Episode 26: We’re going meta this time with a podcast episode all about podcasting!  When Lauren Milbourne and Christopher McGuinness were challenged with creating a podcast for the president of Allan Hancock College, they undertook important strategy and planning work before executing their vision. This approach resulted in a lot of success for their communications team, the president, and the school.  In this episode of Higher Education Coffee & Conversation, Lauren and Chris sit down with me to share takeaways from launching and producing a successful podcast that I found extremely helpful - and I think you will too.  I’ve even started applying some of their tips to this episode, which you’ll hear towards the end of the show!  From theme and format options to production and planning strategies to branding and equipment - if you’ve ever thought about starting your own podcast you won’t want to miss this super-informative conversation.   

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Episode 25: If your school is thinking about launching an app, or already has one and you want to make sure it is designed to be effective, you won’t want to miss my super informative conversation with Niall Adler, Director of Marketing at Mission College in Santa Clara, California. Niall led a nine-month process to build an app that has proven to be a useful tool for students and college communicators alike. One key lesson: function over form. “I know of a school that created an app for its athletic department that looked really pretty, but it was completely useless to students.  It needs to function. It needs to do something because you want students to come back to it.”  From designing an effective development process to the importance of research to the strategic relationship between your app and your website, Niall shares valuable lessons learned from a ground-level perspective.  

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Episode 24: The volatile mix of alumni pride and shifting cultural sensitivities makes changing mascots a thorny challenge for schools and their communities.  My guest on this episode, Jennie McCue, lived through each tricky step of that process recently as Director of Marketing and Communications at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, California.  Jennie has many enlightening and entertaining lessons to share about handling this change that can apply as well to other campus conflicts that are imbued with passionate advocates on all sides. Bottom line: an inclusive, patient, transparent process will produce the best results.  Check out this fun and deeply informative conversation for all the details, including whether or not it makes sense to work with outside agencies on these projects. 

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The volatile mix of alumni pride and shifting cultural sensitivities makes changing mascots a thorny challenge for schools and their communities.  My guest on this episode, Jennie McCue, lived through each tricky step of that process recently as Director of Marketing and Communications at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, California.  Jennie has many enlightening and entertaining lessons to share about handling this change that can apply as well to other campus conflicts that are imbued with passionate advocates on all sides. Bottom line: an inclusive, patient, transparent process will produce the best results.  Check out this fun and deeply informative conversation for all the details, including whether or not it makes sense to work with outside agencies on these projects. 

Episode 23: Brad Phillips is a numbers guy, but he’s the first to tell you they won’t help you persuade your audience unless you use them the right way. “In the end human beings don’t remember numbers. They remember how they feel. So, it’s really important that you pick just a couple of key data points and focus on telling a story using the data.” Brad spent many years using data himself to help students succeed in California’s community college system before founding the Institute for Evidence-Based Change. Through IEBC, he’s helping education stakeholders throughout the country craft data-informed solutions to improve practice and increase student success. He and his team also counsel clients on the keys to storytelling based on years of experience, and the Disney storytelling formula. On top of all of that, he’s created the increasingly popular Caring Campus initiative to help employees learn simple behaviors that can have a dramatic impact on a student’s sense of belonging, which studies show is key to keeping them on their educational journey.  You’ll leave this conversation with a new sense of the possibilities of data as a communications tool, and a new appreciation of the importance of each and every college employee making an effort to connect with students. 

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Episode 22: If digital marketing is an essential piece of your student recruitment strategy but you aren’t sure what NAP, EAT, PPC or SEM stand for, you’ll want to listen carefully to my guest today who has great tips to make sure you are optimizing the impact of this approach.  Chris Barton is the Chief Product Officer at Gannet USA, and has run countless digital marketing campaigns over his two-decade career in the industry. He says many companies are not quite as savvy as they should be about what search engines are looking for. “There are a lot of basics that people just miss.” Prime examples include keeping your content fresh and consistent, and making sure your site loads quickly and looks good on mobile devices.  Chris also has great insights on what type of keywords can be ‘nuggets of gold’, how to be smart about the use of negative keywords, the power of ad extensions and drip campaigns, and making sure you aren’t limiting yourself to Google. We also take a fascinating look ahead at major changes in data privacy and the exciting opportunities that await communications pros in the ‘metaverse.’ 

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Episode 21: “Websites which try to be everything to everybody may end up being nothing to nobody.”  That’s just one of the many great insights learned in the trenches of higher ed communications by today’s guest Karen Norton, executive director of Integrated Marketing and Communications at Bunker Hill Community College in Boston.

Karen’s deep experience in web design and content strategy has been critical over the past year as we worked together to create a student-focused site for Bunker Hill that also meets the needs of faculty and staff. It’s a challenging time to be revamping a website because, thanks to COVID-19, more people on campus than usual are invested in there being an effective online presence. That’s where research comes in.  “Sometimes you have to say no. Having research gives you good reasons to back up your decision,” she shares. Karen is full of fresh tips on timelines, strategy, search, mobile-first design and how to use navigation to accommodate multiple audiences. If you’re planning a website overhaul, or in the middle of one, this is a can’t miss conversation.

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Episode 1: Hundreds of community colleges across the nation have committed to the Guided Pathways approach to boost completion rates and student success, but there are various challenges to building a program and keeping stakeholders on board.  In this episode, I’m so happy to bring you a wisdom drop from Renee Craig-Marius, formerly the vice president of Student Services at Reedley College and now the executive vice president of educational programs at Gavilan College, who provides valuable insights into her institution’s five-year journey with this model.  “It’s been a paradigm shift in how we see and serve our students.  It’s really ‘becoming the village’ - as I call it -- for our students so they feel connected and supported and welcomed and engaged to complete their goals.” Tune in to hear Renee share lessons learned about getting stakeholders onboard early, establishing a solid foundation that will withstand change, and being comfortable with going slowly. Plus, she talks about the touchpoint opportunities Guided Pathways created that deepened connections with students. You’re going to learn a lot.

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Episode 19: One of the most valuable projects I’ve done involved hiring “secret shoppers” to pose as students so they could check out colleges known for their marketing prowess and learn what they do so well.  On this special episode of Higher Education Coffee & Conversation, you’ll listen-in to a webinar presentation I recently did with Tony Teng, Dean of Advanced Technology and Applied Science at Saddleback College, during which we divulge some smart ways these institutions use marketing to rise above the clutter. Whether it’s creating customized webpages for interested students, relying more on texting than email, or making the best use of Tik Tok, there’s a lot to learn in this session including ideas you can implement right away. And while holiday shopping only happens once a year, you can do secret shopping anytime!

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Episode 18: Today I talk to actor, producer, writer and director Andres Orozco who has taught Screen Arts and Communications at Pepperdine University for 20 years. Andres is also the co-founder and co-owner of the award-winning production company Novelas Educativas, which creates culturally-relevant digital content across all platforms. We talk about his approach to creating authentic content and culturally-resonant marketing campaigns and what the changing landscape of higher education means for students and for institutions. Andres believes messaging based on the prestige of higher education doesn’t cut it in a world where young people are questioning the value of college relative to heavy student debt.  Instead, a message centered on self-determination is more effective. “I tell my students college is about giving you the power to say no and giving you the power to live your life the way you want to live it.  They understand that and they’re like, ‘That’s what I want.’” We also explore Latino subcultures and even swap a couple of casserole stories! If you’re looking to spice up your own storytelling and make sure you reach the Latinx audience in an authentic way, then you’ll love this conversation. 

Thanks for listening!

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