undeclared: Recent Episodes
Allison Lanier
Welcome to Undeclared, where we will be exploring all the challenges currently facing Higher Education. Everything from changes in how higher education is perceived, to how institutions are handling lower enrollment rates, to what makes institutions stand out in the mind of students and faculty. Higher Ed has a long and illustrious history here in the United States, and it has faced many challenges and changes along the way. Unfortunately, history doesn't always help us solve modern problems and the world of Higher Education is facing many of the same issues other industries are facing. How to handle and use modern communication tools, dealing with faster and less in-depth news cycles, and the ever-present hurdle of differentiating yourself from all the background noise to grab someone's attention long enough to have an impact. We will bring you conversations and interviews with the leaders of higher ed institutions, case studies on what works and doesn't, research on trends and habits, and ultimately help our listeners get a better feel for what THEY can do at their own institution to excel and grow.
So who is this podcast for? It is for anyone in the higher education space that wants to understand where their institution sits in the marketplace right now, and what they can do to move it forward. It is for listeners who lead universities and education programs that need to cultivate a vision for their institution. And it for those who know their institution could be so much more, with just a little TLC in the right places. Join us to learn and share here on Undeclared.
David Gibson is vice president for communications and marketing at Middlebury, where he oversees public affairs, marketing, internal and crisis communications, branding, web strategy, social media, creative services, and print and mail operations. He has three decades of experience advancing the interests of mission-driven institutions and has built programs clarifying their value in the world and bringing deeper engagement with stakeholders. He has held staff positions at Hampshire, MIT, and Dartmouth and was a vice president of strategic communications for the international consulting firm Grenzebach Glier and Associates. At Cornell, he and his team won two Sibley “magazine of the year” awards. As its managing editor, he helped Yankee earn its first National Magazine Award nomination for reporting.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How David's career led to higher education marketing, and how his background in magazines has helped inform his career and given him a unique marketing perspective
- Why articulating who your institution truly is in a conversational way lies at the heart of higher education marketing's impact
- Why David sees his role as “curating and collating” an institution’s messaging as much as “creating” content
- Why getting stakeholder buy-in is really just about having conversations with people and listening to their thoughts
- How David defines "engagement", based on enabling an audience to emotionally feel something that can motivate them to do something in partnership with the institution
- Why identifying and repurposing content is a powerful way for especially small higher ed marketing teams to expand their reach
- How David learned "the business of philanthropy" through a new career change, and what key lessons about giving and communication he learned in that role
- What wisdom David has to share with higher education marketing professionals seeking to master their communications skills
Resources: * LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/david-gibson-6552644/ * LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/school/middlebury-college/
Additional resources: * Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com * Website: www.upandup.agency * Email: contact@upandup.agency
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- Why mastering your brand platform and getting your messaging and strategy right offers many benefits for higher education institutions
- What ten key benefits you’ll receive from a great brand strategy:
- Greater clarity
- Strengthens trust
- Influencing of beliefs
- Instilling confidence
- Inspiring your employees
- Rallying the community
- Boosting recognition
- Maintaining loyalty
- Protecting your pricing
- Creating value
- Why knowing the benefits of getting your brand strategy can help you get buy-in from leadership
- How to get access to a downloadable PDF of these ten key benefits in greater detail from Allison and the team at Up&Up
Resources
- Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com
- Website: www.upandup.agency
- Email: contact@upandup.agency
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-lanier
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/upandupagency
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/upandupagency
Laralee Ferrell Harkleroad partners with organizations seeking to grow and transform their culture, with an emphasis on branding, communications, and marketing. She currently serves enrollmentFUEL as a professional consultant and manager & curriculum strategist for their REV: Fuel Training Series. Dr. Harkleroad also enjoys working with tomorrow’s leaders in the classroom by serving as an adjunct professor and guest lecturer.
Previously, as the Director of Marketing and Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) Co-Director for Tusculum University, the first University in the state of Tennessee, she built the institution’s first Marketing department, establishing processes and policies, creating brand awareness, and building relationships across the organization to help achieve challenging goals.
Joining TU in 2014, her role covered a wide range of responsibilities including strategic planning and developing integrated marketing campaigns in support of student recruitment and retention, as well as alumni engagement and fundraising support. Dr. Harkleroad recently spearheaded the University’s transition from College to University and its efforts to unify and realign the institution's brand. Dr. Harkleroad led the team responsible for all aspects and execution of the institution’s brand strategy including communication flows, social media management, and the phased redesign of the University’s website using only existing internal resources. Dr. Harkleroad continues to serve as an adjunct professor for the University’s College of Business and College of Civic & Liberal Arts.
A career change in 2012 led Dr. Harkleroad to discover her passion for higher education. Prior to 2012, she spent eight years managing the marketing and recruiting efforts for the TriCities, TN/VA office of Baker Donelson Law Firm. She obtained an EdD in leadership and learning in organizations from Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College, an MBA with a concentration in human resources from King University, and a Bachelor’s in business administration with a concentration in legal studies from East Tennessee State University.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How Laralee found her way to #HigherEd marketing and discovered that it was her true "calling"
- How Tusculum University is actually the second institution Laralee has worked at during a transition from college to university
- What steps Laralee and her team took to ease the transition and reframe their marketing around the university transition
- How changing lamppost banners to feature Tusculum University was the single biggest community impact that excited people for the transition
- What tools and resources Laralee's team used that made the biggest difference throughout the process
- How a clear, aspirational mission statement helped unify everyone and served as a focal point to get all parties involved on the same page
- Why Tusculum University chose the "pioneer" as their mascot, and how it reflects the many ways the institution has served as a pioneer in Tennessee
- How the outbreak of the global pandemic shaped the direction of some of the rebrand marketing
- How all the hard work, strategic thinking, careful planning and implementation paid off in a hugely successful transition and rebrand
Resources:
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/laralee-harkleroad/
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/laralee.f.harkleroad
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/laraleeharkleroad/
- Twitter: @lfharkleroad
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- What a “brand strategy” is, and how it is comprised of three key parts: the “why”, the “what” and the “how”
- How your “why”, your brand platform, includes the 4-5 key points that make up your brand pillars, brand proof, persona, brand story and brand promise
- How research, focus groups and other insight generators can help you develop your brand platform
- How your “what”, the visual indicators of your brand such as your logo and colors, don’t have to change unless they need to be refreshed
- Why your “how”, your brand awareness, is divided into four key buckets: distinction, relevance, consistency, and frequency
- Why your messaging needs to reach your target audience where they are and needs to be consistent across all the ways your audience engages with you
- Why your message should be relevant to your target audience and spark intrigue and interest
Resources
- Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com
- Website: www.upandup.agency
- Email: contact@upandup.agency
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-lanier
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/upandupagency
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/upandupagency
Laura H. Jack is vice president for communications and acting chief diversity officer at Colgate University in Hamilton, N.Y. At Colgate, Jack leads all internal and external communications efforts to steward Colgate’s reputation and identity; build awareness of the University, the excellence of its faculty, and its strong academic programs; and support the University’s core mission, goals, and priorities.
Prior to arriving at Colgate, Jack was vice president at Howard University in Washington, D.C., where she oversaw all fundraising, alumni relations, communications, and university events operations.
Outside of higher education, Jack spent nearly 10 years managing marketing and advertising initiatives and multimillion-dollar campaigns with international marketing and advertising firms, such as JCDecaux and Ogilvy & Mather.
Beyond Jack’s professional responsibilities, she is an active member in the community and serves on the board of directors for Community Memorial Hospital and A Better Chance Clinton. Jack earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Pace University, a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Science in Education from Baruch College. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Higher Education at Syracuse University.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How Laura found her way to the world of #HigherEd marketing, and why she chose to take a “backward step” from her job in the corporate world to follow her passion
- How the field of higher education communications has evolved over the decades, and how Laura bridges the gap between her two roles at Colgate University
- How the outbreak of the global pandemic accelerated Colgate’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) plan
- Why DEI work touches everything the institution does, and how disparities in access to vaccines has impacted the institution’s students
- How Colgate University addressed the challenge of bringing students back to campus in a safe and conscientious way
- Why clear, strong and frequent communication has been crucial for navigating the challenges of the global pandemic
- What key lessons Laura and her team at Colgate learned through the challenges and experiences of the pandemic and lockdown
- How Colgate’s marketing during the pandemic highlighted the institution’s COVID response and shifted toward more digital, remote marketing
- What positives Laura has been able to take away from her team’s experiences through the pandemic thanks to the addition of new technologies
- Why how you engage with your team and colleagues matters, and why it is important to acknowledge differences in how people function and communicate
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- Why it’s important to ask the question “what is your process?”, and how it can save you from headaches down the road
- Why a predictable, consistent, stable, uniform, repeatable and reliable process is crucial
- Why the processes your agency partners have in place are critical for your success in achieving your end goal
- Why you shouldn’t be afraid to ask questions and seek greater clarity from your agency partners
- Why asking “what is your process?” is the key to minimizing risk and ensuring that you’re happy with your relationship with your agency partner
Resources
- Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com
- Website: www.upandup.agency
- Email: contact@upandup.agency
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-lanier
Keith Warburg is the Director of Communications for the Florida State University Alumni Association. With more than 10 years of experience in higher ed marketing and communications, he has served as a CMO, graphic designer, and basically every role in between. Keith is focused on building partnerships across campuses through shared problem solving and treating people well.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How Keith was a first-generation college student who fell in love with the college experience, and how he transitioned into a career in higher education
- How Keith’s varied career and skillset have served him in his role as the FSU Alumni Association’s Director of Communications
- How Keith has worked to improve their video marketing game and to bring in current students to help drive the work
- Why collaboration between Admissions and Marketing has created powerful results for Keith, and what advice he has for building a relationship between teams
- What pivotal aha! moments Keith has experienced through his cross-team collaboration efforts
- What differences Keith has experienced moving over to the Alumni Association, and how his focus has shifted to different priorities and methods of engagement
- How Keith works to keep alumni engaged all year long, and how the global pandemic has changed his work
- How the realities of the global pandemic have created new opportunities to collaborate with other institutions and create new, innovative solutions
- Why the many challenges of 2020, from the global pandemic to economic recession to student protests and racial unrest, need a strong sense of community and commitment
- How to address any challenges and obstacles to collaboration you might be facing, and how going outside your campus for partnerships can help
Resources:
- Echoes: The FSU Alumni Podcast: https://alumni.fsu.edu/echoes
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fsu-alumni-association
Andy has worked in education for about 30 years, serving at various times as an admission counselor, admission director, charter school head of school and adjunct college faculty member. He began his career working at his alma mater, Oglethorpe University, before becoming director of admission at LaGrange College. He then left higher education for 11 years to run a K-8 charter school in Newnan, GA. Since July of 2015, Andy has had the privilege of serving as Vice President of Enrollment Management at Andrew College.
Andy and his wife Karen have been married for 31 years. They have two sons who are recent college graduates, and a daughter who is a high school freshman.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How Andy’s career has given him a broad perspective, having worked in many aspects of education including K-12, national and regional liberal arts institutions
- How Andy made the transition from secondary education to higher education, and what makes Andrew College, a two-year private residential institution, unique
- How the small 300-student institution serves students throughout Georgia, and what programs and opportunities they offer their student body
- How Andrew College has a high rate of graduates going on to four-year institutions, and how they prepare their students for the transition with a solid foundational education
- What sort of prospective student outreach efforts Andrew College makes, who their ideal right-fit students are, and how their outreach has changed in the pandemic
- How Andrew College sets about offering a different type of college experience than the institutions they are competing with
- How the institution stays highly price-competitive while offering the added layer of the residential experience
- How as a father, Andy helped his own sons make important choices about their college career and about which school to attend
- How the outbreak of the global pandemic has created a notable education gap, and why Andrew College may be the ideal stepping stone for struggling students
Resources:
- Andrew College Facebook: www.facebook.com/AndrewCollegeTigers
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/school/andrew-college/
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- Allison shares key statistics that have helped shape the Millennial generation, its habits and challenges
- How Generation Z is exceptionally tech-savvy and financially conservative, and how 2020 has pushed Gen Z into a different path from generations before them
- Why tuition price, student loan debt, mental health services and diversity and inclusion are key factors Gen Z is using to determine where to pursue their higher education
- Why “standing out in a sea of sameness” is crucial for connecting with Gen Z, and why you have to support your messaging with action
- How “Generation Alpha”, born between 2010 and 2024, are set to become the largest generation in the history of the world
- How Gen Alpha will likely be defined by their adaptability, their need for visual and hands-on education, and their need for leadership skills development
- What Millennial parents of Gen Alpha will look for in a higher education institution and its program offerings and support systems
- Why a shift in higher education marketing efforts toward emerging social media and influencer marketing platforms needs to happen sooner rather than later
- Why you should begin thinking about your institution’s current programs and offerings and how they reflect the needs of future Gen Alpha students
Resources
- Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com
- Website: www.upandup.agency
- Email: contact@upandup.agency
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-lanier
Christen Engel’s Bio:
Christen Engel is an award-winning communications and marketing executive with more than 10 years’ experience in healthcare and higher education. In her role as interim vice president of communications and marketing for Augusta University and Augusta University Health, she works to drive strategic enrollment and health system revenue growth through brand and public positioning, issues and crisis management, earned and owned media. In addition, she oversees mass internal communications and executive communication for an institution with more than 10,000 employees; the university and health system websites; the employee intranet; and institutional photography, videography and graphic design. Fun fact, Christen and Allison actually went to college together!
