University Business – Special

My latest UB column is now available in the June issue as well as online: “Embracing Web Analytics: Why and how to get a web analytics revolution started at your institution”

In this column, I’m trying to make the case for the Higher Ed Online Analytics Revolution I mentioned last month on this blog.

Among other things I share a few examples of how some institutions used insights provided by Web Analytics to improve their websites or their online videos.

If you’re trying to convince your boss or your team that using Web Analytics should be at the top of your priority list (and you are probably since 76% of the 399 higher ed folks who filled out my survey said they spend less than 2 hours per week on Analytics), this University Business column should help.

Embracing Web Analytics

If you’re going to the EduComm conference in Las Vegas next week, feel free to stop by my presentation on Tuesday morning. I’m scheduled to present on the topic – not about hardcore analytics – but about the strategy to get this Online Analytics Revolution started at your institution as well as in higher ed.

Co-conspirators or passionate revolutionaries are welcome to join online (just watch for my upcoming call) or in Las Vegas!

My latest UB column is now available in the April issue as well as online: “How to Select the Right CMS: a five-step plan for evaluating web content management systems”

In this column, I provide – with the help of several of your colleagues I interviewed – a blueprint to a successful CMS selection process:

1. Get ready for a new web content management strategy.
2. Start with organizational goals and define how you will measure success.
3. Get your homework done.
4. Perform a comprehensive analysis of needs.
5. Use a complete and foolproof evaluation process

Read the column to get the details.

And, if you’re considering open source content management systems for your next implementation, make sure you register for Open Source CMS Fair, a 3-webinar series scheduled next week. If you attend this series, you’ll get a chance to learn more (and ask your questions) about 3 of the most popular open source CMS in higher education: Drupal, DotCMS and WordPress.

The registration deadline has been postponed to this Friday (April 9, 2010). There are still a few seats available, but register at www.higheredexperts.com/cmsfair ASAP to secure yours.

Last, if you are a University Business reader who has just discovered collegewebeditor.com, welcome! Don’t forget to subscribe to this blog via RSS or email.

My latest UB column is now available in the February issue as well as online: “Websites Gone Mobile: More institutions exploring—and succeeding with—mobile web”

In this column written last December (so many new mobile websites have been launched since then – I’ll post even more examples in the coming days), I provide a few examples of mobile websites developed by higher ed institutions – including West Virginia University’s mobile website developed in 19 days by Dave Olsen – along with some traffic data.

Websites Gone Mobile

BTW, if you are a University Business reader who has just discovered collegewebeditor.com, welcome! Don’t forget to subscribe to this blog via RSS or email.

My latest UB column is now available in the November/December issue as well as online: “How to YouTube with Success: Six tips for optimizing online videos”

Here are the 6 tips:
1. Get listed on YouTube EDU.
2. Make videos that are easy to share.
3. Choose keyword-rich titles, descriptions, and tags for the videos.
4. Produce context-rich videos.
5. Don’t ignore your most fervent video fans—and critics.
6. Add closed-captioning.

University Business: How to YouTube with Success

I wrote this column a couple of months ago, after writing this post on how closed captioning can make a big difference but long before YouTube made an important announcement about new features using speech recognition on November 19: auto-timing and auto-captions.

Auto-timing will automatically synchronize your text-transcript with your videos.

Auto-caps will do ALL the work and is already used by several institutions such as UC Berkeley, Stanford, MIT, Yale, UCLA, Duke, UCTV, Columbia, etc.

You can find out more about these features by watching this video from YouTube:

BTW, if you are a University Business reader who has just discovered collegewebeditor.com, welcome! Don’t forget to subscribe to this blog via RSS or email.

My new UB column is now available in the October issue as well as online: “Social Media Measurement 101: A seven-step plan to set up (and benefit from) a simple social measurement program “

Here are the 7 steps:
1. Define measurable goals for social media activities.
2. Choose key performance indicators (KPIs) carefully.
3. Plan ahead and properly set up the right measurement tools.
4. Capture the data at preset intervals.
5. Don’t forget some benchmarking.
6. Share your measurement data.
7. Use measurement data to craft your next moves.

Social Media Measurement 101

If you are a University Business reader who has just discovered collegewebeditor.com, welcome! Don’t forget to subscribe to this blog via RSS or email.

