Getting a mention on social media is only half the win. Real engagement happens when we respond. This was Sabreen’s philosophy going into this shift in mentality for Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science. As the sole social media manager for the university, she decided to devote at least as much time to social listening (and responding, and reposting) as content creation. The results have been incredible for RFU: In under one year, their mentions have gone from 600 to 7,200 (that’s over 1,000% increase), and the number of people engaging on social (aka unique authors) from 170 to 1,600. Want to reach more people on social? Rebalance your listening to posting ratio and get these astonishing results.

Guest Name: Sabreen Alfadel

Guest Social:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/sabreen-alfadel/

Guest Bio: Sabreen Alfadel is the Digital Communications Specialist with the Division of Marketing and Brand Management at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, where she’s responsible for establishing and executing a strategy for the university’s social media channels. She specializes in content development for social media efforts and initiatives, actively engages in online conversations with prospective students, enjoys building connections around campus, and takes pride in revealing the university’s tight-knit community across social platforms. In Sabreen’s free time, she likes to attend concerts, cook, travel and discover new restaurants. 

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Connect With Our Host:
Dayana Kibilds
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dayanakibilds/

About The Enrollify Podcast Network:
Talking Tactics is a part of the Enrollify Podcast Network. If you like this podcast, chances are you’ll like other Enrollify shows too! 

Enrollify is made possible by Element451 —  the next-generation AI student engagement platform helping institutions create meaningful and personalized interactions with students. Learn more at element451.com.

Attend the 2025 Engage Summit! 
The Engage Summit is the premier conference for forward-thinking leaders and practitioners dedicated to exploring the transformative power of AI in education. Explore the strategies and tools to step into the next generation of student engagement, supercharged by AI. You'll leave ready to deliver the most personalized digital engagement experience every step of the way.

Register now to secure your spot in Charlotte, NC, on June 24-25, 2025! Early bird registration ends February 1st -- https://engage.element451.com/register

Email is a sea of sameness. Just ask any sophomore or junior in high school you know: they are getting bombarded with thousands of emails and they all sound the same. Katie Mills-Erickson wanted to break through the noise to share the University of Iowa story. But how? In email, it starts with the subject line. Her tactic was to change the tone so they would sound and feel more quirky, more human, more fun. The results were astonishing. Email open rates increased by 20%, with some emails hitting open rates in the 80-90% range. 

In the episode, we talk about Katie’s cool “My job is Email” shirt. 
You can get it here: https://www.raygunsite.com/products/my-job-is-email

Guest Name: Katelyn Mills-Erickson

Guest Social:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/katelyn-mills-erickson-957aa8188/

Guest Bio: Katie is currently a communications and marketing professional at the University of Iowa. She has worked in higher education for the past five years, primarily in the realm of admissions. When not at work, she enjoys bad reality dating shows, attending college football and women's basketball games, and spending time with her three kitties: Gerry, Watson, and Lacey.

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Connect With Our Host:
Dayana Kibilds
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dayanakibilds/

About The Enrollify Podcast Network:
Talking Tactics is a part of the Enrollify Podcast Network. If you like this podcast, chances are you’ll like other Enrollify shows too! 

Enrollify is made possible by Element451 —  the next-generation AI student engagement platform helping institutions create meaningful and personalized interactions with students. Learn more at element451.com.

Attend the 2025 Engage Summit! 
The Engage Summit is the premier conference for forward-thinking leaders and practitioners dedicated to exploring the transformative power of AI in education. Explore the strategies and tools to step into the next generation of student engagement, supercharged by AI. You'll leave ready to deliver the most personalized digital engagement experience every step of the way.

Register now to secure your spot in Charlotte, NC, on June 24-25, 2025! Early bird registration ends February 1st -- https://engage.element451.com/register

When yield is the focus, personalization is key. But, just how personalized could an event be? John and his team at Waukesha County Technical College had an idea to create an event where — no matter where you were in the post-app funnel — you would leave the event as an enrolled student. Yes, that included transferring credit, accepting, advising, scheduling courses, and committing — all as part of one single event. They called it, Admission Accomplished, and that they did: 75% of the attendees left the event completely enrolled.