Aubrey Hinkson’s Bio:
Aubrey Hinkson prides herself on bringing the work efficiencies of an agency model to the health care and higher education marketing space. During her time at Augusta University, she has been challenged with multiple brand transitions and unique opportunities for process improvement and team transformation. As the AVP for Marketing, she is responsible for the development and implementation of marketing strategies, plans and initiatives for the university. Aubrey is an instructor in the Hull College of Business at Augusta University. She received her Bachelor of Science in Marketing and Master of Science in Marketing from Clemson University.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- Christen shares why her collaboration with Aubrey has been powerful, especially during the process of navigating the institution’s huge rebranding to Augusta University
- What challenges and opportunities arose from the consolidation between Georgia Health Sciences University and Augusta State University to become Georgia Regents University
- Why not including the community in the decision on the new name created lots of brand buy-in challenges, and why the institution renamed and rebranded again as Augusta University
- How, in spite of feeling disheartened by having two years of rebranding work abandoned, Aubrey and her team rose to the challenge of doing another rebrand so quickly
- How the right partnerships made a huge difference in the success of the second rebranding, and how intentionality and collaboration were crucial resources for getting buy-in
- Why pushing people to be brand advocates rather than serving as the “brand police” has been an important lesson and mindset shift
- Why Christen feels the rebrand was a monumental success, and how the rebrand created a unique opportunity to highlight Augusta University’s unique offerings
- How Augusta University is navigating the challenge of tailoring messaging to different groups of students and alumni
- Why Augusta University isn’t for everyone and doesn’t try to speak to everyone but instead focuses on students who are looking to break the mold
- Why authenticity is absolutely critical for addressing today’s students, and what advice Christen and Aubrey would share for anyone going through a major brand change
Resources:
- Christen’s Facebook: www.facebook.com/christen.carter.engel
- Christen’s LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/christen-engel-25102a26/
- Christen’s Twitter: @CARTERC5
- Aubrey’s LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/aubrey-hinkson-2a497316/
Additional resources:
- Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com
- Website: www.upandup.agency
- Email: contact@upandup.agency
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- Why the first step isn’t reaching out to agencies for quotes but to truly take the time to understand your higher ed institution’s buying process
- How the process tends to differ between private and public institutions, and why it’s crucial to build the right internal relationships as early as possible
- Why the next step is to understand your purchasing rules and limits and the proper channels to go through before you start writing your RFP
- Why it is important to be flexible and clear with your purchasing power, and why being communicative with all of your partners is key
- Why understanding your limitations and budgetary constraints early can save you a lot of hassle later in the process
- Why the earlier you begin the research process the easier and more successful your projects and campaigns will be
Resources:
- Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com
- Website: www.upandup.agency
- Email: contact@upandup.agency
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-lanier
Elizabeth Orehovec has worked in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at the University of South Carolina for 15 years. She is currently the Senior Associate Director and serves as a core member of the enrollment leadership team responsible for leading more than 100 recruitment and enrollment marketing employees and collaborating on strategic enrollment initiatives with students, faculty and staff across campus. After earning her bachelor’s degree from the University of Miami, Elizabeth moved to South Carolina to earn her M.Ed. in Higher Education Administration. She has also earned her MBA and Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina. Elizabeth frequently presents on college admissions topics and loves talking with high school students and their parents about things to keep in mind during this critical time.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How Elizabeth’s experiences as a student and her love of strategy and problem solving inspired her to follow her career path into higher education admissions
- How CRM tools have caused a massive landscape shift in enrollment and admissions in higher education, and why it is important to decide on a list of “must haves” first
- How tools to manage virtual events and the ability to text message became key tools for Elizabeth and her team, especially during the pandemic
- Why the University of South Carolina chose Slate as their CRM platform, and why the level of customizability in your chosen CRM software is an important consideration
- Why tracking and understanding student interactions offers key information that Elizabeth is able to use to continually refine U of SC’s communication strategy
- What early challenges and pitfalls Elizabeth and her team had to navigate, and who was involved in selecting their CRM platform
- What a typical prospect journey looks like for U of SC, and how CRM tracking begins as early as 9th grade, and how communication ramps up starting in spring of their junior year
- How CRM implementation has been transformative for U of SC’s ability to navigate the realities of pandemic
- Why making the investment in CRM and spending the time to set everything up pays off in the end whenever you are able to power up your communication and efficiency
- Why Elizabeth recommends you turn to the higher education community who have already been through the CRM implementation process to learn from their experiences
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- Why there are often many overlooked opportunities to optimize your digital marketing campaign even prior to its launch
- Why you should always consider how your audience interprets and experiences your campaigns, both on an intuitive and emotional level and more analytically
- Why the first strategy is to design for distinctiveness and to ensure that your design elements stay consistent, distinct, and easily connected to your brand
- Why the second strategy is to consider the emotions, benefits, and associations you want your audience to make when engaging with your campaign
- Why the third strategy is to create an intuitive link between your ad and your landing page to reinforce the narrative you want to share
- Why the fourth strategy is to use a benefits-driven headline and an action-oriented sub-headline to complete your narrative
- Why the fifth strategy is to provide social proof that helps establish who your typical end-user is and reinforce behaviors and beliefs
- Why it can be very easy to view the individual elements of a marketing campaign in a silo, and why thinking about the integrated whole can be much more effective
Resources:
- Read Chris Huebner’s blog post, Leading the Elephant: 5 Higher Education Marketing Strategies for More Impactful Digital Campaigns
- Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com
- Website: www.upandup.agency
- Email: contact@upandup.agency
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/foglemanscott
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-lanier
Nick Selby grew up in Phoenix, AZ and completed his Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech. He now works and studies as a graduate student studying robotics at MIT.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How Nick signed up for an opportunity presented to Georgia Tech sophomores to give a speech to the incoming freshman class, and how the speech went viral online
- How Nick’s background in highschool debate and speech and hundreds of practice attempts helped him perfect his speech
- What kind of positive reception Nick received from the Georgia Tech faculty and staff after his speech, and where he got his inspiration
- What exciting experiences and big things Nick was able to do over the course of his time at Georgia Tech
- How Nick worked closely with the marketing team at Georgia tech to amplify the reach of his viral speech through various media outlets
- How the explosive success of Nick’s speech opened the door to new opportunities for him, including getting to participate in YouTube Rewind
- How the key line from Nick’s speech, “You’re at Georgia Tech, you can do that!” was used by the marketing team
- Why Nick chose to go to Georgia Tech, and what important qualities at the school influenced his decision
- What exciting projects Nick is working on today at MIT in the robotics program, and what goals he has set for himself in the future
Resources:
- Nick’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-selby-5278b334/
- Watch Nick’s Epic Welcome Speech at Georgia Tech: https://youtu.be/7Bfr__WhGJg
Additional resources:
- Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com
- Website: www.upandup.agency
- Email: contact@upandup.agency
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How Allison transitioned from a corporate background into her current role as Business Development Manager at Up&Up
- How Allison has integrated her own experiences in higher education into her work at Up&Up, and what similarities and differences she has seen from her previous career
- How 2020 impacted the world of higher education, and how the lessons learned during the difficult year have created positive changes
- Why Allison suggests that any institution wanting to begin a new marketing project start with their brand first
- What advice Allison would give to a higher ed institution considering working with a marketing agency for the first time
- Why it is important to understand how you want to get a project done and then tailor your decision based on those needs and the results you want
- How Allison had originally planned to become a nurse before discovering her passion for sales and helping others
- Why Allison hasn’t set firm new year’s goals and instead works toward goals all year long, and why she has chosen “grace” as her word for the year
Resources:
- Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com
- Website: www.upandup.agency
- Email: contact@upandup.agency
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-lanier
Adam Landrum founded Up&Up and has led it since 2002. He graduated cum laude from Clemson University and was recruited by Arthur Andersen, but his entrepreneurial spirit kicked in and he set out to create a digital agency with an incredible culture & business model.
Adam’s passion is impacting people’s lives through life-changing educational experiences. He oversees the agency’s strategic direction, guides the leadership team & finds amazing ways to help our clients impact students worldwide. He’s worked with a wide range of clients, from helping Clemson build the nation’s #1 alumni network to teaming with Erskine College to drive their highest enrollment in 50 years.
Outside of Up&Up, Adam serves the church and its mission and mentors aspiring entrepreneurs. But the lives he hopes to impact the most are his lovely wife Shely and their four children.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- Why Adam followed his instincts and founded Up&Up, and why he believes the challenges we are facing today create an opportunity to rethink how we do things
- What key challenges Adam and the team at Up&Up have overcome, and how Adam learns from mistakes and uses them as an opportunity to improve
- Why Adam chose to take a risk and change Up&Up’s delivery model to focus on nurturing long-term relationships with clients
- How Adam uses a Strategic Coach tool called an “impact filter” to help him make more sound decisions and take the right risks
- What advice Adam has to share for anyone struggling to communicate difficult situations to leadership
- How Adam developed his leadership skills and strengthened his ability to strategize, lead and implement
- Why Up&Up’s values are so core to the team’s work, and how “conscious leadership” is a key component of their values
- How to identify the unique abilities your team members bring to the table, and how an “activity inventory” can help you understand your strengths and weaknesses
- Why the “Entrepreneurial Operating System” (EOS) can be an invaluable resource for ensuring that the right people are in the right seats
- How to build a real, compelling vision and make a big impact on the success of your team’s efforts
Resources:
- Website: www.strategiccoach.com
- Website: www.eosworldwide.com
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/adamlandrum/
Additional Resources:
- Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com
- Website: www.upandup.agency
- Email: contact@upandup.agency
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- Why getting stakeholder buy-in for your big projects and initiatives should be widespread and should happen as early as possible
- Why approaching everyone who will be interacting with your new project early in the process is the key to minimizing pushback
- How an early working session can help you achieve stakeholder buy-in, and how to conduct an effective working session
- Why stakeholder buy-in can offer a sense of empowerment and be a powerful and effective tool for change management
- How to avoid the perils of "death by committee", and how to identify the core and key groups of decision makers and stakeholders
- Why effective communication is crucial for success, and how a project "micro-site" can help you offer your stakeholders a broader overview of your progress
Resources:
- Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com
- Website: www.upandup.agency
- Email: contact@upandup.agency
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/foglemanscott
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-lanier
Jamila Walker’s Bio:
Jamila Walker is the University Social Media Manager and an Adjunct Professor at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia with over ten years of experience in digital, public relations and marketing. Jamila leads the institution’s social media program and works with different colleges, departments, faculty and students to identify the most effective way to disseminate key messages across digital platforms and tracks the success of those messages across multiple channels.
TaQuinda Johnson’s Bio:
TaQuinda Johnson believes the field of public relations and social media is more than just an occupation, it’s a calling. With over 15 years of experience within the communications and public relations sector, TaQuinda Johnson is the Social Media Strategist at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Mi. TaQuinda is responsible for leading the charge for all social media efforts, while displaying the University’s culture online. She also serves as liaison between the Division of Communications and various colleges and departments ensuring key messaging and best practices are utilized across the various social media platforms. When she is not at EMU, the sought after speaker is assisting faith-based organizations in displaying their ministry’s cultures online.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How Jamila and TaQuinda connected and then together created a Facebook group for Black higher ed communication professionals
- Why the Blacks in Higher Ed Communications Facebook group provides a much-needed sense of community and a mutual support system for participants
- How Jamila came to working in higher ed from a background in performing arts and non-profit work
- How TaQuinda shifted from working in the automotive industry when she was contacted by a university about an open position
- How TaQuinda and Jamila find balance in their messaging strategy, especially during difficult times and crisis situations
- Why teamwork, delegation, and separation between work and home life have been critical support tools to help TaQuinda and Jamila manage the challenges of 2020
- How Jamila and TaQuinda have had to address very different situations and challenges at their respective institutions when addressing social injustice events
- How the discussion about racial issues is an ongoing and evolving conversation at Eastern State University, and how TaQuinda has seen an extraordinary response from her efforts
- Why institutions who say that diversity is a part of their culture need to back those words up with action
Resources:
- Blacks in Higher Ed Communications Facebook group: www.facebook.com/groups/blacksinhigheredcomm/
- Jamila Walker’s LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jamilatwalker/
Additional resources:
- Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com
- Website: www.upandup.agency
- Email: contact@upandup.agency
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- Why any project, refresh or update you begin should always start with a strong, clear focus on your brand
- Why your messaging is the key to your brand, and why your visual identity assets need to be solid and focused on your message
- Why telling your story through your brand is the secret to differentiating yourself from your competitors
- Why your website is one of the most important components of your messaging and a key opportunity to tell your story to prospective students
- Why part of the story you tell should go beyond what happens in the classroom and should include the many other ways joining your institution can impact students’ lives
- Why the timeline of a brand and website refresh typically requires around a year to eighteen months
- Why you should allocate a budget of at minimum $250,000 to as much as half a million dollars for a brand and website refresh project
Resources:
- Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com
- Website: www.upandup.agency
- Email: contact@upandup.agency
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/foglemanscott
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-lanier
Mary Beth Oakey brings strategic thinking combined with creative spark to the client team at Up&Up.
Her background is in retail marketing for a national clothing chain where she served as the director of social media and marketing and in the agency space where she served as an account executive on digital and brand strategy projects. Interacting with clients is still one of her favorite things, but these days you’ll find her behind the scenes resourcing the team and keeping projects on time and on budget.
Mary Beth and her husband, John, live in downtown Greenville with their four fur-children, Moose (a German Shepherd, Collie mix), Daisy (a Treeing Walker Coonhound, Husky mix), Roo (a Chocolate Lab, Weimaraner mix) and Ellie (an orange tabby). They can often be found on the Swamp Rabbit Trail, enjoying a local brewery, or working with the animal rescue community.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How Mary Beth’s background in retail marketing and in the agency space has offered her a unique perspective she employs in her position at Up&Up
- How Mary Beth juggles multiple projects and roles, and why compartmentalizing and focusing on one big project at a time is very important
- What key systems, tools, and resources Mary Beth uses to communicate with the team and keep the work flowing efficiently
- Why Mary Beth suggests you start your project planning by first laying out major milestones or deliverables for the project, then building out from there
- Why you should set realistic expectations and allow enough time to go through multiple revisions, and why people often underestimate the time a project will take
- How to best manage parallel projects in tandem, and why appropriate planning and staffing is critical for success
- How to deal with budgeting challenges and unexpected expenses, and what points to remember when developing a launch plan
- Why Mary Beth tries to involve clients and external stakeholders in the process as much as possible to demonstrate steady progress over time
- What Mary Beth seeks to learn from reviewing the closing of a project and then how she integrates that knowledge into the next project
Resources:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/foglemanscott
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-lanier
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/upandupagency
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/upandupagency
Additional resources:
- Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com
- Website: www.upandup.agency
- Email: contact@upandup.agency
Grantland Rogers, a high school senior honors student from Easley, SC preparing to enter higher education, shares his experiences with the marketing materials he has received, the admissions processes he has navigated, and his perspective as a top-performing high school student considering his higher education options.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How Grantland has been in honors classes since the 8th grade and in AP classes, placing in the top five of his graduating class
- What areas of study Grantland hopes to focus on in college, and what he is looking for in the higher education institutions he is considering
- Why it is important for Grantland to attend a higher ed institution that doesn’t just prepare him for his future career but for being an independent adult
- Why talking to higher ed students about their own experiences has been invaluable to Grantland, and why he wishes institutions would provide a way to connect with students
- How Grantland would like to see higher ed institutions bring more of the on-campus experience to their virtual tours
- What key experiences with institutions have most resonated with Grantland, and what questions he’s still seeking answers for
- Why Grantland would like higher ed institutions to offer a support network to help smooth the transition to being a college student and developing adult life skills
- How Grantland is looking to his parents to help him make big decisions about his education, and why he still values the personalized touch of physical mail and text messaging
- Grantland shares an experience he had that gave him a less-than-positive impression of that school, and what he would recommend institutions do differently
- What one thing Grantland would change to make his decision easier to come to, and why a sense of calm and reassurance is key
Additional resources:
- Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com
- Website: www.upandup.agency
- Email: contact@upandup.agency
Holly Duncan is a marketing and communications executive who helps brands reimagine themselves for relevancy, sustainability, and profitability. She guides these organizations to define their brand through asking WHY, WHAT, and HOW and engaging them in two-way conversations with their communities. Her 16 years’ experience has been within higher education, sports, entertainment, retail, and telecommunications, and she’s led cross-functional teams on both the brand-side and agency-side. Her approach to work as an entrepreneurial innovator and team motivator has proven successful in amplifying brand conversation, engagement, and affinity across global, national, and local platforms.
Holly is currently the Chief Communications Officer at Converse College in Spartanburg, SC. In this role, she has the responsibility to represent and promote the College, increase its visibility and reputation, and advance the institution’s mission, vision, and goals. Prior to joining Converse, Holly served as the world-famous Harlem Globetrotters’ Director of Brand Marketing, after working in marketing roles for organizations like Verizon Wireless and Atlanta Track Club, and she even spent some time on the agency-side at Momentum Worldwide and EP+Co (formerly known as Erwin Penland), a Hill Holliday agency.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How Converse College is changing from a women’s college to a co-ed university, and how Holly’s corporate experience helps her manage these major changes as they relate to branding and communications
- How Holly’s work with the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team to refresh their brand image and relevancy with today’s audience informs her work at Converse
- Why formally making the case for “why” is the first step to creating big changes, and how the Converse team made the case for change to internal staff, faculty and alumnae
- How Converse approached stakeholders with intentionality and planning through numerous channels such as videos, town halls, in print and face-to-face
- Why the leadership team was consulted from the beginning, and how Converse created an ad hoc committee with members of all stakeholder groups to help guide decision-making
- What eye-opening realizations Converse had while having conversations with their community around going co-ed and shifting from college to university
- How the team had crucial conversations around their brand and shifting from a single-gender institution to co-ed, and what core information they uncovered
- How Converse is preparing for the future through the change, while still honoring the rich history of their past as a women’s college
- How Holly and her team are making the shift from information gathering to implementation in their brand messaging
Resources:
- Website: www.converse.edu
- Website: www.converse.edu/about/strategic-plan/
- Website: www.converse.edu/coed-university/
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/school/converse-college/
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/ConverseCollege
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ConverseCollege @ConverseCollege
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/converse_college/
Additional resources:
- Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com
- Website: www.upandup.agency
- Email: contact@upandup.agency
Carly Kite Lapinski is Associate Vice President for Marketing Communications at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where she oversees central marketing and print services for the independent, coeducational Ivy League institution and seventh-oldest college in the United States. She joined Brown in 2017.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How one of the first challenges Carly tackled when she began working at Brown University was taking stock of the team's resources and organizational structure
- What advice Carly suggests for working to de-silo your teams and resources, and why cross training your team members can help
- What an "enterprise model" is and how Carly and her team at Brown use this model to be more strategic in their efforts
- How time and trust have been crucial for managing the centralized approach Carly has brought to Brown's marketing and communications
- How Carly prioritizes projects and resources, and why adding the right team members to her teams has been challenging but rewarding
- How Brown's marketing model includes student participation, and why bringing in student content creators and focus groups is becoming an increasing focus
- What primary challenges, big wins and and lessons Carly and her teams have been able to draw from their enterprise model
- What processes, tools and templates Carly and her team use to ensure brand and messaging consistency
- Why buy-in and support from the university's leadership has been key and how Carly uses metrics to show value and provide insights to leadership
- Why Carly is especially proud of her team's recent public health campaign for students' return to campus amid the global COVID-19 pandemic
Resources: * Website: www.brown.edu/university-communications/services * Facebook: www.facebook.com/carly.kite.lapinski/ * LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/carlykitelapinski/ * Twitter: https://twitter.com/carlykite @carlykite
Additional resources: * Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com * Website: www.upandup.agency * Email: contact@upandup.agency
As Director of Client Services for Up&Up, Ashley’s passion for higher education and experience with marketing agencies comes full circle.
