Bob Johnson's Blog on Internet Marketing

For every student and parent who has been waiting for a new way to compare one college or university with another, there's a new way to do that announced yesterday. This one is sponsored by NAICU (National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities) as a way to help banish a competitor from the land. Otherwise known as the annual ratings issue of US News and World Report.

You'll find the entry page at http://www.ucan-network.org/

About 450 school profiles exist now along with a list of about 150 that are still forthcoming "within the week."

People who read the press release (http://www.ucan-network.org/id.11,id2.654/default.asp) will know right away that UCAN is limited to several hundred private colleges and universities who have joined together to develop "the first national consumer information resource created and provided directly to students and parents by colleges and universities themselves."

Alas, students and parents who happen upon the UCAN (University and College Accountability Newwork) website and don't happen to read the press release might waste some time searching for public universities.

• The front page for UCAN doesn't mention anything about the NAICU sponsorship or tell visitors that searches won't work for public institutions. So the claim that this is a place to "Get the facts for a smart college choice" isn't quite accurate if you think that making a smart choice includes looking at some public institutions. Plenty of room exists to add the private college qualifier. Let's hope that's done soon.

The new UCAN listings offer a marvelous marketing research opporunity.

• When you arrive at the start page of your favorite college, you'll see a link to a "What Makes Us Special?" feature. The link leads to a place on the college's website. And so market researchers with time to explore will be able to see just how well the UCAN participants do in setting themselves apart from everyone else.

Of course, some people love ratings. And those folk will continue to buy the annual US News issue. And, since US News has something for just about everyone, many colleges will continue to tout the results on their websites for a high finish in one of the categories available.

And so it goes. Choice is a good thing. So UCAN must be a good thing. I'm looking forward to a report six months from now that tells us how many people have used the site and, in my dreams, how many searches were done for each of the participating colleges.

Posted by Bob at 12:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

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How much will video replace text in online communications?

Obviously, not completely. But in some cases, especially story telling, video just might be a better way to engage visitors. Here are three examples that are worth exploring as you ponder future directions for your web communications plan:

• Capella University has preplaced traditional text testimonials by students with three video segements on the front page of the website at http://www.capella.edu/ The videos explore an academic program, financial aid, and the online learning environment.
• The Kenan-Flagler Business School is using a variety of student videos to illustrate various marketing points. Why is an MBA a good "Return on Investment"? Listen to the answers at http://www.kenan-flagler.unc.edu/programs/emba/advance/roi.cfm and continue on to others that include balancing work and family obligations while studying part-time.
• Boston University uses faculty and student videos from the front page of the website to introduce academic and social life as well as the college experience in Boston at http://www.bu.edu/

The rapid increase in broadband household penetration over just the last year or two is responsible for the ability to easily watch video on a home computer. Comcast and Yahoo offer a plethora of opportunity from the sublime to the ridiculous. YouTube has exploded. Expectations for what's on college and university websites are changing as a result.

Keep one critical point front and center: video is "just" another form of content. And that content has to match what key audiences expect to learn and do on your website. Ask them what that is. Then start filming.

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Yesterday I finished updating my "Writing Right for the Web" webinar conference hosted by Academic Impressions and soon after Betsy McNair sent along a new list of the 54 people registered for the October 1 event.

A quick review turned up three new postions to add to the master list of titles that show the continuing growth in importance of writing and content positions at colleges and universities. The new spots are:

• College of the Holy Cross, Writer/Reporter, College Web Communications
• Metropolitan College of Denver, Director of Web Communications
• Tomball College, Web Content Coordinator

The full list of 45 schools and titles is at http://bobjohnsonconsulting.com/blog1/2006/08/post.html 

If you haven't added a position like this in your communications area, this list might help you make the case for moving in that direction.

And there's still time to register for the October 1 web conference. You can do that at https://www.academicimpressions.com/web_conferences/1007-web-writing.php

Posted by Bob at 08:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

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Today we reach an even 20 college and university presidents who blog with the addition to the master list of Mary Cullinan, president at Southern Oregon University.

The president started her blog in April 2007 and her goal is simple: "I’m starting this blog to provide informal and regular communication from the President’s Office. I’ll try to post frequently—though I’m sure there will be gaps during particularly busy times."

She's done well so far, with 16 posts through September 17. 

Southern Oregon, one of the 24 members of COPLAC (Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges), has apparently been through a recent retrenchment experience. President Cullinan is new and she writes frankly about the budget, a continuing enrollment challenge caused by earlier small freshmen classes, and more.

Read her blog at http://www.sou.edu/president/blog/blog013.html

See my full list of 20 college and university presidents who blog at an earlier post, starting with Arizona State University and ending with Westchester College.

