Deceptive advertising... is the FTC likely to notice?

By Bob on January 12, 2012 3:00 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
Deceptive Advertising: Without injury to consumers, the FTC won't notice

An earlier post on using possible Pell Grant eligibility as a lead generation tool raised the question of whether or not individual schools might be held liable by the Department of Education and/or the Federal Trade Commission for third-party efforts by lead gen firms on their behalf.

After reading an advisory report prepared by the Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities, I'm inclined to think that liability in the email Pell Grant example I wrote about is not a high probability.

Marketing that bothers the Department of Education

First, download a copy of the APSCU's Student Recruitment Task Force Report: "The Misrepresentation Rule and Third-Party Vendors." My conclusions after reading the report:
  • The Department of Education is most concerned about misleading advertising when it refers to outcomes such as employment promises and income earnings.
  • If advertising didn't cause substantial harm (as in getting people to spend money based on misleading employment claims), deception itself isn't likely to be noticed.
  • No matter the deception, an expectation that schools pre-approve of everything done by lead gen firms if done for a collection of schools is less strong than when an action is taken on behalf of an individual school. (This Pell Grant effort was done on behalf of many institutions who might have later received leads after screening.)
"Unethical or unscrupulous" violates FTC standards

The APSCU report includes an appendix on page 19, "General Marketing and Advertising Law Overview," that links to several useful publications from the Federal Trade Commission. Yes, "unethical or unscrupulous" advertising violates consumer fairness standards. Those are somewhat vague terms, however, and it is unlikely that the FTC would bother itself with an individual case that could not link an unethical campaign with substantial harm to consumers.

The Pell Grant email campaign, and other like it, therefore is not likely to draw attention from either the DOE or the FTC. See the original email in my first blog post and decide for yourself if it was "unethical or unscrupulous."

Reasons why this Pell Grant campaign was unethical and unscrupulous  

In my opinion, this campaign was both unethical and unscrupulous for at least two reasons:
  • I was "prequalified" for a $5,550 award only because I am a U.S. citizen. The firm sending the email had no idea of my income or my education costs at a future school. Technically accurate for some, but quite a stretch overall.
  • The call to action was to "click here" to apply for "this amazing opportunity." But once I clicked, there was never a mention again about Pell Grants or what it took to receive one.
Would you include this Pell Grant campaign in your Annual Report?

Your opinion may differ from mine. But I suspect that few of the schools included at various points beyond the email would include this campaign as an example of their advertising efforts in an Annual Report to alumni and friends.

A resolution for 2012

Make a New Year's resolution: if you participate in collective lead generation efforts, ask your firm to see the advertising in advance. Decide if something is ethical and scrupulous. If you're not proud of it, why are you doing it?

That's all for now.

Your Higher Education Marketing Newsletter... January 2012

By Bob on January 9, 2012 1:55 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
Greetings in the new year to everyone, here in the U.S. and around the world.

This first 2012 newsletter includes several items on the best of 2011 and predictions about what to expect in the coming year, from 32 words PR writers should avoid to 30 social media predictions "from the pros" to a new MIT effort to increase the value of its free online course offerings. The usual eclectic mix of topics included here will continue.

As always, I hope to meet many of you at conferences this year. At the end of the newsletter you can find recommended events in Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago, and Boston.

And now, here are your marketing news and notes for January 2012. Happy New Year!
__________________________________
Highest Student Loan Debt in 2010: The Top 10 Schools

Huffington Post has created one of those lists that nobody wants to be on, especially in a time of increased concern over the cost of higher education. This Top 10 list for a 4-year degree starts with Eastern Nazarene University at an average of $51,336 and ends with Bard College at $44,910.

Three of the 10 are in Massachusetts. See if your competitors are on the list that starts at huff.to/xGHaWE
___________________________________
Lowest Student Loan Debt in 2010: The Top 10 Schools

The Huffington Post people are also highlighting 10 schools with the lowest loan debt levels for a 4-year degree. This list opens with Alice Lloyd College at a $3,108 average and closes with Cameron University at $7,200. One Ivy League university is on the list at $4,385.

See 10 low debt schools, including the only public university included, at huff.to/ybNbMm
_________________________________
30 Social Media Predictions for 2012 "From the Pros"

Start your social media new year by reviewing the predictions of 30 experts gathered by Social Media Examiner.

Hard to pick a favorite, but mine just might be Number 8, Regularly Creating Unique Content Becomes Essential. Three predictions focus on a more important role for YouTube and two speak to a revitalization of email.

Pick the ones that will best keep your social media strategy alive and well at bit.ly/w6QOZ7
__________________________________
Digital and Print: How Newspapers Might Survive

Almost everyone believes that print will survive in the marketing mix, and perhaps it will do that. What is less certain is how that survival will take place.

For one view of the future of newspapers, read the thoughts of John Paton, a key industry person who started as a copy aide with The Toronto Sun in 1977.

In a nutshell, Paton believes the industry has to "stop listening to newspaper people" searching for how to revive print and move to digital as rapidly as possible in light of continuing drops in revenue from print operations.

The NY Times reports more on his views at nyti.ms/xe9u9N
_________________________________
Best Publication Conversions to iPad in 2011

If print publications are fading, the tablet environment might be the best place for newspapers and magazines to thrive in the digital age.

