Happy New Year! Best wishes to everyone for marketing success in 2016.
My December article on “6 Great Website Examples” for connecting quickly on a website starts with a unique home page from Xavier University. See how 5 other schools distinguish themselves at bit.ly/1mfWFMl
The Call for Papers for the 2106 eduWeb Digital Summit in August is open until January 15. Review the 5 track topics and send a presentation proposal. Start at bit.ly/1Or24vf
Share with your marketing team: A full set of slides from my Digital Marketing Strategy tutorial at the AMA Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education last November atbit.ly/1N2cNgG
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Conference Event in February
If you are planning serious website work in 2016, register for the Academic Impressions conference on “Higher Ed Web Redesign” starting February 29. Check the program and register at bit.ly/1NE7VyH
Follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/HighEdMarketing for daily marketing updates.
And now here are your December marketing news and notes.
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Cartoon of the Month: 7 Marketing Resolutions for the New Year
How long will your marketing resolutions last this year? Every resolution you will see here starting with “This year I will focus on fundamentals” has merit. How long will you resist the last one on chasing fads?
Laugh, maybe weep a bit, and start your next marketing meeting with the cartoon atbit.ly/1OJzCGU
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Customer Experience Trends: The Most Important Topic for 2016
We all can find a plethora of articles on trends and innovations to follow in 2016. If you only have the time and patience to read one such list, make it “The Year of the Customer: 16 Customer Service and Experience Trends For 2016” from Shep Hyken at Forbes Magazine.
No matter what type of students you are recruiting, take special note of the first item: “Customers are smarter than ever.”
After you circulate the Cartoon of the Month, have your team discover what is most important to marketing success when you scan the other 15 customer experience trends atonforb.es/1n321eM
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Recruiting Out-of-State Students: Where Do People Travel?
How successful are you likely to be recruiting students who do not already live in your state? Distance from the home state is an important factor according to a new review of 2014 IPEDS data from Jon Boeckenstedt at DePaul University. California, New Jersey, Illinois, and New York are the leading exporters.
The legions of students exiting California, for instance, travel all about the country. University of Alabama and New York University are their most popular destinations. The many students from New Jersey, on the other hand, stay close to their home state.
Pick your favorite state(s) or school(s) to review when you visit bit.ly/1PLpHiU
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Writing Right for the Web: New Academic Program Introduction
Every once in a while you see an example of academic program writing and content presentation that you wish would spread throughout higher education. This example from the School of Informatics and Computing at Indiana University is one of them.
Visit the unusually clean, simple, and easy-to-scan presentation at bit.ly/1mrCkE9
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CollegeNET vs. Common App: Wrestling in the Mud?
CollegeNet is appealing an adverse court ruling on an anti-trust suit against the Common Application last spring. CollegeNet is the choice of the Coalition for College Access, Affordability, and Success to deliver future application services.
Review the reasons why a U.S. District Court dismissed the suit as well as the reason CollegeNet is challenging that decision at bit.ly/1Z5Dg2D
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Goldman Sachs and College Value: Avoid the Bottom 25 Percent
A December note from Goldman Sachs reporting that graduates of the bottom 25 percent of universities earn less on average than high school graduates received no small amount of media attention. A quick Google search brings links to CBS News, CNN Money, Business Insider, and more.
Estimate the PR impact from a typical report that “gives parents good reasons not to send kids to college right now” at bit.ly/1PLxkpI
The original Goldman Sachs warning is in a PDF at bit.ly/1PebfeM
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Digital Marketing Campaigns: The Best in Higher Ed in 2015
I have known the smart folks at Terminal Four since I first met Piero Tintori at a J.Boye conference in Denmark years ago and started my collection of red-covered notebooks.
And that is why it is easy to recommend a visit to the first installment of “The Best Higher Education Digital Marketing Campaigns of 2015.” No guarantee that you will be a fan of each one but check the variety of approaches for insight and inspiration for your 2016 efforts.
My personal favorite: several faculty simply reading short notes about why students liked Keele University.
To review campaigns from the U.K. and the U.S., visit bit.ly/1Rg7xYl
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Disney World Marketing Content: Two Schools Merge in Philadelphia
The merits of the impending merger aside, the December press release announcing the tentative deal is a truly remarkable example of over-the-top content marketing.
See how many superlatives can dance on the head of a pin when you read the announcement story at bit.ly/1Ms4uDY
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Nielsen Alertbox Report: Website Simplicity Almost Always Wins
Do you need more reasons to convince people that keeping lots of links on a website page isn’t harmful, even when many are almost never used?
To help clean the clutter from your web pages and increase top task completion, get people to read “Simplicity Wins over Abundance of Choice” at bit.ly/1mzZmcz
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A Fad You Can Miss in 2016: 9 Reasons to Skip Virtual Reality
You do not have to rush to create a virtual reality version of your campus visit experience if you believe the AdAge take that this emergent 2015 marketing darling just is not practical.
If you insist on early adoption, follow the link to the example for Stanford University football.
Root yourself in reality by reading “Reality Check: 2016 Won’t Be the Year of VR” atbit.ly/1S2yAWJ
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Most Popular Topic in December Newsletter: Content Marketing Cartoon
Everyone loves content marketing, ice cream, and apple pie. Cartoonist Tom Fishburne gently urges that we spend more time editing and less time publishing in his “Branded Content” cartoon at bit.ly/1UuSF5Y
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Be a marketing champion on your campus.
Bob Johnson, Ph.D.
President
Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC
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Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC
Increase your marketing success with these services. Contact me to schedule your project at bob@bobjohnsonconsulting.com
Top Task Website Design Research with Gerry McGovern
Expert Marketing Communications Website Reviews
Communication Audits
Writing Right for the Web: Webinars, Conferences, and Campus Workshops
Competitive Website Reviews and Secret Shopping Projects
