Higher Ed Storytelling University: Recent Episodes
John Azoni
A podcast dedicated to helping higher ed marketers tell better stories and enroll more students.
Hosted by video producer and storytelling coach, John Azoni, these episodes provide quick-win practical advice you can put to use in your marketing right away.
My guest today is Shane Baglini, Senior Director of Marketing and Recruitment at Muhlenberg College's Division of Graduate and Continuing Education. In this episode we discuss strategies for marketing to and recruiting adult learners.
Key takeaways:
- Adult learners often come back to school to overcome challenges and achieve personal goals. Marketers should address their anxiety and emphasize how your programs can help them reach their goals.
- Tell authentic stories of real adult learners who overcame obstacles. This builds trust and helps prospective students see themselves succeeding.
- Simplify your video production. Huge crews and setups feel intimidating and inauthentic to students. Prioritize intimacy and connection.
- Survey students who don't enroll to understand pain points in your messaging or programs. Use feedback to improve your differentiation.
- Scripts should feel natural, not grandiose. Focus on personal connections and specific student personas.
Connect with Shane:
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Shane_Baglini
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shanebaglini
Connect with John:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnazoni
- Learn more about UNVEILD: https://unveild.tv
Join The Newsletter: https://unveild.tv/newsletter
My guest today is Darren Roubinek, Senior Director of Marketing and Communications at the University of Central Missouri. In this episode we discuss the challenges of social media platform overwhelm and knowing where to focus your efforts.
Key takeaways:
- The difference in resource capacity between Darren's previous team at Avila University and his new team at UCM - this impacts the type of content they can produce.
- Importance of prioritizing and focusing on what you can do really well vs. trying to be everywhere and spread too thin.
- Picking a platform to "own" with quality content and engagement vs chasing every new platform that pops up.
- Being cautious about jumping on "shiny new" platforms like Threads that you can't easily deactivate if needed.
- Advice for preparing for the future of social media - keeping your team (especially social media manager) healthy, challenged, and supported.
Connect with Darren:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/droubinek/
- Email: Roubinek@ucmo.edu
Connect with John:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnazoni
- Learn more about UNVEILD: https://unveild.tv
- Video Storytelling Subscription Pricing: http://pricing.unveild.tv
My guest today is Andy Fuller, Executive Director of Brand Content at the University of Notre Dame. In this episode we go deep on the power of narrative ownership and storytelling to strengthen your university's brand.
Key takeaways:
- What narrative ownership is and why it's so important for universities to own the stories about their history, buildings, traditions, etc. rather than letting others shape the narrative. Andy shares great examples from Notre Dame's history.
- The process Notre Dame uses for identifying stories to tell - including social listening and checking mentions.
- Tips for finding the compelling stories in research breakthroughs and conveying why your university matters to people through relatable examples.
- Advice for rolling out content across platforms, starting with internal audiences first.
- Behind the scenes look at how Notre Dame's creative team works together to bring stories to life across mediums.
- The power of evoking emotion through stories vs. just stating facts and stats.
- Andy's key piece of advice: focus on telling your authentic stories first, irrespective of what other universities are doing. Raise your flag high!