My fifth UB column for 2009 is now available in the July/August issue as well as online: “The ABCs of Mobile Marketing: Words to know in exploring this new frontier in higher education marketing”

The ABCs of Mobile Marketing

I added a QR code to the column, but it got resized at printing time – which made it impossible to be properly decoded (a real shortcoming of the technology, BTW) by the QR code reader on my iTouch . This is why I’m adding it below if you want to test the technology.

The QR code above points to the page featuring online resources mentioned in this column about mobile technology, a web page that you can also find by visiting www.higheredexperts.com/mobile.

If you are a University Business reader who has just discovered collegewebeditor.com, welcome! Don’t forget to subscribe to this blog via RSS or email.

My fourth UB column for 2009 is now available in the June issue as well as online: “2010: Print to Web Odyssey? A five-step plan for assessing and negotiating the transition from print to web publications”

BTW, If you want to learn from editors who went digital or totally paperless with their magazine or newsletter, you should definitely attend “Stop the Presses,” a 3-webinar series about the topic scheduled on July 7, 8 and 9. Places are limited, so make sure you don’t wait too much before registering at www.higheredexperts.com/stopthepresses

Here are the 5 steps described in the article:

• DON’T PANIC: Get the facts straight about existing publications.
• DO YOUR HOMEWORK: Ask readers and target audiences about their preferences.
• LEARN MORE: Determine possible cost-saving options for mission-critical print publications.
• EXPLORE: Figure out different electronic options for other print publications.
• MAKE A DECISION: Share it with stakeholders, target audiences, and readers.

2010: Print to Web Odyssey?

If you are a University Business reader who has just discovered collegewebeditor.com, welcome! Don’t forget to subscribe to this blog via RSS or email.

My second UB column for 2009 is now available in the February issue as well as online (featured on the homepage of University Business today): “More with Less: 7 Ways to Survive the Budget Crunch”

Here are the 7 ways/tips in a condensed form:

1. Look more closely at your print publication budget
2. Embrace (free) social media to reach your target audiences
3. Try new performance-based advertising channels
4. Fine-tune email marketing initiatives to supercharge their ROI
5. Say “good bye” to new web servers and “hello” to on-demand cloud computing
6. Don’t discard the DIY approach
7. Watch out for team morale by focusing on budget-friendly professional development alternatives including next week’s 2-webinar series “Saving Big” for which you can still register until this Friday

By the way, if you are a University Business reader who has just discovered collegewebeditor.com, welcome! Don’t forget to subscribe to this blog via RSS or email.

Happy New Year my dear regular readers (and casual browsers)!

My first UB column for 2009 (actually it’s the one that was scheduled for the December 2008 issue) is now available in the January issue as well as online: “Should You Twitter? Real and effective communication, 140 characters at a time”

Here’s a quick excerpt to give you a reason to read the column:

Wondering why you should read a column about a web service powering the dissemination of 140-character messages?

Here’s a short, 140-character answer about Twitter: It can help individuals and institutions reach out to their network to share info, request help, organize, and update everyone in real time.

A bit dry, I know. [The column includes] a few more examples to illustrate the long answer.

If you want to follow me on Twitter, you can do so at http://twitter.com/karinejoly.

By the way, if you are a University Business reader who has just discovered collegewebeditor.com, welcome! Don’t forget to subscribe to this blog via RSS or email.

My fifth UB column for 2008 is now available in the October issue as well as online: “It’s The Community, Stupid! A seven-step plan to raise and nurture any community online.”

This column is the written version of the closing keynote I gave at eduWeb last July, a live presentation that also included videos from 3 community managers working in higher ed institutions.

If you’re interested in more tips and tricks to manage your online communities and social networks, you should also consider attending “Social Networks MBA: How to Develop and Nurture a Thriving Community,” a 3-webinar series scheduled on November 11, 12 and 13, 2008 January 13, 14 & 15, 2009 (the series has been postponed).

For more information and to register by November 3rd December 19, 2008, just visit www.higheredexperts.com/socialnetworksmba.

By the way, if you are a University Business reader who has just discovered collegewebeditor.com, welcome! Don’t forget to subscribe to this blog via RSS or email.