Archive for the ‘Marketing Strategy’ Category

CASE Currents: “User Generation,” a Web 2.0 primer for communication and marketing professionals in higher ed

After I presented with Joe Hice at the CASE conference for senior marketing and communication professionals in Philadelphia last September, Rae Goldsmith, CASE Marketing VP, asked me to share the content of our presentation about Web 2.0 with the readers of their magazine. I wrote the article, “User Generation,” and it’s now available in the […]

How to monitor YouTube videos about your institution with your favorite RSS reader

I’ve been writing for a while about the need to monitor YouTube as part of a good crisis communication plan. If a problematic video about your campus, students, faculty members, etc. finds its way to the popular video sharing website, you should make sure you’re not the last one to hear about it (especially if […]

7 components of highly effective media relations university web pages

For my latest column in University Business, “PR on the Web 101,” I’ve identified 7 must-have features for any effective online newsroom. I selected the following components after asking a few editors and reporters for their wish lists. A direct link from the home page 24/7 e-mail and phone (including the area code) contact information […]

Higher Ed TV: “The Machine is Us/ing Us” – a lesson in viral video

I wrote about Professor Wesch’s video Sunday night. Today, a week after it’s been posted on YouTube, the video has been viewed more than 120,000 times (vs. 8,000 Sunday night). This morning, Inside Higher Ed has the story behind this instant success in “A Lesson in Viral Video,” an article by Elia Powers published this […]

Feb. 2007 University Business column: “PR and the Web 101”

My first UB column for 2007 is now available in the February issue as well as online: â€œPR and the Web 101â€ If you are a University Business reader who has just discovered collegewebeditor.com, welcome! Donâ€™t forget to subscribe to this blog via RSS or email. If you have any questions or feedback about the […]

Got a (controversial) change in the plans at your institution? A blog might be the perfect communication channel.

Most people don’t like change (I thrive on it, but I know I’m in the minority on this one ;-). In higher education, the announcement of any proposed change (be it a website or logo redesign, a new strategic plan or even worse a change in the name of the institution) will result in complaints, […]

What makes a faculty podcast successful? The case of the â€œ12 Byzantine Rulersâ€ by Lars Brownworth

Faculty podcasting can be a great way to promote academic expertise to external audiences. As reported in “History Teacher Becomes Podcast Celebrity” published today in The New York Times, Lars Brownworth, a history teacher at a boarding school in Long Island, NY, the Stony Brook School, has become a podcasting success story with his series […]

Higher Ed TV: One-Question Interview to promote experts at Duke University

How can you convey academic expertise in a 2-minute online video? Stick to this one-question interview format used by Duke University’s Office of News & Communication. In this video available on YouTube and titled “Duke University Professor Explains Why So Many Lemur Species,” Anne Yoder, the director of Duke Lemur Center, answers a question pertaining […]

The Question: a new twist on academic blogging at West Virginia University

What a great and different way to promote an academic department to the campus community and the world! I know, I know, this first line isn’t very informative, but I really think West Virginia University is defintely onto something with the blog recently launched by its Philosophy department and its Web Services: The Question. And, […]

Got good videos about your higher ed institution on YouTube? Let’s promote them on Higher Ed TV!

This is probably one of my crazy Tuesday ideas, but let’s see… This morning, I came across (via Will Richardson) TV Jersey, an initiative by a “group of writers, photographers, graphic artists and editors at The Star-Ledger in Newark.” Their mission? To bodly go where no New Jerseyans has gone before… “New Jersey needs a […]

Why some higher PR people donâ€™t follow up on media requests (The Answers!)

If you’ve read this blog, you know that I posted earlier this week my first rant (hey, 1 out of 260 posts, that’s not too bad) titled “Why PR people don’t follow up on media requests?” This was a real question that I ask myself and this blog’s readers after the PR contacts of 3 […]

Why your college’s website should be part of your admission office’s integrated marketing approach… and not replace it

I’ve always defended the idea that higher ed websites should get a bigger part of their admission office’s marketing budget. Not because I’d like to make more money — although that would be nice — or to have more to play with cool technological toys. No, I really think that college websites should get their […]

Why don’t PR people follow up on media requests?

That’s a real question. If you have the answer, please post it in the comment area. I’m sure reporters and editors (and, actually some read this blog, too) will be interested to know. I’m currently completing my research for my next article. As regular readers know, I write the Internet Technologies column for University Business. […]

Why you should think twice before using email for your next recruitment campaign

Email might be cost-effective, but it’s not be the best way to reach prospective students anymore. Don’t believe me? You don’t have to (although I would have appreciated it ;-) — just look at the following results from the national survey conducted with high school juniors I mentioned in a previous post: 64% said they […]