Community College Marketing Master Class

Guisselle Nuñez, director of public relations, marketing, and governmental relations at Chabot-Las Positas Community College District and author of Take Charge of Your Brand, is a dynamic, hands-on, and insightful personal brand expert who provides participants with bite-sized, quick and easy techniques to help them weave personal branding into their daily professional and personal actions. 

In this episode, Guisselle and Cheryl Broom discuss why your personal brand is important as well as techniques you can use to manage and develop it. The two also talk about Cheryl’s experience in going through Guisselle’s exercises, and how being vulnerable allowed Cheryl to better understand what her brand is and how she can own it in her everyday life. 

Show Notes:

Contact Guisselle Nuñez by emailing [email protected]

To learn more about Guisselle’s book, visit http://guissellenunez.com/

Dr. Bridget Herrin is the acting dean of institutional effectiveness at San Diego Mesa College and the executive director for the Center of Organizational Responsibility and Advancement (CORA). In this episode, Dr. Herrin and Cheryl talk all things data—from conducting literature reviews to get a better understanding of issues colleges are facing, to conducting original research at the college to improve institutional effectiveness, support marketing and communications efforts, and assist in enrollment management strategies. They also discuss how to #HumanizeData to share the story behind the numbers, how IE departments have changed over the years, limitations in research, issues around equity, and how CORA supports educators in expanding their capacity to serve historically underrepresented populations. 

Learn more about the Center of Organizational Responsibility and Advancement (CORA) at coralearning.org. 

Kaua’i Community College Marketing Director Gary Ellwood has over 25 years of experience in all facets of media production. Prior to joining community colleges, Gary traveled all over the world to film events like the Super Bowl and Olympics and tell stories through video. Now, in his current role, Gary is in charge of building pride around the college through marketing and outreach. 
 
 In this episode, Gary and Cheryl Broom of Interact discuss the challenges of marketing a community college, especially to a rural community that thinks it already knows the college. Gary also shares his storytelling secrets and offers advice on what colleges can do to form stronger connections with prospective students and welcome them to your college community. 

***This podcast was recorded in November 2019***

Financial aid is complicated, even for those who work at colleges and are familiar with it. So, how exactly can colleges better communicate with students to make sure they are getting the support they need to be successful? In this episode, financial aid expert Mike Dear breaks down the complexities of financial aid and provides tips on what colleges can do to better serve students. Mike and Interact President Cheryl Broom also discuss how interesting financial aid actually is, and how it impacts students across the United States. 

***This episode was recorded in January 2020***

Interact teamed up with Google and digital marketing partner ReachLocal to provide a webinar on the shifts that are taking place in digital behavior so colleges can reach students in the right space and at the right time. 
 
The webinar was recorded on April 16th, 2020 and covered a range of topics, including:

• Google's education insights
• the student journey
• how to better understand and connect with students today
• how putting this in practice can lead to a successful campaign

Because Google's content is exclusive and is made available only to the webinar attendees, this podcast episode is an abbreviated version of the webinar, reviewing some of Google's key takeaways and focusing on the remaining parts of the presentation with content provided by Interact and ReachLocal. Both groups build on Google's segment by showing colleges how they can shift their digital marketing strategies to maximize the return on advertising investment.
 
 To view the recorded webinar and access supplementary materials including the presentation, visit Interact's news center at news.interactcom.com. 

With COVID-19 impacting community colleges, Interact CEO Dr. Pamela Cox-Otto brought together two marketing and public relations specialists who are on the leading edge of community colleges affected by the current situation in the state of Washington. Kelly Green, chief community relations officer at South Puget Sound Community College and Katherine Schiffner, director of public relations at Everett Community College shared their experiences of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, and discussed how they have handled the changes to their respective colleges. 
 
 The discussion covered:

• How they have dealt with news of local cases in their communities and the overwhelming attention of outside media sources
• How they have dealt with new concerns brought about by COVID-19 and how they have learned from other institutions
• How they adapted and implemented plans to deal with emergency communications and communicate with local governmental authorities and services
• How their respective colleges have handled the challenge of shifting in-person classes to online, what has been done to accommodate programs that could not easily be adapted, and how they have handled requests for resources necessary for faculty and students to participate in online classes
• How they are planning for the delay or cancellation of other in-person events, such as courses with mandatory labs or commencement ceremonies

To access additional COVID-19 resources, click here. 

With COVID-19 impacting community colleges, Interact Communications decided to put together a live webinar with crisis communications expert Scott Summerfield with SAE Communications, Interact CEO Dr. Pam Cox-Otto, and Interact president Cheryl Broom.

The presentation covered:

• Higher education and local agency communications response trends
• Crisis communications best practices that ensure the community stays informed
• Media relations tips to communicate ongoing challenges
• Internal communications tips to keep staff and faculty informed and supportive
• What’s next: From commencement cancellations to declining enrollment, what you can do now to prepare

After the initial presentation, there was about an hour of Q&A. The webinar was held at 10 a.m. PDT / 12 p.m. CDT on Thursday, March 19th.

To access the presentation and watch the webinar, click here. 

Chris Walker, vice president of Interact Communications, is an award-winning marketer and digital leader who has nearly 20 years of agency experience with a focus on web development, digital strategy, and media.
 
 In this episode, Chris and Cheryl discuss the evolving world of digital marketing and how colleges can utilize the latest tools to maximize results. 

Erin Green, director of digital marketing strategy (DMS) enablement at LOCALiQ, is an expert in marketing in the digital space and is fluent in speaking “nerd.” She is a nationally recognized speaker, award-winning marketer and sales leader, and has worked with a number of leading organizations including Nike, FedEx, and Susan G. Komen. She’s also been a featured speaker for organizations like Google and Facebook. 

In this episode, Erin and Cheryl discuss influenceable moments and how colleges can leverage those moments in the digital space to form stronger connections with audiences. 

Show Notes:
To view the presentation from the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations District 1 conference in Providence, click here.

It's been a productive year, and as we reflect on it, we can see so much has changed in the world of community colleges in such a short period of time. Looking ahead to 2020, we are expecting even more big things to come, and there are several clues from this year that help us formulate those predictions.

In this episode, Dr. Pamela Cox-Otto, CEO of Interact, and Cheryl Broom, president of Interact, share the top community college trends of 2019 and tell you what should be on your radar in the new year.

Show Notes:
17:00 - Schoolcraft College
35:05 - *Date To Be Confirmed*

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