Special shoutout to Kaylan Gaines and Dee Dee Wallace at WCTC who made Admission Accomplished a tactic we all want to try!

Check out Admission Accomplished: https://www.wctc.edu/events/admission-accomplished/index.php

Guest Name: John McGreal

Guests Social: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnfmcgreal/

Guests Bio: John McGreal has been an enrollment professional for his entire career and has worked for multiple styles of institutions. He is currently the Dean of Enrollment Services at Waukesha County Technical College in Pewaukee, WI. John has also been involved with NACAC and his state affiliate, the Wisconsin ACAC, serving as a member of the President's cycle for WACAC and on the Affiliates President's Council for NACAC. During his free time, John spends time with his family, watching and reading science fiction, is an avid sports fan, runs, and is a grill master.

- - - -

Connect With Our Host:
Dayana Kibilds
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dayanakibilds/

About The Enrollify Podcast Network:
Talking Tactics is a part of the Enrollify Podcast Network. If you like this podcast, chances are you’ll like other Enrollify shows too! 

Enrollify is made possible by Element451 —  the next-generation AI student engagement platform helping institutions create meaningful and personalized interactions with students. Learn more at element451.com.

Attend the 2025 Engage Summit! 
The Engage Summit is the premier conference for forward-thinking leaders and practitioners dedicated to exploring the transformative power of AI in education. Explore the strategies and tools to step into the next generation of student engagement, supercharged by AI. You'll leave ready to deliver the most personalized digital engagement experience every step of the way.

Register now to secure your spot in Charlotte, NC, on June 24-25, 2025! Early bird registration ends February 1st -- https://engage.element451.com/register

If the atomic unit of content is usually a story, what happens when we redefine it to be a snippet or a single quote? That’s what Mackenzie pondered, then implemented at UW-Eau Claire in preparation to launch their new website. In the process, she realized she had ready access to a treasure trove of content she could use to make quick videos, quotes, or add to emails. The results? Her team can produce meaningful content within hours instead of weeks, and the university is engaging with audiences it hadn’t quite reached before.

Guest Name: Mackenzie Huber

Guest Social: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mackenzie-m-huber/

Guest Bio: Mackenzie Huber is the Content Strategist for the office of Integrated Marketing and Communications at UW-Eau Claire in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Before joining the team at UWEC, she was the Associate Director of Digital Communications at Lawrence University. She is happiest during a brainstorming session with teammates, making lists on colorful sticky notes, or when she has an excuse to mind map a new idea. Currently engaged in her second full website rebuild, Huber is tired. When she's not working, Huber enjoys playing sand volleyball, eating soup, and hoarding books she'll never have time to read.

- - - -

Connect With Our Host:
Dayana Kibilds
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dayanakibilds/

About The Enrollify Podcast Network:
Talking Tactics is a part of the Enrollify Podcast Network. If you like this podcast, chances are you’ll like other Enrollify shows too! 

Enrollify is made possible by Element451 —  the next-generation AI student engagement platform helping institutions create meaningful and personalized interactions with students. Learn more at element451.com.

Attend the 2025 Engage Summit! 
The Engage Summit is the premier conference for forward-thinking leaders and practitioners dedicated to exploring the transformative power of AI in education. Explore the strategies and tools to step into the next generation of student engagement, supercharged by AI. You'll leave ready to deliver the most personalized digital engagement experience every step of the way.

Register now to secure your spot in Charlotte, NC, on June 24-25, 2025! Early bird registration ends February 1st -- https://engage.element451.com/register

The podcast Profcast at the University of Antwerp isn’t just thinking outside the box, it’s checking multiple boxes. Each episode features one professor, focusing on their research but also on the person behind the research. Building academic reputation? Check. Establishing good partnerships between academics and marketing in house? Check. Helping current students know their professors? Check. Reaching international audiences? Check. Celine Kuysters joins us to share how the podcast she co-created has generated over 27,279 listens in 31 countries over its four seasons.

