An Email Minute Blog

The earth may be shifting under your feet again — 140 characters at a time.

Just as you begin to grasp social networking, along comes Twitter, a form of connected communication that restricts users to 140 characters. (Exactly the length of that sentence.)

Dismissed early on as a way for mostly self-absorbed youth to report on every mundane action and thought, it has emerged as a powerful communication tool. Many media experts, for example, marvel that Twitter users learned about the recent earthquake in China before news outlets began reporting it. Moreover, the micro-blogging tool allowed victims and observers of the quake to continually offer on-the-spot updates.

Marketing executive Max Kalehoff is a devoted user of Twitter, which he sees as an important means of one-to-one and one-to-group communications.

“Twitter’s a great platform to cultivate trusted members in a customized community — to solicit feedback and spark interaction on real questions and issues.”

Sounds like a great tool for staying in touch with college-bound teens and for building that all-important sense of community. Prospective students can click a “follow” button to get your updates, or “tweets.” You can then converse, bulletin-board-style, posting new tweets via cell phone, IM services or a box on Twitter’s site.

You can share your observations on the admissions process, offer answers to commonly-asked questions, post deadline reminders and updates, announce events, report news, maybe even share some gossip — all to a group that has chosen to follow your every word.

“These posts,” says Kalehoff, “are published quickly and, usually, publicly. While there are risks and obligations with that, there are also huge benefits and opportunities associated with being spontaneous and visible. It’s part of being in the conversation and managing your digital reputation.”

To read Max Kalehoff’s article on “Why Twitter Matters,” click below:
blogs.mediapost.com/spin/?p=1296

To learn more about social media and other interactive tools, attend a special one-day workshop:
www.targetx.com/workshop/

Al DiGuido is the godfather of email marketing and has been a force in communications technology for decades. So it is significant that the recent “epiphany” he experienced during a 20-hour flight to India had nothing to do with e-communications. It was about family — and customers.

More specifically, it was the realization that most of us have to change our attitude. “See your customers as family members, as individuals you want to have close relationships with,” he writes. “See electronic communications as the way in which you stay in touch, ask them questions, understand what’s going on in their world, comprehend their struggles, figure out how you can help them.”

All too often we blame technology for failures to convert prospects and retain customers. “But technology isn’t the problem,” DiGuido says. “You are the problem. Your attitude toward your customers and how you communicate with them.”

One of the keys to better communication is to learn as much about your prospective students as possible. Then, says DiGuido, you need to treat them as unique individuals. “Your family members don’t want to see themselves as a segment or target. They want communications that are personalized, relevant and meaningful to them as individuals.”

So do today’s prospective students and parents, and the technology is available to satisfy them. “Your failure to address their needs separates them from your company and puts them on a mission to find another home to call their own, says DiGuido”

“The bad news is you are the problem,” he concludes. “The good news is that you can solve your problem by taking the appropriate actions.”

To read DiGuido’s challenge to marketers, visit:
www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3629328

They lurk in the digital jungle, hiding their identity and disguising their interest until suddenly their applications arrive — usually online — and admissions officers wonder where they came from. These students are called “stealth applicants” and they’re growing in number, according to a new survey from the Chronicle of Higher Education.

“Technology has fueled the trend,” wrote Chronicle senior reporter Eric Hoover. Students can find tons of information about colleges on their websites and other places online. Many institutions allow students to file free electronic applications. And the Common Application has further simplified the process.

The result is a dramatic jump in the number of students whose applications are their first contact with schools. And that poses a challenge, writes Hoover. “In the competitive admissions market, getting more prospective students is a bonus. But out-of-the-blue applications also complicate the jobs of admissions officials.”

Not surprisingly, the yield rate is typically lower for stealth applicants. That’s troubling for schools like Earlham College, where “secret shoppers” filed 35 percent of the applications for Fall 2008.

The problem, says Earlham’s dean of admissions, is that stealth candidates have not had personal contacts with the school — contacts that build a critical connection between the institution and the student. Those connections, says Jeff Rickey, are reflected in the yield rate.

One key to establishing those connections may lie with the same force that is spawning the stealth applicants — the Web. Electronic tools like social networking, blogs, online chats and instant messaging provide opportunities to connect with out-of-the-blue candidates once their applications are received.

When those students get to know the people — and not just facts and figures — they may be more likely to commit to the greatest influencer of enrollment success: the campus visit.

To read about Earlham College’s experience with stealth applicants, visit:
www.earlham.edu/publicaffairs/content/pressroom/archive/2008/january/080108s-stealth.php

As a pioneer in podcasting, ad man John January is often asked how to produce a successful product that brings people back again and again. “A great podcast is in the ear of the beholder,” he says, “but I believe the best ones do have a few things in common.”

- They’re authentic. “They are not spinned, overproduced or dumbed down. The podcast’s real power is that it is a channel for real conversations.”

