My colleague Chris Aldrich and I had the pleasure of attending the American Marketing Association’s 2017 Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education in Atlanta, GA last week. It was a fantastic opportunity for our team to engage with industry experts and colleagues across the spectrum of higher education marketing. The week was packed full of outstanding, thought-provoking sessions that covered an array of challenges and opportunities facing our industry. Here are 6 post-conference tips we took away and we think will help with your marketing efforts.

1. 1. We are the champions of change – Our student populations are ever-changing, so our marketing needs to change as well. The way we communicate and message to students must be consistently changing and evolving. We must be nimble and always willing to adapt our plans and strategies to meet the needs of our prospective students.
   2. Be transparent – treat all internal clients (colleges, departments) as partners with the same shared goals. As an agency, MindMax must agree on shared goals with our university partners so that we are all working towards the same KPIs and accomplishments. Partners work together to achieve mutual success.
   3. Use data to drive content, messaging, and strategy – base your strategies on the data that you have at your disposal. Understand your prospective students by looking at who your current students are. Create personas and message to them appropriately.
   4. You can’t do it all: agencies can help – focus on the projects you want to tackle internally and work with external resources that understand your brand and goals. In attendance at the AMA Symposium were agency partners with various skills and expertise presenting alongside their university partners. You are not in this alone.
   5. Use the resources you have – Students, alumni, and faculty are your brand champions. When prospective students are looking for their right fit, they reach out to their network of peers, colleagues, relatives, etc. When you need content, who better to ask than the people who have lived the experience. Current students and alumni are able to showcase the ultimate ROI to your prospective students.
   6. Be meaningful with text messaging – it is easy to think of this newer medium like other communication channels, but it is different. Mongoose shared these tips for texting with students and parents: Identify yourself, be casual but professional, end with a question when you want a response back, be as concise as possible, address the student directly, and clearly articulate the call to action. Students do not want promotional texts they want informational, actionable messages such as: “We are missing your transcripts,” “Orientation is fast approaching,” or “Registration opens tomorrow.”

Next up on our MindMax’s industry conference schedule is the UPCEA 26th Annual Marketing and Enrollment Management Seminar taking place December 5-7 in Washington, DC. We are looking forward to continued networking and sharing of ideas. Stop by the MindMax booth to say hello!

How I lived, saw or experienced one of MindMax’s values this month

Get Results – Learn Always – Align to Mission – Build Meaningful Relationships – Ask for Help.

Thankful to Live the MindMax Values

November is a special month for giving thanks. I am thankful for my family, my friends, and my career. I am continuously “learning always” through professional development opportunities, colleagues, and client partnerships. I am grateful and energized to work in such an evolving industry.