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Prepare For (or Grow) a Management Career in Higher Education Digital Marketing

April 6th, 2012 | Posted in Marketing, Strategy

As the days of being the “everything for everyone” staff member in higher education digital production come to an end, professionals now have an opportunity to intentionally focus on special skill development.

For the last ten years, I, personally, focused on management. Others have chosen to specialize in design, programming, or content strategy.

I recently had a reader submit a question that really made me pause and reflect on my background and the choices I’ve made. Others have posed a similar question to me before, and I believe it is extremely relevant now that our industry is becoming more and more specialized.

The Question

“If you were to enter your career all over again, knowing what you know now about Higher Ed Digital Marketing, what educational background would you like to have?”

For starters, my education and professional experience has been a mixture of theory and practice. I love language, theory, social sciences and study of human behaviors. Indiana University has an excellent reputation in these subjects. Just excellent. As a sophomore, I chose a major in German and minor in Sociology. So, how did these subjects lead to a career in higher education digital marketing?

Technology

I went to IU in the mid-90s, and realized early on that I wanted to pursue a career in web and Internet technologies. Computers, email, and the first structures of the web were accessible to me at IU. I was fortunate in this regard, because Indiana was originally (and to this day continues to be) one of the most wired and connected campuses. These technologies enchanted me and I was ravenous to learn about them. However, there were almost no classes back then that focused on the web. The few that did were available through the Computer Science department. I enrolled in them and loved every minute of learning.

Today, there are fantastic new offerings in the field of Informatics that give direction and structure to future digital practitioners by “studying how to design a system that delivers the right information, to the right person in the right place and time, in the right way” (Informatics on Wikipedia). If I were choosing a major or minor again, I might consider studying Informatics, because it combines study of technologies and human behavior.

Possible Paths

  • Undergraduate or Master’s level degree in Informatics or Computer Science
  • Practical experience designing and coding websites
  • Attend conferences and webinars

Communication

I started my first post baccalaureate job in 1997 at a small public relations and marketing communications firm in Northern Indiana. There, I was part of a new and emerging industry and marketing concept called “New Media.” Today we would call it digital communications marketing (or some combination of those terms).

Basically, our department’s goal was to create and sell web and multimedia products to clients in many industries, including higher education. I began my job in the very late 90s, so web marketing was just getting started. I was in on the ground floor and in a very tough, small market. Sink or swim.

The skills that I used most were writing and speaking. I had to think quickly, relate to clients’ needs and situations, and had to translate my knowledge of technology into a language relevant and recognizable to novices. My education in liberal arts and web technologies was highly relevant and useful.

In 2002, I formally moved into the realm of higher education because I was offered a great opportunity to join the University of Notre Dame. Notre Dame’s administration was experimenting with pulling together group of technology professionals whose goal would be to deliver Internet- and web-related services to campus. We served clients on campus, much as I did in my previous job, and thus I needed functional creative and technical skills. This job was similar to my first position in that I interacted with clients and also managed and built websites.

However, the most essential skills I used were language, writing, and public speaking because most of our web services and resources were entirely new (and even somewhat mysterious) to most people on campus. We not only were trying to deliver new technologies to advance the university through digital media, but we also had an opportunity to teach people how to embrace these new technologies. So, two other factors that predict success in the web industry includes the desire to teach others and the ability to communicate–speak and write–effectively and efficiently.

Possible Paths

  • Undergraduate or Master’s level degree in any liberal arts, social science, or business discipline
  • Practice designing and giving presentations, writing and editing.(keep a blog, enlist friends and colleagues to critique your work)
  • Marketing degree or MBA. Many business schools offer classes in digital marketing as part of an overall marketing major.

Social Skills

I made the transition to management when I was given the opportunity to create a new web marketing office at Notre Dame. Most of what I dealt with on a day-to-day basis was being a change agent. Being a change agent was also a prominent and similar characteristic of my next job at Washington University as the first executive director of digital communications marketing.

Understanding how relationships are made, how trust is so crucial to gaining respect and opportunity, and how behaviors and attitudes are shaped are all core competencies of a change agent, and are topics fundamental to sociological and social psychological theory. Because I had a basic formal education in sociology, I could recognize and understand the circumstances around me.