Connect with Andy:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andy-fuller-95bb8412/
- Instagram: @andy_fuller
- Threads: @andy_fuller
Connect with me:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnazoni/
- Learn more about UNVEILD: https://unveild.tv
Video Subscription Pricing: http://pricing.unveild.tv
My guest today is Jen Porter, Director of Alumni Relations at Rochester University in Michigan. We discuss the full-length documentary film they produced about Garth Pleasant, their former basketball coach
About the Film:
- Garth Pleasant coached basketball at RU for over 40 years and is the winningest college basketball coach in Michigan
- The film is called "Coach, Make the Big Time Where You're At" and explores Garth's story and impact on RU and the community
- It's 36 minutes long and was funded by a donor who wanted to showcase Garth's legacy
- Includes interviews with Garth, Oakland University coach Greg Kampe, Milwaukee Bucks alum John Horst who played for Garth, and more
Key Topics In This Episode:
- Garth's humble roots and how he built an incredible program with few resources ([00:02:00])
- World premiere event at a movie theater and other screening events ([00:12:00])
- Behind the scenes of production - coordinating interviews, filming, post-production ([00:27:00])
- Measuring return on investment from an emotional storytelling project like this ([00:37:00])
- Building a pipeline for finding and telling stories at your institution ([00:41:00])
- The value of investing in b-roll footage for future video projects ([00:44:00])
Links:
Connect with Jen: Jporter1@rochester.edu
Watch the trailer for COACH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wwSxKMTa20
Check back in winter 2023 to view the full film: https://rochesteru.edu/coach/
Connect with John on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnazoni/
Learn about UNVEILD’s work: https://unveild.tv
Download:
Video Subscription Pricing Guide: http://pricing.unveild.tv
3-part storytelling framework: http://unveild.tv/studenttestimonials
My guest today is Bart Caylor. If you’ve floated around the higher ed marketing sphere for very long you’ve probably come across Bart at least once. Bart is the founder of the education marketing agency, Caylor Solutions as well as the co-host along with Troy Singer of the Higher Ed Marketer podcast. He is also a keynote speaker, as well as a first-generation college student himself. In this episode we’re talking all about AI.. specifically practical ways you can incorporate AI into your workflow to save you time and effort in your job.
Tune in to learn:
🚀 How Bart saves 10-15 hours per week using AI
🚀 How it’s not AI that’s going to take your job, it’s going to be the people who know how to harness the power of AI that will take your job
🚀 The successes and limitations of various AI applications and where perfectionism can cause you roadblocks
🚀 How higher ed marketers should be early adopters of AI and how higher ed administrators can support the marketing team in those efforts
🚀 A bunch more stuff - including how you can save time on your next trip to Aldi using Chat GPT.
Links:
Bart:
Connect with Bart on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bartcaylor/
Connect with Caylor Solutions: https://www.caylor-solutions.com/
Subscribe to The Higher Ed Marketer podcast: https://www.higheredmarketerpodcast.com/
Connect with John on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnazoni/
Learn about UNVEILD’s work: https://unveild.tv
Download:
Video Subscription Pricing Guide: http://pricing.unveild.tv
3-part storytelling framework: http://unveild.tv/studenttestimonials
My guest today is Mike Richeson.
Mike is the founder of a video production company called Homestead Production and they work with clients in a variety of industries. Don’t waste your time trying to Google Homestead Production because they don’t have a website and as you’ll learn in this episode, that’s a strategic choice. In addition to being a talented video content creator mike is a very talented marketer and thought leader in the content creation space.
In this episode you'll learn:
- How building a b-roll library is essential to get the most out of your content marketing and social media efforts
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How your content is just a blip on the radar when someone is scrolling, and the importance of capturing attention.
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Learn about pattern interruptions. What makes a good one and why gimmicky ones are dumb.
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What to do if you are overwhelmed. Overwhelmed with content creation, social media, keeping up with the algorithms.. All that.. Mike is going to say something in here that might set you free a bit, and give you permission to go against the traditional social media advice.
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The importance of storytelling to not stay top of mind but as mike puts it “buried in their hearts”
Links:
Connect with Mike on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelricheson/
Download:
Video Subscription Pricing Guide: http://pricing.unveild.tv
3-part storytelling framework: http://unveild.tv/studenttestimonials
My guests today are Ashley Budd and Dayana Kibilds. Ashley is the director of marketing operations at Cornell University. Day is a strategist at Ologie which is a marketing and branding agency focused on educational institutions.
Ashley and Day are co-authors of a new book that is forthcoming about emails. Writing effective emails that people actually want to read and respond to and take action from. If you’ve ever wanted to know how to optimize your institution’s email newsletter to alumni, or emails to prospective students… and how to meet those people where they’re at with empathy and personality and clarity… You’ve come to the right place.
In this episode we talk about
- An actionable template for writing everyday emails that get results based on the F Email method.
