Jennifer Copeland's Blog on College and University Marketing

Live Blog: 2009 UCEA Marketing Seminar Wrap Up

Last week's UCEA 2009 Marketing Seminar was a great success. Thanks to all of you who submitted questions for sessions and the panel!

The common theme that resonated throughout the conference was that while there are many channels available to continuing education marketers today, you must take the time to master the fundamental channels first (email marketing, search engine marketing, and your web presence). Throughout the week, I overheard a lot of conversation about Twitter, Facebook, Second Life, etc, etc. As a panelist, these topics came up quite a bit. The best answer is that until you've mastered the foundational channels listed above, you don't really shouldn't be investing huge amounts of resources (money OR time) into emerging channels.

Another key theme was "just because you can doesn't always mean you should." Take the time to consider what it is that you are trying to accomplish (your objectives), how you plan to do that (strategy), and THEN consider what technologies will support that strategy. Thinking strategically is key and is what all Marketing 2.0 discussions must include.

For more on that note, last week in Scottsdale, I released a new whitepaper- How to Move Interactive Marketing Forward: A Primer for Continuing Education Marketers. If you'd like a copy of this paper, just email me at j.copeland@demandengine.com.

Live Blog: MarketingSherpa- Innovation All-Stars- Search Engine Marketing

Here are the key points/takeaways regarding search engine marketing:

Search budgeting can be a very powerful part of your plan. 49% of search agencies reported that their clients have too-small fixed budget and then go dark as search budgets are depleted too quickly. The preferred would be a more elastic approach. Key here is understanding your metrics and understanding the value of search prospects.

Live Blog: MarketingSherpa- Innovation All-Stars

Stefan Tornquist, Research Director of MarketingSherpa, was this morning's keynote speaker. Stefan provided a much-needed reality check for how CE units should be using interactive marketing in today's environment. The key takeaway? Master the fundamentals first.

Search marketing, email marketing, and web presence/engagement are the key fundamentals that must be mastered first. IF you have done that, then consider emerging channels that will work for you.

I'll be posting details from his session throughout the day (there were many...).

Live Blog: Introducing the CE Funnel: A New Way to Manage Continuing Education Outreach

Tim Copeland, Sungard Higher Education, delivered this session aimed at providing a new framework for measurement and accountability in continuing education marketing.

Many CE units have taken a narrow view in the role that prospect management plays in continuing education. Traditionally, CE has relied up lagging financial metrics; while these are important, they don’t provide leading insight into how you can manage along the way. 

Given the long decision cycle for students, we need a longer view. We need a more systematic approach that is aligned to how students make decisions.

Live Blog: Google- The Five Rules of Engagement

John Ploumitsakos from Google provided great insight on the current state of the Internet and how that should be impacting the way we currently market continuing education. Here are the main takeaways:

To frame the presentation, John shared thoughts on how the Internet has transformed since around 1994. Broken into 3 stages (1.0, 2.0, and 3.0), consider how the way we use the Internet has evolved:

Live Blog: 2009 UCEA Marketing Seminar

Today kicks off the 2009 UCEA Marketing Seminar in Scottsdale, Arizona. Things get under way this afternoon, so check back for posts on the following:


Marketing in the Age of the Internet
John Ploumitsakos
Google


New Ideas to Manage Continuing Education Outreach and Measure Success
Tim Copeland
SunGard Higher Education

Amidst Budget Cutbacks, There May be a Silver Lining for Continuing and Professional Education

According to an article in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, many firms are investing in developing managers (“Despite Cutbacks, Firms Invest in Developing Leaders”, Wall Street Journal, 02.09.09). Even companies in the midst of layoffs are finding the resources to invest in developing the leadership skills of managers. These companies are “hoping not to be caught short of strong managers when the economy recovers.”

Live Blog: 2009 UCEA Marketing Seminar

Starting Wednesday, February 11, I will be blogging live from the 2009 UCEA Marketing Seminar in Scottsdale, Arizona. Be on the lookout for posts on the following:

• Marketing in the Age of the Internet
• Innovation All-Stars - Research Driven Best Practices for Increasing Lead Volume and Quality
• New Ideas to Manage Continuing Education Outreach and Manage Success
• Inquiry Management 2.0
• and more!

Posts will start on Wednesday and run through mid-day Friday. Check back later this week for seminar highlights.

Four Interactive Marketing Resolutions for 2009

Another new year has started and like many of us, I’ve jumped on the bandwagon of committing to personal and professional improvements in the coming year (and this year, I’m determined these resolutions will extend beyond mid-January!). On that note, I’ve created a list of interactive marketing resolutions that each of us working in higher education marketing and enrollment management should take to heart in 2009.

Best of 2008

With the start of the new year, I thought we'd take one last look back at the best posts from 2008. Here are my personal favorites:

#1: How Students Actually Use Social Technologies


#2: ACHE 2008 Live Update: Stanford Shares How to Make Online Learning Work

#3: Death by a Thousand Cuts: The Email Marketing Practices of Undergraduate Admission Offices

In addition to the top three, I couldn't resist the urge to include (as my personal ultimate favorite post!) the post about the big change in my life in 2008 (Baby Copeland).

Happy new year and here's to a prosperous 2009!