In this bonus episode of AI for U, recorded live from HighEdWeb, Jacqueline Rowe, Assistant Director of Enrollment Communications and Analytics at Stony Brook University, discusses how AI is reshaping email marketing in higher education. Jacqueline shares the challenges her small team faces in managing personalized email campaigns and the tools they use to streamline communication, including AI-driven solutions like Slate and Gemini. She also touches on the role of AI in improving SEO and data analysis at Stony Brook.‍

Key Takeaways

• AI helps small teams manage large-scale personalized email communications without relying on expensive third-party vendors.
• Stony Brook University uses AI tools like Slate and Gemini to enhance email content, ensuring it resonates with target audiences.
• AI can be leveraged for SEO analysis, helping institutions identify key search terms driving traffic and optimizing content accordingly.
• Personalization and content assessment are the next frontiers for AI in higher education marketing, focusing on what truly engages different audiences.

How is AI being used in email marketing at Stony Brook University?
Jacqueline Rowe from Stony Brook University explains that her team uses AI to create more effective and personalized email campaigns, especially in a higher education landscape saturated with communication. With a team of just four managing all enrollment communications, Stony Brook's enrollment team needed a solution to stop outsourcing email creation to vendors. Instead, they brought the process in-house, using AI tools like Slate’s integrated AI feature and Gemini. These tools help refine email content, making it more engaging and tailored to specific audiences, such as prospective students and their parents.

What AI tools are Stony Brook using to streamline marketing communications?
Stony Brook relies on two primary AI tools for their email marketing efforts. The first is the AI feature integrated into Slate, their CRM. This tool helps Jacqueline’s team refine messaging by suggesting changes when communications become repetitive or less impactful. This is particularly useful when managing numerous inquiries and campaigns targeting different student populations. The second tool is Google’s Gemini, which Jacqueline prefers over other AI platforms like ChatGPT. Gemini allows her to tweak existing email content to make it more engaging and audience-specific, ensuring the language resonates with younger prospective students or their parents.

How does AI improve SEO and data analysis at Stony Brook?
Beyond email communications, Jacqueline is also exploring how AI can improve Stony Brook's SEO strategy. Her team uses AI to analyze how prospective students search for programs and other university-related information online. For instance, they discovered that terms like “Stony Brook acceptance rate” and lesser-known program names rank highly in search results. By understanding these search trends through AI-driven analysis, Stony Brook aims to enhance its SEO and ensure that relevant content reaches prospective students searching for the university.

What are the future goals for AI in marketing at Stony Brook?
Jacqueline sees personalization and content assessment as the next big steps for AI in higher education marketing. She hopes AI will help further tailor communication based on what resonates with specific audiences, and she plans to use AI tools to assess the effectiveness of these personalized campaigns. Additionally, she aims to integrate AI more deeply into SEO efforts, using data-driven insights to improve Stony Brook’s digital visibility and engagement. Her ultimate goal is to ensure that every marketing effort, from email communications to SEO strategies, is backed by data and tailored to the audience’s needs.

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AI for U is a part of the Enrollify Podcast Network. If you like this podcast, chances are you’ll like other Enrollify shows too! 

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