- The importance of Writing in a conversational tone.. Even if you’re an ivy league university.
- Personalizing email communications based on where recipients are in your funnel
- How actually upping the frequency of newsletter communications can actually improve your results… counter to the popular belief that we don’t want to bug people.
- Building trust with your email recipients and not breaking that trust with gimmicks
LINKS: Connect with Ashley on Linkedin Connect with Dayana on Linkedin Website for email book: emailbook.coSubscribe to Ashley's newsletter
Subscribe to the Talking Tactics podcast hosted by Dayana Kibilds
Link to twitter email template about the "F Reading Pattern"
-Pricing for Video Storytelling Subscription: pricing.unveild.tv -Download the 3-part storytelling framework for student/alumni testimonials - "3 Absolutely Crucial Components Every Compelling College Student/Alumni Testimonial Needs"
My guest today is Lauren Keane.
Lauren is the Associate Vice President of Communications at Southern New Hampshire University and she wrote a fabulous article for Inside Higher Education called “harnessing the power of student stories.”
In this episode we turn our attention to getting media exposure with your content and how student success stories in particular are appealing to media outlets.
In particular we cover:
-Building a story pipeline - how to create a system where students are self-submitting stories
-putting students first over your institution in your story
-pitching to media outlets and how to make it easy for them to feature your story
-some great examples of how SNHU got tons of exposure
-A bunch more stuff
LINKS: Connect with Lauren on Linkedin Connect with Lauren on Twitter Email Lauren: l.keane@snhu.edu
Mentioned in this episode:
-94 year old woman graduates from SNHU -‘Come From Away’ Star Emily Walton Surprised with Diploma Delivery
-Joan Donovan - SNHU graduate, 89, surprised with diploma during holidays
-Pricing for Video Storytelling Subscription: pricing.unveild.tv -Download the 3-part storytelling framework for student/alumni testimonials - "3 Absolutely Crucial Components Every Compelling College Student/Alumni Testimonial Needs"
My guest today is Jenna Spinelle.
Jenna is a writer podcast writer and speaker in higher education. She hosts and produces the "Democracy Works" podcast and the Narrative series "When People Decide."
Both of those are productions of the McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Penn State.
She also teaches courses on freelancing and the creator economy at Penn State University's Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications. Her writing has appeared in outlets including Belt magazine, Inside Higher Ed and Current.
And so in this conversation, we talk a lot about podcasting. We talk about both of her podcasts that she produces, and she takes us behind the scenes of those and we discuss tips for starting your own podcast and making that an efficient process as well as a bunch of other things.
LINKS:Democracy Works podcastWhen the People Decide podcast Connect with Jenna on Linkedin Connect with Jenna on Twitter
Mentioned in this episode:
-Pricing for Video Storytelling Subscription: pricing.unveild.tv -Download the 3-part storytelling framework for student/alumni testimonials - "3 Absolutely Crucial Components Every Compelling College Student/Alumni Testimonial Needs"
My guest today is Kathy Klotz-Guest. Kathy is a comedian, a storyteller, an improv actor, a keynote speaker and author of the wonderful book that I highly recommend called “Stop Boring Me.” The subtitle is “How to create kick-ass marketing content, products, and ideas through the power of improv.” In this episode we talk about the many lessons that Kathy has learned from her improv career that she brings to the world of business storytelling. How if we look at what makes for successful improv and comedy, if we view our content through that lens, we can have a much better grasp on how to create content that is engaging and emotionally resonates with your audience.
LINKS: Purchase Kathy's book "Stop Boring Me!" Kathy's website - Keepingithuman.comConnect with Kathy onLinkedin
Mentioned in this episode:
-Pricing for Video Storytelling Subscription: pricing.unveild.tv -Download the 3-part storytelling framework for student/alumni testimonials - "3 Absolutely Crucial Components Every Compelling College Student/Alumni Testimonial Needs" -"Everybody Loves Raymond" suitcase scene
My guest today is Sabrina Depestre. Sabrina is the marketing director at Maryland Institute College of Art.. where I actually attended for a brief stint which is what piqued my interest to get her on the show.