AdAge highlights 10 newspapers and magazines that it believes have made noteworthy migrations to the iPad platform. Check the list at bit.ly/ucugTs

To see how universities are adapting view books to the tablet format, download these examples to your iPad: University of Dayton at bit.ly/zIY5Xr and Salve Regina University at bit.ly/yTSBIH and University of Chicago at bit.ly/xaA24N
_________________________________
MIT: A Significant Marketing Moment

MIT has been offering free online course materials (for more than 2,000 courses) for about 10 years now in a unique form of self-study. To date, no formal recognition for taking these courses has been available.

Now, reports the Chronicle of Higher Education, MIT will introduce in the spring certificates that acknowledge course completion. Certificates will incur a cost, but nothing near the price of tuition for a student registered for an MIT degree. People will still have the option to study without seeking a certificate.

Is this a significant development in the higher education marketplace? Absolutely.

Read more about the future emerging in a time of cost concern at bit.ly/wbCg9Q
_________________________________
32 Words PR Writers Should Avoid

Resolutions are not my thing, but we should all resolve to read through this list from Tom Gable and ban as many of these words and phrases as we can from our writing in 2012.

Some of my favorites: cutting edge, outside the box, state-of-the-art, and synergy.

Tom presents these as the favorites of lazy PR writers. See how many you agree with at bit.ly/sKDAfS
_________________________________
Mobile Marketing: The Outlook for 2012

Mobile Marketing has issued a 43 page PDF with an eclectic range of comments, observations, and predictions for the upcoming year.

Usefulness will vary with the extent of your knowledge and experience with mobile marketing, but I suspect that everyone will find something of interest as you scan the 22 topics on the contents page. Read a summary of the report, including notes on platform fragmentation, texting, and social media, and download the full document at bit.ly/vex8u2
__________________________________
$5,550 Pell Grant Eligibility to Entice Email Click Through

A flurry of emails arrived in my mailbox in December built around the theme that as a U.S. citizen I was prequalified to receive a $5,550 Pell Grant. The goal was to get me to click on a link and arrive at a landing page built by a lead generator.

The Pell Grant offer? That was not mentioned again. This, I submit, is the type of marketing that does not give higher education a good name.

To see the email offer itself, the 10 qualifying questions asked after I got to the landing page, and the four schools recommended after that, visit bit.ly/sTrg5T
__________________________________
Big-Time College Sports: Is Immunity Weakening?

Is public scrutiny of higher education sports programs going to increase in 2012?

Penn State got the most attention in 2011, but a Bloomberg Business Week article in December reminded us of Ohio State's football coaching fiasco as well, including the university president's comment that he hoped the football coach was not going to fire him. References are made to head coaching situations at other major universities.

The Bloomberg article by Al Hunt calls for a government intervention to restore accountability. Absent that, he is not optimistic about serious change. Review his reasoning at buswk.co/ujERp7
__________________________________
Conferences and Webinars in 2012

Attend a conference in 2012 to share questions and answers with people who are building a competitive advantage in higher education marketing.

Thanks again to everyone who attended a presentation in 2011 and enlivened and enlightened a session with your questions and comments.

May 8-10, Philadelphia: J.BoyePhiladelphia12 Web and Intranet Conference. Sessions and registration at bit.ly/wRxeCi

May 24-25, Atlanta: Academic Impressions Conference: "Writing Right for the Web: Improving Your Content." Program content and registration at bit.ly/AfVgk3

July 11-13, Chicago: ACT Enrollment Planners Conference. Visit the conference website at bit.ly/tnvnhR

July 30-August 1, Boston: eduWeb2012. Conference website is at bit.ly/z391iU

Expand the marketing skills of people on your campus. Host a campus workshop on any of the conference topics listed here.

Contact me at bob@bobjohnsonconsulting.com
____________________________________________
That's All for Now 

Be a marketing champion on your campus.

Bob Johnson, Ph.D. (bob@bobjohnsonconsulting.com)
President
Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC
__________________________________________
Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

Increase your online marketing success with these 6 services.
• Customer Carewords Research with Gerry McGovern
• Writing Right for the Web: Webinars, Conferences, Campus Workshops
• Marketing Communications Website Reviews
• Competitive Website Reviews
• Search Engine Optimization Reviews
• Marketing Analysis for Google Analytics

Pell Grants... the student recruitment quest continues

By Bob on December 14, 2011 11:39 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
Pell Grants and Student Recruitment: The $5,550 offer campaign continues

Pell Grant enticement as a recruitment tool was the topic of my blog post last Friday. I had received three notices that I was pre-qualified for one of a limited number of $5,550 Pell Grants in just a few days. Lead generators were hot about their business.

Since then I've received two more notices (dates as included in the email):
  • December 21... similar to the first three.
  • December 23... a "Second Notice" reminder from one of the original senders about "Your $5,550 Pell Grant."
Here's the "second notice effort" (and yes, this is the original font size and spacing):

Re: 2nd Prequalification Notice


Attention Yahoo!Mail User:

 


The US Government gives out MILLIONS of DOLLARS worth of $5,550 


Pell Grants

 each year. The Best Part: You NEVER have to pay them back!


