://fortune.com/education/articles/a-tipping-point-for-higher-ed-google-launches-new-low-cost-online-programs-for-high-demand-jobs/
Google #HigherEducation #University
UCD have u-turned on their email for life policy - but in fact, it's more than that. And students aren't happy.
Read the full article now: https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/education/former-ucd-students-told-they-will-no-longer-have-access-to-their-college-email-accounts-42043414.html
£236 million, anyone? With the majority of universities in the UK classed as public institutions, they are subject to open procurement procedures to ensure fair competition. This also means you can spy on what your competitors are thinking of spending cash on. We take a look at an investigation from The PIE and check out some awarded contracts.
We’ll see the death of the social media newsfeed within five years (if not sooner.) The warning signs are here: Instagram trialling an “immersive feed, ”every OG social platform pivoting to discovery and teens primarily consuming content via creators. In today's episode, we talk about the opportunities for university marketers. The newsfeed has been a staple of social media. But it's giving way to something new.
Great State have released a report on digital experiences from HEIs in the U.K. What did students tell them? And what do Great State say that universities need to be doing?
Read the report - https://prismic-io.s3.amazonaws.com/greatstate/bfb40d4d-a437-49ae-81f8-3d3cab55ad50_The+Higher+Education+Digital+Experience+Report+2022.pdf
Great State have released a report on digital experiences from HEIs in the U.K. What did students tell them? And what do Great State say that universities need to be doing?
Read the report - https://prismic-io.s3.amazonaws.com/greatstate/bfb40d4d-a437-49ae-81f8-3d3cab55ad50_The+Higher+Education+Digital+Experience+Report+2022.pdf
The cost of living crisis has reopened a discussion on the return of maintenance grants. Fun fact: The maximum maintenance loan available to students this year is £1,000 less than a job paying the national minimum wage – the biggest gap between the two since 2004.
In this episode, we discuss how the cost of living affects student decisions and how education marketers can respond.
The cost of living crisis has reopened a discussion on the return of maintenance grants. Fun fact: The maximum maintenance loan available to students this year is £1,000 less than a job paying the national minimum wage – the biggest gap between the two since 2004.
In this episode, we discuss how the cost of living affects student decisions and how education marketers can respond.
@Monmouth University is the first university that we know of, to transition to WordPress' Full Site Editing. The whole site is now built out of Gutenberg blocks. That means less dependency on developers. Will it increase their pace?
Find Tryon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tryon-eggleston-34939833/
Find Steve on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sjgraboski
@Monmouth University is the first university that we know of, to transition to WordPress' Full Site Editing. The whole site is now built out of Gutenberg blocks. That means less dependency on developers. Will it increase their pace?
Find Tryon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tryon-eggleston-34939833/
Find Steve on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sjgraboski
In the UK, Lizz Truss (PM candidate) has announced a policy where anyone with three 3 A*s is automatically invited to an interview at Oxbridge. Fair play. But there’s one major flaw.
It’s Clearing month, so we've taken a look at some university search ads. Honestly, we're a bit concerned. Lots of ads are leading to the wrong kind of content. If someone searches “[uni name] Clearing,” for us, that’s a sign of intent.
Google’s reported that nearly half of Gen Z are using TikTok and Instagram for search. If you still need convincing that publishing natively is the future - there it is. This all comes off the back of news that kids and teens are watching (on average) 91 minutes of TikTok per day compared with just 56 minutes of YouTube.
In this episode, the discussion is centred around influencers and are they worth your marketing spend? We take a look at the average spend across different platforms and how that could affect marketing efforts.
In this episode, we discuss whether dark social attribution is a friend or foe. Are there better ways to leverage this than what currently exists?
Join us for this week's episode of Most Clicked where discuss the controversial statement of "Hybrid events are dead".
Join us for this week's episode of Most Clicked where we discuss what qualities make a good university clearing page with an example from Leeds Beckett University.
Join us for this week's episode where we discuss a visually stunning campaign landing page from Imperial College Business School but does it have any more to offer?
Join us for this week's episode of Most Clicked where we discuss Meta's recent move into the education space and the impact that could have!
Join us for this week's Most Clicked where we discuss a fantastic piece from LSE titled 'Research for the World', a content hub based on research.
Join us for this week's episode of Most Clicked where we discuss what Kyle terms 'the portfolio problem'. How can a university be known for ONE THING when it has hundreds of courses?
Join us for the week's episode where we discuss the compelling course tasters held at Media Design School and how we think more institutions should be adopting this strategy.