Ashley began her career in higher education marketing, working in continuing and executive education programs at the University of South Alabama, Georgia Tech, and Harvard Business School. She also held senior marketing positions at an email marketing agency and a high tech company before joining Oden, a B2B marketing agency in Memphis, where she most recently served as VP of Digital Marketing and as a member of the leadership team.
With UX certification from the Nielsen Norman Group and an unwavering dedication to client success, Ashley works to ensure Up&Up clients are happy and that our work delivers superior user experiences and results. Outside of work, Ashley likes to try out new recipes, and hang out with her husband, daughter, and their American bulldog.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How Ashley’s first job out of college was marketing at a university, and how her career has come full circle with her role at Up&Up
- How Ashley defines audience targeting, and how journey mapping is meant to map the most common journey within your audience rather than everyone’s experience
- How to lay out the process and get started with journey mapping, and why it is important to include other stakeholders in the process
- How to use a hypothesis-based approach to journey mapping to determine pain points within prospective students’ journey
- How a research-first approach differs from the hypothesis-based approach, and why collecting and analyzing data is the key first step regardless of the approach you use
- Why journey mapping can help you identify stumbling blocks and new opportunities within your processes
- How much time should be set aside for journey mapping, and why it is important to revisit and update your journeys periodically
- How journey mapping can help you improve your marketing by indicating where you can refine your touch points
- How journey mapping presents a great opportunity to align your stakeholders, and why allowing them to participate in the process can encourage buy-in
What benefits you can expect from mapping your prospective students’ journey and refreshing your journey maps each year
Resources:
- Website: www.nngroup.com
Additional resources:
- Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com
- Website: www.upandup.agency
- Email: contact@upandup.agency
Christine Bowman has served as the Dean for Enrollment Services at Southwestern University since May of 2014. Her responsibilities include overseeing the admission office to set enrollment philosophies at Southwestern University.
After growing up in Houston, she attended Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, graduating in 1993. She furthered her education earning a Masters degree in Higher Education Administration from The University of Texas at Austin. Throughout her career, Christine has worked with tour guides, campus visitation planning, alumni recruiting programs, transfer students, and international students managing staff and other “supplemental” duties that make an admission and enrollment office successful.
Professionally, Christine has been active in various organizations including The National Association of College Admission Counseling on both the National and State level. She was the Co-Chair for the 2007 NACAC National Conference in Austin and served as the Chair of the Independent Colleges and Universities of Texas E-Committee. She currently serves as the Chair of the Colleges that Change Lives Board of Directors and as a member of the TACAC Fiscal Policy Committee. With 20 years of experience in the Admission profession, Christine believes in guiding students to find the right college fit and regularly gives presentations encouraging a stress-free college search process.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How the global pandemic and its effects have impacted the work Christine and her team have done, and what adjustments they have made to adapt to the new reality
- What major wins Christine experienced during the summer enrollment period, and what important lessons she was able to glean from the challenges the team faced
- What adjustments Southwestern University has made to adhere to social distancing and health safety guidelines
- How Christine and her team are preparing for the coming enrollment cliff, and what steps they are taking now to strongly position themselves in advance of the drop
- Why traditional name lists through the SAT and ACT may not work as well as it has in the past, and why creative nontraditional solutions are needed
- What tips and strategies Christine has to share for better collaboration between marketing and admissions teams
- How Christine is focusing on maintaining authenticity and Soutwestern University’s sense of self even while innovating new strategies
- How strong collaboration across Southwestern had become a powerful asset to help drive their success through this transition
- What steps Christine is taking to help students and their families address financial concerns, especially during this difficult period
- How Southwestern works not just to recruit new students but to retain existing students by showing the value of the education and experiences they offer
Resources:
- Website: www.southwestern.edu
- Website: www.ctcl.org
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/suadmissioncb @suadmissioncb
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/christine.k.bowman
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/christine-bowman-5391568/
Additional resources:
- Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com
- Website: www.upandup.agency
- Email: contact@upandup.agency
Mim’s Bio
Mim Phillips has had the opportunity to work in diversified career fields while maintaining a philosophy to help others and consistently bring her skills and strengths to each role she’s pursued. Born in Hong Kong, Mim has traveled to 43 countries and lived in the U.S., UK, and Iran, crediting her international experiences to her worldview. A Chapman University alumni, Mim received her B.S. in marketing and business administration as well as a teaching certificate. While working in the U.K., Mim attained an interior design diploma and subsequently owned a design firm in the U.S. gaining regional recognition. During that same time, as creative director and entrepreneur, for over a decade her highlight was providing leadership to increase graduation rates in the inner city and connecting business clients to partner with a K-12 Center.
With an M.S. in Organizational Leadership and international management from Colorado State University-Global Campus, she moved into international higher education and for 6 years worked in a broad range of various roles, ranging from academic advising, DSO, recruiting and overseeing an international office. Today she works as an account executive for Study in the USA, a firm that believes in the global impact of international education. On her offtime, she enjoys hiking, painting, and spending invaluable time with her kids, husband, and 2 young grandkids.
Simon’s Bio
Simon Hamlin has lived quite a few lives in his life…
After graduating from UCLA with a B.A. in Sociology, he backpacked through Europe. Shortly after, Simon worked as a counselor at an American high school in Israel (Alexander Muss), followed by another backpacking excursion through Egypt, Jordan, and Israel.
Simon returned to his hometown of Seattle, where he worked in Public Relations at a high tech PR firm and in Marketing at a music startup. On a whim, he also decided to take an acting class. What began in earnest as a few evening classes turned into a 10+ year career as a professional actor. Simon worked extensively on stage and on camera, including roles in The Fighter (Academy Award nomination for Best Picture) and Leverage (TNT television series).
In between acting gigs, Simon did all types of work: restaurant waiter, script coverage writer, speed dating host, producer, salesperson… But the job that had the biggest impact on his life was working with a young boy with autism. That inspired Simon to work with The Miracle Project, a theatre and film arts program for children with special needs. He co-produced a live show that became the topic of an HBO documentary called Autism: The Musical.
As Simon’s priorities in life shifted, he transitioned out of acting to focus on several of his passions – international travel, education, and marketing. This led him to study in the USA, where he has spent the past 7 years helping US schools connect with international students.
Outside of the international student marketing world, his main areas of interest in life are learning how to optimize and integrate mind and body (through yoga, meditation, diet), the environment, writing, world travel, and minimalistic living.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- What part of Mim and Simon’s work at Study in the USA they find most impactful on a day-to-day basis
- How higher education institutions can better engage with international students, and how interacting with these students differs from domestic students
- What steps schools can take to better understand the needs of international students, their families, and other supporters, and why relationship-building is key
- What potential challenges and obstacles international students face, and why it is crucial to make efforts to bridge language barriers in particular
- What major misconceptions create challenges for international students, and how institutions can address those misconceptions
- Why international students often face overlooked financial hurdles, and how the outbreak of the global pandemic has uniquely impacted this student cohort
- Why tailoring your messaging to the current environment is crucial, and what areas of study seem to be most popular with international students
- How China, India, South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Latin America lead the way in the number of international students coming to the United States to study
- Why it is important to allocate sufficient financial resources to marketing toward international students
- Why you should still be focusing on consistent marketing efforts, even during the global pandemic crisis
Resources:
- Website: www.studyusa.com
- Website: www.studyintheusaglobal.com
- Mim’s Email: mim@studyusa.com
- Mim’s LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mimphillips/
- Simon’s Email: simon@studyusa.com
- Simon’s LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/simonhamlin/
- Study in the USA LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/study-in-the-usa/
- Client Facing: www.studyintheusaglobal.com/our-solutions.html
- Student Facing: www.studyusa.com/en
- Twitter: @studyUSAcom
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/studyintheusa
Additional resources:
- Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com
- Website: www.upandup.agency
- Email: contact@upandup.agency
Sara Taylor, President and Founder of deepSEE Consulting, has over thirty years of extensive experience in the practice of Diversity and Inclusion serving local, national and global clients. While her areas of specialty are in both Diversity and Leadership Development, Sara has become a thought leader particularly in the field of Cultural Competence. Her bestselling book, Filter Shift: How Effective People SEE the World, is used by numerous individuals and organizations to increase success and create greater effectiveness. Sara holds a Master’s degree in Diversity and Organizational Development and, prior to founding deepSEE, held positions such as Chief Diversity Officer and Leadership and Diversity Specialist.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- Why Sara and her team at deepSEE Consulting define diversity as “differences that make a difference”
- What unconscious bias is, and how of the millions of pieces of information we take in every second we are only conscious of around 40 of them
- Why bias isn’t just about negative feelings toward marginalized groups but also includes positive feelings toward dominant groups
- What the five stages of cultural competence are and how each stage affects our ability to navigate difference
- How Sara helps people overcome feelings of self-consciousness over their unconscious biases and move forward
- How diversity can be included in your marketing in an authentic and effective way, and what you should avoid doing
- Why diversity alone isn’t enough to improve productivity, and why a team’s cultural competence makes a big difference
- Why developing cultural competence is a process that starts with your own subconscious bias first
- How to best deal with situations in which people push back against diversity and inclusion work, and why commonality is the key
- Why equality isn’t the same as equity, and how doing the work can impact all aspects of your institution
Resources:
- Website: www.deepseeconsulting.com
- Website: http://filtershift.com
- Twitter: @deepSEESara
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/deepsee.consulting
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/sarajanetaylor/
Additional resources:
- Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com
- Website: www.upandup.agency
- Email: contact@upandup.agency
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How at Up&Up, “conscious leadership” embedded in the agency’s culture by CEO Adam Landrum has created an environment of true collaboration and open dialog
- How conscious leadership is comprised of fifteen commitments, including “taking radical responsibility”, “learning through curiosity”, and “speaking candidly”
- Why these fifteen commitments are a powerful platform for having difficult but productive conversations within the team
- How radical candor is the ability to challenge directly and show that you are caring personally at the same time
- Why understanding your goals and intentions for having difficult conversations before you have them is necessary for ensuring that they are productive
- How radical candor can help you have difficult conversations by lowering defensiveness and reducing the likelihood of mistrust
- Why challenge can be a positive thing, and why having the courage to say something despite discomfort or worry is crucial
- Why it is good to bring problems you’ve identified into the conversation, even if you don’t have the solutions
- Why being candid should come from a place of caring, to avoid turning into unnecessarily mean “brutal honesty”
- Why having strong, ongoing consistent communication can help you discuss problems before they become major issues
Resources:
- Read Allison’s blog article titled “How Conscious Leadership Helped Shape Up&Up”
- Learn more about Radical Candor and the 6 tips for helpful feedback
- Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com
- Website: www.upandup.agency
- Email: contact@upandup.agency
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/foglemanscott
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-lanier
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/upandupagency
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/upandupagency
As the Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Circa Interactive, Joseph Lapin has created a career around his core passions: storytelling, strategy, marketing, education, and consumer behavior. His journey started after he earned his Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, and he moved to Los Angeles where he worked as a freelance journalist and wrote for publications like the LA Times, LA Weekly, Slate, and many more. Joseph brought those storytelling skills to Circa Interactive, where he helped build a digital marketing company focused on creating marketing strategies and brand campaigns for top-tier higher education institutions. Circa Interactive has made the Inc. 5000 list three years in a row, and Joseph is proud of how much they’ve grown in a short time. As Joseph builds his career as an advertising professional, he still works on his craft as an author and essayist.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- Why speaking directly to faculty is the key to better understanding your audience and developing your personas
- Why clear personas can be powerful resources to help you better focus your marketing efforts and bring your story to the right audience
- How the “hero’s journey” from literature can also apply to your higher ed institution’s marketing and storytelling efforts
- How building personas can help you speak to people on a fundamental, psychological level that connects to them emotionally and can help you develop categories of audiences
- How often your personas need to be updated and refreshed, and how to evolve your multiple personas alongside your programs, CRM and job titles
- Why Cambridge Analytica, despite their awful history and past controversies, provide a powerful example of how to use persona-based marketing
- Why accurate analytics are crucial for identifying what is and isn’t working and how you can evolve your methods and better reach your audience
- Why it is important to go beyond demographic data and identify what your target audience cares about and other psychographic information
- Why the coming shift to online-only education isn’t the major issue it may seem to be, and why the bigger hurdle is demonstrating the value of higher education going forward
- Why, in spite of all the turmoil, chaos and difficulties in our world today, it is important to maintain and share hope
Resources:
- Blog: www.josephalapin.com
- Website: www.circaedu.com
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/CircaInteractive/
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-lapin-mfa-5b50a812
- Twitter: @JosephALapin
Additional resources:
- Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com
- Website: www.upandup.agency
- Email: contact@upandup.agency
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How the outbreak of the global pandemic has had a broad effect on prospective students’ media consumption habits and the channels through which they consume media
- Why video is an explosive category for prospective students’ media consumption, with a 51% increase in online video consumption since the start of the pandemic
- How TV streaming, online video game viewing, and audio streaming are all rapidly growing categories that all indicate where you can best meet your audience
- Why a dramatic increase in website traffic volume indicates an opportunity for institutions to streamline their websites and make them more user-friendly
- Why it is important to begin doing a gap analysis to ensure that what used to be communicated through in-person tours is being reflected on your website
- Why you shouldn’t allow your advertising to falter during the pandemic but should instead focus on doubling down and bringing your message to your audience where they are
- Why updating your messaging and marketing today will reap rewards even post-pandemic when the coming enrollment cliff hits
- Why you should communicate how, even as students shift to increased online learning, you are focusing on maintaining the quality of the educational experience you offer
Resources:
- Link to Download Report: https://www.upandup.agency/whitepaper/covid-19-2020-higher-education-media-impact-report
- Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com
- Website: www.upandup.agency
- Email: contact@upandup.agency
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/foglemanscott
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-lanier
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/upandupagency
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/upandupagency
Episode Transcript
Justin Croxton is the managing partner at Propellant Media, a digital advertising and marketing technology company based out of Atlanta, GA and Charlotte, NC.His team primarily focuses on best-in-class programmatic display solutions ranging from geofencing marketing to OTT advertising, and they also partner with a host of digital agencies who leverage Propellant Media’s platforms, process, and execution.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How Propellant Media differentiates themselves by developing their expertise in programmatic display solutions and other cutting edge marketing avenues
- How Justin defines “programmatic display” as the automated buying and selling of display ads in real time
- How OTT advertising and geofencing marketing fit within the heading of programmatic display, and why OTT advertising creates great, targeted opportunities for higher ed
- How geofencing marketing works to serve ads based in highly precise geographic areas, using location to offer insights into the audience
- How the global pandemic is creating challenges, specifically with geofencing, and how the Propellant team is shifting strategies to match students’ current behavior
- Why advertising is only as effective as the landing page that users are directed to, and why there is no single solution but it takes a recipe of different ingredients
- Why understanding who you are marketing to is critical for better reaching them by tailoring your message to their needs and interests
- Why it is important to take the time to actually develop the personalization of your content, and why video is a critical and powerful tool
- How to use video content in a personalized way to speak directly to specific audience demographics
- Why Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram are absolutely required channels to leverage, and why trying out and testing new strategies is key
Resources:
- Website: www.propellant.media
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/propellantmedia/
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/justincroxton/
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/propellant-media/
- Twitter: @PropellantMedia
Additional resources:
- Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com
- Website: www.upandup.agency
- Email: contact@upandup.agency
Episode Transcript
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How the global pandemic and social distancing requirements have dramatically increased the number of webinar offerings available to higher ed professionals
- How Up&Up is now offering its own webinar series, and how Scott and Allison have found value in participating in webinars from others in the industry as well
- What facts, trends, and best practices Scott and Allison have noticed in how higher ed institutions have prepared for the fall 2020 term during the pandemic
- How many students have shifted their plans to second- or third-choice institutions to stay closer to home and as a cost-saving measure
- How 45% of students have reported that the global pandemic has had either a strong or extremely strong impact on their emotional and mental preparedness
- What concerns students are experiencing going into a remote learning environment, and how these concerns have an outsized impact on students with limited financial means
- Why communication is the vital key to ensure students’ success during the fall term and new academic year, despite the challenges and changes they are facing
Resources:
- Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com
- Website: www.upandup.agency
- Email: contact@upandup.agency
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/foglemanscott
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-lanier
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/upandupagency
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/upandupagency
Residing and working in Youngstown, Ohio, Kati Hartwig has five years of higher education digital marketing experience as the Coordinator of Social Media and Digital Marketing at Youngstown State University (fun fact: they currently hold the world record for “Largest Gathering of People Dressed as Penguins” – yes, it’s a thing). She manages the university’s official social media accounts, oversees a student ambassador program, coordinates content with departments and colleges, and helps write copy for the institution’s website. She was born and raised in Youngstown, and is a proud, two-time alum from YSU — it’s no wonder her favorite animal is the penguin. When she isn’t spending her days online, Kati loves to take copious amounts of photos of her dog, Sheba, visit with friends at one of the great wineries in northeast Ohio, bake with her mom, and cheer on her favorite sports teams (Go Steelers!). You can find her random thoughts on Twitter at @KatiHartwig.
