Janice Cheng-McConnell, Admissions Communications Manager at Wells College, is one of the 12 presenters of the 2020 Higher Ed Content Conference .
In this 4-question interview, Janice tells us about best and worst content trends in higher ed, content measurement, great content ideas and a favorite tool.
1) What are the worst and best content trends in higher ed?
I think volume-based mass direct mail campaigns is a content trend in higher education that needs to go in 2020. Prospective students in particular are hyper-sensitive to relevant brand messaging, and they can spot a merge field from a mile away. This renders that direct mail piece with ambiguous “You’re in” content ineffective because your recipient most definitely knows that it’s one of 500,000 that was sent that week. We have more data about our audiences than ever before. We need to do better with personalizing content and sending information to people that’s actually relevant to their expressed interests and behaviors. Your audience is actively looking for value and meaningful ways to connect, and direct mail is a great way to do this without engaging in false pretenses. Make your value(s) easy to understand and which clear actions they should take in order to benefit from it. Treat your audience with the same kind of respect and trust you are asking from them.
One of the best trends that I would love to see become more popular in 2020 is the “trend” of making accessible content a requirement, not a passing fad. Technology permeates every aspect of life in higher education and campuses are racing to catch up to their diverse audiences. Whether that’s captioning a video or making sure PDFs on the .edu becoming landing pages that are easy for screen readers, I would love to see accessibility become a new normal way of life in higher education.
2) Why is it still so difficult to measure the performance of higher ed content?
I think it’s so difficult to measure the performance of content in higher education because there are multiple ways to achieve the same outcomes, and your stakeholders all evaluate them differently. It’s great that this email had a high open rate, but how many recipients actually clicked through and did the thing you asked them to do? Was it because the CTA button is end-of-scroll, or because there were too many CTAs and they clicked the first one they saw? Is social media engagement evaluated in likes or actual conversations that take place? I think measuring content performance in higher education would be easier if stakeholders agreed on what the content is actually trying to accomplish. Is this piece meant to be informative? Transactional? Entertaining/image-building? It’s much easier to measure success when everyone understands the context of the thing you are trying to get your audience to do (or not do!).
3) Share 3 pieces of higher ed content that made you envious or proud.
Siena College’s website is consistently up-to-date with the latest happenings in their student and local community. It’s beautifully mobile-optimized and so free of clutter that it’d make Marie Kondo proud. The admissions landing page has clear calls to action and gives users exactly what they are looking for, no second-guessing required.
Syracuse University’s #BeOrange video campaign is a fantastic way to highlight the incredible things their students are doing. All the videos are under a minute and show off locations and activities that are important to the students being interviewed. It’s powerfully authentic, there are new videos all the time, and the format of the content is versatile enough to be used again and again in fresh new ways.
Cornell University’s Vet College Instagram account is a great example of how to provide relevant information to diverse audiences but at the same time remain faithful to the overall university brand. I particularly look forward to posts that involve Minnie the Mini Horse.
4) What’s your favorite new tool for content work?
Day Kibilds of Western University gave an incredible productivity presentation at HighEdWeb 2019 where she said, “If people aren’t reading your emails, it’s your fault.” I think this extends to all the other areas that touch writing and content. Whether you’re writing a marketing email to prospective students or an interdepartmental memo, your content should be on brand and also easy to read. For this, I recommend using a software that scores your writing for readability. The Hemingway App and Readable.com are both free resources with paid features. How readable/accessible is your letter to parents or message to a colleague?
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.