Join us for this week's episode of Most Clicked where we discuss the top 10 coolest brands for Gen A in 2022 and the impact that has on the education sector.
Join us for this week's episode of Most Clicked where we discuss a great research video from the University of Surrey on how to get more sleep, something I'm sure we are all interested in!
Join us for this week's episode of Most Clicked where we discuss one of the quietest threats to higher ed: Millennial parents.
Join us for this week's episode of Most Clicked where we discuss how The University of Law's PowerPoints and pop-up banners are making the news in India!
Join us for this week's episode of Most Clicked where we discuss how print can still be a very powerful marketing medium just used in a slightly different way.
This week on Most Clicked, we're discussing a powerful example from the University of Sheffield of how you can make the most of on-demand video for your website.
This week on Most Clicked, we are discussing a story from Disney around how best to look at your content marketing strategy.
This week on Most Clicked, we are discussing Amazon's recent venture into the education space with the offering of free education to all of their hourly-paid employees.
This week on Most Clicked, we discuss how starting harmless drama on TikTok can benefit everyone involved and really elevate the wider conversation.
This week on Most Clicked, we talk about how the University of Northampton has pulled its 'student perks' into one place and how this can be an added benefit for prospective students.
In this week's episode of Most Clicked we take a look at the "Students’ perceptions of belonging and inclusion at university" report from Pearson and Wonkhe and how that can impact the digital work institutions carry out moving forward.
Join us and special guest Jord Muckley for this week's episode of Most Clicked where we discuss TikTok yet again as it becomes a social media giant!
Join us for this week's Most Clicked where we discuss the new way of introducing videos into course pages as demonstrated by the University of Kent
Join us for this week's Most Clicked where we discuss the unhinged approach to marketing on TikTok from the University of Chichester.
Matt Lees (Creative Director) and Elliott Barnicle (Lead Design) talk us through the process of designing such a large-scale flagship website.
Join us for episode #10 of Most Clicked! Our most-clicked item for today is around Denver Ad School's masterclass in tone of voice.
Today, we talk about university course pages and how the bar is rising. With a great example from Plymouth College of Art, is it time for change?
Join us for Most Clicked now streaming on Monday mornings. In this episode, we speak about the increasing demand for flexible work and how higher ed is responding.
Join Nathan Monk and Rob Tribe as they discuss the future of the prospectus: a digital-first case study.
Join Nathan Monk, Matt Lees and Kyle Campbell for the latest episode of Most Clicked where we talk about how TikTok is taking over the education sector.
In December 2021, SMILE ran a webinar called "Everything will be fine... Probably" where we looked back at how the Higher Education sector coped, what trends you should look out for, and who's tipped for award success next year. Re-listen back to our stream in this podcast.
Listening on Spotify? This is a video podcast in certain territories!
Watch the webinar on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_JJdXMXfxQ
Your likes, subscribes, and ratings mean the world to us!
Today, we’re joined by Lacy Pachal, Executive Director of Digital Strategies from Vanderbilt University to discuss our top stories: Community marketing at Vanderbilt; Brands taking their first steps into the metaverse; University of Austin appears to be a website.
Giles Whattam (Associate Director of Marketing Strategy at the University of East Anglia) talks us through the process of a flagship website process and identifies his top tips for success.
We’re joined by Jane Oswald (Head of Marketing) from University of Sunderland to discuss our top stories: US unis doubling marketing spend; University of Sunderland making students the hero of its story; And the renaissance for print publications at universities.
Joe Marshall (Senior Project Manager) from UEA discusses his take on how to manage a flagship website project, without upsetting the apple cart! Learn techniques like the big red button, and juggling stakeholders in this interview.
In this episode of Most Clicked, find out how the University of Bristol and London Business School are using YouTube to help recruit students, with great success.
Amy Cousins from Newcastle University joins us to talk about the blog that she manages and dives into her SEO specialism. We also talk about a COVID vaccination campaign from Slippery Rock University and yet more frightening Facebook tales.
In this episode, we're joined by our first special guest - Lydia Horstman, Middlesex University - as we discuss ambassador strategies and community building, alongside quips about that Facebook outage.
Most Clicked is a show by SMILE where we discuss the top marketing and digital stories in Higher Education. In this pilot episode, we talk about, Leeds Beckett Welcome Week, Email Open-Rate Armageddon, and the Facebook/Ray-Ban Collaboration. You can watch the show on YouTube and LinkedIn. Find out more at https://wearesmile.com/mostclicked