This is an AMAZING opportunity to change your life! Please apply immediately 


as there is a limited number of these $5,550 Grants given out each year.



Easier to Cancel Future Emails


The earlier emails had "unsubscribe" information in small type toward the end of the email. This one did a better job, with a visible link to unsubscribe just after the email message.


Do You Know Where Your Lead Generator is Today?


A thought comes to mind. Do the colleges that use services like this to generate and screen initial responses before sending them on to their clients know about these campaigns in advance?


New Department of Education regulations just might make colleges and universities liable for advertising activities done on their behalf by third party companies. More on that later. For now, see the review of the regulation provided to members by the Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities in October in PDF format, "The Misrepresentation Rule and Third-Party Vendors."


That's all for now.



Pell Grants as a recruitment tool... I "prequalify" for $5,550!

By Bob on December 9, 2011 10:22 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
Email to generate leads with Pell Grant money

When concern about the cost of a college degree is high and growing, what better way to generate enrollment leads than a series of emails to let people know that they "prequalify" for a $5,550 Pell Grant.

And why worry in advance about whether or not a person's income or level of degree interest makes them likely candidates for a Pell Grant? The important thing? Get a response to the email. Sort the details later.

If at first you don't succeed, send the email again

In the past few days I have received three nearly identical emails from CompareTopSchools with these subject lines:
  • "Deadline Soon: Get a $5,550 Pell Grant. You Prequalify!" (December 14)
  • "Your $5,550 Pell Grant. You Prequalify!" (December 16)
  • "Your $5,550 Pell Grant. You Prequalify!" (December 19)
Two of these were retrieved from the Yahoo spam bucket. One made it to my regular email.

Here is the content in the first email opened:


Dear Yahoo! Mail Usēr:


The US Governmënt gives out MILLIÒNS of Dȯllars worth ǒf $5,550 Pell Grants 

each year. The Ɓest Part: You never have to pay them back!


IF ΫOU ARE A US CITIZEN, YOU PREQUALIFY!


Don't mĭss out on this AMAZING opportunity to ĩmprove your way of life! 

You are urgȩd to apply TOĐAY as there are a limited numbér 

of $5,550 Ğrants giύen out each ȳear.



Follow the link "to apply" and you'll see the names of six schools participating in this lead gen effort:

    • American Intercontinental University
    • Westwood College
    • Colorado Christian University
    • Liberty University
    • ITT Technical Institute
    • Virginia College
10 questions about my plans

What follows are 10 questions (but nothing about income level re probable Pell Grant eligibility) to learn more about me:
    • zip code (49068)
    • academic program interest area (marketing & communications)
    • age (26)
    • year of high school graduation or GED receipt (2006)
    • highest level of education (bachelor's)
    • degree level desired (master's degree)
    • were any of the credits earned outside the U.S. (no)
    • how many months from now do I plan to enroll (4 to 6)
    • am I a U.S. citizen (yes)
    • am I "affiliated" with the U.S. military (no)
    • name, mailing and email addresses, preferred phone number(s)
Having answered those questions, I can now see the promised four institutions that might be good for me:
  • California InterContinental University (Top Ranked for Best Value)
  • Lasell College (Top Ranked for Best Academics)
  • Baker College Online
  • St. Leo University Online
Along with the four school choices comes a can't miss notice that the "editors" recommend California InterContinental as my "best choice."

Is this a legitimate recruiting technique?

Legit lead generation strategy? Well, it isn't illegal. But note that after the initial Pell Grant exhortation to "apply today" for the "limited number" available, that topic vanishes. Will the schools know that I'm interested in that $5,550 of free Pell Grant money to help pay for my master's degree? Are they ready to offer an alternative source of aid?

Very few people get a Pell Grant to study for a master's degree. Nobody gets them if they are not a current undergrad student applying for a master's that leads to teaching as the Student Grants website explains. Details, details. 

That's all for now.



Your Higher Education Marketing Newsletter... December 2011

By Bob on December 5, 2011 3:10 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
December greetings to everyone and early wishes for a fine holiday season as you celebrate with friends and family. 

Special thanks to everyone who became a Twitter follower in 2011. If you have not done that yet, scan the short professional notes at bit.ly/t8LYyV and decide if want to join us. 

This is the month when 2012 conferences begin to search for paper presenters. If you have something to share with professional colleagues, check the paper calls for the ACT Enrollment Planners Conference at bit.ly/tnvnhR, and J.Boye Philadelphia2012 Web & Intranet Conference at bit.ly/rMBR36 

And now here are your marketing news and notes for December.
____________________________________
Cappex Parents Survey: Mobile, Email and More

If you plan to work on mobile marketing in 2012, do not miss these survey results. You will learn, for instance, that 79 percent of parents prefer mobile websites to mobile apps. And note that 83 percent say using email is the best way to get a response from them. Phone calls to mobile or home phones do not do well at all.

Overall, this is a good guide to adding marketing strength to your communication program for parents. You do have one of those, yes?

The survey details are at bit.ly/sQxx9n
____________________________________
Focus Group Results: Parents and High School Students

Focus groups both fascinate and scare me. 

