Newsletter #127: Why you should put more effort into parents comms; How to triple engagement with virtual tours; Google quietly prioritises creators in search
✏️ From the Education Marketer desk
Why you should put more effort into parents comms. Read
How to build a website that wins students’ hearts. Register
Google quietly prioritises creators in search. Read
How to triple your engagement on virtual tours. Look
📰 HE news
I’m trying to be kind to UUK’s Blueprint for Change, but I don’t see much change. Maybe it’s because I work in Marketing, but if I had a dime for every time I read a university strategy document that prioritised “local growth initiatives” or “fostering prosperity for the UK and its international partners” - I’d be a rich man. However, there are some interesting ideas around expanding participation. The Blueprint proposes that 70% of young people should continue their education after leaving school by 2040. To be clear, this is education in general - apprenticeships, A-level and BTecs - and not just higher ed. I like this, and I think it’s more useful than the “50% higher ed” target set by the last Labour government. However, I’m not sure if the current government is ready for the challenge, as it seems to be on the verge of starting its own (Tory-like) culture war against independent schools. It’s the wrong fight, my friends. Read
📊 Marketing and media news
What a difference a crisis makes: According to Edified’s 2024 Enquiry Experience Tracker, the UK has boosted its enquiry management performance (quality, impact and responsiveness of communications) by 15% within 2 years. However, Australia and New Zealand are leading the pack with the most persuasive comms - not that they have much competition. Globally, "persuasiveness of communication" is still by far the lowest-scored factor. Students might rate us great on clarity (90%+ positivity), but it’s persuasiveness that sells: Students said they would be TWICE AS LIKELY to continue engaging with institutions that shared key selling points than those that didn't. So, be more persuasive, right? Well, you might not have to be that aspirational. In the UK, still only 1 in 4 prospects received follow-up communications to their enquiries - that’s shockingly low. Engage with your leads. Apparently, it’s a differentiator. Read
LinkedIn is tweaking its search algorithm. Previously, even though it returned posts that were keyword-rich, users thought they sucked. So, it’s introduced new weightings based on the creators you engage with most and how long you “dwell” on their content. Plus, it’s rolled out semantics matching for keywords. Google’s been doing this for years, but given the growing popularity of LinkedIn among students, it’s worth considering how this impacts the visibility of your institution. Do your ambassadors, recruitment team or faculty members have a publishing strategy for LinkedIn? Do you have a culture where staff are encouraged to share their POV on the platform, or are they just expected to share marketing propaganda? If you’re thinking about a strategy, a good place to start is video. LinkedIn has just rolled out its new TikTok-style video tab and is even inviting members to create videos for it. As with any new social feature, it means an algorithm boost is likely, so if you’re looking for some early momentum, optimising content for the tab isn’t a bad shout. Read
🏫 What unis are doing
The University of Staffordshire has followed up its rebrand with a new UCAS stand. Student work is incorporated into the design, with display stands for architectural models and manikins to exhibit Fashion students’ work. It stands out a mile, which makes me wonder - why don’t we see more stuff like this? Read
The University of Colorado has seen a 3.5% surge in enrolled students, much greater than its forecast 0.5%. It’s secret? The State of Colorado rolled out a programme where local students with households earning below $90,000 go free. The UK government should take note - initiatives like this are a major incentive for young talent to stay local. Read
The University of Rochester managed to pull off an SEO strategy that grew organic web traffic by 500% in just five years. But the best part is that the team didn’t do anything that radical. Initially, they optimised articles in the University’s News Centre; only then did they follow with embedding a culture of keyword research and content strategy at the institution. Read
🧑🎓 What students are saying
“With research, [ChatGPT] can’t create knowledge; it’s more like peer support whenever you need it. If I want to ask a question at 3am, I can’t ask my tutor, but that’s when it comes in handy. It’s providing me academic help, but also a kind of mental health cuddle as well, because some parts of education feels like a lonely journey.” PhD students on their use of ChatGPT. Read
👾 Culture shock
Two podcast hosts discover they are AI. Look
Live from the US campaign trail. Look
