posted by Gina Patterson on July 31, 2014 in Converge Blog
This October, Converge 2014 will highlight what’s new and what’s next in higher education marketing. In this series of blog posts, Digital Marketing Intern, Gina Patterson asks our presenters three key questions. Read on to find out more about our passionate presenters and the importance of their topics.
Name: Julie Campbell
Organization: Ball State University
Presentation: Web Strategy
Date and Time: Tuesday, October 14 2:15-3:15pm
Summary: Amidst the buzzwords and concepts of interactive marketing (content strategy, inbound marketing, search engine marketing, and Google Analytics to name a few), it’s important to remember that your institutional web is one very important part of an integrated marketing strategy. As such, we must use the web to tell a cohesive and compelling brand story, and to move our audiences to action. In order to do so, there are questions and concepts to consider.
Takeaways:
- Do you know who your website is really serving?
- Is your website telling your story, and telling it well? How do you know?
- How do you define success with your interactive marketing efforts? Are you proactive about protecting your business goals on the website? Why or why not?
GP: Tell Converge 2014 attendees more about yourself.
JC: I landed in interactive marketing and higher education after holding various marketing, communications, and information technology positions at places like Johnson & Johnson, Fleet Laboratories, Ball Corporation, Tandy Corporation, and at smaller businesses (including one owned by my father). I also owned a consulting business many years ago. At that time you could build a reputable website by using HTML, JavaScript, and Microsoft FrontPage.
My passion, however, is storytelling. I believe stories are what move people to engage, believe, commit, etc. Telling a compelling brand story is challenging, but rewarding when you reach your intended audience.
GP: Where do you see web strategy going in the next year, five years?
JC: I don’t suppose it builds my credibility and reputation to say, “I don’t know.” But I don’t. This area is mostly one of rapid change. However, I believe that two things aren’t going to change. First, we must prioritize telling good stories and creating good content regardless of where we put it – online or in print. Second, since we are now able to measure results, especially online, we need to create accountability about where we spend time. What are we doing, why are we doing it, and how will we know it is working? Other industries have been responsible for this type of measurement for years. Higher Education needs to be better about this given the demands coming from stakeholders.
GP: What are the biggest challenges around web strategy?
JC: What I have seen that prohibits good interactive strategy is not having a sufficient understanding of what it takes to create and implement a good website (and social media, digital advertising, etc.) including an appropriate budget, a process for communication, and a dedication to measurement and business procedure. Leadership has to embrace these concepts, or the website becomes a breeding ground for political battles and mere appeasement projects. This is in general problematic, but even more so considering that the web and other interactive channels are the ones that are the most public, and the ones with the most reach and influence.
I also think a challenge in higher education is not utilizing the expertise of all those on campus. We have the opportunity to collaborate with some of the brightest minds to achieve excellent results, and sometimes we end up doing redundant work in silos because we haven’t prioritized communication and relationships.