The fascination comes from listening to the way people talk about important marketing topics, often in ways that marketers never do themselves. The scare comes when people jump to strategy or resource decisions based only on focus group conversations.

If you're as fascinated as I am, you'll want to read the transcripts of focus group sessions held last Friday by my colleagues at Zone 5 in Albany, N.Y. About 10 students and parents were in each 60-minutes discussion.

One comment got my special attention: agreement from several students with a person who was searching for the "cheapest" college that met her requirements. Do we undersell the marketing value of being the "cheapest" in a competitive set? Are we too reluctant to use that word for fear it clashes with images that people have of a quality institution?

For a copy of the focus group transcripts, email Ray Witkowski at ray.witkowski@zone5.com. 
____________________________________
New SUNY Oswego Mobile Site

For insight into the process of creating a new mobile website, read about the path followed at SUNY Oswego outlined at bit.ly/ut8hUY

Alas, there is one not so small problem with the execution. Google SUNY Oswego from your iPhone and the home page that opens is for the regular website, not the mobile site. To make the best mobile-friendly first impression, redirect visitors automatically to the mobile site if they search for your site from a smartphone.
____________________________________
Best Web Content: Not From Marketers

As I wrote in a new blog post last week, it pains me to note that marketers can be enemies of effective websites that score high with visitors.

Why? Visitors come to websites to complete top tasks. Reading overt marketing content is seldom a top task. More on that in the blog post at bit.ly/tr9dVH

But marketing can still have a place. University of Leicester, for instance, uses a home page that features top tasks for potential students in the prime upper left position, while still effectively using a third-party "Elite without being Elitist" brand statement on the home page that does not block visibility of the top task links. See an innovative approach to home page design at www2.le.ac.uk/ 
____________________________________
Chicago Tribune Promotes Degree Completion Rates in Selecting a College

The headline in this story is about a handful of schools that will give students who cannot complete a degree through no fault of their own a fifth year of tuition. Most are relatively small and in the private sector.

Perhaps more marketing impact will come from the suggestion that people visit a site where they can compare relative degree completion rates for similar institutions. The paper did that forCarnegie Mellon University and Duke University and found a 68 percent four year rate at the former and an 89 percent rate at Duke.

See how the topic is presented and visit the comparative degree completion site after you visittrib.in/uBdpYr 
____________________________________
NSSE Report for 2011

The National Survey of Student Engagement report for 2011 was released last month, with immediate media interest in the details of how much time students majoring in various academic areas spent studying.

There is much more to NSSE than hours studied of course. This year 751 school in the U.S. and Canada took part in the undergraduate research study, with more than 500,000 students responding. If you're not sure if your school uses NSSE, a search box on the NSSE home page will tell you about present and past use. Start your NSSE exploration this year atbit.ly/s0H9kt

To see how one university uses NSSE results to build a better brand impression, check theElon University effort that starts on the university website at bit.ly/tDcSgi 
____________________________________
Dave Evans: Time to Drop Social from Media in Marketing

Way back in 2007 Dave Evans wrote a useful book on social media marketing, with an emphasis on how to move forward by investing just "an hour a day."

Whether or not you ever read that book, take a few minutes to read his recent ClickZ column asking if it might not be time to drop the word "Social" itself. His main point: social media was once considered one of several tools in the marketing mix. Today, it is the center of every important decision made in arenas as varied as consumer and corporate purchase decisions and political choice.

Intrusive marketing messages delivered by the old tools recede in value as social media exploration expands. Read more about the impact of that for higher education marketing efforts in the column at bit.ly/sOm9MB 
____________________________________
QR Codes: 79 Percent of College Students Do Not Use Them

A survey of college students reports that 79 percent are not using them now and most are not likely to be using them next year either. So you do not have to rush to be an early adopter. A summary of the research is at yhoo.it/vLWNRf

A caveat: if you do use QR codes, make sure they take people to a mobile-friendly page and not to one of your regular website pages. If the end point is a special landing page, make sure the key points are visible as soon as it opens, without finger-flicking to enlarge the content.
____________________________________
Beloit College Replaces Capital Campaigns

Fund raisers know that it is easier get people to give to specific projects they support than to general institutional well-being. Beloit College is taking that knowledge to a logical conclusion with a decision to replace a traditional capital campaign with a series of very specific, project based efforts. The result: donors will see faster results from their giving than is the case in campaigns that run for several years.

The first success: raising $3.7 million to renovate track and field facilities and introduce a lacrosse team to expand student recruitment potential among high income families. Time to raise the money: 10 months.

For more on the thinking behind the changed approach, read the report at bit.ly/sHApQI 
____________________________________
Maryland Reduces Varsity Sports

While multi-million dollar compensation packages for top football coaches are not in jeopardy, the new economic reality will continue to force a closer examination of higher education sports activities in general. The result: sports that do not produce revenue and do not have strong public and alumni backing are in danger.

Case in point: University of Maryland plans to eliminate eight varsity sports by next July, while increasing fund-raising efforts in support of the remaining athletic program to offset a serious decline in revenue earned by the football and men's basketball programs.

