Is There Time for Your University Brand?

At SimpsonScarborough we regularly help colleges and universities uncover valuable perspective and insight on their brands. Not only are our clients trying to tighten their stories, address key institutional objectives or launch new initiatives, but they’re also hoping for a bit more love and engagement from those closest to them.

The biggest reason cited for a lack of engagement—regardless of whether it’s alumni, students, academic peers and influencers, prospects, or employees—is time. They’re busy. And your brand is not front of mind.

Recent studies on social interactions only confirm this:

• 7% of Facebook fans and 0.3% of Twitter followers of the top 50 US brands say they interact with those brands on social media
• And just 0.5% of Facebook fans interact with posts of brands they follow
• Even the most loved brands—Nike, Channel, Porsche, Harley Davidson—struggle to see 0.5% interaction on their Facebook channels

The eruption of digital and social channels has provided colleges and universities with an opportunity to engage more than ever before. But as Umair Haque points out in HBR’s Your Digital Strategy Shouldn’t Be About Attention:

“You can’t just communicate. You have to elevate.”

And as Daniel Newman’s Forbes post Marketing: Building A Customer-Centric Marketing Ecosystem noted:

“Today’s marketing has evolved from focusing on the 4Ps to a more complex system where the 4Ps are intricately linked with creating a memorable customer experience along every point of the buyer’s journey.”

So what’s a higher ed brand to do? In recent posts, I’ve insisted that higher ed must embrace the notion of relevance and marketing as a service rather than promotion or bragging.

Here are some things to consider:

• How focused is your marketing department in ensuring that simple tasks—signing up for a tour, getting directions, or ordering a transcript—are easy? Doing so will build loyalty.
• Are you exploring the ways that you might connect students with resources and support during their experience? They’ll remember when they become alumni.
• Keep your content choices light. People only have seconds of attention. Give them things that are easy to share and fun. Save the deep experience (and long copy) for things that require it.
• Accept this reality—they likely won’t see your post. Social content means nothing these days without a push behind it. Be prepared to promote (and pay) to get results.

Time is a precious commodity. Be respectful.