She has also worked as a consultant for small businesses, delivering refined verbal identity and digital audits across all platforms and channels.
Sabrina is also the founder of marketing agency Buffer and Muse and host of the podcast Musings on Marketing. In this episode we take you behind the scenes of marketing a rigorous art school, and also behind the scenes of starting a podcast.. Learnings along the way, tools that sabrina uses to create her podcasts, and much more.
LINKS:Connect with Sabrina on LinkedinBuffer & Muse websiteMusings on Marketing Podcast
Mentioned in this episode:
-Pricing for Video Storytelling Subscription: pricing.unveild.tv -Download the 3-part storytelling framework for student/alumni testimonials - "3 Absolutely Crucial Components Every Compelling College Student/Alumni Testimonial Needs"
My guest today is Bill Zimmerman.
Bill is a lecturer at Penn State University’ Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications. teaching Digital PR, Social Media Strategies and PR Media & Methods courses. We’ve never had a lecturer on this podcast, and we haven’t had much of a PR influence either so I thought Bill would be a great voice for that stuff. In this episode we talk about a variety of topics including Social media strategy, testing your messaging before launching your campaign, how Penn State manages the crossover between PR, Marketing and Communications at a bunch more stuff.
LINKS:Connect with Bill on Linkedin Mentioned in this episode:-Pricing for Video Storytelling Subscription: pricing.unveild.tv -Download the 3-part storytelling framework for student/alumni testimonials - "3 Absolutely Crucial Components Every Compelling College Student/Alumni Testimonial Needs"
My guest today is Brian Piper. Brian is the Director of Content Strategy at Univeristy of Rochester in Rochester, New York. he is also the co-author of the 2nd edition of Epic Content Marketing along with Joe Polizzi, a book that really covers the gamut of the content marketing space in 2023 and how to succeed in it. Highly highly recommend this book. In our conversation though we zero in on one aspect of the book and that is Web3, or in other words, the Metaverse.
LINKS:
Epic Content Marketing
Connect with Brian on Linkedin
Mentioned in this episode:
-Pricing for Video Storytelling Subscription: pricing.unveild.tv
-Download the 3-part storytelling framework for student/alumni testimonials - "3 Absolutely Crucial Components Every Compelling College Student/Alumni Testimonial Needs"
My guest today is Rob Clark. Rob and his family are social media sensations known as “that tall family” and you guessed it, they are all very tall individuals. They post mostly funny takes on being tall and have amassed quite a following. As of today they have about 2.5 million followers across all their social media platforms.. 2.6 billion views. And Rob is here to share with us The incredible reach and influence that short form vertical videos can have on your school’s marketing. And I know there are a lot of schools out there like “ehhh should we get on tik tok? I don’t know.. It’s a whole other platform and we don’t want to do choreographed dances…” Well i’m here to tell you, or rather Rob is here to tell you that getting started with these short vertical videos for tik tok, instagram reels and youtube shorts is easier than you think and can grow your school’s brand faster than you think.
LINKS Connect with Rob: -Tiktok -Youtube -Instagram Mentioned in this episode: -Pricing for Video Storytelling Subscription: pricing.unveild.tv -Download the 3-part storytelling framework for student/alumni testimonials - "3 Absolutely Crucial Components Every Compelling College Student/Alumni Testimonial Needs"
My guest today is Josh Cantrell. Josh is the founder of Signal Brandworks which is an agency working brands on clarifying and simplifying their messaging and marketing content and helping them craft marketing collateral that moves people to action.
In this episode we cover things like why saying “we’re the best school” is counterproductive and what to say instead. Taking vague messaging and making it clear and direct and make concrete sense to people.
We talk about how storytelling connects people emotionally to your school and helps them tune out a lot of other options.
We also talk about Chat GPT - how to use it as a tool for helping you get your message out there, and how not to use it, and whether Ben Franklin and Mary Poppins would be good babysitters.