- They have passion. “If participants don’t possess a genuine zeal for the content they’re producing, a podcast is the wrong vehicle for them.”

- They say something. “Audiences expect a podcast to have a point of view. This means participants have no fear of speaking out or editorializing.”

- Length varies, entertainment doesn’t. “There’s no right length, although 15 to 20 minutes is a good place to start. But keep it entertaining. I once read that podcasts should avoid the use of humor. That’s laughable.”

Maybe the best known name in college podcasting is Mansfield University’s Dennis Miller, who started an admissions podcast in 2005 that is still going strong.

Miller decided from the outset that his interviews would be unscripted. He wanted a sense of immediacy and reality. He would keep the podcasts short — typically between 15 and 18 minutes. And he would keep them as light and informal as possible.

Miller is a college public relations officer, January runs a commercial ad agency. They face different audiences, but they share a similar recipe for successful podcasting.

To see Mansfield University’s lineup of podcasts, visit:
podcast.mansfield.edu/

And if you don’t already listen to TargetX’s Recruiting Revolution podcast, click below:
www.targetx.com/knowledge/index.html

After helping one daughter conduct a college search the old fashioned way, Michelle Slatalla is getting used to the Web 2.0 world — even attending her first virtual college fair on behalf of a younger daughter.

The self-confessed helicopter parent recounted her experiences at the recent CollegeWeekLive, an online event designed to connect students and schools in an interactive 3D environment. She offered mixed reviews in a New York Times essay:

“I pointed out [to my daughter] that by attending the free two-day fair, she could quickly gather a lot of information without bankrupting me with expensive trips to visit all 150 of the participating college campuses (which, believe me, she would like to do).”

On day one of the event, Slatalla visited the cavernous main auditorium where she chatted with representatives from Bryn Mawr College, Colorado College and Northeastern University.

“It felt exciting to be talking almost simultaneously to three people at colleges hundreds of miles apart, all of us intelligently discussing such topics as the philosophy behind women’s colleges, co-op programs and block schedules,” she wrote.

“But I confess that when I reviewed the transcripts that evening, it didn’t look as if I’d learned much more than I would have from visits to those schools’ websites.” And she kept running into technical glitches that frustrated her.

Her daughter also found positives and negatives, leading the younger Slatalla to conclude, “I would prefer to go to a real, live college fair, but this seems like it could be an informational alternative for those who can’t.”

The bottom line: Virtual fairs will not replace the real thing anytime soon; so get ready for increasing pressure to do both.

To read Slatalla’s entertaining take on virtual campus hopping, visit:
www.nytimes.com/2008/04/10/fashion/10Cyber.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

To see an Email Minute on last month’s CollegeWeekLive, click below:
blogs.targetx.com/targetx/emailminute/?p=178

It’s one thing to hear from researchers and best-selling authors that “authenticity” is the newest critical ingredient in your outreach to prospective students. It’s quite another when the students tell you themselves — as only they can.

“As much as you want to sell your school, be honest,” wrote one high school student in response to a survey question. “If I could tell admissions one thing, I would ask them to not bullshit us.”

Marketing experts say it a little more delicately, but the bottom line is the same. It’s important these days to be candid, transparent and disarmingly frank about your flaws. Consumers love it, especially young people in search of the right college.

The student who offered such blunt advice to admissions officers was one of hundreds of juniors and seniors responding to a survey conducted for an admissions marketing session at next week’s annual conference of the Southern Association for College Admission Counseling (SACAC).

The last of 21 questions asked, “What advice would you give to colleges specific to their admissions marketing efforts?” One of the dominant themes was to keep it real, including:

“Be honest, clear and straightforward…Be more genuine…Every college has the same catch phrases that don’t really mean anything…Do not make the college seem so fake or like every other one…Be transparent…Don’t hide information (cost, entrance requirements, etc.)…Don’t overestimate how difficult it is to get into the school.”

“Please just be honest,” wrote one student in a particularly eloquent plea for authenticity. “People want to choose a school that is just the right fit for them, and hopefully colleges just want kids that are a good fit for them. And when both parties in the process try and make it seem that they are something that they aren’t, no one wins.”

Survey results will be available following next week’s SACAC session, which is entitled “Don’t Flirt With Me Unless You Mean It!” For a copy of the results, email emailminute@targetx.com

Presidential candidates trolling for votes is not unlike colleges stumping for students — including the interminable length of the campaigns. Marketer Heidi Cohen suggests that recruiters can learn a lot from politicians and their staffs.

Here’s a sampling. Feel free to substitute “students” for “voters”:

- Lay out an integrated strategy for reaching a diverse group of voters. Think long term. It’s not about one specific primary but rather the aggregate vote from all primaries.

- Raise sufficient funds. You need enough money to run an effective campaign across a broad base of constituents.

