It’s nice to see colleges and universities focus on strong branding campaigns. Check out Walden University’s new TV spots: www.walden.edu

For many years, it seemed educational institutions got caught up in ENROLL NOW, PICK-ME, LIMITED TIME OFFER messages and forgot to talk to people about how their institution can help them have a better life and why  that institution is right for them.

At EDU Interactive, we have always told our client colleges that staying true to the brand is important, and ultimately, will help increase enrollment . Yes, we all need to meet the lead goals, conversion expectations and fill classrooms, but at the same time, it’s important to remember what the university stands for and how they can help better people’s lives. Don’t get me wrong — there’s a place for the enroll now, limited time offer message, but it needs to be accompanied by a strong branding campaign that tells a story.

It’s nice to see colleges and universities focus on strong branding campaigns. Check out Walden University’s new TV spots: http://www.waldenu.edu/. 

For many years, it seemed educational institutions got caught up in ENROLL NOW, PICK-ME, LIMITED TIME OFFER messages and forgot to talk to people about how their institution can help them have a better life and why  that institution is right for them.

At EDU Interactive, we have always told our client colleges that staying true to the brand is important, and ultimately, will help increase enrollment . Yes, we all need to meet the lead goals, conversion expectations and fill classrooms, but at the same time, it’s important to remember what the university stands for and how they can help better people’s lives. Don’t get me wrong — there’s a place for the enroll now, limited time offer messages, but it needs to be accompanied by a strong branding campaign that tells a story and inspires people to want to go to school! 

Written by: Chelsea Koehnen, EDU Interactive Managing Director

Keeping up with Facebook best practices is a full-time job. The most important (and practical) advice I can give is to make a commitment before you get in the game. If you are not ready to distribute relevant, entertaining and highly engaging content, don’t bother. Also, make sure to make an effort to build your “fan base.” It takes time and effort.

Try to also stay up-to-date with Facebook’s latest offerings. For example,  Facebook is now making vanity URLs. So, now you can replace www.facebook.com/profile.php.123lotsof&nonsense&ref=name with www.facebook.com/yourname.

Have you met with a successful money manager that didn’t tell you that diversification was a must? The first recommendation a financial advisor typically recommends is diversification. It seems obvious and makes perfect sense, right? Why would any reasonable investor put all their eggs in one basket? They wouldn’t!

So, why do marketers feel they can spend their available advertising budget in one (or maybe two) initiatives?

The number of messages the average consumer is bombarded with is unheard of. The average consumer: reads the paper in the morning, listens to the radio on the way to work, passes a few billboards on the way in to work, fires up their office computer to read their latest RSS feed, checks their email, bookmarks their favorite site, reads the rest of their newspaper online, sends a few Tweets, comments on their favor blog, opens up their mail and the list goes on, and on, and on. And, in many cases, consumers are “consuming” two or more of these initiatives at the same time.

Not only do advertisers need to break through the clutter, they need to make an imprint on consumers in many, many different ways.

The whole idea of “social engagement” or “conversational marketing” is on my mind. (It’s hard not to be when just about everything I read related to advertising or marketing lately is centered on this concept.) It’s fascinating to watch the world of marketing change.

For years we have helped clients implement “socially engaging” campaigns to reach their customers, but the whole notion of social marketing has created a new buzz in marketing.

To quote a quintessential marketing cliché, it’s “top-of-mind” for most marketers. We often get questions about how to implement effective social marketing campaigns. Advertisers say they need to be on Twitter and need help implementing a campaign on Facebook that will result in a “good following,” but they don’t understand WHY it’s important to communicate to their customers through these vehicles. Really — how can you blame them when you see companies from the local gas station to dry cleaners asking customers to follow them on Twitter?

We explain to clients and prospects that it’s not just about adding a social marketing line item to their budget. It should be viewed as a new way of marketing and communicating to customers. Customers have opinions and they want to be heard. Brands that are not willing to listen, engage and respond will end up with unsatisfied customers.

From a personal perspective, when was the last time you made any major buying decision and did not consult a friend, family member or glanced at a network or review site to get information about the product/service you are about to purchase/use? Customers want to be heard and advertisers who are not listening are going to be left questioning why their customers are turned off and their bottom lines are in the red.