For anyone who has reinvented themselves, that is something you have lived with. For anyone in the digital space that moves very quickly, that is something you also deal with. For anyone who works at a college or university, I would also bet that is something you deal with.

What does your college stand for? Why should a prospective student go there versus their other options? According to Albert, if you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.

Last week, I was at a meeting with a client in the Mid-Atlantic region. We were meeting with a variety of stakeholders from the university who have a variety of experiences and jobs in the university.

For quite a few, marketing isn’t their main job. So I first needed to explain why we were there, and what our company did. “We’re an Inbound Marketing Firm”. Really. What’s that?

“We consult and provide our clients with marketing activities that bring visitors to you rather than having to go out and get prospects attention”. Sounds great! What are some of those activities? “Blogs, videos, social media activities, SEO. Basically rich, relevant content that attracts the right prospects.” Simply explained.

So after the introductions, we reviewed a number of the school’s competitors websites. Guess what, they all sounded eerily similar. Hands on experience, small class sizes, a commitment to excellence. It really is amazing how many schools sound alike — a real sea of sameness.

How can you break free from that sea of sameness? Can you explain it simply enough that it can be clearly understood?

That is the challenge for all colleges and universities as they embark on website redesign projects or any other inbound marketing campaigns. Content is the fuel that drives all inbound marketing activities. Rich, authentic content that speaks directly to what your prospects are looking for. And, in order to do that well, you need a strong brand identity that can be explained clearly and concisely.