Resolutions to Grow By
As the years roll by, my “candid factor” seems to lurch so unapologetically upward that I may well be nearing curmudgeon status well before my time. So it is with just a modicum of diplomacy that I present a handful of New Year’s resolutions that are assured to make you more valuable to your school. And who can’t use some of that?
1. Be a learning machine in 2009. Don’t make a decision about a single recruitment marketing tactic without studying that tactic’s history. A little research and a quick analysis of last year’s return-on-investment will make this year’s investment return even better.
2. You’re another year farther out of the teen loop; challenge your instincts before you trust them. Just because your gut may be slightly larger doesn’t mean it’s any wiser.
3. Embrace and leverage the promotional potential of user-generated content. It represents the backbone of Web 2.0, and it is insanely more believable to teens than what you’re spending most of your marketing budget on today. YouTube is just the beginning.
4. What’s old is new again. Teens tell us that print is alive and well in our digital world. While the variety and popularity of promotional channels may ebb and flow, the fundamental principle of good communication endures: get the right message to the right teens the right way at the right time with the right offer and you’ll hit nothing but homeruns.
5. Think less about competing and more about cooperating. Our future rests in the hands of those who will orchestrate effective strategic alliances, collaborations, and co-branding initiatives. If you think your school will be just fine on its own, you don’t appreciate the concept of opportunity cost. Today’s great schools are successfully practicing the fine art of “coopetition” because they’ve shifted an antiquated paradigm.
6. We live in an instant-impression world. Teens look first and read later, so what your school looks like matters a great deal more than ever before. Stop sabotaging your marketing potential by short-sheeting the creative process. I’m an administrator, not a designer. Chances are pretty good that you’re in the same boat. Despite best intentions and years of “practice,” the stuff administrators design looks like administrators designed it. On the other hand, the stuff that designers create looks…well…a whole lot better. You wouldn’t hire a plumber to paint your house. Why saddle an administrator with a designer’s assignment?
7. Speaking of the creative process, your teenage stakeholders bring reasonable expectations to the table when they connect with your school. Respect and serve their needs by communicating with them in a relevant, resonant, and right language. In other words, don’t ask faculty to write copy that ends up in a marketing space. Faculty-speak and marketing-ese are not interchangeable.
8. If you don’t understand the basics of the RSS feeds, blogs, iTunesU, podcasts and other formats now available for downloading digital assets, find out. This stuff isn’t going away; it’s standard operating procedure for teens. It’s blazing a trail for unimaginable technological developments that will continue to redefine your school’s “business as usual.”
9. In closing, remember that everything really is integrated. Three years and 60 pounds ago my brain didn’t run as efficiently or effectively as it does today. I spent years resenting people who preached health in my direction, but today I’m a believer. So I wish you good health in 2009…and the good sense to realize you can do a great deal about yours.
Photo by: DeaPeaJay