For a glimpse at the future that might soon arrive at similar universities as well as links to athletic expenditure databases, read the InsideHigherEducation report at bit.ly/w4dtQ1
____________________________________
Best Blog Post Length: Is Size Important?

As you might expect, the answer Heidi Cohen gives to this question is what you might expect: it depends. She divides blog length into small (350 to 500 words), medium (550 to 1,000 words) and long (over 1,000 words) and notes that some of her most successful posts are her longest.
For success at any length, she offers 7 guidelines. You might know each of these, but I found it a good exercise to read them all together at the same time. 

If you blog or know students or staff who do, have them read the column at bit.ly/sJXe27 
__________________________________ 
My Last Webinars in 2011!

Attend an upcoming conference in 2012 to share questions and answers with people who are building a competitive advantage in higher education marketing. Join me at ACT Enrollment Planners Conference, eduWeb2012, J.BoyePhilly2012 or another. Look for a first listing for 2012 in the January newsletter.

Thanks again to everyone who attended a presentation this year and enlivened things with your questions and comments.

December 6, 8: Academic Impressions Webinars: "Writing Right for the Web: Social, Mobile, and Traditional Websites." Register at bit.ly/n5S83d. 

Improve your online marketing. Expand the writing, editing, and search marketing skills of people on your campus. Host a campus workshop on online marketing.

Contact me at bob@bobjohnsonconsulting.com
____________________________________________
That's All for Now 

Be a marketing champion on your campus.

Bob Johnson, Ph.D. (bob@bobjohnsonconsulting.com) 
President
Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC
__________________________________________
Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

Increase your online marketing success with these 6 services. 
• Customer Carewords Top Task Research with Gerry McGovern
• Writing Right for the Web: Webinars, Conferences, Campus Workshops
• Marketing Communications Website Reviews 
• Competitive Website Reviews 
• Search Engine Optimization Reviews 
• Marketing Analysis for Google Analytics

Start now at www.bobjohnsonconsulting.com/whatwedo.html

Web content... 2 challenges for "Writing Right for the Web"

By Bob on November 30, 2011 10:08 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
Content challenges for both traditional and mobile websites

Just finished updating the second "Writing Right for the Web" webinar next week, focusing on social media and mobile content. That had me back reading the questions sent along a few weeks ago by people already signed up for the sessions. Two of those were content related; the answers apply to both traditional and mobile websites.

If you missed the earlier post on these questions, here is the question people answered:
  • "What is your most pressing challenge or area of concern when writing for and presenting content on" a traditional website and for social media and mobile sites?
Two of the challenges reported were related to content:
  • "Understanding how best to develop content pertinent to all audiences and optimize for search."
  • "Translating messaging from offline publications and communications to a style that is optimal for online readers."
And here are some notes on how to best deal with these related issues. Which ones will be of most help on various campuses will vary, based in part on local talent and understanding of what works online, politics, and available staff time.

Developing the best content
  • Start by asking each audience to identify the top tasks that are most important to them. Then let the answers to that search be your guide to priority content placement on first and second level web pages. That means surrendering considerable control of your website to your key audiences. Not many are yet willing to do that.
  • How to find out what your audiences want from your website? Hire Customer Carewords research or read a guide from the U.S. Government and do it yourself. 
  • The most important point: do this research before your next major website revision begins. Don't rely on usability tests after you have the initial design in place. Usability testing and top task research are not the same thing. Start with the right information in hand. Planning a mobile site? Identify top tasks before you do anything else. Those are the links that people should see first when your mobile home page opens.
  • Beware of marketers. It pains me to write this, but I have to agree with my Carewords partner from Sweden, Fredrik Wacka, that the marketing impulse can hinder and even destroy the effectiveness of your website. Very few people come to a higher education website (or most any website) to read marketing content. Too often that content takes precedence over top task content and creates a barrier to top task completion. When that happens, people will leave your site. 
  • The imperative to reduce marketing content is more important on your mobile site, where you have even less time to connect with your audience. Best way to boost your brand at your website: make top task completion easy.
Translating from offline publications
  • Resist the impulse to slap content on your website as a PDF or "flip tech" copy of your printed publications. The more important the content, the more important it is to take the time to prepare a "web friendly" version that people might actually read online. That's true for admissions view books, alumni magazines, transfer guides, academic program brochures and just about anything else I can think of.
  • Next, make sure the web content conforms to usability tested guidelines for content presentation.
    • Use subhead that people can immediately scan when a page opens. Long, dense blocks of text are deadly.
    • No paragraph longer than 5 lines. 
    • Use short sentences. If you find yourself using a semi-colon your sentence is likely getting too long.
    • Use short words used by normal human beings as often as possible. Yes, if you're writing about research in a discipline for others trained in the discipline you can take liberties.
    • Don't be afraid of the "you" word. The web is an informal place. Get bureaucratic writing filled with imperatives that "students must do" out of the content. Check this "Admission Requirements" page at St. Edward's University where you find "you" or "your" used 12 times. Also note the short paragraphs and white space between them.
Alertbox reports on web writing

Jakob Nielsen has 15+ years of experience testing how people use websites. Take advantage of this by subscribing (for free) to his of Alertbox newsletters. Be sure to read the series on web writing. Send these to everyone on campus you think might pay attention to them.

