EDU Marketing Minute

By Bart Caylor

Friday Finds - New Ideas Under $500 - July 2022

#129・ Jul 29, 2022

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Friday Finds - New Ideas Under $500 - July 2022

By Bart Caylor • Issue #129 • View online

Welcome to our inaugural issues of “Friday Finds.” This is my occasional newsletter to highlight budget friendly tools and ideas that could help you with your education marketing - even those on the tightest budget!

Use these ideas fit within the best practices and are effective in moving the needle for both enrollment and advancement.

If you have an idea your team is using, please let me know and I’ll include it in an upcoming issue, and if you have feedback on today’s issue, please reply and let me know!

Thanks,

Bart

For Personalization

Spokenote™ Stickers - $9

Scan. Smile. Share. spokenote™ stickers really are that easy. All you have to do is grab a sticker, scan the QR code with a smartphone, and record a video note. Your video will automatically be tied to this code.

I love these stickers for adding personalization to print communications. They bridge the gap between digital and print.

Here are some use cases:

Stick these on donor receipts and letters to have a personal message from the major gifts officer or president.
Stick one on an acceptance package envelope with a congratulations video from the admissions counselor or president.
Stick them on greeting cards from enrollment or development.
Stick them on a “self-guided” tour of the campus.
Use them for “easter-egg” hunts for orientation or visit days.
Etc.

Use the link for an exclusive 10% discount for Caylor Solutions friends on the 10-pack trial.

www.spokenote.com • Share

BombBomb Video Messaging - Starting $33/mo

Get better results quickly and easily by adding video to any email or text message. I have written about this many times and have seen the impact it has on enrollment and giving efforts. Who isn’t impressed when they see a video with their name in the preview gif?

Here are some use cases:

Add a personal video of congratulations to an acceptance email from the admissions counselor, director, or president.
Send a personal video from the professor who met them over lunch during the campus visit.
Send a personal video from a student to your major donor to thank them for the gift that provided their scholarship.
Send a personal video message via text to remind your key recruits about campus visit days, deposit, and registration.

bombbomb.com • Share

Full-Featured Live Chat - Starting $29/mo

Olark pricing is simple and flexible - Unlimited chats and contacts, pay only for the people on your team who are on live chat. Plans start at $29 per month.

Here are some use cases:

Train counselors and students on how to use the system and allow them to respond via the app at key windows of time (evenings, weekends, etc.)
Develop response scripts in the tool for common questions and non-enrollment conversations (registrar, transcripts)
Engage prospective students and families and then drive them to the next step call-to-action…“Would you like me to send you more information?” - “Would you like to start your application today for free?” - “Could I schedule you for a visit in the next few weeks, or better yet, could I walk you through our virtual visit right now?”

www.olark.com • Share

Campus Experience

We know that getting students on campus is critical and often makes all the difference. But, in a post-pandemic world, research is showing that students want to see more before coming to campus. These tools can get you great content for your website and social media prior to the prospective family arriving on campus.

Insta360 ONE X2 – Waterproof 360 Action Camera with Stabilization - $499 Amazon

5.7K waterproof 360 action camera with FlowState stabilization, Invisible Selfie Stick effect, AI editing & more. Unlock a world of creative possibilities.

I have talked a lot about using 360 cameras for virtual campus tours. I am intrigued with this new product in some of the built-in features: stabilization, horizon focus, and an invisible selfie stick.

Use Cases:

Create a budget-friendly campus tour and upload to Google Maps.
Supplement your current tour with specific building tours (see how Cedarville University does this with their dorms below).
Create engaging Instagram and TikTok posts.
Use during campus events (visit days, registration, orientation) and share clips with attendees for sharing on social media.
Use engaging videos for your website.
Create a 3-minute experience and connect to a QR code for your road materials/booth.

Be sure to check out the “Creator Deal” on Amazon.

www.insta360.com • Share

Example of how Cedarville University is using the 360 cameras for budget-friendly tours of dorms:

Parker Hall | 360 Tour

Roundme - Create Virtual Tours Online - $99/yr

Roundme - create, upload, license, and embed 360° degree VR and gigapixel panoramic pictures and virtual tours online.

Use Cases:

Use the Insta360 (or other 360 cameras) to create your campus tour and upload it to your own campus map.
Interactive campus tours.
Interactive building tours.
Interactive city tours.

roundme.com • Share

Road Ideas

NFC Business Cards - Starting at $50

NFC business cards give you the power to transfer data or cause any action on a smartphone instantly. Now you can have the greatest networking, marketing, and business tool on a streamlined card.

Use Cases:

Provide each counselor with a custom card that will allow them to transfer various key information (contact info, mini webpage, etc.)
Allow prospective students to “play with them” as they wait in line to chat at college fairs.
Allow Mom and Dad to tap them onto their phone as well.
Change your card’s action simply with your V1CE account in under 10 seconds
Imagine being at a fair and wanting to promote different programs or details to people you meet and once finished being able to see in-depth reporting.

v1ce.co • Share

Example of the back-end management upgrade:

Back end system that allows me to edit the landing pages. $60 per year.

NFC Taps - $50 + $50 yearly subscription

Same technology and platform as the cards, but small NFC tap dots can be placed anywhere.

Use Cases:

Set up a booth with small x-wings (FedEx Office - $18) - with program information, or other school distinctives. By sticking the dot on the back will allow users to tap the banner to view more information about the school.
Stick on a mobile phone to use in place of the business cards.
Get the three-pack of NFC Taps here for $63.

v1ce.co • Share

Professional Development

How to Market a University - Mastercourse -Enrollify - $39

Enrollify’s Mastercouse on How to Market a University features Dr. Teresa Flannery, one of the most prolific and influential higher education marketing leaders. Sign up today.

www.enrollify.org • Share

The Higher Ed Marketer

The Higher Ed Marketer is centered around marketing professionals in the field of higher education. If you’re looking for real, practical advice on how to level up your marketing game, this is the show for you.

Each episode features conversations with some of the best and brightest marketing minds in higher education, discussing the future of marketing, new technologies, and so much more.

www.higheredmarketerpodcast.com • Share

ebook: 25 Ideas for Great Admissions Content - Caylor Solutions

Looking for ideas that will impact your enrollment? This ebook is for you! With over 20 years in education marketing, Caylor Solutions has pulled together this ebook to provide you with practical and effective ideas for your education marketing!

www.caylor-solutions.com • Share

Enrollment Leaders Training - Association for Biblical Higher Education

Intensive two-day training on the art and science of effective enrollment management. Designed for all levels of staff including the president, enrollment leaders, and admissions support staff – this “how-to” conference will help you develop and strengthen your enrollment strategy and outline key elements for effective execution.

I’ll be presenting at this conference in October.

www.abhe.org • Share

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