Posted by Bob at 02:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

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Nancy Schwartz has posted a blog entry with summaries and links to the thoughts of several people involved in online marketing, including yours truly. You'll find an interesting and valuable variety of thought here that will result in stronger video marketing in your communications mix.

The links are in her report on "How to Use Online Video to Strengthen Your Nonprofit Marketing Impact -- Carnival of Nonprofit Consultants" 

Visit http://www.gettingattention.org/my_weblog/2007/09/how-to-strength.html for the review.

Nancy notes that part of the discussion is about the value of amateur vs. professional videos in the marketing effort. I agree 100 percent with her assessment of this:

• "There is an active debate what quality means, and adds, in online video. Some Carnival bloggers hold out for the authenticity of amateur video. My take -- that amateur video will soon become tedious as the novelty of the medium erodes. Expectations for higher-end production values will begin to increase very quickly. I've watched this cycle before, most recently with blogging."

When you visit the blog, be sure to sign for Nancy's "Getting Attention" email newsletter.

Posted by Bob at 08:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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In my earlier September 6 posting about MarketingSherpa's first of two articles on how to become engaged with Wikipedia and build good relations with the guardians of knowledge there, I promised to let readers know when the second article appeared... and here's that notice.

The subtitle for this article is "Damage Control."

The most important advice here is not to jump right in and change something that you think is a mistake or represents an interpretation that you don't agree with. Instead, use the "discussion" tab that exists for each entry to present your position and reach an agreement that a change is appropriate. Doing that will increase your credibility and help avoid the charge that you are secretly changing things simply for better public relations for your college or university.

Wikipedia links can increase traffic to your website

There's also a valuable section on how to use links in your Wikipedia article to increase traffic to your own website. As with other changes, the most important advice is to work with Wikipedia editors to either add new links or to change existing links because there's a better place for readers to arrive at your website.

Read the full article at http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.php?ident=30125# with open access for a few more days.

Links to more Wikipedia information

MarketingSherpa also provided links to learn even more and I'm listing a few of them here. The WikeScanner link below is the one that will let you learn more about who is already making changes on your entry.

Special Report: How to Get Your Company Listed on Wikipedia, Part I
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.html?ident=30116

WikiScanner:
http://wikiscanner.virgil.gr

Wired’s WikiWatch blog:
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/wikiwatch/

Wikipedia’s Manual of Style: Companies, Corporations and Economic Information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Companies,_corpo
ations_and_economic_information

Wikipedia’s Conflict of Interest policy explained:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:COI

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Nancy Schwartz, who writes a fine blog at http://www.gettingattention.org/ about marketing and not-for-profit organizations, is gathering the thoughts of various marketing consultants about the role of video in online marketing. That question fits right in with my recent post listing several college presidents who have videos on YouTube and with various uses of video I've found on college websites over the past year.

And so here are my speculative thoughts based on what I've seen so far:

• The spread of broadband access in the home is making it easy for people to access video on their home computers. Broadband access is in large part responsible for the tremendous growth in YouTube, at a much higher rate than other social networking sites.
• Comcast, Yahoo, and similar websites have already made video an everyday expectation for websites. When people visit the websites of non-profit organizations, including colleges and universities, they will expect to find video used to help "tell the tale" of the organization.
• What kind of videos? Best are real examples of the organization at work building houses or saving animals or improving water quality or helping orphans or placing students in internship experiences.
• What videos won't work well? Don't spend time having your president or CEO or volunteer head filmed reading the equivalent of a "message from the president" or "our mission statement" or anything else that isn't "real" information that interests real people outside your organization. As with any effective content on the web, videos are best produced with the interests of the external audience in mind, rather than those within the organization.
• Invest in quality production. You'll find great and horrible videos on YouTube. You definitely want to be as near to the "great" end of the scale as resources permit. Just like the photography used in print publications, this isn't a place for amateur efforts.

Let me close with three examples of strong video use in higher education that can be adapted for any not-for-profit organization:

• Boston University uses videos on the home page at http://www.bu.edu/ under the heading of "Learn More about Boston University" to let faculty, students, and staff introduce academics, social life, and the Boston area to visitors. Much better than the usual "About Us" content on college websites.
• At the University of North Carolina, the Kenan-Flagler Business School at http://www.kenan-flagler.unc.edu/programs/emba/advance/roi.cfm uses video to let students talk about how they advance their careers. This is a good examples of "story telling" content that's more effective delivered in video than written out as text.
• Don't be too serious. Check this video from the president at Dickinson College on how to tie a bowtie at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unmiqRbEIUc (Dickinson has an elaborate plan for the use of video on YouTube that you'll find at http://www.dickinson.edu/news/video/)

Posted by Bob at 01:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

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Just finished reading the first of two aticles appearing in MarketingSherpa, "Special Report: How to Get Your Company Listed on Wikipedia, Part 1" at http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.php?ident=30116

This is "open access" until September 12. I'll add the next article here as soon as it appears.