Callie Goodwin is the social media strategist for Columbia College, a small, private college in South Carolina. She manages social media, photography, video, and graphic design for her institution. Callie is a two-time alumna of Columbia College and is also a certified Social Media Strategist by the National Institute for Social Media. She is also the founder of Sparks of Joy Co, a card company focusing on spreading more joy in the world through writing cards. Callie can be found tweeting about her cats (Fish and Chips), iced coffee, and all things higher ed social at @calliegoodwin.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- What inspired Callie to work in higher ed, and how her career journey began as a preschool teacher before changing career paths and finding her love of higher ed marketing
- How Kati worked in the nonprofit world as a fundraiser before being contacted by a former professor about a marketing position for graduate students
- How written lists help Callie focus without feeling overwhelmed, and how Kati tracks her efforts with a spreadsheet to record what’s working and what isn’t
- What strategic adjustments Callie is making to work through the global pandemic and its challenges, and how Kati is preparing for a post-pandemic reality
- How Kati and Callie dealt with the challenge of crisis messaging as the pandemic began to take hold, and how unity and community were critical during that time
- How the Higher Ed Social Media Facebook group and other communities have been integral support networks for both Callie and Kati during these challenges
- Why a higher ed institution’s social media strategist knows the audience better than anyone and should be a key part of the emergency messaging discussion
- How Callie and Kati handle the pressure and anxiety of audience criticism, negative social media feedback and personal attacks
- Why it is important to accept that things are challenging right now and to find time for self-care and an opportunity to take a step back and de-stress
- Why it is important to recognize your limits as a team of one, and why confidence and speaking up is key
Resources:
- Callie’s LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/callie-goodwin
- Callie’s Twitter: @calliegoodwin
- Kati’s LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/KatilynHartwig
- Kati’s Twitter: @KatiHartwig
- Higher Ed Social Media Facebook group: www.facebook.com/groups/HigherEdSocial/
Additional resources:
- Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com
- Website: www.upandup.agency
- Email: contact@upandup.agency
Andrea Honaker holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from West Virginia University and spent the first dozen years of her career in the newspaper industry, where she took on roles as a copy editor/page designer, lifestyles reporter and education reporter. In 2018, she transitioned to work in higher education by becoming a digital content specialist in the Marketing Communications department at Mercer University. Her primary duties are managing content for the university’s main social media platforms and writing feature stories for the university’s news sites.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How Andrea’s career path led her to working as a digital content specialist at Mercer University, and what she loves about her role
- What Andrea’s role entails, and how she is instrumental in helping developed a clear, focused message and great stories to share
- How Andrea and the team brainstorm new content that falls into separate “content buckets”, and what kinds of content they create
- Why fun and nostalgic posts have helped break up “heavy” content and connect well with alumni
- How the team tracks their analytics, and what specific metrics they focus on to determine the success of a post
- What impact the outbreak of the global pandemic has made on the content the team has been creating, and how they’ve rolled out new tools and resources during the crisis
- Why striking the right balance between focusing on the pandemic and sharing less stressful content has been vital
- How Andrea and the team plan out content for the future, without getting too far out so that their messaging can stay nimble
- How the team draws inspiration for their content, including from a Facebook group called #HigherEdSocial
- Why one of the things Andrea loves about her job is the ability to learn from other experts
Resources:
- Website: https://www.mercer.edu
- Website: https://news.mercer.edu/
- Website: https://den.mercer.edu/
-
HigherEdSocial Public Group: www.hashtaghighered.social, www.facebook.com/groups/HigherEdSocial/
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/MercerUniversity/
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-honaker-278745163/
Additional resources:
- Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com
- Website: www.upandup.agency
- Email: contact@upandup.agency
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How the current global pandemic crisis and the coming enrollment cliff are creating new changes in higher ed marketing and necessitate a plan
- Why there is a need for ongoing projects within higher ed marketing, and why research is vital for navigating these projects successfully
- Why your website needs a brand platform that offers at least three years of longevity, and why you should refresh your website every three to five years
- How your ongoing marketing campaigns will drive your brand awareness, enrollment campaigns and nurture efforts
- Why budget planning often creates a challenging roadblock to planning for your ongoing projects
- Why consistency is vital when leveraging partnerships and keeping your stakeholders informed about your efforts
Resources:
- Free Up&Up “Benefits of a 3-Year Marketing Plan” Webinar: https://www.upandup.agency/whitepaper/webinar-benefits-of-a-3-year-marketing-plan
- Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com
- Website: www.upandup.agency
- Email: contact@upandup.agency
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/foglemanscott
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-lanier
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/upandupagency
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/upandupagency
Hannah Kerr is a 24 year old, Nashville native living in South Carolina to pursue her dreams as a Photographer, Content Creator, and Educator. She is on this journey with her fiance, who she met when she was 10 years old.
Hannah started her career around 3 years ago with her first blog called Kerrageously Made. This online platform served as her healing method as she was recovering from an eating disorder and utilizing her faith to figure out her next steps. From her hardships, she found her passion for creating positive content through photographs and writing so she could shine some light and personal experience onto someone needing it.
In college, Hannah found so much joy when having one-on-one conversations with women. She decided to mix that passion with her blogging skills and lead a women’s group called the Little Pink Book. A few years later, she took this name and turned it into an online platform for workshops, mentoring and photography for those growing a business or blog.
Hannah created two workshops on the how-to’s of social media and blogging on-the-go. She offers brand and blog photography for online influencers. Most importantly, she offers one-on-one coffee sessions to discuss all things life, media, photography tips, prayer requests, you name it! By taking her past experience of blogging and applying it to others, she hopes she can make a difference not only in their social media feed, but in their life journeys.
If you see her, she’s probably wearing a hat, planning her next travel wishlist for adventurous photoshoots, or meeting with her clients and/or bride and groom at local coffee shops.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How Hannah followed her older sister’s path into public relations, and how personal struggles led to her first blog and a brand new career path
- Why Hannah feels passionately about social media and the opportunity to create positive effects in the lives of others
- How diverse skills and plenty of networking were the keys to Hannah’s growth as a social media influencer and photographer
- How Instagram became Hannah’s preferred social media platform and introduced her content to a much broader audience
- How to effectively use social media features to connect to your audience and form new relationships with brands and social media users
- Why Hannah believes that social media is the key to accelerating your growth and impact, and why trial and error is necessary to figure out what works for you
- What advice Hannah has to offer to help you better connect with students and create conversations
- What tips and tools Hannah has to share to help you start out on social media, how to schedule your posts, and why it’s important to accept and learn from failures
- Why your students can be a powerful and budget-friendly resource who can help you create engaging social media content
- Why sharing your passion online is the secret to creating engaging content that generates interest, and why you shouldn’t fear trying new things
Resources:
- Website: www.Hannah-Kerr.com
- Planoly Social Media Planner: www.planoly.com
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/HannahKerrPhotography/
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/hannah-kerr-b0aa04a2/
Additional resources:
- Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com
- Website: www.upandup.agency
- Email: contact@upandup.agency
Episode Transcript
- How to download Allison and Scott’s FREE webinar series, and what exciting topics they are covering within the series
- How the first of the 7-steps to successful branding is the insights or discovery step where you will collect data and ask meaningful questions
- How the second step is to strategize how to craft your messaging around attracting and retaining the right students, grow your engagement and strengthen your brand
- How step three involves creating a strategy roadmap and concepts, prototype your messaging and lay the foundation for your campaigns
- How the fourth step, production, is the key to creating consistency around your brand across all of your marketing efforts
- How the fifth step is the equip phase, where you give your team the training, tools and activation guidelines to own and live your brand
- How the sixth step is when you activate your marketing campaigns across traditional media, social media, SEO and other channels
- How the seventh and final step is to measure all your efforts and extract data to inform your future decisions and strategy
Resources:
- Free Up&Up “7-Steps to Successful Branding” Webinar: https://www.upandup.agency/whitepaper/webinar-7-steps-to-successful-branding
- Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com
- Website: www.upandup.agency
- Email: contact@upandup.agency
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/foglemanscott
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-lanier
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/upandupagency
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/upandupagency
Cynthia Thomson is the Associate Director of Columbia University’s MA Program in Climate and Society where she manages the day to day administration of the program including recruitment, student and alumni affairs, budget, and admissions. She also spearheads strategic planning for the program through curriculum development and extracurricular activities.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How Cynthia came to her position from the climate side rather than from higher ed, and why she feels passionately about the many hats she wears
- How the Columbia University Climate and Society program came about, and why this program is so important today
- Why the challenge for the program is finding the right students to encourage to apply due to its narrow niche and broad audience
- Why one of the important tasks Cynthia has is to educate people on the program and explain its science-heavy nature despite being a M.A. program
- How the program’s curriculum is unique and allows for many options to cater to the diverse students who are considering the program
- How the team works to align the program’s messaging with the overall messaging of the university at the institutional level
- How the program taking place in New York City offers both benefits and drawbacks for students that Cynthia and her team need to be aware of
- Why keeping the program small and focusing on the right students with a short program has meant extremely high program completion and strong support for students
- What actions, tools and support Cynthia has utilized to ensure her success as a team of one, and how Zoom and Slack have been powerful resources to optimize her time
Resources:
- M.A. in Climate and Society: http://climatesociety.ei.columbia.edu/
- The Earth Institute: https://www.earth.columbia.edu/
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/cynthia-thomson-60970a11/
Additional resources:
- Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com
- Website: www.upandup.agency
- Email: contact@upandup.agency
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How the coming enrollment cliff is stemming from the economic downturn of 2008 as birth rates declined during that period of uncertainty
- What positives may be coming from the cliff, including the number of degree-seeking students aged 25-34 is expected to increase by as much as 11%
- How to evolve your strategy and messaging to get ahead of the coming changes in enrollment
- How students of color and particularly Latinx students are becoming an increasingly larger cohort within our student populations, and how this creates growth opportunities
- Which previous episodes of Undeclared to listen to best prepare for the coming enrollment cliff
Past Episodes of Undeclared to revisit:
- Episode 16, “Trusting Your Team” with Rebecca Stapley: https://www.upandup.agency/podcast/rebecca-stapley
- Episode 32, “Creating a Diverse and Inclusive Environment” with Altheia Richardson: https://www.upandup.agency/podcast/altheia-richardson
- Episode 34, “Maximizing Your Social Media Success” with Jon-Stephen Stansel: https://www.upandup.agency/podcast/jon-stephen-stansel
- Episode 20, “There is More to Admissions Than Meets the Eye” with Jeremy Tiers: https://www.upandup.agency/podcast/jeremy-tiers
Additional resources:
- Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com
- Website: www.upandup.agency
- Email: contact@upandup.agency
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/foglemanscott
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-lanier
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/upandupagency
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/upandupagency
Jonathan Lazzara manages marketing and communication efforts for the Wheelock College of Education & Human Development. In this role, he helps maintain the Wheelock website and social media platforms; liaises with offices across the University to promote Wheelock events and news; produces print publications for various Wheelock offices and promotional materials for select events; and helps develop and implement strategy for promoting our undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs. His background is in trade book publishing and higher education marketing.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How Jonathan translated his experience in trade publishing to his work at Boston University’s Wheelock College of Education & Human Development
- How Jonathan navigated the complex merger of Wheelock College and Boston University and used the unique opportunity to create a brand new institution
- Why careful strategic planning and intentionality have helped Jonathan and his team begin to realize the goals they set for the merger
- What process the team used to set a clear, defining guiding statement of goals, and how they worked with a brand positioning consultant to realize their market position
- How, prior to 2017, Jonathan’s institution primarily focused on doing their own marketing, and how the merger created new opportunities to partner with professionals
- How the team scaled up their marketing efforts after the merger, and why educating others within the university about their changes was critically important
- What education efforts Jonathan and his team took to educate other parts of the university about the importance and return on investment of partnering with third parties
- How Jonathan balances his time and tracks the many projects he and his colleagues are working on at any given time
- How including faculty in the conversation around marketing efforts has been tremendously helpful for better reaching the institution’s goals
- How Jonathan feels that adding value in a more subjective, personal way and create an experience for students is proof of the return on investment of his team’s efforts
Resources:
- Website: www.bu.edu/wheelock/
- Twitter: @BUWheelock
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/BUWheelock/
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-lazzara-844490106/
Additional resources:
- Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com
- Website: www.upandup.agency
- Email: contact@upandup.agency
- How an institution’s reputation affects a prospective student’s decision-making process
- What quick, simple, and cost-effective steps help begin boosting your institution’s brand awareness now
- Why you should use analytics and data in your social media strategy to track engagement and feedback
- Why your institution must focus heavily on digital marketing to meet prospective students of today where they are
- Why traditional marketing efforts still have a place but now take a backseat to digital marketing
- Why embracing new technologies like augmented reality and virtual tools puts your institution ahead of competitors
Additional resources: * Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com * Website: www.upandup.agency * Email: contact@upandup.agency * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/foglemanscott * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-lanier * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/upandupagency * Twitter: https://twitter.com/upandupagency
Fresh out of college, Marcus Mason-Vivit began working in education through a college readiness community-based organization (CBO) based in Chicago, Illinois. After several years of CBO work in under-resourced areas, Marcus made the transition to the Higher Education field a little less than a decade ago. Throughout his career, no matter the title or position, Marcus has worked extensively to promote the benefits of higher education and increase diversity, access, and inclusion – especially for historically underrepresented and first-generation populations. Marcus is a proud alumnus of Northwestern University.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How Marcus found his love of Higher Education and his passion for working toward bringing justice and equity to education
- Why effective marketing involves bringing students into the conversation to ensure that your messaging is student-focused
- Why conversations around diversity, minority student needs and underrepresented student outreach should happen year-round
- Why change and increased access at your institution starts with trust within your own office and team
- What key questions you should ask yourself to ensure that you’re being intentional and inclusive
- Why first-generation students have a diverse range of challenges they have to face and obstacles to navigate, and why being clear in your language is critical
- Why higher education institutions should consider doing a full review and potentially an overhaul of their websites to make them easier to navigate for first-generation students
- Why involving students in your marketing process can help you better determine what messaging will work and connect with them
- Why we should be embracing video and audio content, and why it allows greater nuance and personalization
- Why both your messaging and the experience you are presenting to prospective students must be true and authentic
Resources:
- Website: www.luc.edu
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/masonvivit/
Additional resources: * Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com * Website: www.upandup.agency * Email: contact@upandup.agency * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/foglemanscott * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-lanier * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/upandupagency * Twitter: https://twitter.com/upandupagency
What you’ll learn about in this episode: * What exciting topics will be discussed in the coming second season of the Undeclared podcast * How to reach out to Scott and Allison if you have topic ideas you would like to hear discussed on the show or if you are interested in becoming a guest for a future episode
Additional resources: * Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com * Website: www.upandup.agency * Email: contact@upandup.agency * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/foglemanscott * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-lanier * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/upandupagency * Twitter: https://twitter.com/upandupagency
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Joe Master is the assistant vice president of marketing and digital strategy at Drexel University. Previously, he served as assistant dean of marketing, communications and enrollment strategy at Temple University’s College of Liberal Arts. His work, both for higher ed institutions and freelance clients, has appeared in newspapers, magazines, television commercials, and on tiny screens across the nation. He serves on the Board of Directors for the College and University Public Relations and Associated Professionals, an organization devoted to developing higher education marketing and communications leaders in the Mid-Atlantic states. Joe studied creative writing and philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh, where he graduated summa cum laude in 2004.