Listen to Profcast episodes: https://www.uantwerpen.be/en/about-uantwerp/faculties/faculty-of-business-and-economics/news/profcast/

Guest Name: Celine Kuysters

Guests Social Handle: https://www.linkedin.com/in/celinekuysters/

Guests Bio: Celine is a Marketing and Communication Strategist at the University of Antwerp in Belgium. She started her career in higher education in 2019, with master’s degrees in both strategic communication and journalism. Besides being responsible for managing the faculty's international recruitment strategy, digital campaigns, content creation and social media, she is also committed to building its alumni community. Since 2022, she is part of the EMFD Marcom, Alumni and External Relations steering committee, and since 2023, part of the CASE Europe Newcomers Track. Having traveled to 33 countries and speaking 5 (and a half) languages, her nickname at work has become Celinternational. When she’s not abroad, she fills her spare time with pilates, fitness, photography and drives classic race cars with her dad.

- - - -

Connect With Our Host:
Dayana Kibilds
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dayanakibilds/

About The Enrollify Podcast Network:
Talking Tactics is a part of the Enrollify Podcast Network. If you like this podcast, chances are you’ll like other Enrollify shows too! 

Enrollify is made possible by Element451 —  the next-generation AI student engagement platform helping institutions create meaningful and personalized interactions with students. Learn more at element451.com.

Attend the 2025 Engage Summit! 
The Engage Summit is the premier conference for forward-thinking leaders and practitioners dedicated to exploring the transformative power of AI in education. Explore the strategies and tools to step into the next generation of student engagement, supercharged by AI. You'll leave ready to deliver the most personalized digital engagement experience every step of the way.

Register now to secure your spot in Charlotte, NC, on June 24-25, 2025! Early bird registration ends February 1st -- https://engage.element451.com/register

The task was monumental: Write career content for 70 different programs. In late 2022, before AI was top-of-mind for any of us, Patrick was thinking... How can I do this with AI? With the help of his student employees, Jasper.ai, a spreadsheet, and the =CONCATENATE() function, they created powerful, search engine optimized content that resulted in these incredible results: 217% increase in clicks on the site and 166% increase in impressions from search sources and 358% increase in clicks and 226% increase in impressions from unbranded queries only.

Guest Name: Patrick Kelly

Guests Social Handle: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickkelly1976/

Guests Bio: Patrick Kelly has 23+ years' experience in web marketing for higher education and health care organizations, including Rush University Medical Center, Swedish Hospital and Loyola University Chicago. He holds a master's degree in writing from DePaul University in Chicago. Patrick currently serves as web content manager at Harper College overseeing the college's website, harpercollege.edu. 

This podcast is brought to you by Element451 — the next-generation AI student engagement platform. Learn more about how Element451 can enhance student engagement, boost enrollment, reduce expenses, and increase staff productivity.

- - - -

Connect With Our Host:
Dayana Kibilds
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dayanakibilds/

About The Enrollify Podcast Network:
Talking Tactics is a part of the Enrollify Podcast Network. If you like this podcast, chances are you’ll like other Enrollify shows too! 

Enrollify is made possible by Element451 —  the next-generation AI student engagement platform helping institutions create meaningful and personalized interactions with students. Learn more at element451.com.

Attend the 2025 Engage Summit! 
The Engage Summit is the premier conference for forward-thinking leaders and practitioners dedicated to exploring the transformative power of AI in education. Explore the strategies and tools to step into the next generation of student engagement, supercharged by AI. You'll leave ready to deliver the most personalized digital engagement experience every step of the way.

Register now to secure your spot in Charlotte, NC, on June 24-25, 2025! Early bird registration ends February 1st -- https://engage.element451.com/register

What does diversity, equity, and inclusion in content creation look like? To Mikki Collins, it was this: real, unfiltered stories told by more than one student in a format that could both go deep and was built to last. So, she built a podcast for the University of Chichester centered around authenticity and honesty. In the third series of the podcast, she wanted to feature true stories from her campus’ minority and underrepresented groups, even when the stories weren’t all positive. As a result, the university reached almost 10 times its student population on social, doubled the engagement from non-followers, and won a few awards, including the ContentEd Champion for DIversity, Equity and Inclusion Award in 2022 and the National Student Pride Inclusive University of the Year Award in 2023.

