Newsletter #66: University of Manchester has a new idea for TikTok; Meta is building 10 metaversities; The world falls out of love with hybrid
✏️ From the Education Marketer desk
I can’t get over TikTok’s latest ad product: Branded Missions. Look
A new blueprint for virtual taster sessions. Look
Ad tech is upping its game. Look
Think like a publisher: 7 steps to effective content marketing for higher ed. Register
📰 HE news
10 universities are participating in a scheme from Meta to build metaversities. I wonder what happens to students’ data? Anyway… The builds are off to a good start with not trying to replicate campuses in VR, but, rather, focusing on delivering teaching experiences that aren’t possible in real life. Studying stars from the surface of the moon, anyone? It looks gimmicky in screenshots, but Stanford assures us that students “feel like it’s real at the time.” Meta’s development partner is Engage, a VR studio known for simulations of the Titanic (while it’s sinking) and the bombing of Berlin during WW2. Clearly, the devs are working through something… I would be too if I had partnered with Meta. Read
It doesn’t look like a 9.4% reduction in US student enrolment (since 2020) can be chalked up to Covid-19. The trend seems to be accelerating - Autumn 2021’s drop in enrolments was 3.1%, while this Spring saw a 4.9% fall. Yet, the cost of education in the US continues to grow faster than healthcare - something has got to give! In the context of inflation (4.7%) the payback period on a traditional college degree is extending… That’s a hard pill to swallow when community colleges are offering up to a 40% reduction in fees and corporations (like Deloitte) are sponsoring students. Read
📊 Marketing and media news
Twitter and Facebook have seen better days. Twitter is shelving creator-focused initiatives to make room for an edit button (cheers, Musk.) Compare this with TikTok which refers to every user as a creator and has a $1bn fund… Personally, I think Musk only wants Twitter so he can’t be deplatformed like Trump. Meanwhile, it’s far from rosy at Meta. Senior execs are departing due to Zuck’s pivot to the Metaverse. Instagram is also under pressure - TikTok has new research showing that “influencers” (on the gram) are now more likely to be seen as “show-offs or disingenuous” when compared to creators on its own platform. Shade thrown. Twitter | Facebook | Shade Tok
The hybrid dream didn’t come to pass, did it? Most event planners are pivoting back to in-person - event marketplace The Ventry reveals that fewer than 5% of events are now listed as “hybrid.” This doesn’t mean that digital isn’t a thing, rather live events are now recorded and later shared with an audience. On-demand works. Still, I think there’s a missed opportunity with repurposing content. Why only publish the raw stream when you could easily create a month’s worth of social content using repurposed video clips? Today, it’s possible to give your in-person events a long digital tail. Read
Bonus: TikTok released a new trends discovery tool. Look
🏫 What unis are doing
University of the Arts London has a new event for final year students and new graduates. “Upgrade your future path” gives attendees a portfolio review, access to employer speed networking (love this) and the chance of free mentorship. A step in the right direction. I’m seeing more universities leaning into talent coaching (Falmouth’s one of them) for new alumni, which seems more applicable than the chance to downloading an alumni mag once per quarter. Look
Imperial College Business School’s “Your head start” campaign looks the part - it works well digitally, the creative is strong and it feels youthful. That said, I’m finding it hard to latch on to the “value-add” of the campaign. There’s a form CTA, but as far as I can tell it just looks like an opt-in for marketing comms. Compare that with University of Leicester’s Head Start initiative, which sees students get guidance and peer support throughout the summer until they start in October. Imperial | Leicester
University of Manchester had a great idea for TikTok: Ask students why they are in the library at 4am. My favourite is the liberal arts student's response, “because all year I was fooling around and now I need to study a lot.” Fair play, man. I wish you well. Also, points to the student whose assignment was “due in four hours” but still found time to do a facemask. Simple idea. Executed well. Look
🧑🎓 What students are saying
“In many ways, I have become a far more disciplined student than before the pandemic, but I have to be in order to achieve at my pre-pandemic level. Many of my friends talk about having a much worse memory than before the pandemic and many report burnout. Some people are far too dismissive of the experiences that college students currently face. I would ask for some more compassion.” Students on how education has changed post-pandemic. Read
👾 Culture shock
Gucci built a town in Roblox. I have no idea why. Look
Binley Mega Chippy became TikTok famous and now crowds are queuing down the street for a battered sausage. Why | Queues