Craig Kampes is the assistant vice president of communications and marketing enrollment management and student success at Drexel University. Craig has worked at Drexel for more than eleven years, leading a communications and marketing department that provides strategic recommendations and creative executions for all divisions within enrollment management and student success. These efforts support the university’s goal of engaging and enrolling thousands of right-fit students each year while supporting student success from arrival through graduation. The department also works in collaboration with communication offices throughout the university to unify and align Drexel’s external communications under a singular voice and identity. Prior to his time at Drexel, Craig spent 11 years with advertising agencies such as Young and Rubicam and Wunderman in New York City and Gyro Worldwide in Philadelphia. Craig holds a bachelor’s degree in advertising/PR from Penn State University.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- Why the storytelling aspect of working in higher ed is Joe’s passion, and why Craig strongly believes in helping students and the community
- How Joe and Craig promote collaboration between their two separate and distinct teams
- What challenges Joe and Craig faced in developing a unified brand message for Drexel University
- How Joe and Craig and their team launched the “Ambition Can’t Wait” campaign, and how they learned they needed to solidify a cohesive and positive message
- How research and analytics became the backbone of Drexel’s revamped marketing campaign
- How the campaign helped Drexel clarify its enterprise-level mission, and who Joe and Craig target with the campaign
- Why the campaign’s visuals led to its overall impact, and how these striking images have helped increase the campaign’s reach
- How campaign reflects the changing world and big real-world events
- How Joe and Craig have brought their teams into the campaign, and how everyone involved feels excited and engaged
- What valuable lessons Joe and Craig learned throughout the process of campaign development and implementation
Resources:
- Website: https://drexel.edu/ambitioncantwait/
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/josephjmaster/
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/craigkampes/
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/drexeluniv/
“Ambition Can’t Wait” Youtube videos:
- Ambition Can’t Wait. Drexel University. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tipllAyg3ZM
- Drexel Co-op: This Is Experiential Education https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjTfCvMPLZk
- A City of Brotherly Love: Philadelphia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbgn2mojEOE&t=
- Chris McKendry – Little Cracks. Ambition Can’t Wait. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Es9IIhmwG_I&t=
- Jim Bean – a crazy one. Ambition Can’t Wait. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaMxXzS9G1I&t=
- The Moment: Drexel University https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVRULseiGXE
Additional Resources:
- Email: contact@upandup.agency
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/foglemanscott
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-lanier
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/upandupagency
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/upandupagency
Katie Gehrt’s career has spanned higher education, corporate, and agency roles, but the majority of her career has been in marketing and communications at Virginia Tech, working in the Division of Student Affairs, then the College of Architecture and Urban Studies, and now, the Moss Arts Center and the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology (ICAT).
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How Katie’s career has progressed through multiple roles and industries, and how this deep experience has benefitted her in her work in higher education marketing
- Why Katie feels passionate about her work and about the opportunity to engage with students and work toward the greater good
- What key experiences and important lessons Katie has learned over the course of her varied career
- How a center works differently than a college or university, and why business operations is more of a key focus
- How the Moss Arts Center works to engage the community throughout the region, including free performances for K-12 children
- How the Moss Arts Center offers free and low-cost tickets for students to open up access to new experiences to students who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford it
- How Katie builds marketing strategies based upon what is and isn’t working, supported by research and data
- What support Katie receives from her staff in both operational and creative capacities, and why teamwork is crucial
- Why Katie believes that everyone on the team has important ideas to share, and how she works to build an environment of collaboration
Resources:
- Website: https://artscenter.vt.edu/
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/katie-gehrt/
Additional Resources:
- Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com
- Email: contact@upandup.agency
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/foglemanscott
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-lanier
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/upandupagency
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/upandupagency
What you’ll learn about in this episode: * How Scott and Allison have had very different alumni experiences keeping in touch with their alma mater * How 85 percent of alumni professionals believe their alma maters need to do more to attract and engage alumni * How 56 percent of donors say they would be willing to become repeat givers if they received personalized messages from their institutions * How the trend of Give Days is on the rise, and why developing an ongoing relationship with alumni helps improve engagement * Why your institution should offer stories that show how students directly benefit from alumni donations * How Give Days encourage engagement and participation beyond just financial gifts * Why tailoring your efforts to your audience and creating compelling outreach programs will help you earn results
Additional resources: * Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com * Website: www.upandup.agency * Email: contact@upandup.agency * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/foglemanscott * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-lanier * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/upandupagency * Twitter: https://twitter.com/upandupagency
What you’ll learn about in this episode: * How Latinx students are the fastest-increasing demographic of new students among all racial and ethnic groups, increasing to about 36 percent in 2017 from 22% in 2000. * How nearly one-third of first-generation students drop out within three years, compared to 14 percent of students whose parents hold a degree * How 36 percent of today’s higher education students classify as housing-insecure, while 9 percent are homeless * What steps higher ed institutions can take to help support these diverse student demographics * How to reach out to underperforming and at-risk students and bring awareness about your programs * Why diversity isn’t just about attracting certain students but also about hiring representative faculty and staff
Additional resources: * Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com * Website: www.upandup.agency * Email: contact@upandup.agency * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/foglemanscott * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-lanier * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/upandupagency * Twitter: https://twitter.com/upandupagency
Originally from Michigan, but most recently from Colorado, Bailey started her college career in engineering. Looking for more creative balance, she made the change to advertising and fell in love with the balance of problem solving and artistic freedom.
She started her agency experience as an intern with Up&Up. After graduating from the University of Colorado, she quickly made her way back to Greenville to become a full-time designer. She’s worked on projects for clients including Marian University, University of Kentucky, Clemson University, Miami University, McPherson College, and Gardner-Webb University among others.
Outside work, Bailey enjoys spending time outdoors, being with her dogs, volunteering with the Red Shoe Society, discovering new (and old) movies, and watching Wheel of Fortune (she’s definitely a “Wheel Watcher”.)
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How Bailey defines user experience
- What hats she wears as Up&Up’s UX Designer
- What a site map is and how it helps users navigate websites
- How wireframes serve as the blueprint for the page’s content
- How Bailey uses Google Analytics and page views to determine what website aspects work and what aspects need reworking
- Why Bailey and the team begin a project by analyzing existing resources before beginning to restructure things
- What steps to focus on when you begin reworking your website
- How Bailey looks at existing content and determines site changes
- Why confusion is the single biggest factor that creates a poor experience for users, and why it is important to carefully introduce new experiences
- How user personas take on the mindset of site visitors and how Bailey uses them to tailor the web experience
- Why the rapidly changing digital space makes it important to set realistic but effective longterm goals
- How Up&Up builds flexible websites using individual components that can be separately worked on, updated, and customized
Resources:
- Website: www.upandup.agency
Additional Resources:
- Email: contact@upandup.agency
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/foglemanscott
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-lanier
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/upandupagency
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/upandupagency
What you’ll learn about in this episode: * What types of students fall under the “non-traditional” category, and why it’s important to include this group in marketing efforts * What signs point to a traditional student cliff in the near future with up to an 11 percent drop in the group’s enrollment * What specific goals non-traditional students have for pursuing higher education, and why offering dual enrollment programs may help recruitment efforts * Why four-year institutions should partner with two-year community colleges to create attainable pathways for non-traditional students * Why cooperative programs designed around local economic and employment priorities can help strengthen job placement rates for these students * Why diversifying your offerings will help your higher ed institution remain competitive in recruitment
Additional resources: * Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com * Website: www.upandup.agency * Email: contact@upandup.agency
Nick Catto has been designing and developing websites since 2001. Now, he spends his days overseeing the design and development of nuCloud as the platform’s Co-Founder and UX Designer. He also runs his own web development and consulting business at MrCatto.com. Previously, Nick worked as a senior UI/UX Designer for the NOAA Office of Coastal Management in Charleston, South Carolina. He also spent eight years as the Director of Web Services at the University of South Carolina Upstate. Nick has presented on standards-based coding and web design at conferences in both the U.S. and UK. A jack of all trades, Nick has always been fascinated with all kinds of technologies.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How Nick’s experience at the University of South Carolina Upstate helped him realize the marketing potential of an interactive and versatile digital campus map
- How Nick and his partners developed their own award-winning interactive map that later became NuCloud’s foundation
- Why an interactive map is a very different tool from a virtual tour, and why you must keep your goals in mind during the development
- How an interactive map offers greater data on users’ interests than a static image map, and how it may help drive new student applications
- Why you must make your institution’s map as accessible and easy to find as possible, and why you should add a link to your interactive map in the footer of your webpage
- How illustrations, rather than satellite photography images, allow your institution to curate the campus experience for map users
- How a digital map serves a flexible purpose that benefits many campus departments
- Why your institution can incrementally update digital maps to scale with your needs
- How nuCloud has recently begun developing 3D-printed Braille maps for visually impaired users to be able to explore campuses
Resources:
- Website: https://nucloud.com/
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ncatto/
Additional Resources:
- Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com
- Website: www.upandup.agency
- Email: contact@upandup.agency
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/foglemanscott
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-lanier
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/upandupagency
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/upandupagency
What you’ll learn about in this episode: * Why the high cost of tuition for international students is a factor resulting in enrollment decline * Why students from new markets and countries may need the services that your institution’s programs offer * How offering in-state tuition or blended rates to international students may help mitigate their financial challenges * Why providing international support services and visa assistance helps draw and ease international student pain points * How virtual interactive maps and campus life stories help international students who can’t easily take a physical campus tour
Additional resources: * Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com * Website: www.upandup.agency * Email: contact@upandup.agency
Jon-Stephen Stansel is a social media professional with almost a decade of experience managing and creating content for higher education, small business, and government social media accounts. He has worked for the University of Central Arkansas, Texas State University, the Texas Department of Transportation, as well as consulting for many small businesses. In addition, he has taught courses in social media management and presented at many national and international conferences including HighEd Web, the International Congress of Technological Innovation in Buenos Aires, and the Association of International Educators. He holds a bachelor’s degree in radio and television production and a master’s degree in English both from Arkansas State University. He enjoys photography, reading, typography, and being an early adopter of technology.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How Jon-Stephen found his way into a social media career by originally teaching English and integrating social media tools into his classes
- Why social media’s ever-evolving nature and complexity excites Jon-Stephen, and why he enjoys staying at the forefront of new trends like TikTok
- How advertising transparency data on competitor use of social media helps Jon-Stephen advocate for social media budget increases
- Why your institution should centralize social media messaging and decisions, and what positives come from having an overarching strategy
- What advice Jon-Stephen offers to marketing professionals dealing with different parts of their institution competing with each other on social media
- Why you should look at other higher ed institutions outside of your area who are achieving social media success
- Why Jon-Stephen wrote his blog post, “How Long Does Bad Content Last?” as a response to an outdated infographic too often shared as gospel
- How Jon-Stephen builds his own digital brand while also solidifying the University of Central Arkansas social media presence, and why professional authenticity is key
- What emerging social media trends and technologies Jon-Stephen recommends learning about
- Why simplicity in social media is sometimes more effective than “the wow factor,” and why it is important to use data first
Additional resources:
- Website: www.jsstansel.com/
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jon-stephen-stansel-039b3879/
- Twitter: @jsstansel
What you’ll learn about in this episode: * How the higher education landscape of today is continually shifting, with new needs, demographics, and technologies * Why employers are increasingly looking for more specific degrees and skills, and how this is reshaping employers’ involvement in students’ educational choices * Why marketers need to keep in mind today’s broad range of student demographics beyond recent high school graduates * Why it is important to plan years ahead for shifts in enrollment caused by the fluctuations of the economy * Why telling the right story to show prospective students the future value of their education and experiences at your institution is key * How to enter a gift card giveaway drawing by leaving an honest review on Apple Podcasts, then screenshotting the review and emailing it to hello@upandup.agency
Additional resources: * Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com * Website: www.upandup.agency * Email: contact@upandup.agency
Altheia Richardson’s career at Clemson University spans more than 28 years and has grown her passion to make the institution’s community a better place with regard to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
She currently serves as the Assistant Vice President for Strategic Diversity Leadership. In this role, she provides leadership in university-wide strategic planning for inclusive excellence. She also leads several strategic planning efforts for the Division of Inclusion and Equity.
Throughout her many roles at Clemson, Altheia has advocated for the needs of underrepresented/underserved populations as well as lead efforts to increase the intercultural competence of students, faculty, and staff.
In 1996, Altheia developed and led Clemson’s first multicultural affairs department, now named the Harvey and Lucinda Gantt Multicultural Center. She continued this role before moving into her current position. Altheia also co-chaired the task force that created the institution’s first diversity plan. As a part of this initiative, she co-authored the accepted proposal to create the first Senior Diversity Officer position. She has also provided leadership in the administration of campus climate research for students.
Altheia is pursuing her Ph.D. in Education Leadership with a concentration in Higher Education at Clemson, hoping to graduate in 2020. Altheia and her husband, Taji, have two daughters, Zari and Akilah.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How Altheia uses her inspiration to build a welcoming and inclusive environment for all students, faculty and staff
- Why institutions need a system to hold everyone accountable for maintaining an environment of diversity, equity and inclusion
- How you may use Altheia’s diversity and inclusion strategies on smaller campuses
- How to find balance in a conversation about diversity without overstepping any bounds
- The work Altheia is doing at Clemson to impact the strategic planning process
Additional resources:
- Website: https://www.clemson.edu/inclusion/strategic-diversity-leadership/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/altheia-lesley-richardson-07483350/
- Twitter: @ClemsonUniv
What you’ll learn about in this episode: * How the buying process typically differs between private and public higher education institutions * How institutions use an informal RFI process (request for information) to collect information about vendors or an industry at large * Why clear requirements, communication, and expectations from your institution make up important components of the next step, the RFP (request for proposal) * Why you should ask questions, express concerns, and open a dialogue with organizations who submit proposals to you * Why the RFP process is time-consuming and how to allow enough time for your partners to create proposals and for your institution to evaluate them * What factors will make an RFP necessary and how a project map can help keep an overhead view of a project * What a “direct purchase” is and how it can help you avoid the RFP process for smaller purchases * How the RFI step may help you vet and limit the number of proposals you receive for a project to only firms you have hand-selected * How “sole sourcing” can help you accelerate the buying process if there is only one partner for your needs * Why you should build a relationship with your institution’s procurement officer or procurement team
Additional resources: * Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com * Website: www.upandup.agency * Email: contact@upandup.agency
Michele Cauley currently serves as a faculty member for Clemson University’s Department of Marketing, leveraging her 25-plus years of marketing practice. With a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in business administration from Clemson, Michele returned to her alma mater in 2009 to establish the marketing and communications program for The Clemson Alumni Association.
She recently held the position of Associate Vice President for the Clemson Division of Development and Alumni Relations where she led marketing and brand strategy for the University’s largest constituencies, alumni and donors, including campaigns for the Will to Lead capital campaign and the University’s first Give Day.
Previously, she held the position of Sr. Business Communications Director and was the first female Product Marketing Manager for Rockwell Automation. She also has served in business-to-business marketing management in the package printing industry and began her career in business-to-consumer retail marketing with a southeast region women’s clothier.