LINKS Connect with Josh: -Linkedin -Website Mentioned in this episode: -Pricing for Video Storytelling Subscription: pricing.unveild.tv -Download the 3-part storytelling framework for student/alumni testimonials - "3 Absolutely Crucial Components Every Compelling College Student/Alumni Testimonial Needs" -"Building a Story Brand" book by Donald Miller -Marketing Made Simple podcast
Emotions drive outcomes. That’s why vulnerability is at the heart of successfully getting people to take the action you want them to take. This is true in marketing, this is true in parenting, this is true in so many areas of life, and it’s especially true in fundraising. Vulnerability breaks down walls quicker than anything and the fast track to vulnerability and emotions is human-centered storytelling. That’s why I’ve got my friend and former colleague and renowned fundraising expert with us today to talk more about that - Tammy Zonker.
Tammy is a wonderful human being whose work I’ve followed for over a decade now. She is the founder of Fundraising Transformed, an organization that helps nonprofits drive intentional change by transforming their fundraising so they can transform the world. And guess what.. The stuff we talk about in this episode applies directly to the higher ed space.
In this episode we talk about storytelling, building relationships, building community as a fundraising strategy and Tammy shares with us the captivating story of how she helped raise a single gift of 27.1 million dollars.
LINKS Connect with Tammy: -Linkedin -Fundraising Transformed Mentioned in this episode: -Dochas standard of ethical communication -Pricing for Video Storytelling Subscription: pricing.unveild.tv -Download "3 Absolutely Crucial Components Every Compelling College Student/Alumni Testimonial Needs"
My guest today is Raffi Der Simonian. He’s the VP and Chief Strategy Officer at ERI, a digital storytelling company making web experiences, apps and marketing strategies that advance your mission, and they do a lot of work with colleges and universities. But before ERI was associated with Raffi’s name he was with a previous company that spearheaded this video for Harvard Business School.
In this video, a Harvard professor leads the class through a challenging case study conversation. This video went viral with over 11 Million views as of posting this. In this episode we take you behind the scenes of the video, how it came together, and why it resonated so well.
Links: Harvard Business School Video: Watch Here
-Pricing for Video Storytelling Subscription: pricing.unveild.tv -Download "3 Absolutely Crucial Components Every Compelling College Student/Alumni Testimonial Needs"
Connect with Raffi:
Website Linkedin email: raffi@eridesign.com
In this episode we’re talking to Emily Richwine, Senior Creative Director at Purdue University. Emily is one of the people responsible for Purdue’s brand success. She leads a team of super talented storytellers, which we talk about.. We talk about their recognition by Fast Company and what is in the dna of a brand like that, and we also talk about their recent viral ad campaign called “Whatever You Can Imagine”.
Links:
-Pricing for Video Storytelling Subscription: pricing.unveild.tv -Download "3 Absolutely Crucial Components Every Compelling College Student/Alumni Testimonial Needs"
-Whatever You Can Imagine commercial: https://youtu.be/nuF2WKjUNbcS -See open positions on Emily's team at Purdue: https://careers.purdue.edu/
If you're looking for super practical, tactical tips on executing your social media marketing strategy, or developing a strategy in the first place, you'll love this episode.
My guest today is Hannah Acosta.
Hannah is the passionate and purposeful leader of the Social Media Department at Ugly Mug Marketing. Over the past 4 years, Hannah has grown her department by over 340%, and has worked alongside hundreds of small business owners and entrepreneurs as they navigate the ever-changing digital marketing landscape.
She has worked with multiple colleges and college admissions teams to help them build predictable marketing systems and content that consistently delivers results.
Links:
-Pricing for Video Storytelling Subscription: pricing.unveild.tv -Download "3 Absolutely Crucial Components Every Compelling College Student/Alumni Testimonial Needs"
Work with Hannah - Ugly Mug Marketing Connect with Hannah on Linkedin
-Online Marketing Made Easy podcast w/ Amy Porterfield -Goal Digger podcast w/ Jenna Kutcher -The 1-Page Marketing Plan book by Allan Dib -Know What You're For book by Jeff Henderson
Getting clear on your college’s messaging, telling your brand’s story, and should your college start a podcast? Why or why not, and what should you talk about if you do? These are all things we cover in this episode with Ross Romano of September Strategies.