Writing Right for the Web next week... solving more challenges

Join us on December 6 & December 8 for "Writing Right for the Web"
  • Review what we'll cover for traditional websites as well as the social media and mobile worlds in the Academic Impressions webinar outline.
  • Register and invite everyone who might be interested.
That's all for now.



Online education... Stanford University ends the war

By Bob on November 21, 2011 2:47 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
Stanford University gives online education a victory

Sometimes the war is over before everyone fighting the battles gets the message.

That's the lesson that came immediately to mind when I read this story in the Sunday edition of the NYT: Online High Schools Attracting Elite Names.

The lead says if all, as it should: "In June about 30 seniors will graduate from a little-known online high school currently called the Education Program for Gifted Youth. But their diplomas will bear a different name: Stanford Online High School."

The lesson is simple: if Stanford University sponsors and supports this, it will be rather difficult to continue the war against online education as something that is not, in principle, a valid way to learn. 

The article also mentions online high school education under the leadership of other institutions: Middlebury College, University of Missouri, and University of Nebraska, Lincoln.

The advance of online education is inevitable. 

The hybrid model at residential colleges & universities

Not long from now, online education will be a firm fixture at residential colleges and universities. Students will spend fewer hours in class listening to lectures than they do now listening. Instead, they will learn core educational points on their own time, online. And then meet with professors and other students to review and discuss what they have learned. The hybrid model mixing online and in-person learning will be the new normal by 2020, if not sooner.

The NYT story took me right back to the 2007 "A Vision of Students Today" video by Mike Wesch at Kansas State University. 

Schools that don't change course instruction rapidly enough will find themselves at a student recruitment disadvantage. Their brand strength will decline.

The war is over. The future is here. Even if the battles will continue.

That's all for now.


Writing right for the Web... Q&A from folks attending my December webinars

By Bob on November 17, 2011 2:48 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
Web writing... Engaging experienced and novice writers

To help update presentations for two upcoming Writing Right for the Web webinars in December, we asked people already registered in early November to answer this question: 
  • "What is your most pressing challenge or area of concern when writing for and presenting content on" a traditional website and for social media and mobile sites?
In the next week or so I'll share some responses here, along with answers that might work help meet you meet a similar challenge.

Two people reported challenges that get right to the heart of a serious problem: in some cases, neither experienced nor novice writers quite know where to start on "writing right for the web."
  • Experienced writers: "We have five staff writers, four of whom are older and have been at our university for a long time. There seems to be some belief that writing should be the same, regardless of the medium."
  • Novice writers: "We use a content management system, and many of the folks who publish content on our website are not professional writers. Our challenge is teaching them that Web readers tend to skim, not read. They need... lots of bullet points and subheads."
OK, how can you design a solution that increases the ability of both experienced and novice writers to "write right for the web?" The premise: neither group has a comfort level with the online writing environment. The ultimate goal: create a self-supporting, reinforcing environment for everyone responsible for this critical task.

8 steps to web writing success

Let's start with eight points, understanding that not everything might be possible right away:
  • Lobby for a web content editor position. You're in the online publishing business and every publication needs an experienced editor who understands what audiences wants and how to best deliver it to them.
  • Get enough copies of books on web writing that content creators can borrow and read. My choices to start: Letting Go of the Words and Killer Web Content. 
  • Find a volunteer to monitor new news on web writing in places like Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox reports on web writing. When something new appears share that with every content creator on campus. Nielsen's paying special attention to "mobile" right now.
  • Create an introductory workshop for new people appointed to create or maintain web content. Hold one whenever you have at least five new people to attend. The best person to hold the workshop? Your web editor, if you have one. Or the person on campus who best fits that role. Cover the Nielsen basics. Share examples of top web writing on your campus and at other universities.
  • Get people talking with one another on a regular basis. Too often web writers are scattered about a university and don't ever meet and share challenges and solutions among themselves. Plan monthly meetings of one to two hours. Invite people to submit topics in advance, but have at least two prepared ahead of time, i.e., "How can I convince my dean that most paragraphs shouldn't be more than five lines long?"
  • Find another volunteer. Have them search for an example of best web writing at another university for review and discussion at each regular meeting. 
  • Share discussion points and answers after each monthly meeting with people who couldn't make it. Not everyone will come to every meeting. That's fine.
  • Once a year, have a party to celebrate success. You might even have a "Web Writer of the Year" award.
Don't let people swim alone in the ocean

Of course, there is no single solution that will work best for everyone. 

Mix and match the ingredients to fit your own circumstances. But move as quickly as possible to get past the worst mistake: letting too many people swim alone in an ocean with neither other swimmers nor the shore in sight. Do that, and web writers will drown.

Writing Right for the Web in December

Join us on December 6 & December 8 for "Writing Right for the Web"
  • Review what we'll cover for traditional websites as well as the social media and mobile worlds in the Academic Impressions webinar outline.
  • Register and invite everyone who might be interested. 
That's all for now.




J.Boye Aarhus11 conference... notes from a great event

By Bob on November 14, 2011 4:35 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
J.Boye conferences... special places for new thinking and new solutions

Aarhus11 was my fourth J.Boye conference... my second in Denmark, with two in Philadelphia in between.

