Kelly Bennett, Manager of Social Media and Marketing Strategy at Miami University (Ohio), is one of the 12 presenters of the 2019 Higher Ed Content Conference.
In this 4-question interview, Kelly shares with us thoughts on content creation process and measurement, interesting higher ed content and a favorite tool.
1) What does your content creation process look like?
At Miami University, our university communication and marketing content team, comprised of writers, photographers, and designers, gathers weekly and bi-weekly to plan short term content for the week ahead and long-term content for the month and semester ahead. We work through the filter of presidential priorities to define where to focus our efforts. What works well is getting all the right people in the room to brainstorm and share ideas. Something that could improve the process would be adding a sub-group specific to defining the content needs for social media and how all areas can work together to provide the content that’s timely and relevant in a fast-paced space.
2) How is the performance of your content measured at your school?
In order to continuously improve, we keep a pulse on how our content is performing. If something we share isn’t receiving the engagement we hoped for, we take a look at how else we could splice it. Perhaps the content in a news story should be shared as a podcast or a video with text over it.
By experimenting with different forms of content on the various platforms, we’re able to adjust and refine our content and become more strategic in our work.
3) Share 3 pieces of higher ed content that made you envious or proud
I have been loving the short, branded, social media videos from the University of Dayton. This is a perfect example of how to tell compelling academic stories in a visual and engaging way, and repurposing the same content on Facebook and Twitter. Using captions is extremely important, because 80% of people on social media watch videos with the sound off.
Boston University has extremely engaging Instagram stories. One of my favorite reoccurring content pieces is their Trivia Tuesday, which allows followers to test their knowledge of how much they know about the university. It’s an interactive way to share some fun facts and stats and is a great use of Instagram’s story feature.
The University of New Hampshire highlights authentic student perspectives in their Cat Chats. What I love about this is the informal, yet branded feel as students show their personalities in the videos. Having current students answer specific questions hits on all audiences, assuming followers are prospective students, current students, and alumni.
4) What’s your favorite new tool for your work with content?
A tool I have absolutely loved using for repurposing content is called “In-Shot”. Essentially, it’s an app that allows users to resize photos and videos to fit various platforms. It has saved a lot of time and headache by having the ability to customize content at my fingertips and size it for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Instagram stories in minutes. Did I mention it’s also free?
A conference focusing on higher ed content?
The Higher Ed Content Conference is a must-attend event for higher ed content professionals and teams looking for new ideas and best practices.
Read below what a few of your higher ed colleagues who attended the past editions of the Higher Ed Content Conference say about the experience.
Tags: HECO19, Higher Ed Marketing, Higher Ed News