Report: Zachary Conley

Transcription

1 Research Report: Higher Education Marketing

2 DEFINING HIGHER EDUCATION MARKETING 2 Higher Education marketing, or commonly referred to as higher ed marketing, is a niche in the vast and seemingly endless field of marketing. To understand the niche we must first understand what marketing is at the most basic level. The U.S. Small Business Administration defines marketing as activities and strategies that result in making products available that satisfy customers while making profits for the companies that offer those products (Market and Price, 1997). This is one of many definitions of marketing, they are as numerous as the people who employ their tactics but this is a good general definition for our purpose. In simple terms, marketing involves targeting an audience, examining their needs or desires and catering your product to those needs and desires for the advancement of your product. Higher ed marketing lacks the easily located and easily translated definition that the general field of marketing offers. When defining higher ed marketing I will take two approaches: I will first provide a definition that can be found in many textbooks and online, in the second definition I will provide a personal definition that I have discovered through a summer focused on the practice of higher ed marketing. Read any relatively recent text on higher ed marketing and you will discover that it is now a necessary function of nearly all higher education institutions. The overlying cause of this is the intensity of competition in higher education. Institutions can no longer maintain the mentality that its users: students, alumni, high school counselors, supporters, contributors, parents, friends, faculty and staff, are expendable (Topor, 1998). Bob Topor, a higher ed marketing consultant, defines higher ed marketing in several ways describing it as: Understanding target audience perceptions of competition

3 as compared to perceptions of offerings from your academy, and The process of evaluating the service offering as well as the target audience to whom the exchange offering is directed (Topor, 1998). In a 3 nutshell, higher ed marketing involves evaluating competition (other higher ed institutions), comparing services, offerings and understanding a target audience (perspective students). My personal definition of higher ed marketing is the product of two internships directly concentrated on marketing an institution of higher education and marketing in an institution of higher education. I separate these two because they are distinctly two different practices. Marketing an institution of higher education is a people business and is the main tool used in recruiting students and contributors. There are many things to consider: courses, buildings, acres, books, fees, tuition, costs, etc. Numbers, figures and facts abound. These facts and figures play an important role in providing the audience with comparable information that they can stack against similar information from other Institutions. But who is the audience? A question that will be answered in depth later, but is nonetheless important in the definition of marketing an institution of higher education. Marketing an institution of higher education is not simply about comparing statistical information, but rest firmly in providing a user experience. The real heart and soul of an institution exists in the stories and human experiences, not in volumes of numbers and facts. (Jolly) Marketing an institution of higher ed as I have experienced it is about providing a mix of easily accessed information for the audience to evaluate and compare, and providing a user experience that positively reflects the institution. Marketing in an institution of higher education involves many of the same concepts and audience members found in marketing an institution of higher education however, its focus is very specific.

4 Offices and departments within an institution focus on specific groups mainly within the institution and, provide facts and figures relating only to their purpose. Their audience is narrow and their purpose does 4 not often involve recruiting students. The growth of systems such as the Texas Tech University System which is comprised of various branches, health science centers, a law school and two universities, has contributed to the need for adequate marketing within an institution. Competition does exist within an institution and increased size means more competition. The audience of higher ed marketing includes: students, alumni, high school counselors, supporters, contributors, parents, friends, faculty and staff (Topor, 1998). In general, the main target audience are students, with an emphasis on perspectives students. My experience in recruiting and higher ed marketing has taught me that institutions are in the people business and offering goods and services to those people. If we look at institutions of higher education as a typical business we would view perspective students as potential consumers of our product. Among other things, they represent revenue and the success of our business therefore they are our main marketing target. Of course in higher education there are other entities vital to the success of an institution such as support from the government, donors, businesses, etc. Despite the specific audience group the purpose of marketing is the same, sell or promote the product. Methods of Higher Education Marketing Higher education marketing is done in as many ways as there are people who do it. It covers anything from marketing via the Web, recruiting performed by admissions counselors, apparel bearing the institutions name, banners or ads displaying the institutions logo and so on. For the purpose of this

5 paper I have concentrated my research to the area of higher ed marketing through the use of the World Wide Web. 5 In itself the Web creates a world where vast varieties of marketing can take place. The applications, methods and programs employed to perform higher ed marketing via the Web are too vast to be covered in one research paper. Also, higher ed marketing is a field dominated by trends and these trends change vary rapidly. I will be exploring some of the most recent and popular methods of higher ed marketing and will provide insight that I have gained from my experience as the Web and multimedia intern for the Office of Communications and Marketing of Texas Tech University. Higher education web design is a behemoth in the world of higher ed marketing. This is due to the fact that for most institutions their website, particularly the homepage leaves their first impression on the user. So what s the big deal about design? The better designed your website is the greater chance you have at retaining users, everything from the content, usability, layout and eye catching features play a role in retaining an audience. One aspect of design in higher ed marketing is the establishment of identity guidelines. These guidelines are established to bring consistency and greater visibility to the marketing and communication of an institution. Visual uniformity allows you to market an institution as a whole and establishes trademarks or visual cues that remind the audience of an institution. Clearly defining who we are and what sets us apart from other institutions of higher education around the state and nation will help us deliver the message that great things are happening at our university (Texas Tech University Identity Guidelines). This is the general belief held by most institutions of higher education. That by having clearly defined features, identities and representations the institution sets itself apart from competition. Identity