Why does a person who specializes in higher education marketing travel to this "web and Intranet" conference? 
  • To meet new people and hear new solutions about online challenges that we all face, from health care to higher education in areas that include digital marketing and web content management.
  • And at this event, to also meet Michael Fienen from Pittsburg State University who was presenting in the digital marketing and higher education tracks. Small world for sure.
Let me share some notes that made their way to my notebook at various times during the conference, in no special order of priority.

A new era for "simplicity" in web and Intranet?
  • Conference founder Janus Boye observed that "simplicity" was a word he was hearing in different sessions in different topics.
  • That's certainly true of the mobile world. The need for simplicity may indeed help shrink the bloated content that fills most websites today. The day the conference opened Jakob Nielsen published a new Alertbox column noting that working with a mobile site or app from a smartphone was like "reading through a peephole." 
  • Simplicity is imperative. "What did we do for simplicity today?" might well be the best way to start every web and Intranet discussion.
The Holy Grail is found: a person paid to remove website content
  • My biggest surprise was meeting someone who is paid to remove content from a website.
  • For over a year I've been asking in my presentations if anyone was paid to remove content from a website. Never yet had a taker until last Tuesday afternoon when Jesper Rossel raised his hand. Jesper recently persuaded his boss to change his position responsibility to removing 30 percent of the current content at Denmark's Knowledge Center for Agriculture. 
  • Be sure that I'll stay in touch with Jesper to see how that project moves forward. He should have a great presentation topic at a future J.Boye conference.
Social media: still a challenge
  • Organizations are still grappling with how to best "do" social media. Two not yet resolved areas: who in the organization is responsible and what to do when content appears that is not favorable? Answers are determined by factors as variable as the culture of an organization to the resources assigned to monitor and manage social media sites.
  • Loved Claire Flanagan's suggestion on how to bring a social media community to life and keep it active: create a controversy to get people's attention. A social media site that just reports news and PR spin won't do it. To read more about Claire's thoughts on the role of controversy in social media, check her Twitter posts.
  • Commitment to social media certainly is worth the effort to spread brand awareness and maintain customer loyalty. Those were points well worth the reinforcement given at Volker Grunauer's session on "Integrating Social Media into Your Digital Strategy." You can follow Volker on Twitter.
Top tasks, content strategy, and mobile website design 
  • My own tutorial went beyond higher education to include examples from local government and non-profit organizations to illustrate the key ingredient in developing content strategy for a mobile world: first identify the top tasks people want to do on your site, then build content and navigation to facilitate task completion. 
  • You can review and download that presentation from SlideShare now.

Next J.Boye Conference: Philadelphia, May 8-10 2012

Your next chance to experience a J.Boye conference is May 8-10 in Philadelphia. Program details are not available yet but you can check 10 track titles (including higher education), prices, and the conference hotel at the Philly conference website. 

Next "Writing Right for the Web" webinars in December
  • December 6, 8: Academic Impressions Webinars: "Writing Right for the Web: Social Media, Mobile, and Traditional Sites." Register now.
That's all for now.



Your Higher Education Marketing Newsletter... November 2011

By Bob on November 2, 2011 10:56 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
In this new emerging era for higher education, innovations in enrollment building strive to take advantage of the new landscape rather than struggle to maintain or restore the past. This month's newsletter highlights new ventures from each U.S. coast: Northeastern University andCalifornia State University.

Does your interest in mobile marketing include the best way to use QR codes? If so, make sure that you do not doom your experiment to failure with landing pages that are not mobile-friendly and placements where smartphones don't work. More on QR codes in my interview article with Academic Impressions at bit.ly/v8mind

Last month I visited Adelaide, Australia for a workshop presentation on mobile marketing for the Australian International Education Conference. Review the slides and download a copy atslidesha.re/w5debM 

November 18 at 3 PM I join Brian Niles for a "Free on Friday" mobile marketing discussion broadcast on Facebook from the TargetX offices outside Philadelphia. Join us aton.fb.me/vBHNoU 

Two Writing Right for the Web webinars in December will close the conference and webinar season this year. Register for one or both parts at bit.ly/n5S83d

And now here are your marketing news and notes for November.
__________________________________
California State Plans Expansion of Online Undergrad Programs

Faculty may be uncomfortable with online programs but that is not stopping the inexorable growth underway. The latest example comes from California State University, where a recently announced plan calls for an initial consolidation of online programs underway at several campuses into a system-wide effort.

Overall, 44 master's degree and 19 bachelor's degree programs are offered now.

Market demand is a factor. Planners envision that some students will pay higher tuition for an online course that is overcrowded and unavailable as a regular undergrad offering.

More on the plans and faculty reaction at bit.ly/u0FL7n 
__________________________________
Northeastern University Expanding Graduate Programs outside the Northeast

Boston is a fine city, but Northeastern has larger plans to open graduate degree programs and form research partnerships across the U.S. The first new center has opened in Charlotte, NC. Look for future sites in Seattle, Austin, Minneapolis, and the Silicon Valley.

Each city is a market where the university believes the demand by adults for master's programs is growing but is underserved. An initial investment of $60 million fueled a major expansion of faculty who will travel to teach in the programs that will combine online and in-class education.