Watch the Be You podcast series three episodes: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMwhF7NaFQJxaE1X4LMUj7Y6Bq-cwRxEh&feature=shared

Guest Name: Mikki Collins

Guests Social Handle: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikki-collins-36b631146/

Guest Bio: Mikki is an award-winning Content and Experience Designer for Pickle Jar Communications. She previously worked for the University of Chichester for 5.5 years as a Digital Content Producer, leading digital content campaigns and the University's social media channels. During her tenure, she helped Chichester achieve the number 1 ranked UK University on TikTok in 2022 and 2023, and the Champion of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the ContentEd Awards in 2022 for the University’s podcast about minority groups. 

- - - -

Connect With Our Host:
Dayana Kibilds
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dayanakibilds/

About The Enrollify Podcast Network:
Talking Tactics is a part of the Enrollify Podcast Network. If you like this podcast, chances are you’ll like other Enrollify shows too! 

Enrollify is made possible by Element451 —  the next-generation AI student engagement platform helping institutions create meaningful and personalized interactions with students. Learn more at element451.com.

Attend the 2025 Engage Summit! 
The Engage Summit is the premier conference for forward-thinking leaders and practitioners dedicated to exploring the transformative power of AI in education. Explore the strategies and tools to step into the next generation of student engagement, supercharged by AI. You'll leave ready to deliver the most personalized digital engagement experience every step of the way.

Register now to secure your spot in Charlotte, NC, on June 24-25, 2025! Early bird registration ends February 1st -- https://engage.element451.com/register

How can we build audiences in our secondary social channels in a meaningful way? That’s what Andrew Cassel, Senior Social Strategist at Middlebury College sought out to answer. He engaged his community in submitting prompts which he then used to generate beautiful AI images. He posted the images on Pinterest, LinkedIn, and other secondary platforms. His results? On the form, 53 prompts were submitted, surpassing his 30 prompt goal. On Pinterest, a 50% audience increase. On LinkedIn, incredibly meaningful engagement with an alumna. While he’s holding on rolling this out more broadly, it’s a great example of how we can do social listening, co-create content with community, and meaningfully grow audiences with one simple tactic.

Follow Middlebury College on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/middleburycollege/

Today's Guest: 

Andrew Cassel - https://www.linkedin.com/in/abcassel/

Guest Bio: 

Andrew Cassel has been creating and curating social media content for higher ed since 2011. Cassel speaks regularly about social media content including appearances at ContentEd 2021, HigherEd Experts 2018, 2019 and 2020, the American Geophysical Union 2022 annual fall meeting. Cassel was awarded a best in track Red Stapler at the 2017 High Ed Web annual conference and is a five-time winner of Aurora Awards of Excellence from the Public Relations Society of America - Alaska including the 2018 Grand Award of Excellence. In 2019 he was a host for Higher Ed Live - Marketing Live. He is the sole author of the paper “Divesting from Facebook and Instagram”, based on a HEWeb 2022 session, which will be published in the winter 2023 peer reviewed Journal of Education Advancement & Marketing. He is a regular contributor to Volt.edu. Cassel is currently the Senior Social Strategist and Content Producer at Middlebury College.

- - - -

Connect With Our Host:
Dayana Kibilds
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dayanakibilds/

About The Enrollify Podcast Network:
Talking Tactics is a part of the Enrollify Podcast Network. If you like this podcast, chances are you’ll like other Enrollify shows too! 

Enrollify is made possible by Element451 —  the next-generation AI student engagement platform helping institutions create meaningful and personalized interactions with students. Learn more at element451.com.

Attend the 2025 Engage Summit! 
The Engage Summit is the premier conference for forward-thinking leaders and practitioners dedicated to exploring the transformative power of AI in education. Explore the strategies and tools to step into the next generation of student engagement, supercharged by AI. You'll leave ready to deliver the most personalized digital engagement experience every step of the way.

