Jeff Bunch, Web Content Strategist at Gonzaga University, is one of the 12 presenters of the 2020 Higher Ed Content Conference .
In this 4-question interview, Jeff 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?
One of the worst trends I’d like to kiss goodbye is the creation of content under the guise of storytelling which is created solely for marketing purposes. If executed without a lot of strategic thought, it undermines the authenticity of all storytelling efforts as a legitimate vehicle for university marketing and advancement divisions. One of the best content trends I’d like to see spread is using short-form multimedia content (video/social combined with traditional methods) across platforms. The hybrid story (text, photos, video, user generated-content) which is both created and shared across multiple platforms is powerful. It both gives voice to fans and amplifies yours.
2) Why is it still so difficult to measure the performance of higher ed content?
Content measurement challenges for higher ed content are two-fold: technical and cultural.
On the technical side, tracking user journeys across multiple channels and across multi-faceted campaigns continues to overwhelm our tools and people.
On the cultural side, all could benefit from better collaboration around meaningful strategy and measurement, so standards don’t default to “vanity” metrics which may be easier to understand and report out, but are less insightful.
In my opinion, the increasing role of customer relationship management (CRM) systems will help – although it requires much up-front investment of resources
3) Share 3 pieces of higher ed content that made you envious or proud.
As someone who works on the web, the Xavier University website is effective in a smart way.
I am both a bit envious – and proud – of the efforts of Santa Clara University on LinkedIn over the past year, including its thought leadership work on LinkedIn Live and strategic use of video.
On the storytelling side, I have to give a shout-out to my talented colleagues at Gonzaga University for their multi-platform storytelling and marketing.
4) What’s your favorite new tool for content work?
We have seen the multipurpose benefits of Siteimprove for everything from accessibility audits, to content analysis, technical SEO, and baseline analytics reporting. It’s a great complement to our other enterprise-level content marketing tools (such as Google’s marketing suite). We use it everyday in some way, including through the use of automated reporting.
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.