Review the Northeastern effort in a Chronicle article at bit.ly/sWGNmN
__________________________________
Jakob Nielsen and Ruthless Editing for Mobile

Web sites for every large organization have an enormous amount of useless content, added over the ages but never deleted.

People who are thinking about mobile websites need to think first about content elimination. Yes, this is politically difficult but it is also imperative. 

The latest Nielsen Alertbox usability report provides ammunition for anyone who needs help in advancing this argument on their campus. See "Mobile Content, If in Doubt Leave it Out" atbit.ly/qjo3Uj
__________________________________
10 Tips for Best Facebook Writing

When and how often should you post to Facebook? How long should a post be? What days and times are best?

Andi Graham gives us 10 clues to more effective writing for Facebook based on her reading of what will make your content score higher on Facebook's EdgeRank factors.

One plus for Twitter fans: posts of less than 80 characters get 66 percent more engagement than longer posts. Yes, brevity counts here as everywhere online.

For more on Facebook success, read her column at bit.ly/pVD3VP
_________________________________
Test Your Website: 31 Criteria for Mobile Effectiveness

Brian Niles sent this along after our first "Free on Friday" conversation.

Visit the mobiReady website, enter the URL for your site, and get back a rating for how your traditional site performs on 31 factors that help or hinder viewers from a mobile device.

Harvard.edu, for instance, passed on 10 elements and failed on 9 others. It will not do well when visited from a smartphone. And neither will bobjohnsonconsulting.com.

Neither result was surprising. Yours will probably be similar. But if visits to your regular site are increasing and you need something to shock people into the need to create a mobile friendly web presence, share the results for your site after you visit bit.ly/rNX4t9 
__________________________________
Results of the Quest for Full Pay Students

Enrollment managers were treated to an indictment of the current emphasis in higher education on enrolling more students who do not need financial assistance. Competition for that Holy Grail has increased since the economic bottom fell out a few years ago, often seen as a search for more international students and, in the public sector, more out-of-state students.

At the ACCRAO SEM conference this week Kati Haycock took the enrollment profession to task for not resisting this focus, with the result that income inequality at colleges and universities in the U.S. inevitably will increase.

Compare your school to the picture she paints after you read the InsideHigherEducation article at bit.ly/vv26VF
__________________________________
University Magazines on an iPad

Thinking about making your university magazine available on an iPad or other tablet device?

If so, do not miss the AdAge review of the success of commercial magazines and newspapers on these devices. In short, you cannot take the quick and easy route of an "enhanced PDF" format on the iPad. That does make the sophisticated readers on these devices any happier than PDF publications do on regular websites.

For factors that will increase the success of your magazine on a tablet, check the report atbit.ly/uh5H3U
__________________________________
Text Messaging in the U.S.

A September report from the Pew Internet and American Life Project reports a leveling off of the frequency of text and phone use on mobile phones from 2010 to 2011. More people overall prefer to phone than text. Heaviest text use is by people 18 to 24 years old, who send about 109 texts each day or about 3,200 each month, but texting is very strong right up to 49 years of age.

Download a PDF of the 14 page report at bit.ly/tVgeME 
_________________________________
In the Chronicle of Higher Education: College Not Worth the Debt

Yes, a sentiment that higher education does not need to see spread starts off this month of November in the Chronicle.

Do you think this belief will spread? With few exceptions, the unemployment rate for current college graduates is unacceptably high in relation to the debt incurred and that is not likely to change in the immediate future.

The opinion piece by Frank Donoghue is at bit.ly/tYyQsb 
__________________________________ 
My Upcoming Conferences and Webinars in 2011

Attend an upcoming conference to share questions and answers with people who are building a competitive advantage in higher education marketing. Join me at these events.

November 6, AMA Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education, Chicago, IL: "Mobile Marketing in Higher Education: Getting Ready for 2012 and Beyond" pre-conference tutorial. Link to the program PDF and register at bit.ly/hzODPI 

November 8-10, J.Boye Conference Aarhus11, Aarhus, Denmark: Tutorial on top task analysis for mobile communication and regular session, "Websites and Brand Strength: Achieving a 90% Customer Rating." Review and register at aarhus11.jboye.com/ 

December 6, 8: Academic Impressions Webinars: "Writing Right for the Web: Social, Mobile, and Traditional Websites." Registration is open now at bit.ly/n5S83d. 

Improve your online marketing. Expand the writing, editing, and search marketing skills of people on your campus. Host a campus workshop on online marketing.

Contact me at bob@bobjohnsonconsulting.com
____________________________________________
That's All for Now 

Be a marketing champion on your campus.

Bob Johnson, Ph.D. (bob@bobjohnsonconsulting.com) 
President
Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC
__________________________________________
Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

Increase your online marketing success with these 6 services. 
• Customer Carewords Research with Gerry McGovern
• Writing Right for the Web: Webinars, Conferences, Campus Workshops
• Marketing Communications Website Reviews 
• Competitive Website Reviews 
• SEO for Effective Marketing 
• Marketing Analysis for Google Analytics

Start now at www.bobjohnsonconsulting.com/whatwedo.html
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