In addition to teaching, she enjoys mentoring students and connecting them with alumni networking and career opportunities, as well as serving as faculty advisor for Alpha Phi Omega co-ed service fraternity, Marketing Student Advisory Board, Women in Business, and a mentor for the Clemson Emerging Scholars Program, and Study Abroad Champions program.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How Michele’s career grew, thanks to help from Clemson alumni who helped open doors for her, and why Michele later chose to return to Clemson
- What Michele found most rewarding and fulfilling about her work at Clemson in her alumni relations role
- How Michele made the transition to faculty member, and what challenges and opportunities she has found in her role
- Why Michele believes it’s important to know the student resources available at your higher ed institution
- What steps Michele recommends you take to network and partner with many diverse parts of your campus
- How Michele and her team ideated, created, and implemented Clemson’s first Give Day
- What staggering success Clemson’s first Give Day achieved, and the initiative has continued to grow since the first event
- How Michele and her team begin planning for each year’s Give Day far in advance, and how they promote the event early
- How Clemson’s Give Day supplements donors’ normal giving rather than cutting into existing giving
- What advice Michele offers to anyone considering setting up a Give Day at their own campus
Additional resources:
- Website: http://www.clemson.edu/business/about/profiles/cauley
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/michelecauley/
Chad Baldwin has been the Associate Vice President for Marketing and Communications at the University of Wyoming for four years. He came to the university as Director of Institutional Communications in 2011, after a 25-year career as a journalist, including serving as editor of Wyoming’s largest newspaper, the Casper Star-Tribune.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How the University of Wyoming plays a vital role in the economic future in the nation’s least-populous state
- What unique challenges UW faces in encouraging its higher education attainment levels, and how Chad and his team work to address those challenges
- How UW developed and launched its first comprehensive branding campaign in years, “The World Needs More Cowboys”
- How connecting with an agency partner helped UW turn their initial campaign ideas into a true movement
- How the campaign has created countless opportunities for the university, including new merchandising
- How the university dealt with pushback against the campaign’s tagline, and how support for the campaign became a unifying movement
- What advice Chad offers to anyone concerned about criticism and pushback with potential campaigns
- How UW’s campaign earned more than $6 million in free advertising due to media coverage around its video
- How UW dealt with the challenge of campaign launch right after their agency partner shut down
- How UW’s campus diversity has improved since the campaign launched, and how Chad expects to continue this campaign for at least a few more years
Additional resources:
- Website: www.uwyo.edu
- YouTube Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbJXn_he_sg
- YouTube Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqRuiMwLcCo
- UW Campaign Guidelines PDF: www.uwyo.edu/publicrelations/_files/brand-center/uw_campaignguide.pdf
Ron is the founder, CEO, and Creator of Wow for Think Up Consulting, a management consulting company based in Greenville, South Carolina. The firm specializes in brand strategy, events, learning, and change management for Fortune 500 companies.
With nearly 30 years of experience in consulting, learning, and business operations, Ron is an expert at bringing brands to life by connecting people to brand strategy and culture. He has a knack for understanding the issues organizations often face. This knowledge helps him and his team design, develop, and implement innovative solutions that broaden employee skills, advance change, and drive business results. The Think Up client list includes esteemed companies such as Marriott International, BMW Manufacturing, Sunrise Senior Living, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, Fluor, and Michelin.
Prior to Think Up, Ron spent 14 years with Marriott International. He’s held leadership positions in hotel operations, information systems, and training and development. Ron has led major change initiatives that have realigned global brand cultures and customer service strategies, transformed company learning philosophies and practices, and propelled hundreds of thousands of employees forward. He holds a Master of Arts in Organizational Management.
Katie Tyson is passionate about strategy that drives business results. As Think Up Consulting’s “Strategic Steward,” she uses her extensive experience in leading global brands to help clients reach their fullest potential. A brand enthusiast, from her early days of working on political campaigns and in public relations, to her more recent endeavors leading billion-dollar brands for Fortune 500 companies, she has always had a passion for figuring out what customers want and how to best deliver on their needs.
Before joining Think Up, Katie spent 20 years working with companies of all sizes, including leading global brands like Residence Inn by Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, and The Coca-Cola Company’s DASANI. Her expertise helped drive market share and customer and consumer satisfaction. She has repositioned brands, spearheaded new product development, reinvigorated service cultures, and led brand globalization efforts.
Katie earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at Boston College and a Master in Business Administration at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How Ron and Katie’s career journeys taught them the importance of creating a brand experience, and how they bring that knowledge to their work at Think Up Consulting
- What early steps you may take to begin creating a brand experience at your higher ed institution
- Why it’s important to create a lasting emotional connection that builds brand loyalty, and why consistency matters
- How to train and create advocates for your brand within the institution, and why that helps ensure your brand experience’s strength
- How to beat the challenge of high turnover and create a culture of consistency and brand identification in your teams
- How great companies (and higher ed institutions) differentiate themselves, and why hiring for talent and training for skill builds a great team
- How to avoid mistakes through strong alignment and confidence in your decisions, and how to overcome previous brand-damaging mistakes
- Why you must position your brand, and why you should stick to a five or seven-year plan and not deviate
Additional resources:
- Website: www.thinkupconsulting.com
- Twitter: @RonDoney, @thinkingup
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/thinkupconsulting/
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ron-doney-84b877, https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-sullivan-tyson-4686544
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Jenna Spinelle loves a good story and has spent the past 10 years telling them as a journalist, marketing professional, and most recently, podcaster. She hosts and produces the Democracy Works podcast, a collaboration between the McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Penn State and WPSU Penn State, Central Pennsylvania’s NPR station.
When she’s not podcasting, Jenna plans and executes the McCourtney Institute’s external communications. She also teaches journalism at Penn State’s Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications and works with national and international clients as a freelance writer and marketer.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How Jenna’s journalism background, along with her presentation and interview skills, serve her current higher ed role
- Why Jenna began hosting her weekly podcast Democracy Works, and how her podcast helps create exposure for the McCourtney Institute at Penn State
- How a podcast helps expand your messaging and reach beyond your higher ed institution
- Why strong planning makes a successful podcast launch, and why you should launch with more than one recorded episode
- How Jenna uses her podcast as a tool to generate visual content, and what goals she sets for future content cross-promotion
- What steps Jenna takes to prepare her guests who may feel nervous or inexperienced with podcasts
- What key metrics Jenna recommends paying attention to when launching a new podcast series
- Why you must keep a weekly or bi-weekly episode schedule to grow and retain your audience
- Why you should keep your institution’s content calendar in mind when planning episode content
- What steps to take in the planning and strategy process to start and produce a podcast series, and what free and low-cost tools you should use
- How Jenna ensures that her content is accessible and successful, and how to use your podcast to promote admissions strategies
- Why a highly targeted podcasting strategy works better than trying to cover everything happening at your institution
List of Free and Low-Cost Podcasting Resources:
- www.podcastinsights.com
- www.podcastinsights.com/podcasting-resources/
- www.audacityteam.org
- www.apple.com/mac/garageband/
- www.soundtrap.com/storytellers
Additional resources:
- Jenna’s Website: http://jennaspinelle.com
- Jenna’s Newsletter: http://jennaspinelle.com/newsletter/
- Democracy Works Website: http://democracyworkspodcast.com
- Twitter: @JennaSpinelle
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jspinelle/
Jaren Wilt serves as the Associate Director of Marketing at Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity. In his role, he oversees the organization’s digital marketing strategy and branding efforts. Prior to joining Lambda Chi full-time, he also served in a variety of roles as an intern in both the communications and chapter support departments.
He’s held this position since he graduated from Ball State University with a bachelor’s degree in marketing in 2018. Jaren developed a passion for higher ed and marketing through his roles as a Resident Assistant, Freshman Orientation Leader, and a Marketing Intern for the Ball State Foundation. He used this passion to help lead the development of a student-led social media marketing agency that operated out of the Ball State Center for Advancement of Digital Marketing and Analytics. He also supported the Advisory Council for the Ball State Miller College of Business.
Outside of work, Jaren is an avid sports fan. He plans his weekends around attending Pacers, Colts, Cubs or Indiana University sporting events with his family and friends.
Michael Covert serves as the Director of Information Technology at Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity. In his role, he oversees the IT infrastructure and strategy for the organization’s technology deployment. Prior to his current role at Lambda Chi, he also served as the Educational Leadership Consultant, Information Systems Analyst, and Database and Advancement Services Coordinator for the Educational Foundation.
Michael started this role after graduating from Southeast Missouri State University with a bachelor’s degree in Information Technology with an emphasis in Computer Networking. He developed a passion for computers at a young age by working on computers with his mother.
Outside of work, Michael is a Freemason and loves to play trivia. He also enjoys spending time with friends and family and streaming TV shows and movies.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How Jaren and Mike started in their careers and what they currently do for Lambda Chi Alpha
- How fraternities need to evolve, and what important role Greek Life plays in the members’ development of life skills and collegiate success
- How Lambda Chi Alpha helps give chapter members the opportunity to run a small business through a new initiative
- How participating in Greek Life benefits students, and how Lambda Chi differentiates itself to create a unique experience
- How Lambda Chi works to provide mental health resources and education for its members, and what key partnerships the organization has created to support that goal
- How Lambda Chi works to provide value to members and alumni at all stages of life with a unified, intergenerational resource
- Why the perception that Greek Life as a 40-hour a week commitment is incorrect, and why it’s important to encourage diversity
- Why fraternities and sororities must focus on outreach growth
- Why people should think of Lambda Chi as a leadership organization and support network rather than as a fraternity
- How the fraternity’s ChopTalk podcast shares their ideas and values
- Why it’s important to challenge norms and why it’s not important to be the most popular person in the room
Additional resources:
- ChopTalk podcast: https://cc.lambdachi.org/category/choptalk/
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/LambdaChi
- Twitter: @LambdaChiAlpha
In this episode, recorded live at the 2019 AMA Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education, Allison and Scott speak with: * Tara Peters, Associate Vice President for University Marketing & Communications at Monmouth University * Marie Lindskoog, Director of Media and Marketing at Indiana University Kokomo * Kaitie Probst from Boucher Institute of Naturopathic Medicine in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada * Morgan Robinson, Associate Director of Marketing and Communications with the Warrington College of Business at the University of Florida * John Vivolo, Director of Online Education at the Katz School of Science and Health at Yeshiva University * Marlene Leekang, Executive Director of the Lawrence N. Field Center for Entrepreneurship at Baruch College
What you’ll learn about in this episode: * Tara Peters from Monmouth University talks about discussions she has had with colleagues across the country about demonstrating the value of higher ed marketing * Marie Lindskoog from Indiana University Kokomo discusses a key takeaway from the conference about engaging alumni in the student recruitment process * Kaitie Probst with Boucher Institute of Naturopathic Medicine discusses her goals for AMA and the key things she’s learned at the conference about experiential marketing * Morgan Robinson from the University of Florida discusses the value of trying new things and taking risks in addition to her transition from an agency to higher ed * John Vivolo of Yeshiva University talks about the future of the new frontier in online learning and about the advantages online programs offer to students * Marlene Leekang with Baruch College shares insights from the chapters she wrote for John Vivolo’s book, Managing Online Learning, and discusses the value of collaboration
Additional resources: * 2019 AMA Conference website: www.ama.org/events/conference/2019-ama-symposium-for-the-marketing-of-higher-education/ * Tara Peters’ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/tara-peters-3732823/ * Marie Lindskoog’s LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/marieradel/ * Kaitie Probst’s LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/kaitie-probst-a59ab879/?originalSubdomain=ca * Morgan Robinson’s LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mothib/ * John Vivolo’s LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/johnvivolo/ * Marlene Leekang’s LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/marleneleekang/ * Managing Online Learning: The Life-Cycle of Successful Programs by John Vivolo: https://amzn.to/2OdI5VO
Nicollette is the Director of Media Strategy at Cybba, where she strategizes, implements, and analyzes digital media campaigns across various verticals including consumer packaged goods, higher education, and eCommerce. Nicollette has a Master’s degree in Digital Advertising from Syracuse University and has been working in the media industry for over 5 years. Typically, you will find Nicollette with two coffees in hand.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How Nicollette first got involved in higher education marketing and what fascinates her about working in this niche
- Why there is often resistance to digital innovation within higher education marketing that creates opportunities for institutions willing to try new things
- How Nicollette and her team demonstrate the value and potential return on investment from digital outreach
- Why advertising through digital video streaming services is a tremendous opportunity that Nicollette expects to grow
- What technological tools and resources are available to higher ed institutions to help identify and connect with various target audiences
- How Nicollette believes that machine learning technologies will be able to help higher ed institutions with automated marketing initiatives
- What trends Nicollette sees in the higher ed digital marketing space and why the right amount of personalization and messaging is important
- Why creating a user-friendly and concise landing page is critical for maximizing your results
Additional resources:
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/nicollettedineen/
Kris Hardy is passionate about making the web a better place for prospective students and their families during the college search process.
Kris currently serves as the Director of Web and Digital Marketing at Messiah College and works part-time at Ruffalo Noel-Levitz as an Associate Consultant. He specializes in user experience, information architecture, digital marketing, and web analytics.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How Kris first got involved in higher education, and how he made the transition to web-based digital marketing early in the field’s existence
- Why analytics is a great first step to a career in digital marketing, and why a data-driven mindset helps
- How Kris developed his own marketing and digital skills despite a zero-dollar budget from his small higher ed institution early in his career.
- What advice Kris offers for e-recruiting, marketing automation, and content customization
- How Kris and his team found and implemented the right CRM solutions for Messiah College and their unique needs
- Why Kris believes the ability to think like a sixteen-year-old prospective student plays a major role in his success
- Why Kris’s “Program Listing Page” has helped supercharge the tracking results from Google Analytics through event tracking
- What distinct strategies Kris has employed to collect user information from many different types of site visitors
- How Kris and his team streamlined their internal website over the course of several years to create an efficient and useful site
- Why there’s always a risk of people looking at raw analytic data and making decisions without context, and how Kris works to better inform his departments
- What reporting tools and applications Kris uses in his work, and which best practices he recommends to protect user privacy
Additional resources:
- Twitter: @krishardy83
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/krishardy83/
Julia Terwilliger’s affinity for words began in her high school’s library when she joined the yearbook staff. It grew into a passion while she worked as a communications strategist for the University of West Florida. At Up&Up, she bridges higher ed know-how and creative storytelling as the agency’s copywriter.
Julia collaborates with the team to uncover those meaningful narratives for universities and colleges. She crafts copy and helps develop strategies across the board for Up&Up’s clients.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How Julia initially began working within the world of higher education at the University of West Florida as an intern
- Why Julia loves her role as a copywriter and how she found her love of words at a young age
- Why a big part of Julia’s work involves being clear on her audience (students, donors, alumni) and what content and call to action will appeal to them
- How Julia navigates the challenge of moving between multiple brand voices and personas within her writing
- What advice Julia offers to ensure that your higher ed institution has a clear, unified voice across multiple content contributors
- How to start researching the stories and interests of your various audiences, and what resources Julia recommends you create and collect
- Why workshops help ensure everyone uses the same branding message and how they make an impact within any budget
- Why Grammarly.com and other tools may improve your writing quality and how to best use them
- How to avoid “content bloat” by determining content’s newsworthiness and focusing on quality over quantity
Additional resources:
- Website: www.grammarly.com
- Website: www.hemingwayapp.com
- Twitter: @juliatwilly
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/juliaterwilliger/
Erika Boltz is an ally and activist living with a disability, working as a social media coordinator at University of Florida Health. She has presented on social media accessibility at multiple conferences including eduWeb, HigherEdExperts, and HighEdWeb.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- What defines true accessibility
- How Erika Boltz became the Social Media Coordinator at University of Florida Health
- How Boltz discovered a passion for inclusion and accessibility
- How to create an actionable plan for your institution
- How to find a balance with effective yet accessible marketing
- Which major platforms have accessibility features built-in and how to navigate communication challenges that don’t offer that option
- How to build a system of checks and balances that catch errors as they happen
- How to train marketing teams to create accessible content
- How accessibility factors into budget
- What role accessibility plays in addressing the invisible issues and mental illness on campus
Additional resources:
- Twitter: @EFBoltz
- Resource Document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PHonyprZ8LW7gZje8kQe5-vcU0aXmgttNSsC_dW5Wdw/edit
- LifeLaughterASL TikTok User Example: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/laurenstrapagiel/viral-tiktok-deaf-asl
An expert in communication, relationship development, and leadership, Jeremy Tiers has quickly become a familiar name and speaker in college admission and enrollment management circles. Jeremy works as the Director of Admissions Services for Tudor Collegiate Strategies (TCS) and leads their admissions division.
