Higher Voltage

Ep31. TargetX, CRMs, and Empowering Staff with Data - Jay Murray - WCSU

A CRM, or Customer Relationship Management platform, has gone from a nice to have to a need to have in higher education. But implementing this technology isn’t as simple as flipping a switch. In this episode of the Hashtag Higher Ed Podcast, Jay Murray, Associate Vice President of Enrollment Services at Western Connecticut State University, discusses WCSU’s decision to adopt TargetX, the process for fully implementing a new CRM on campus, and the ways WCSU continues to use TargetX to expand, automate, and personalize its prospective and admitted student communication.

Ep30. Addressing Sexual Assault on Campus - Jon McBride - BYU

When it comes to social media, it's easy to focus on the fun and funny. A clever .gif here, a cat meme there, rinse and repeat. But in February 2018, the social media team at BYU adopted a much more serious tone on their Instagram Story. In a series of videos and text updates, featuring students, staff, and faculty, BYU proactively talked about sexual assault on campus. In this episode of the Hashtag Higher Ed Podcast, Jon McBride, Media Relations and Social Media Manager at BYU, shares the genesis of this idea, the key to earning institutional buy-in for the idea, the unanticipated Instagram feature that helped make an immediate difference for students, and the surprisingly stressful component of the project.

Ep29. Creating Authentic Content through Instagram Stories - Jason Boucher - UNH

You’ve undoubtedly heard the word “authenticity” thrown around recently. Perhaps at a conference, in a webinar, or even in your own conversations. But while the word itself has become a bit of a buzzword, the meaning behind it is everything to today’s prospective college students. In episode 29 of the Hashtag Higher Ed Podcast, Jason Boucher, Manager of Social Media at the University of New Hampshire, shares how his team at UNH is using current students to publish authentic social content, and why they’ve honed in on Instagram Stories as their method for doing so.

[Rebroadcast] Butler’s Marketing Goes to the Dogs

Last 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.

Ep28. Is List Buying the Best We Can Do? - Jens Larson - Eastern Washington University

Back in the 1980s, higher education institutions discovered a new way to reach student households at a fraction of the cost of television ads: name buys. Since then, name buys have morphed into a multi-million dollar industry, with colleges and universities across the country investing in the practice. But are name buys really the best we can do? In this episode of the Hashtag Higher Ed Podcast, Jens Larson, Director of Student Communications at Eastern Washington University, shares his legal, ethical, and ROI concerns about list buying and identifies alternative marketing tactics he has used to build a more sustainable prospective student pipeline.

Ep27 Podcasting for the President, the Provost, and the People - Tim Cigelske - Marquette University

For most marketing professionals, producing an institutional podcast is something that has recently become a professional goal. Tim Cigelske is not like most marketing professionals. On this episode of the Hashtag Higher Ed Podcast, Tim Cigelske shares the ins and outs of his years-long run of producing three podcasts for three distinct audiences at Marquette University. We chat about the various levels of planning and formality that encompass Marquette’s podcasts, why podcasting is ripe for experimentation, and Tim’s lost opportunity to team up with NBA superstar Dwayne Wade.

Ep26. Get the Scoop - Tod Pritchard - Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association

You undoubtedly deal with myths about your institution. From assumptions about student loans, tuition, and acceptance rates, your audience can easily take rumor as gospel, to the detriment of your admissions and marketing efforts. But how you are addressing those myths? In Wisconsin, one support foundation is dishing out facts and ice cream, one scoop at a time. In this episode of the Hashtag Higher Ed Podcast, Tod Pritchard, Director of Media and Public Relations for the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association, describes how his team came up with the idea of touring the state of Wisconsin in a refurbished 1957 International Harvester Metro van, the impact of their #getthescoop campaign for UW-Madison, and the surprising medium that’s helping them spread the word about this unique marketing campaign.

Ep25. Read the Comments - David Graves - University of Georgia

Have you ever heard someone say “don’t read the comments”? Across the web, the comments section is often affiliated with trolls, who incite others through polarizing opinions and offensive language. But on the University of Georgia’s Undergraduate Admissions blog, the comments section is a treasure trove of prospective student insight, with blog posts that occasionally receive more than 300 comments from interested UGA students. In this episode of the Hashtag Higher Ed Podcast, David Graves, UGA’s Senior Associate Director of Admissions Operations and Evaluation, joins the show to talk about the blog he has run since 2009. We discuss the challenge of keeping content fresh in a cyclical environment, the pros and cons of blending the personal and professional on Twitter, and how one person keeps up with so many prospective student questions.