Right now, it is likely that you have a Wikipedia entry and unlikely that you know much about who started it. But as this article notes, Wikipedia is the 11th most popular website in the world (and some report higher than that in the United States). Many if not most colleges and universities will find that a Wikipedia link comes up on the first page of Google and Yahoo search results, often among the top 5 returned. You should assume that people are going to visit your Wikipedia content.

Wikipedia and Brand Identity

What people find on Wikipedia will help shape your brand identity. Every college and university should designate a person from marketing and communications to monitor your content. What's critical is understanding what you can and can't do when you find something you don't like.

What's valuable about this MarketSherpa article is the basic guidance on how to become a recognized and respected member of the Wikipedia content community. Volunteers are very serious about protecting Wikipedia from false content and particularly from contributions from marketers that are blatent attempts at self-promotion. This article will let anyone new to the Wikipedia world some initial clues on what's accepted behavior and how to establish yourself with the Wikipedia guardians.

Let Wikipedia Know Who You Are

The most important element: identify yourself right away as a representative of your organization who plans to monitor contributions to the site and make factual corrections. Don't even try to turn your Wikipedia entry into an online version of your admissions viewbook, capital campaign case statement, or annual report. MarketingSherpa refers to this person as your "Ambassador" to Wikipedia. Be sure to select a person who is a diplomat and who knows how to negotiate.

One area that every college should attend to is making sure that third-party endorsements of your faculty (grants won, articles accepted, and books published) appear in the content. Similarly, there doesn't appear to be anything wrong with listing the firms that take your students for internships and co-op placements. When in doubt, ask Wikipedia. And of course, make sure that the list of academic programs you offer is current. Establish an identity as a factual, regular contributor who can help build the reputation of the website.

Wikipedia is for International Students

Ready to check your listing now? Go along to http://www.wikipedia.org/ and use the search engine on that page. And note that Wikipedia articles are available in up to 10 languages now, with more on the way. Can you say "International student recruitment opportunity"?

Posted by Bob at 08:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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Colgate has sent two more postcards in August... both of them focused on the opportunities to make a campus visit this fall. I'm not quite sure which arrived first, but logic tells me it might have been like this:

• A "Saturdays@Colgate" card showing that the Colgate admissions people truly do value campus visits as a key recruitment step... no less than 13 fall Saturdays are listed as available: 5 in September, 4 in October, 3 in November and a final day on December 3.

There's also a glitch here... the postcard invites registrations by phone or website visit. But the URL for the web registration leads to the front page of the university and there isn't an obvious campus visit link from that page. The search feature, however, worked well... "Saturdays at Colgate" brought up http://offices.colgate.edu/admission/Saturdays@Colgate/Saturdays@Colgate.htm 

Visit this link and you'll see the front side of the postcard and an easy to complete registration form. In an ideal world, the postcard itself would lead visitors directly to this page.

• The second postcard urges readers to "Make new friends" and lists 8 ways to do that, all involving a campus visit. Again, the website link is to the front page when it might have been to a page created especially to repeat and reinforce the message of the card.

The email newsletters also continue. The last one arrived on Saturday, September 1. An image of the "Saturdays@Colgate" postcard is included in the left hand column and when you click on it you go direct to the special "Saturdays" page above. Nicely done. With the postcard arriving before the email, the image in the newsletter reinforces the original message and likely prompts a few who haven't yet acted to plan a visit.

I'm not sure if Colgate holds a record for the number of fall weekend visit opportunities available, but it sure seems as if at 13 that might be the case. As critical as campus visits are to the recruitment process, this is a standard that everyone should try to match. Convenience for the customer. A nice thing to see.

Curiosity question: are you seeing an increase in the number of campus visitors making a first visit after sending you an application for admission?

Posted by Bob at 05:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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Haven't done anything statistical about this, but my imagination is telling me that the ranks of college and university presidents who blog is growing a bit faster in the last three to six months than it has been doing before that. Or maybe I'm just searching for them more often.

With today's addition, the master list at the July 1 2007 posting climbs to 19 presidents.

Today's entry is for the blog of Bethany College's "Dr. Ed" at http://swedesprez.blogspot.com/

Ed Leonard started as president just a few months ago and started his blog with a July entry. In his own words, this is why he's writing the blog: 

• "My intention is for this blog to not be a daily diary but an occasional journaling of what's happening at Bethany, with me, or within the broader Bethany community. I hope this sharing is for the benefit of Bethany College and its many stakeholders."

 So far, President Leonard had made 8 entries, a strong pace since July.

Posted by Bob at 04:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

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