Higher Voltage

JP Rains, Director of Digital Strategy at Laurentian University, joins the Hashtag Higher Ed Podcast and explains why your institution needs a student journey map. Plus, JP offers a step-by-step guide to creating journey maps that lead to tangible improvements in the customer experience.

Back in 2011, George Washington University embarked on a long journey with a lofty goal. Its “Making History” campaign would be the school’s third major comprehensive campaign and its first campaign to raise one billion (yes, with a b) dollars. Six years later, and one year earlier than expected, George Washington University successfully closed the “Making History” campaign. At its conclusion, it was the largest capital fundraising campaign in its history, with more than 66,000 donors contributing more than one billion dollars. Raising a billion dollars is no easy feat. It takes a great deal of planning, outreach, marketing, and one-to-one stewardship. To learn more about this impressive fundraising campaign, we were fortunate to welcome Matt Lindsay, the Executive Director of Digital Strategy and Engagement, and Jen Riordan, Executive Director of Donor Relations, to the Hashtag Higher Ed Podcast.

Purdue University's Day of Giving is widely considered the gold standard in social media fundraising within the higher education space. In this episode of the Hashtag Higher Ed Podcast, Kate Jolly, Director of Digital Fundraising, and Amber Turner, Senior Director of Annual Giving and Stewardship, take a break from planning for their fifth Day of Giving to share five key takeaways from their 24-hour digital fundraisers.

Andy Fuller, Director of Strategic Content, and Liz Harter, Social Media Manager, join the Hashtag Higher Ed Podcast to discuss Stories at Notre Dame, a strategic storytelling endeavor that shares long-form content through a variety of mediums, raising awareness for the lesser-known aspects of a University famous for faith and football.

On this episode of the Hashtag Higher Ed Podcast, we explore the benefits, logistics, and best practices for social media takeovers, with panelists from Wheaton College, University of Tennessee, University of Surrey, and the University of Warwick.

This spring, Butler University made headlines when they sent care packages from their mascot, Butler Blue III, to the dogs and cats of admitted students. In this episode of the Hashtag Higher Ed Podcast, Kristi Smith, Associate Director of Enrollment Marketing at Butler University, and Michael Kaltenmark, Director of External Relations at Butler University, discuss this innovative approach to yield marketing, the genesis and planning of their dog- and cat-vertising campaign, why they felt confident taking a risk on this unique approach, and what the response has been like from current students, admitted students, and their parents.

Dr. Liz Gross joins the Hashtag Higher Ed Podcast to discuss the case for engaging in true social listening, how professionals on campuses can get started with social listening, and the number one mistake most people make when implementing social listening on their campus. She also offers a rundown of some of the more well-known software options available in the market, shares a few of her best practices for getting the most bang for your buck when it comes to installing social listening software on your campus, and peers into her crystal ball to give us a preview of what the future holds in this ever-evolving space.

In this bonus episode of the Hashtag HigherEd Podcast, marketing professionals from Temple University, The University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business, Peddie School, and Lehigh University discuss branding in higher education, the biggest shift in education marketing over the past decade, the importance of meeting students where they are, why brand ambassadors are the key to marketing authenticity, and more. This audio is from a 2017 Philly Tech Week event hosted by eCity Interactive, titled "Digital's New Role in Education Marketing."