6 guidelines define the use of key trademarks of the university; many of these trademarks serve as powerful marketing tools in themselves. Look at the example of some trademarked identities of Texas 6 Tech University in Figure 1. There are guidelines defining how and where to use these trademarks are used to protect the overall uniformity and cohesiveness of the institution they represent. Throughout my internship I have learned to follow the identity Figure 1 guidelines very closely when developing web pages or creating new content. I utilize certain colors, typography, layouts and so on to create uniformity across all Web pages within the TTU website. By marketing a uniform brand we are able to create a presence that the audience can recognize simply from singular elements of the TTU identity such as a logo, typeface or other visual elements. Another aspect of higher ed Web design is creating dynamic Web pages that grab the audience s attention. This is the focus of most Web designers, whether they are marketing higher education or developing websites for personal use. Web based higher ed marketing did not start off as a visual design focused field but it certainly appears to be heading that way and I will argue that it already is. An examination of various higher ed websites leaves me with the impression that there is a fierce competition waging over who can have the trendiest, coolest or most unique website representing their institution. As mentioned earlier, higher ed marketing is about human experience. Allowing the audience to experience what an institution has to offer. The continually evolving technology found on the Web allows designers to create more dynamic user experiences. Technology such as Flash, Ajax, content management systems and CSS has allowed higher ed web designers to create a unique user experience

7 that can do everything from take a perspective student on tour of campus to showcase campus events and services. 7 Since its introduction in 1996, Adobe flash has become a popular method for adding animation and interactivity to web pages (McGovern, 2006). Flash was once reserved for the use of advertisements, animation and videos, and was not widely used by higher ed web designers because early versions of the software lacked the accessibility and usability the higher ed marketers desired. A change has occurred since the early days of Flash and now the use of Flash applications in higer ed Web marketing is a standard. Lisa Low, senior editor and leader of the web communications team for the Office of Communications & Marketing for Texas Tech, says that the current use of Flash as a marketing tool is due to advancement of the software and a change in mindset. Flash now has greater capabilities that allow designers to build rich applications that take higher ed marketing to another level (McGovern, 2006). Take a look at the Layola Marymount or Full Sail University Web sites and you will see the power of Flash and its capabilities as marketing tool. These sites are rich and provide unique user experiences that captivate their audience. These websites attract perspective students, impressing them with stunning visuals, provide high usability and market the Figure 2. Layola Marymount University university as place that on the cutting edge of technology.

8 Lisa says that a change in the mindset of higher ed marketers has taken place. The mindset used to be that designers would design what they wanted to see and thought this was the best way to market an 8 institution. Now the focus is on students, particularly perspective students. Students are computer savvy and want to be impressed by a website. It motivates them to continue investigating if not because their interested in the institution then because the site is so cool that their curious what it features. Figure 3. Full Sail University Flash is not the only trend in higher ed marketing that is taking over the field, social media is providing marketers with a fairly new and vast field to promote their institutions. Social networking Web sites, blogs, wikis, twitters and video sharing sites offer higher ed marketers a way to communicate directly with their audience, mainly students. Part of my duties as the web and multimedia intern is to maintain and help develop Texas Tech s social media holdings. Texas Tech, like many institutions, has an official Facebook page, Myspace page, YouTube channel and itunes U page. Through these social mediums we are able to provide information and resources such as upcoming events, movies, audio and graphics that appeal specifically to students. Social media allows higer ed marketers to reach students in a nonthreatening or non authoritative environment. The two largest social networking websites, Facebook and Myspace, allow higher ed marketers to create wallpaper, buttons, applications, flare and other promotional materials that are distributed via sharing amongst users. Official pages on these social networking site provides a more personal feel for students

9 because it exist outside the realm of where they would typically expect to find information and resources from an institution. 9 Higher Education Marketers Higher education marketing is a task that is performed by a variety of people: content developers, writers, Web designers, artists and even students. Institutions devote entire offices and departments to the sole purpose of effectively marketing their institution. Teams of marketers are deployed to create, develop and expand the name and face of an institution. Everything from the way campus news is distributed via the Web to preserving the image of trademark or logo receives the attention of a higher ed marketer. Texas Tech University has its own team of marketers who specialize in preserving and developing the face and name of the university. This team comes in the form of the Office of Communications and Marketing but is not limited to the work that they alone perform. Individuals, offices and departments around campus take part in various forms of marketing, whether it be for a specific department or for the university as a whole. The office of Communications and Marketing or OCM, functions as an overseer of the marketing of the university. We help Texas Tech tell its story to the rest of the world. Our team includes media relations, broadcast, graphic design, photography and Web development and publishing experts (Lisa Low, Sr. Editor, Web Communication, Texas Tech University). Many institutions have departments or offices that function in the same manner as the OCM at Texas Tech. Their team members are just as varied and accomplish specific marketing goals established by the

10 leaders of the institution. There are well respected teams of individuals all across the nation that market institutions of higher education. Some Teams such as Creative Services at the University of Indiana 10 multiple artists to assist their content developers, writers and programmers. This is a growing trend as more institutions seek to have a unique image and presence both on (Low, 2008 ) the Web and in print. Bibliography Jolly, K. (n.d.). Web, Marketing & PR in Higer Ed. Retrieved 2008, from College Web Editor : Low, L. (2008, july 24). Sr. Editor, Web Communication. (Z. Conley, Interviewer) Market and Price. (1997, June). Retrieved July 20, 2008, from U.S. Small Business Administration: McGovern, G. (2006). Killer Web Content. In G. McGovern, Killer Web Content (pp ). London : A & C Publishers Ltd.. Texas Tech University Identity Guidelines. (n.d.). Retrieved july 2008, from Texas Tech University : Topor, B. (1998). A New Marketing Concept for Higher Education. Retrieved July 19, 2008, from Multiple authors. edustyle Blog. Earle, Ralph, STC New Roles for Technical Writers: Technical Marketing Communication Summary: STC, 1996, Redish, Janice. Letting Go of the Words Writing Web Content that Works. Morgan Kaufmann Publishers Pg. 68, , King, Janice. Copywriting That Sells High Tech. WriteSpark Press (January 2, 2006).