Links:
-September Strategies -Connect with Ross on Linkedin
-Pricing for Video Storytelling Subscription: pricing.unveild.tv -Download "3 Absolutely Crucial Components Every Compelling College Student/Alumni Testimonial Needs"
In this episode we sit down with Alex Poppe and Kelley Coe of the nonprofit Preemptive Love.
Preemptive Love is an organization I came across near the beginning of COVID who hooked me with their content marketing and has kept me engaged for the last couple years. Their storytelling is remarkable, their mission is remarkable, and the uncommon focus on print is what really got me excited to have them on the podcast.
Links:
Middle East Earthquakes - Information and giving site for all of Preemptive Love's current work in Syria following the earthquake.
Print Journals - Volume 8 available online, and if you'd like a physical copy, you can have the latest journal sent to you at no cost through their Shop.
Shop - This is a great way to support refugees and their craft and/or spread the message of Love Anyway through their apparel.
You want to build a bigger audience on social media for your school, and you want to be seeing fruits from that. More inquiries, more applications submitted, more this, more that. And it’s just slow going and you’re running out of steam. If that describes you, sit tight because if you put the methods discussed in this episode to use, you're gonna see things move in a positive direction
My guest today is Justin Simon - a growing influencer in the content creation space who has built his whole business around helping organizations like yours get the most out of their time spent creating content, by helping them repurpose that in creative ways that you might not have thought of. Lots of good stuff in here, so enjoy!
Links: -Pricing for Video Storytelling Subscription: pricing.unveild.tv -Download "3 Absolutely Crucial Components Every Compelling College Student/Alumni Testimonial Needs"
Instabrain - Marketing to Gen Z by Sarah Weise: https://amzn.to/3xjVwKJ Hook Point by Brendan Kane: https://amzn.to/40TAm3t Seenly Social Media Scheduling - https://app.seenly.io/signup?via=john-azoni
Connect with Justin: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justincsimon/ Website: justinsimon.co
If you're in higher ed marketing or communications, you can probably think of a handful of things right now that frustrate you about the status quo of how marketing gets done at your institution. If that’s the case, sit back, relax and let my guest ryan morabito validate those feelings, and show us a better way forward.
Ryan is the Senior VP at 5 Degrees Branding - a branding agency working with higher ed institutions. He is an active influencer on Linkedin and brings a lot of glaring truths and proposed solutions to the show that I think you'll get a lot of value from. Links: -More info on storytelling subscriptions on our website: unveild.tv -Download "3 Absolutely Crucial Components Every Compelling College Student/Alumni Testimonial Needs"
Connect with Ryan Morabito: Follow Ryan on Linkedin Check Out 5 Degrees Branding Email: ryan@5degreesbranding.com
Well folks we’ve got a big ‘ol enrollment dropoff coming as I’m quite sure you’ve heard about. So what can you do now to mitigate the effects of this “enrollment cliff” from where you sit in the marketing department? I’ll give you a hint, it comes down to the importance of branding, clarifying your school’s message and telling human stories that allow others to see behind the curtain of someone’s experience with your school so they can relate to their story on an emotional level.
My guest today is none other than University of Arkansas LIttle Rock CMO, Dr. Carrie Phillips… whose whole dissertation for her PHD was centered around marketing strategies to address the predicted enrollment cliff. I’ve followed Carrie’s work for a while now and really respect and appreciate the content she puts out and the thoughtfulness with which speaks truth and value into the higher ed conversation. I think you’ll really love what she has to say about what’s going on at UA little rock under her leadership.