Additionally, success for a digital manager is hypothesizing how people will behave and react, then studying the real outcomes through metrics. Sociology includes both theories of social change and disorganization and has disciplined methods for studying such change.

Finally, in order to understand how to best market a university, one must fully understand the culture and nature of the environment. Individuals who are to be successful in a higher education environment need to understand the intersection between digital marketing and academic culture. Success means care for and sensitivity to how faculty, administrators, staff, and students think, work, and behave.

What does care and sensitivity look like? It means learning a new language and relating to people as individuals. This became very evident to me when I had a person job shadow me. They spent the entire day with me seeing my interactions with coworkers, team leadership, and clients, all on campus. We had meetings, wrote e-mails, and also conducted a staff meeting. At the end of the day, the person who shadowed me made an obvious observation yet one that I never fully appreciated until then. She said that she expected to see a lot more technology and me working in isolation but really, the work I did looked more like social work.

Possible Paths

  • Bachelor’s or Master’s level degree in Social Science discipline (Psychology, Sociology, Communication, Social Work)
  • Practical experience leading team projects
  • Foreign language and/or overseas experience

Final Note

Thanks to Kristen Groves (@kristenread) from Queen’s University for the question.

Posted in Marketing, Strategy | Permalink

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Announcement: Taking on New Clients

March 26th, 2012 | Posted in Marketing

I am pleased to announce that I am currently taking on new clients.

Let’s work together. Because I recently completed a major consulting agreement, I now have openings for new assignments. I seek partners in higher education and not-for-profits. If you are interested in collaborating, please contact me.

Thank you to those who have reached out in the last few months. I appreciate the opportunity to help you address your digital marketing strategy needs.

To those of you who read this blog regularly, thank you. I appreciate your support and look forward to continuing to sharing my thoughts and conversing with you.

Posted in Marketing | Permalink

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The ultimate, ultra-simple, real, authentic, University website homepage wireframe concept.

March 1st, 2012 | Posted in Marketing, Strategy, Tactics

I had this idea a few years ago, but I believe it still holds true today. University websites try so hard to be everything for everyone. Not wanting to make anyone unhappy with a site makes it unfortunately more complicated. This wireframe may seem too idealistic, but when you think about it, this is what all higher education homepages are trying to accomplish.

March 6, 2012: Visits, feedback, and discussion about this post have been numerous. I appreciate the responses and interest in this abstract theory. Obviously, it is a humorous illustration based on real truths. By request, I am working on a follow up post to explain how I came up with this concept. Thank you for your support.

April 13, 2012: The follow up post to this article is now available. Thank you for your feedback and discussion. Please read about how “Your .edu Website is Too Complicated.”

Posted in Marketing, Strategy, Tactics | Permalink

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Is Pinterest of value to higher education marketing?

February 28th, 2012 | Posted in Marketing, Tactics

Pinterest is clearly an emerging social media platform that is being discussed in higher education marketing. It is a topic that most admins and digital staff at universities and colleges are debating.

Pinterest in Higher Education?

I recently asked the LinkedIn Group Digital Communications Marketing in Higher Education to vote on whether or not they believe Pinterest has value to higher education marketing. So far, 82% believe it is too early to tell. And, there are some very insightful comments.

What is your opinion about Pinterest in higher education? Join the group to take the quick poll and post your comments.

About LinkedIn Group: Digital Communications Marketing in Higher Education

This group is for marketing and communications professionals who work in the higher education industry. Use it to share ideas, network, and practices that emphasize web and digital communications. The group is limited to individuals currently working for higher education schools, colleges, and universities. Join the group.

If you are not currently in higher education and would like to comment, please share your thoughts about Pinterest on Google+. (Ironic.)

Posted in Marketing, Tactics | Permalink

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Hulu – The Simpsons: The D’Oh-cial Network

January 30th, 2012 | Posted in Marketing

On the lighter side, this episode of The Simpsons will definitely make anyone in social media and/or digital communications marketing laugh. I thought it was pretty funny. Here’s an embed from Hulu.com in case you have not already seen it.

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