TCS partners with college and university admissions, marketing, and campus visit teams, helping them with staff training workshops, ongoing professional development, and unique email and letter campaigns for undergraduate student recruitment.
Jeremy has spoken at, or been the keynote speaker for, numerous NACAC affiliate conferences and the NACAC National Conference. He’s also been featured as a guest on Admissions Live. Jeremy frequently contributes to #EMchat on Twitter and serves as the editor of a well-known, weekly college admissions email newsletter.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- What key strategies marketers should take to the admission team to ensure they drive success
- How your team may use athletic recruitment strategies in the academic space
- How marketing plays a role in the admissions ladder
- How vlogging can bring new elements to your work in recruiting and other areas
- Why higher ed marketers should start doing more and talking less
- How to create a sense of personalization as prospects move from the virtual application to an in-person meeting
- How personalized communication reaches prospective students and their parents at the high school level
- What three key traits make athletic coaches successful recruiters
Additional resources:
- https://twitter.com/CoachTiers
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremytiers/
What you’ll learn about in this episode: * Which 2019 conferences Scott and Allison attended and why those events were chosen * What upcoming 2020 conferences to keep on the radar * How to prepare for conferences so that you can bring valuable insights back to your team * What Scott and Allison outline as objectives when attending a conference * Why team outreach is important in the conference selection process * How to vet potential partners at events * How to plan your daily agenda with a networking focus * How to group conferences based on the goals of your institution
Additional resources: * https://www.upandup.agency/
Jeremy supports Up&Up’s SEO/SEM team by helping clients reach their digital marketing goals and always staying on top of the ever-changing digital marketing landscape. Prior to joining Up&Up, Jeremy managed display, search, and paid social media efforts for clients in the healthcare and entertainment/fine arts sectors. Currently, he’s supporting digital marketing strategy, execution, and reporting for higher ed clients like North Greenville University, Campbell University, Virginia Tech, and Columbia University. Outside of work, Jeremy is a motorsports fanatic and spends his time taking in any racing he can find. When he’s not around race cars, you can likely find Jeremy exploring the outdoors with his dog, Rosie.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- What paid media can do for your institution
- How Jeremy’s role has evolved as an SEO/SEM specialist
- How plans will vary for a university-level awareness campaign vs. program-specific campaigns
- What impact machine learning has on PPC as a whole
- What trends to look out for with Google algorithms
- How to use data and properly structure access to it with student privacy in mind
- How to leverage your data to make your strategy more specific
Additional resources:
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremy-m-stewart/
- https://www.upandup.agency/digital-marketing/smx-advanced-conference-recap-sem-takeaways
- https://www.blog.google/products/ads/
- https://searchengineland.com/
- https://www.searchenginewatch.com/
- https://twitter.com/rustybrick
Seth “Doc” Bridges is the co-founder of the social media analytics provider Rival IQ, where he leads Product and Marketing. A software entrepreneur for more than a decade, Seth previously co-founded the clean-tech V2Green after earning his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Washington. Rival IQ is an easy-to-use social media analytics tool that helps you understand your social landscape, gain competitive insight, and simplify your access to data. Social media marketers from hundreds of brands and agencies around the world trust Rival IQ to track their social media efforts, monitor competitors, and benchmark their performance. Find Seth on Twitter @seth_bridges.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How Seth began his journey into the realm of higher education
- How social media impacts a brand’s ability to establish community
- What advantage colleges and universities have in resonating with their target audience
- Which communication trends enable schools to create emotional connections
- How carefully crafted copy piques enough interest to redirect users to the comment section where the magic happens
- How to create an authentic brand story with the help of your audience
- Why identifying and celebrating individuals in the community doing great things matters
- What ways to measure success on various platforms and channels
Additional resources:
- RivalIQ Website:
- Homepage: https://www.rivaliq.com/
- Webinar Reg Link: https://www.rivaliq.com/training-webinars/
- Twitter
- @seth_bridges
- @rivaliq
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RivalIQ/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rival-iq/
Rebecca Stapley is a passionately curious marketing and higher education professional with over 8 years of experience in enrollment and content strategy, collaboration and communicating brand values across multiple platforms.
She currently leads social media strategy and manages the Nazareth College social media & blogging team. This group of 13 hand-selected brand ambassadors creates authentic, creative, digital content focused on the student experience to tell the Nazareth College story.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How Rebecca Stapley got her start with enrollment and marketing at Nazareth College
- Stapley’s process for building momentum with the student ambassadors and maintaining it despite constant student turnover
- Why Stapley puts so much focus on inter-department communication and relationships
- Stapley’s approach to building and managing a student team in a way that allows both the students and institution to benefit
- How Stapley and her team find a balance between content that students want to read and content that serves the college’s initiatives
- Why ‘empathy’ is a core value of Rebecca Stapley’s team, and how they use it to shape their content
- How Stapley builds trust in both her team and their audience
Additional resources:
- Website: http://higheredexperts.com/edu/2019/03/04/higher-ed-content-talks-with-rebecca-stapley-assistant-director-of-social-media-nazareth-college/
- Twitter: @rstapley
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rstapley
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rstapley/
What you’ll learn about in this episode: * Steps your institution needs to take before reaching out to a third-party agency or consultancy for a project * How to properly plan for in-house work * Different tips for identifying your organization’s need and how to take it across the finish line * What it means to define your marketing problem and identify the underlying cause of it * The importance of understanding the buying process of your institution and who is involved * Creating a realistic timeline based on your needs, goals, and internal/external processes * How building relationships internally can help generate momentum for your project * Developing a solid rollout plan, and a post-launch strategy to give your project longevity * Understanding your team’s capabilities in conjunction with your budget * How to look at success and predict what will happen if you fail to achieve it
Additional resources: * https://www.upandup.agency/
Steve is Campus Sonar’s Account Executive. A natural marketer and relationship builder, Steve has spent more than ten years in higher education, both on campus and in agency environments. In the past five years, Steve successfully launched a student-blogging platform, an agency podcast, and a higher education online magazine, all with a mission to bring people together through content. At Campus Sonar, Steve leads the business development efforts, working with campus professionals to identify appropriate social listening programs that will help meet strategic institutional goals. An amateur runner and professional donut connoisseur, you can often find him on Twitter staunchly defending the Oxford comma.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How social listening affects student outcomes and general well-being
- How Steve App got his start in higher education
- How Campus Sonar uses a proactive social listening strategy
- What role AI and machine learning plays in social listening
- How to build out a social listening strategy based on your goals
- What macro and microelements exist for implementing social listening
- How Steve divides the data and shares it with different people in the administration
- What standard tools to use for social listening research and analysis
Additional resources:
- Campus Sonar Website: https://www.campussonar.com/
- Campus Sonar Subscription: https://info.campussonar.com/subscribe
- Twitter: @stephenapp
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenapp/
In 1995, David Poteet had the crazy notion to start a company that was the sort of place where he’d always wanted to work. A place without a lot of hierarchy or politics, where you worked closely with people at the top of their craft to create things that make the world better. Today, NewCity is that place.
David graduated with honors from Virginia Tech in 1992 with a degree in graphic design. It only took six years! The first two and a half years he spent studying aerospace engineering weren’t a total waste since he learned enough programming and techie stuff to be dangerous. He had no idea the web would be born only a year later, which was the perfect medium for a half artist/half geek.
David’s role at NewCity can best be described as a player/coach. He still keeps a hand in user experience and strategy for a few projects each year. He teaches frequent workshops on UX, content strategy, and mobile. David has led strategy and user experience for clients including the American Battle Monuments Commission, Grand Teton Association, Imperial College London, the University of Portsmouth, and the Blue Ridge Parkway Association.
David is active with several non-profit organizations, serving on the board of the Public Lands Alliance and the Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway. He’s an elder in his church and spends part of every summer working with the YXL youth leadership conference in Colorado.
Outside the office, David enjoys hiking, biking, running or skiing, playing board games and guitar, and enjoying a good beer. David and his wife, Tish, have two awesome teenagers, who’ve been enjoying a lot more time in national parks since their dad got involved with public lands.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- What it means to create a human-centered design for a web-specific application
- How to approach your content strategy for the best user experience with your brand
- How to bring stakeholders together in a decentralized environment
- How to create a collective buy-in between your admissions, marketing, and IT team
- Why staying on top of current trends in UX and web-based design matters
- How to equip internal teams to maintain a consistent brand experience
- What leadership’s role should be in the development of brand-centralized tool kits
- What pitfalls exist in orchestrating department cooperation
Additional resources:
- NewCity Toolkit: https://insidenewcity.com/toolkit
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidpoteet/
- Twitter: @davidpoteet
Timothy Minor is the vice president for University Advancement for the University of North Carolina System. He is responsible for administrative direction and support for external funding to meet the priority needs within the UNC multi-campus university which is composed of all 17 of North Carolina’s public institutions, including the NC School of Science and Mathematics, the nation’s first public residential high school for gifted students.
Prior to joining the UNC System Office, Timothy served as the associate vice chancellor for University Advancement at North Carolina A&T State University for five years where he led fundraising initiatives and day-to-day operations of A&T’s central development office. Minor started his career in university development in 1994 at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, followed by 12 years at UNC at Chapel Hill as a senior member of the Development Office, serving in various major gift director roles in the University’s $500 million Bicentennial Campaign and the university’s largest campaign, the $2.3 billion Carolina First Campaign that concluded in 2007. He was appointed to the role as associate vice president at UNC System Office in September 2013 and became vice president in September 2014. Minor received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and earned a Master of Public Affairs at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How Timothy transitioned from his life as a college athlete to working in higher education at the University of North Carolina
- How Timothy defines his advancement work and how it closely relates to business development
- How Timothy recommends that professionals network within the advancement field, and why it matters to be bold and reach out
- Why Timothy defines the impact he has made in his career not by the money he has raised but by the lives that have been changed by his work
- Why Timothy’s fundraising efforts create a dramatic impact on the entire community
- Why corporate donors and community involvement are vital components of advancement work
- What suggestions Timothy has for smaller institutions who want to inspire community involvement and reach out to different sponsor types
- How a typical fundraising campaign is structured, and why those provide a great opportunity to involve key donors in the planning process
- Why public universities generally don’t do a great job fundraising, and how Timothy works to raise student awareness of the school’s philanthropic needs
- Why people who work in advancement hold a broad variety of skill sets, and why teamwork serves as a critical component of success
Additional resources:
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/timothyminor/
- Planned Giving Homepage: http://northcarolinalegacy.org/
- Donor Stories: https://www.northcarolina.edu/donor-stories
- 2019 UNC System Advancement Symposium: https://www.northcarolina.edu/University-Advancement/2019-UNC-System-Advancement-Symposium
- University Advancement/Donor Advised Fund Program: https://www.northcarolina.edu/news/2019/04/University-North-Carolina-System-Launches-Donor-Advised-Fund-Program
- Give to UNC System: https://securelb.imodules.com/s/1801/template/interior/interior.aspx?sid=1801&gid=2&pgid=401&cid=1042
Jon Christiansen is the Chief Intelligence Officer at Sparks Research, a full-service marketing research firm. He consults for many Fortune 500 firms in the banking, automotive, retail, healthcare, and energy industries. As a higher education consultant for more than a decade, Jon has conducted more than 50 engagements, notably market research; enrollment forecasting; product, concept, and program development; marketing strategy; and econometric modeling. Much of his consulting work has been as a senior associate consultant with Ruffalo Noel Levitz, a management consulting firm specializing in higher education services.
Jon’s work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Fast Company, Trend Hunter, Quirks Marketing Research Review, Customer Experience Insight and many more. His research has been presented at academic and professional conferences including the Academy of Management, the American Educational Research Association, as well as being published in multiple academic and trade journals, notably Leadership Quarterly.
Jon has been recognized with awards for both scholarship and teaching. He currently serves on the faculty for Charleston Southern University’s Department of Analytics. He was trained in computational analytics at Carnegie Mellon University, and holds both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in economics, and a Ph.D. in higher education from Clemson University.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How Jon defines marketing research within the academic space, and how that research can be used to empower and better target marketing efforts
- What trends Jon currently sees in higher education, and why the conversation has changed in the last decade
- Why students focus on price and ROI in their decision-making process
- How the higher education landscape continues to change, and why non-traditional students are becoming a more key group for many institutions
- Why the data often contradicts what institutions believe about themselves and their peers, and why you must gain a clear view
- What advice Jon offers for institutions looking to collect research data, and why defining the problem you hope to answer is an important first step
- How to gather data and research within a tight constraint of time, budget, or resources
- What single piece of data Jon feels is an overlooked resource that too few institutions track
Additional resources:
- Website: www.sparksresearch.com
Prior to coming to Up&Up, Eric managed search engine marketing for one of the largest agricultural e-commerce sites in the country. He heads up all content and search-related strategies and is constantly building new ways to measure success for clients like Columbia University, North Greenville University, Clemson University, Virginia Tech, UNC Wilmington, and Campbell University.
Eric is also our resident musician, a talent he uses weekly as the lead guitarist at his church. He and his wife, Heather, are helping to plant a new church in Greenwood, South Carolina. They strive to pour into the Greenwood community through love and service. They are not alone in this desire, their three children love to help people and see joy in everything and everyone.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- Why Eric feels passionate about marketing in the higher education space, and where he feels he has made the most significant impact
- How Eric was able to help North Greenville University triple their conversion rates, improve their landing pages, and understand digital marketing’s role for the institution
- Why understanding your target market and narrowing your focus is vital for a successful digital marketing strategy and great conversion rates
- What strategies Eric suggests for collecting and analyzing data and using that data to better target your digital message
- Why it’s critical to set clear, specific goals and benchmarks, and why Google Analytics is an invaluable and flexible tool
- Why Eric recommends paid search as one of the best returns-on-investment for a minimal budget
- Why paid search results are equally as important as organic results, and how the two can work in tandem to strengthen your presence
- Why social campaigns tend to work better for brand awareness than for conversions, despite common expectations to the contrary
- Why experimentation and testing different channels helps you see where you will find your best results
- Why you should measure campaign success in months rather than weeks, and why you must plan ahead
Additional resources:
- Website: https://www.upandup.agency
- 6 Reasons Universities Need a Digital Marketing Strategy: https://www.upandup.agency/digital-marketing/6-reasons-universities-need-a-digital-marketing-strategy
Alex Parraga is the chief digital officer at University of California, Santa Barbara, a position he’s held since 2014 when he first joined the university. He oversees university branding and digital strategy and is leading the charge to build marketing capabilities across campus. Prior to joining UC Santa Barbara, Parraga spent the majority of his professional career in the advertising industry. That’s where he originally found his passion for brand building and integrated marketing communications at agencies including Ogilvy and BBDO and with client partners such as Mars Chocolate, General Electric, and American Express. He’s a graduate of NYU’s Stern School of Business where he earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing and management.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How Alex’s background in advertising sparked his passion for brands and storytelling, and how he uses it in his current role at UC Santa Barbara
- How Alex’s career led him to work in higher education marketing and how he has worked to build up the institution’s digital presence
- How Alex and his team tackled making significant changes to their institution’s marketing by targeting quick-win goals first to demonstrate progress
- How Alex defines strategy and how he helped UC Santa Barbara devise a content strategy to better focus their social media content
- How cultural and lifestyle differences between the East Coast and West Coast matter for higher ed marketing
- How Alex and his team launched an award-winning video series, “Research in 60 Seconds”
- How social media channels are the most efficient, effective, and far-reaching way to get a message out, even with the decline of organic reach
- Why metrics and analytics best inform if an audience outreach initiative works and provide insight to iterate on ideas
- Why Alex looks outside of higher education marketing to find new approaches, ideas, and trends that may work in higher ed
- What advice Alex would offer to anyone who needs to work with minimal or nonexistent budget but wants to achieve results
Additional resources:
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/alexparraga/
- Higher Education Conference Resources:
- AMA
- eduWeb
- HigherEd Web
- CASE
Drew Sykes is the Interim Director of the Social Media Strategy Hub at North Carolina State University. He’s a writer at heart and took his love of storytelling with him when he began his career in digital marketing at Ignite Social Media, the “original social media agency.” There, he managed the content and communities for the social media presence of global clients like Radisson Hotels and Club Carlson and developed thought leadership stories for the agency blog.
