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Reductions in public funding mean that institutions must compete for stu- dents more fiercely than ever before. Students want institutions to demon-
strate value for money in return for their investment. Factors such as employability, facilities, and staff-to- student ratios are becoming major determinants, making it vital for universities to engage with pro- spective students, and demonstrate all the benefits of studying at their institution. Marketers within higher education (HE) are
increasingly looking to digital for its unparalleled reach, versatility, speed and quantifiable results, but have they put adequate strategy and resource in place? We recently surveyed web managers attend-
ing the Institutional Web Management Workshop (IWMW). The results show that many organisa- tions are still focused on more traditional channels and lack the resources to realise the full potential of digital marketing and communications. Only 32 per cent of HE institutions have up-to-date web strate- gies. Web managers cited not having enough staff to publish material, and lack of support from senior management as major barriers to building an effec- tive web presence.
BREAKING DOWN THE SILOS Eduserv’s seminar at IWMW looked at the key challenges web managers face, and discussed ways of overcoming the silos that prevent web content from being created and managed efficiently. Many organisations we spoke to said they felt
they were operating like separate businesses, with different websites and channels that weren’t inte- grated. This can hinder an organisation’s ability to communicate clear and consistent key messages. Great efficiencies can be gained from rationalis-
ing the number of websites an organisation has, not to mention a vastly improved user experience, and the ability to manage content and key marketing messages in institution communications. Devolved authorship is another Achilles’ heel for
the institution’s website. Most have tens, if not hun- dreds, of site editors and bloggers, which can result in inconsistent style, content duplication, confusing user interface (including navigation, architecture and linking practice), and all manner of other con- tent crimes. A CMS that enables editors to configure work-
flows can help alleviate these issues. Organisations should also produce guidelines and provide train- ing to educate content editors on procedure and house style. Even deeper under the hood, separating con-
tent from navigation can dramatically improve the governance of large and complex sites. Site editors and managers can make changes without worrying about breaking architecture; authors can focus on quality content that’s optimised for user and search engines alike.
USER-FOCUSED, SOPHISTICATED PUBLISHING It’s vital for site users to find the information they need quickly and easily. Our customers are often sur- prised by usability testing that shows how people re-
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Marketers within HE are increasingly looking to digital for its unparalleled reach, versatility, speed and quantifiable results
ally use their sites. Powerful in-site search is critical for this. Engaging websites with calls to action, social interaction points and defined activity funnels retain users for longer and they’re more likely to return. Marketing teams should also be using a CMS to
go beyond content publishing. A new breed of CMS as an entire marketing system allows personalisa- tion, targeted messaging, multivariate testing, social media integration and specific, real-time user ana- lytics. What actionable intelligence can your CMS provide? Digital engagement may be the new buzzword but valuable information can be gleaned from knowing why, when, and where potential ‘customers’ might interact with the institution online. This includes social media, mobile applications and multimedia content. 64 per cent of institutions recognised mo- bile as an area they needed to be making more of, with no institutions rating their mobile readiness as very good. This will clearly be an area universities need to address quickly.●
Julian Mitchell is Education Sector Manager at Eduserv
You can read the full report from our IWMW workshop on our blog
www.blog.eduserv.org.uk Marketing.v1.md.indd 63 12/9/11 18:55:37
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