Register now to secure your spot in Charlotte, NC, on June 24-25, 2025! Early bird registration ends February 1st -- https://engage.element451.com/register

As a campus tour guide back in 2005, Mallory Willsea noticed students would ask very different questions when they were alone vs. when they were with their parents or in a group. When she graduated, Mallory started working in the admissions office just when digital was starting to happen. 

She remembered how differently students would behave when alone, so she came up with a tactic to let them ask anonymous questions using a form. The results? A ton more questions. Grateful students. Real opportunities for connection. And for Mallory? A career of customer-centric innovation that’s consistently been two steps ahead of everyone else.

About the Show

Each episode of Talking Tactics is devoted to a single tactic that moved the needle on a specific enrollment metric: inquiries, booth visitors, apps started, video views, you name it.

The catch? The tactic had to be done with limited resources: either by a single person, a small but mighty team, limited time, or without a lot of money. Sound like your reality?  Join us by subscribing above or by email here. 

About the Enrollify Podcast Network 

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

Our podcast network is growing by the month and we’ve got a plethora of marketing, admissions, and higher ed technology shows that are jam-packed with stories, ideas, and frameworks all designed to empower you to be a better higher ed professional. 

Our shows feature a selection of the industry’s best as your hosts. Learn from Jaime Hunt, Allison Turcio, Corynn Myers, Dustin Ramsdell, Terry Flannery, Jaime Gleason and many more. 

Learn more about The Enrollify Podcast Network at podcasts.enrollify.org. Our shows help higher ed marketers and admissions professionals find their next big idea — come and find yours! 

- - - -

Connect With Our Host:
Dayana Kibilds
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dayanakibilds/

About The Enrollify Podcast Network:
Talking Tactics is a part of the Enrollify Podcast Network. If you like this podcast, chances are you’ll like other Enrollify shows too! 

Enrollify is made possible by Element451 —  the next-generation AI student engagement platform helping institutions create meaningful and personalized interactions with students. Learn more at element451.com.

Attend the 2025 Engage Summit! 
The Engage Summit is the premier conference for forward-thinking leaders and practitioners dedicated to exploring the transformative power of AI in education. Explore the strategies and tools to step into the next generation of student engagement, supercharged by AI. You'll leave ready to deliver the most personalized digital engagement experience every step of the way.

Register now to secure your spot in Charlotte, NC, on June 24-25, 2025! Early bird registration ends February 1st -- https://engage.element451.com/register

About the Enrollify Podcast Network: 

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

Our podcast network is growing by the month and we’ve got a plethora of marketing, admissions, and higher ed technology shows that are jam-packed with stories, ideas, and frameworks all designed to empower you to be a better higher ed professional. Our shows feature a selection of the industry’s best as your hosts. Learn from Jeremy Tiers, Zach Busekrus, Jaime Hunt, Allison Turcio, Jamie Gleason, and many more. 

Learn more about The Enrollify Podcast Network at podcasts.enrollify.org. Our shows help higher ed marketers and admissions professionals find their next big idea — come and find yours!

- - - -

Connect With Our Host:
Dayana Kibilds
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dayanakibilds/

About The Enrollify Podcast Network:
Talking Tactics is a part of the Enrollify Podcast Network. If you like this podcast, chances are you’ll like other Enrollify shows too! 

Enrollify is made possible by Element451 —  the next-generation AI student engagement platform helping institutions create meaningful and personalized interactions with students. Learn more at element451.com.

Attend the 2025 Engage Summit! 
The Engage Summit is the premier conference for forward-thinking leaders and practitioners dedicated to exploring the transformative power of AI in education. Explore the strategies and tools to step into the next generation of student engagement, supercharged by AI. You'll leave ready to deliver the most personalized digital engagement experience every step of the way.

Register now to secure your spot in Charlotte, NC, on June 24-25, 2025! Early bird registration ends February 1st -- https://engage.element451.com/register