Links: -More info on storytelling subscriptions on our website: unveild.tv -Download "3 Absolutely Crucial Components Every Compelling College Student/Alumni Testimonial Needs" Andrea Vargas' Story: https://youtu.be/azljMxj2LX8 Josie Efird's Story: https://youtu.be/9WdTpOXHNDc Connect with Dr. Carrie Phillips: Linkedin Twitter Website
If you are a higher ed marketer, or part of the marcom team in some fashion, you know that the demand for content and staying in the algorithm and all that is always looming over your head. Maybe you sat down at your desk this morning and thought “what the heck am I going to post today”.. You’re running out of ideas, and you know you should be more consistent but you’re just don’t have the content at the ready you wish you did and you don’t have the luxury of a content writer, well, there are some shortcuts and these are the problems we address on today’s episode with my guest Andy Owen, from Techsmith.
Links referenced: -Download "3 Absolutely Crucial Components Every Compelling College Student/Alumni Testimonial Needs" -Connect with Andy Owen -Techsmith.com
How Walsh College was able to get clear on their target audience, create content that spoke directly to that person, and maximizing the use and reach of that content - These are all things we’re talking about with Jay Kruger.. Director of Creative Marketing at Walsh College on today’s episode.
Content referenced in this episode: -Akash Ahuja's alumni testimonial -Aaron Eller's alumni testimonial -Walsh College's commercial -Building a Storybrand by Donald Miller -Learn the storytelling framework we used for Walsh College: unveild.tv/studenttestimonials
In higher ed marketing it's easy to fall into the trap of catering to leadership's opinions rather than the opinions of the students. This happens when there is a data void.
Without data, people resort to job security - or "what's going to make me look good to my boss". Without data marketers make expensive assumptions.
In this episode we unpack this issue, how it happens, and what to do about it.
Testimonials can be some of your strongest, most influential marketing assets, providing the social proof that prospective students need in order to seriously consider, and eventually choose your school over all the others
But here's the problem:
Most student or alumni testimonials are forgettable, if they even get consumed at all.
Why? Because they lack the key qualifier that makes something memorable and worth consuming in its entirety.
In this episode we discuss what that thing is and why it works.
Download: 3 Absolutely Crucial Components Every Compelling College Student Testimonial Needs
Nate Bargatze comedy bit about ordering Starbucks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOm7Gr-1BUc
The school that builds the best bridges wins the enrollment game. However, it's our natural tendency to build bad bridges because the messaging that comes naturally to us often isn't the best bridge material. In this episode we discuss the 3 components that go into making content that captures attention and attracts applicants - aka "good bridges" - with the help of Kindra Hall's book, Stories That Stick.
(commissions may be earned from affiliate links)
Higher ed marketing is all about building an emotional bridge between prospective students and your school, and stories are the fast track to emotions. But you can't do good storytelling without vulnerability. In this episode we unpack why vulnerability matters, what it does for the listener/reader, and how to impliment that in your next blog post, video, article, etc.
Download: The Unignorable College Enrollment Video A simple 5-part storytelling template for creative emotional videos that boost enrollment.
- Download “The Unignorable College Enrollment Video” - A simple storytelling template for creating emotional stories that boost enrollment.
- Cliff notes: in one research experiment, 100 insignificant items were sold at a 2700% markup when there was a compelling story behind them. This illustrates how people don’t buy the thing, they buy the story attached to the thing. How this impacts higher ed marketing is that by telling stories - actual stories where there was a before and an after - the perceived value of your school is heightened. This can be done for example through student testimonials or alumni testimonials provided you know how to tell a great story (if not, see download above).
One of the biggest problems facing higher education marketers is the coming enrollment cliff.
Video storytelling is a way to get ahead of that problem, but it’s not an easy task to find compelling stories from students willing to be on camera.
In this podcast episode I suggest a unique approach that allows higher education marketers to market more effectively to prospective students, and at the same time tell better stories by having plenty of options at their fingertips of stories to choose from.
Show notes:
-Download: The Unignorable College Enrollment Video
In this audio episode we discuss how video storytelling is your best friend in an environment where differentiating your school isn’t an easy task.