- Develop a message and related brand image. And keep them simple. With today’s short attention spans and news cycles, complex ideas are difficult to translate.

- Differentiate the message based on the target market. It’s important to think about the specific needs and concerns that voters are looking to satisfy.

- Debate other candidates. This is akin to comparison shopping, and something you should welcome. How do you stand up to your competition?

- Watch polling results. As with any good campaign, track results and modify your marketing accordingly.

To read Cohen’s article on what marketing lessons can be learned from the presidential primaries, visit:
www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3628880

Virtual recruiting took another step forward this week when about 100 colleges — including some of the nation’s elites — played host to thousands of prospective students at an online 3D college fair.

The two-day event enabled schools to meet teenagers where they live — on the Internet — and make quick, personal connections in a virtual world, wrote Joe Dysart for the online version of The Greentree Gazette, a higher education magazine.

“CollegeWeekLive” was designed to connect students and schools in a live, interactive environment — including one-to-one text and video chats between recruiters and attendees, video-streamed presentations from experts in admissions and financial aid, and a virtual exhibition hall where schools showed off their custom-designed 3D booths.

The fair, which ran March 25th and 26th, also offered a virtual resource center where visitors downloaded documents, videos and podcasts related to their college search, and were able to store that data in a personalized, virtual briefcase, reported Dysart.

“CollegeWeekLive represents a smart investment for us,” Colorado College’s Anna Jaquez-Herron told Dysart. The admission and financial aid officer said that the event enabled her school to reach out to a much broader spectrum of students from around the country — and around the world.

The fair will be offered again in September. To see what the event is like, click below:
www.collegeweeklive.com/virtualtour.html

To find out how successful this week’s virtual fair was, check with your colleagues at such institutions as MIT, Baylor, Arizona State, Northeastern, Lafayette, Oregon State, Drexel, Rutgers, WPI, the Naval Academy, Indiana University and Bryn Mawr College.

To see a complete list of schools, visit:
www.collegeweeklive.com/

Get used to the phrase “rendering authenticity,” say best-selling authors Jim Gilmore and Joe Pine. The day is coming when it better roll off your tongue as easily as “improving quality” and “controlling costs.”

Authenticity is the current buzzword in marketing, the new driver of consumer behavior and — according to Time Magazine — one of the 10 ideas that is changing the world.

“Promoting products as ‘authentic’ is serious business these days,” writes John Cloud in the current issue of Time. “Legendary business consultants Gilmore and Pine…argue that the virtualization of life has led to a deep consumer yearning for the authentic.”

Standard economic theory assumes that buyers are rational creatures who observe supply-and-demand laws, Cloud explains, but things have changed in recent years. Most people don’t simply look at price and quality and availability anymore. They decide how they feel about a product or company or institution before they buy.

“The crucial factor dividing success from failure in the next few years will be whether a business is perceived as real or fake, authentic or inauthentic,” writes Cloud.

This is especially true when attempting to recruit today’s marketing-savvy, hype-averse students. The Millennial generation wants to know the real you — blemishes and all.

That means being less of a control freak, being comfortable with student-generated content, using communications tools like blogs and social networks, learning to find and tell good stories, identifying the intangibles that differentiate you from your competitors, and other practices that help students know the real you — so they can decide if your school is the right place for them.

To read the Time article, click below:
www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1720049_1720050_1722070,00.html

To learn about Gilmore and Pine’s book on authenticity, visit:
authenticitybook.com/

As a Continental Airlines loyalty member, Elaine Fogel welcomed the email promising “continental.com specials for Elaine.” Needing to book a flight for a speaking engagement, she clicked the link in the email, eager to find departures from her home airport.

“Guess what? None there,” she wrote with some irritation in her blog for MarketingProfs. “OK, so they got my name right. But that’s where the personalization ended. Why send me a teaser for travel specials if they don’t have any from my city? Use personalized communication if the message is relevant to the recipient.”

While part of the magic of email broadcasting is the ability to send thousands of personalized messages in a matter of moments, the definition of personalization has changed. It’s no longer enough to merge first names into a salutation or subject line and feel you have done your job.

That’s especially true in higher education, where the audience is savvy and the expectations high when it comes to electronic communication. Prospective students know you have a lot of information about them — including what they want to major in, what extracurricular activities drive them, and what their financial circumstances are.

So Elaine Fogel would suggest you don’t send an email heralding your large selection of outstanding majors without acknowledging the recipient’s interest in, say, biology and perhaps including a link to a biology department landing page or blog or social network.

“Marketing response rates rise when communication is personalized. That’s what the stats tell us,” Fogel wrote. “But, what’s the point in doing it if you do it BADLY?”

To read Fogel’s post and readers’ comments, visit:
www.mpdailyfix.com/2008/02/whats_the_point_in_personalizi.html