He returned to his alma mater in 2014 when he became NC State’s first-ever social media specialist. Since then, he’s helped grow his position into a team effort that has become the Social Media Strategy Hub.
Drew has a master’s degree in interactive media from Elon University and loves the process of developing ideas and strategies into stories that make people smile. His number one goal in social media marketing is to create content that gets people to say, “Wow. A university did that?”
Talk to Drew for five minutes and you’ll learn that he believes emotional connection is key to any great campaign. He loves his Wolfpack, and he’ll tell you that there’s a John Mayer song for every occasion. When he’s not cheering on the Pack or following Mayer on tour, he’s hanging out with his wife, Amanda, their dog, Allie, and their new son, Jamie. He calls himself “Clark Kent nice with a Superman heart,” and hopes that being an NC State sports fan is much easier for his son than it has been for him. Go Pack!
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How Drew unexpectedly found himself working in social media, and how he came to work at NC State University as their first full-time social media specialist
- Why Drew loves working in higher education and having the opportunity to sell an experience rather than a product
- Why demonstrating authenticity is sometimes challenging, and why the key is focusing on the student audience and bringing representatives of the audience onto the team
- Why the audience on each social media platform varies, and why messaging on each platform needs to be tailored to the audience and its tastes
- How Drew and his team build their content calendars based on the academic year and major upcoming events
- How Drew's "social media hub" is structured, with members from various departments across campus
- How Drew's team consider themselves to be an "agency," with the departments of the campus as their "clients"
- What advice Drew would offer to any higher education marketing professional whose team doesn't have significant manpower
- How Drew and his team handle difficult social media interactions dealing with social issues, hate speech and other problematic engagements
- How the university created a Bias Impact Response Team (BIRT) to handle escalating issues such as hate speech
- How Drew and his team look to other brands and influencers to get ideas for ways to create an emotional engagement in their campaigns
- How Drew and the team created a content series called "Wearing The Red Robes," inspired by a Dove skincare ad campaign series
Additional resources:
- Drew's LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/drew-sykes-8899012b/
- NC State's "Wearing The Red Robes" campaign: https://bit.ly/2XY49ay
Edward J. Herrelko III, Ph.D. has been in higher education for a long time! As an undergraduate at the University of Michigan, Ed, like many college students, assumed his dual bachelor’s degree in political science and archaeology would pave the way to worldly riches. He was wrong.
After a brief stint as an archaeologist in New Mexico, Ed worked for Callaway Golf and later the Anthony Robbins Company doing sales and marketing. Early in his corporate career, Ed decided to go back to school, feeling that earning another degree would be “the answer.” At the time, he wasn’t even sure what the question was, but grad school called his name.
Ed heeded the call and started taking evening courses at Southern California Seminary to learn more about his Christian faith, the Bible, and theology. During this time, he realized how much he loved higher education, so he quit his awesome corporate job to work in the education industry. But he wasn’t done with school, even after two graduate degrees. Ed kept going, eventually earning his Ph.D. at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. For now, he is done with school… but that MBA he saw on TV looks appealing.
As one of the true “lifelong learners,” Ed sees his purpose in life as supporting others to achieve their educational goals and helping higher education embrace the business world’s best practices. Since 2002, Ed has held a long list of titles—VP of student services, VP of enrollment management, dean of online, VP of academic affairs, and chief academic officer—at a range of private institutions. Besides his corporate gigs, he also did a brief stint in the marketing agency world and runs a small consulting firm that works with higher education and edtech clients. Currently, Ed serves as the executive director of marketing and communications at Dallas Theological Seminary.
Ed and his wife, Amy, live in Dallas, Texas with their daughter, Alexandria, and their new cat, Grace. A die-hard University of Michigan fan, Ed still hopes that Jim Harbaugh can deliver on the hype, and he is super mad at John Beilein.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How Ed's career took detours in diverse areas as archaeology, professional golf, and motivational speaking before he returned to higher education
- Why Ed believes and invests in professional development and how he encouraged his team at Dallas Theological Seminary to learn digital marketing practices
- How Ed is rolling out a new plan to his marketing and communications team where they will devote one Friday a month to professional development
- What trends Ed has seen in marketing in the private sector that may provide a positive impact in higher education marketing, and how he convinces others of marketing’s worth
- How Ed transitioned to working at a faith-based institution, and what specific challenges those types of schools face
- How the increasing average age of graduate students at Dallas Theological Seminary reshapes marketing efforts
- How marketers can demonstrate the value of their efforts to their higher ed institutions to show why a solid marketing budget provides a return on investment
- Why robust analytics act as a vital component when determining where to best spend marketing dollars
- Why marketing specifically to adults can be a powerful and positive tool to bring in dedicated and focused students
Additional resources:
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/edwardherrelko/
Tiesha Brunson was born on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and grew up in North Jersey. She attended a Catholic elementary school, an all-girls Catholic high school, and a Catholic college—but grew up Baptist. She spent some time in Madrid, Spain; then, over the summer, she interned for Cinemax between her junior and senior year and secured a position as a production assistant at HBO in New York City following graduation. She graduated cum laude from King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania with a double major in communications and Spanish. After three years at HBO, she accepted a position as a writer/producer at BET Networks in Washington, D.C. Two years later, she moved to Los Angeles, California and became an employee of “The Mouse,” the Disney/ABC Television Group.
She, first, worked for the cable network, SOAPnet, as a writer/producer. A couple of years later, she moved over to the network side and got her dream position at ABC working as a writer/producer on her favorite soap, “All My Children.” Within one year, Tiesha was promoted to director of on-air promotions where she managed two award-winning creative teams on both coasts. During her 10-plus years at ABC, she oversaw the writing, producing, and marketing of promos for “The View,” “All My Children,” “One Life to Live,” and “General Hospital.” The network won multiple sweeps periods, year after year. Amidst all of this, she got married and had four kids, all girls, back to back. After child number four, she started her own production company, Queens Consulting LLC. Tiesha worked on various primetime promos and proofread best-selling novels, and had another baby girl. This happened all while shuttling her girls around to auditions, gymnastics, karate, and Zumba classes, from Burbank to Santa Monica.
In 2016, she and her family decided to relocate back to the East Coast to help out other family members. Since then, Tiesha decided to take her marketing skills into the higher education sector. She was hired as the Director of Admissions Communications & Marketing at Georgian Court University in central New Jersey. Her Catholic-educated upbringing was put to good use. In one year, she helped raise enrollment for first-year and transfer students through promotional videos and printed materials. She had her last baby, another girl, in the midst of writing her own romance novel, and started blogging about her life as a mother of six girls at allmommyissues.com.
And she’s not done yet.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- How Tiesha's career path led her from working in marketing and on-air promotions in network television to working in higher education marketing
- How Tiesha brought Spanish-language marketing to her university to reach out to the untapped local Latinx community
- How Spanish-language outreach has allowed Tiesha to engage the Department of World Languages & Cultures of the university, earning a great deal of positive feedback from her efforts
- How Tiesha tailors marketing efforts toward the interests of prospective students, helping her prioritize their budget
- How Tiesha works to balance her hectic career with her role as a married mother of six daughters, and why a good support team has been key to her success
- How being a parent has influenced Tiesha's work and pushed her to help educate parents and students on the enrollment process
- What strategies from the entertainment industry Tiesha recommends to others in higher education, including keeping videos short and concise
- How Tiesha works with many different departments within the university to achieve results, and how she comes up with her innovative marketing efforts
- How Tiesha prioritizes her day to ensure she tackles her most important challenges
Additional resources:
- Tiesha Brunson’s LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/tieshabrunson/
- All Mommy Issues blog: www.allmommyissues.com
- Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com
Stephen is the founder and CEO of Predictive ROI, a digital marketing agency, and the host of Onward Nation—a top-rated daily podcast for learning how today’s top business owners think, act, and achieve. Onward Nation is listened to in 120 countries around the world.
Stephen is the author of three books, including the #1 bestseller, “Profitable Podcasting,” and his digital marketing insights have been featured in Forbes.com, Entrepreneur.com, The Washington Post, and Inc. Magazine.
What you’ll learn about in this episode: * Why Stephen feels a close connection to higher ed thanks to values he learned from his immigrant grandfather and from his time at the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse * Why it is important to remember that any higher education institution is still a business with similar marketing and financial needs to any other kind of business * What role Stephen played in his role as Business Education Outreach Coordinator at the University of Wisconsin in raising funds and “keeping the lights on” * Why it is vital to understand the needs of your “customer” and meet those needs, even within higher education, and how doing so can open new opportunities * How Stephen and the University of Wisconsin built up their professional development offerings, and how he got buy-in from across the university for the program * Why Stephen defines marketing as recognizing a customer’s problems and engineering a solution that is priced correctly * How principles from data collection and digital marketing in the corporate world can be used for and applied to higher ed marketing * Why higher education institutions often put more thought into the construction of new facilities than into their marketing, even though marketing deserves as much attention * Why immediate marketing results aren’t necessary unless there are deep, systemic problems at the university * Why measuring return on investment means understanding and defining your goals, and why everyone needs to be on the same page when adjusting success metrics
Additional resources: * Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com
Ryan always knew he wanted to pursue a career that let him push his creative skills and ideas every day, but he didn’t want to be a starving artist. And unlike most art school kids, he had a passion for marketing.
Designer by trade and creative problem solver by nature, he joined the ranks at Up&Up after graduating from the University of South Carolina with a goal to inspire and influence others through design. He brings fresh energy and innovation to his creative work for clients like the University of Kentucky, University of North Carolina, Marian University, and Mount St. Mary’s University.
Outside of work, Ryan enjoys spending quality time with his wife Kayla and their dogs, Harley and Parker “Snacks” Davidson, as well as finding the bumpiest trails to test the limits of his Jeep on.
What you’ll learn about in this episode: * How Ryan turned a love of drawing and art into a career in design, and why he feels passionate about working in the design space * How Ryan found his way into higher education marketing, and how it led to his current position with Up&Up * How Ryan recognizes that problems may appear similar between higher ed institutions but require different creative solutions * Why listening during the intake process has been the key to Ryan’s ability to help his clients solve problems * How Ryan and his team stay current on today’s trends to more effectively market to young adults, such as integrating popular app elements into website redesigns * How Ryan helps clients maintain authenticity and keep their brands from getting lost in the visual identity they are developing * How Ryan uses visual elements such as fonts and background textures to aid in telling the institution’s story * Why giving yourself time for trial and error and experimentation is important to understand what will work for you * How the storytelling aspect of video requires an understanding of your audience and authenticity, and how to best execute the use of video * What suggestions Ryan has for institutions for how they can prioritize projects for maximum impact
Additional resources: * Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com * Twitter: @ryandvdsn * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryandvdsn/ * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryandvdsn/
Donna Lehmann is the assistant vice president for marketing at Fordham University in New York City with over 20 years of experience in higher education. She is also a regular contributor to the Call to Action marketing blog on Inside Higher Ed.
What you’ll learn about in this episode: * How Donna’s career path led to her current role, and how she initially got into marketing through her communications background and HTML experience * How Donna and her team determine how much communication is just right, and how much is “too much”, and why their communications are tailored around the audience * How Fordham’s marketing and admissions teams collaborate and support each other, and what advice she has to offer for smaller teams with fewer resources * Why data discovery and a thorough informational foundation is key to messaging and a successful brand refresh * Why content marketing is a great opportunity for targeted messaging and for increasing engagement * Why the campus visit is a key factor for helping to differentiate your institution from others * How having two different campuses allows Fordham to discuss two very different experiences, and why that offers both challenges and opportunities * Why strong communication is vital for stakeholder buy-in, and why packaging that communication and maintaining focus on its content is important * What advice Donna has for people who aren’t sure where to start on a major project or what kind of timeline to allow themselves * Why Donna believes that having patience with yourself, your team and your university is the key to making progress
Additional resources: * Website: www.theundeclaredpodcast.com
As a Business Development Manager for Up&Up, Allison brings her experience in sales leadership and execution from past employers such as Verizon Wireless and PepsiCo. At Up&Up, she uses her passion for people to create a positive, effective, and rewarding campaign experience for the West Sales Region.
Allison is our resident mud lover and spends most of her free time at obstacle course races with her husband, David. They also enjoy various outdoor activities such as hiking, camping, geocaching, and Pokemon hunting.
Scott is The Director of Business Development for Up&Up and he brings together his passions for the creative world and the impact education has on students.
After graduating from Clemson University, he began his career in advertising sales at The Wall Street Journal, followed most recently by a successful sales career with SYNNEX Corporation managing the Google Brand inclusive of Chrome Education.
Scott’s passion for higher education began during his time with Clemson’s Undergraduate Student Government and as a member of President’s Cabinet. At Up&Up, he leads the East Sales Region with a mission to impact change by bringing strong, positive, executable campaigns to his clients and their constituents.
Outside of work, Scott takes full advantage of the wonders of the outdoors ranging from hiking, water sports, snow skiing, photography, concerts, as well as lawn care (yes, he actually loves to cut grass)! Scott also enjoys spending time with his wife, Kate, their cat George, and friends and family.
What you’ll learn about in this episode: * How Allison and Scott find prospect opportunities for clients to partner with, and how they dig deep to discover the causes of pain points for their prospects * Why it is important to identify where you are starting from with any brand project or brand research piece * Why Allison and Scott don’t attempt to create a brand but rather attempt to uncover your authentic story and the best ways to tell it * Why you should consider the long-term goals and benefits of your brand projects, and what it will mean for all aspects of your institution * Why realistic timeline considerations need to be established before you begin any project or initiative * Why you need to know who your top three competitors are (and why), and who your primary aspirational peers are * How to draw success from a digital campaign, and why setting clear goals is important for aligning your budget with your goals and results * Why data on your target audience and your previous history and results from paid digital marketing is important for generating the right leads * Why analytics is a powerful tool, and why it is important that you know who has access to your analytics * Why you should be aware of whether you have the capability of generating digital ads in-house or if you will need outside help
Additional resources: * Website: https://www.upandup.agency * Email: contact@upandup.agency
Welcome to undeclared, the podcast that explores many of the challenges facing Higher Education across the United States. Allison Lanier and Scott Fogleman will bring you conversations and interviews with many of today’s higher ed leaders. We will explore case studies describing what works, what doesn’t, and offer insights into why. We will introduce research on trends and habits subjects such as Gen Z and today’s prospective students and ultimately offer our listeners a platform to learn how they too can drive impact and change for their own institutions.
Higher education as a whole is faced with a multitude of challenges. Some of these challenges include budget constraints and cuts, lack of awareness, decreasing enrollment, declining prospective student populations in many parts of our country, internal resource allocations are becoming slim or even non-existent, the ongoing debates around higher ed’s ROI, more competition from non-traditional programs and degree options, not to mention the changing student landscape as a whole.
One reason that compelled the launch of this podcast is our true passion to help colleges and universities present their brand in an authentic, and meaningful way. By doing so we can help ensure that every student knows that they are at the perfect institution for them and that is really what we are all about.
This podcast is for anyone within the higher education space that wants to learn, individuals who want to better understand where their institution has potential in the marketplace right now, and what they can do to continually move it forward in a positive direction. It is for listeners who lead universities and educational programs that need to cultivate a vision for their institution. It is also for those who want to challenge where they are today so they can become their best versions for tomorrow. We know that education is critical for everyone to become the best version of themselves. As we all know, an educated planet is a better place for everyone.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- Topics the Undeclared podcast series will be covering and what content you can expect in future episodes
- Research that will be introduced on the show, including current research on Generation Z and prospective future students
- Strategies that listeners can use to make an impact and create change in their own higher education institutions
- Challenges that higher education institutions face today, including budget obstacles, program cuts, lowered enrollment, resource allocation and others
- Exciting changes that are happening right now in the world of higher education all across America
- How Scott's undergraduate experience met his own needs and allowed him the opportunity to thrive
- How Allison struggled to make choices about her higher education, and why Allison and Scott want to help students make the right choices for themselves
- Who the podcast is for, including higher education professionals and for those who are looking to improve the world of higher education and solve the problems of today
Additional resources:
- Website: https://www.upandup.agency
- Email: contact@upandup.agency