Appendix B

Episode 18 — Jun 01, 2023

Not today, Summer Melt

How can Higher Ed marketers deal more effectively with summer melt?

It starts by maintaining some continuity in content strategy during the summer months. Marketing materials that incoming students are receiving should be similar in tone to what they’ve been used to.

If we treat the new student experience as “onboarding,” we can create a strong foundation for the incoming class.

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Episode 17 — May 24, 2023

Breakin‘ up (web projects) is hard to do

What are the negative effects of universities trying to manage large-scale website redesign projects all at once?

Extended timelines for one, which inevitably lead to increased costs.

And also, when projects are broken up into smaller, more manageable chunks, greater communication and collaboration between the agency and client can occur.

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Episode 16 — May 17, 2023

Prioritizing Mental Health and Wellbeing in Higher Ed

Kristin and Carl explore the differences between mental wellbeing and mental health, and chat about the importance of prioritizing self-care.

Institutional leaders have a responsibility to promote mental wellbeing programs and to make them more accessible to employees.

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Episode 15 — May 10, 2023

Time Horizons in Higher Ed

Kristin and Joel chat about time horizons in Higher Ed, and the relationship between quality and time in project management.

When projects are running long, the quality can suffer, and there’s an increased risk of random events and changes to the environment. Sometimes moving faster can help eliminate these pitfalls altogether.

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Episode 14 — May 03, 2023

Is your website your employee of the month?

A college or university website should reflect the organization behind it, and if things are going well, it should act as an employee of the institution itself. However, if there’s a mismatch between operations and the website, it can cause confusion for all stakeholders.

This confusion can lead to problems with on-page content, design, and information architecture. So avoid making promises on the website if you can’t actually fulfill them because of staffing limitations.

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Episode 13 — Apr 26, 2023

AI and the erosion of trust in Higher Ed

That AI. So hot right now.

In a world where Higher Ed MarComm professionals are always seeking out more efficient workflows, large language models like ChatGPT have been touted as the modern marketer’s “ultimate weapon.”

However, Higher Ed has a trust problem, and because of that, we need to transparent with our audiences about when and where we’re using AI. Especially in situations where they expect to interact with actual humans.

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Episode 12 — Apr 19, 2023

Whoops! Campus leaders made the wrong hiring decision. Now what?

Campus leadership doesn’t always know how to hire the right people for technical roles, but they need to figure it out. Understanding where knowledge gaps exist, and filling them with the right people and tools will be essential for staying competitive over time.

The cost of hiring the wrong person is just too great.

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Appendix B Episode 11, text is present that reads, "The cost of hunting unicorns."

Episode 11 — Apr 12, 2023

The Cost of Unicorn Hunting

In Higher Ed, when job descriptions are too broad, and there’s not enough specificity about the required skills and responsibilities, they end up attracting employees who try to do it all. And that often leads to burnout.

Instead, what if we left it to the potential employees to interpret the roles? What if we let them guide and shape the roles over time?

Joel and Kristin think this will happen more and more as folks realize their worth and the value of their time.

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Episode 10 — Apr 05, 2023

No More Unicorns

If you work in Higher Ed, you’ve likely either worked with a Unicorn or, you’d describe yourself as one.

Either way, you probably know that they typically have a wide range of skills and can do many different things well.

It’s not all sunshine and rainbows, though. Unicorns typically experience burnout, high turnover rates, frustration with slower-moving colleagues, and being underemployed.

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Episode 9 — Mar 29, 2023

You’re NOT doing SWOT analyses correctly

What does Kristin have against SWOT analyses?

Just the way that they’re typically done.

SWOT analyses require deeper research about your institution’s competition and environment, and shouldn’t just be the result of a 30-minute brainstorm.

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Episode 8 — Mar 22, 2023

Just because your institution can have a podcast, doesn’t mean it should

Does your college or university have a podcast? Do you even think it needs one?

Just like any new media-based venture, many questions need to be asked before even considering it.

Otherwise, the person in your comms office that has a Blue Yeti and some time to spare, is gonna answer that question for you.

And trust us, it won’t end well.

Info about Gen Z’s Podcast Consumption Habits

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Episode 7 — Mar 15, 2023

Breaking out of Emergency Mode

How many times have you heard, “you know, not everything is an emergency,” in your campus’s MarComm office?

Does your marketing strategy feel more “reactive” than anything?

Are you constantly putting out fires?

Let’s talk about why that might be.

Sometimes it’s because you’re underfunded, or there’s been a change in leadership, but often, it just comes down to setting proper goals and expectations based on the size and abilities of your team.

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Episode 6 — Mar 08, 2023

Responsible Website Stewardship

College and University websites need responsible stewardship in order to be successful.
It’s as simple as that.

If you’re spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on it, you better understand if it’s paying dividends, and, most importantly, if it’s aiding in the student experience.
The key is to stay on top of web and digital trends, run tests continuously, and always be learning.

Any questions?

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Episode 5 — Mar 01, 2023

Higher Ed’s Differentiation Problem

Why is it so difficult for Higher Education institutions to differentiate themselves from each other?

Some institutions push their MBA programs as being new, different, and innovative, but the perceived product of education remains the same.

And trying to differentiate based on corporate marketing techniques won’t work in Higher Education marketing because most institutions are in a model of co-opetition with their peers.

Then there are all of the various structures in place that limit institutional flexibility.

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