As I mentioned in an earlier post, it’s never been easier to shoot, and edit video. So, why is it so difficult to put video on our websites? Playback quality, browser compatibility, and other complexities make it so challenging that we end up doing something we really shouldn’t — putting videos on YouTube and using the embed code to display them. Go ahead and admit it, we’ve all done it! It might not even seem that bad of an idea, right? Not so!
Posting video to your campus website using YouTube can pose a problem. Your video production will be YouTube branded. Furthermore, if you click on the video while it’s playing, you’re redirected to the YouTube website. Allowing your visitor to be redirected to an external website is clearly not good marketing strategy. You may never get them back.
To keep in control of things, OmniUpdate is now offering a free service called Transcode-It. The idea is to make things really easy for you to take any video and play it right in your web page. Like this…
View the video playing in a fictional university web page.
Transcode-It is a free service that allows college web professionals to quickly convert any video, then upload and display it as a high quality Flash video embedded right in any web page. It’s as simple as inserting an image into a document. Feel free to try it right now at http://www.transcodeit.com/.
Transcode-It requires no software installation and creates a video file that plays on all modern browsers (Windows and Macintosh). Your resulting video will not be branded by Transcode-It, and will not redirect viewers away from your site.
In the spirit of community, we at OmniUpdate hope that colleges and universities will find Transcode-It a helpful service. We offer it as one more tool in your arsenal for reaching that often unreachable audience.
Lance Merker
Guest Blogger, May 2008
CEO
OmniUpdate, Inc.
lance@omniupdate.com
May 27th, 2008
Offering site visitors the opportunity to subscribe to RSS feeds is one feature of a winning website strategy. Assuming your RSS feed is integrated into your web content management software (CMS), every time your staff updates important information on your website, an applicable RSS feed item can be created and sent to your audience. RSS is fantastic because the message is sent in virtually real-time, and isn’t filtered or blocked because it’s delivered to willing recipients… you can’t beat that messaging strategy!
As I mentioned in my last post, RSS feeds can be directed by the student to his or her preferred medium and accessed on a variety of devices, such as Facebook, RSS readers, email and portals. This alone can be huge. Think about it, how many other opportunities do you have to get right on your student’s Facebook?
In addition, RSS can be automatically converted to SMS and rapidly delivered to all subscribing cell phone users.
Now, how effective could RSS be when used for crisis communication? Well, based on a recent Newsweek report, approximately 97% of your target audience keep their cell phones “on stand-by” at all times. These people will get your message, whether they are sitting in a lecture, or on their way to class. While in class, their phones are in silent mode, but many students are still getting text messages discretely during lectures. Other audiences could include prospective students, parents, media, faculty, administrators and alumni.
Combine RSS with your web CMS and you’ve got an extremely powerful and cost-effective way to make updates from one central hub — your website! If subscribing to an emergency RSS crisis feed is integrated into the student enrollment process as part of a crisis notification plan, nearly all students and their affected family members could be registered automatically.
With a little planning, RSS can play an important and crucial role in both marketing and crisis communications.
Lance Merker
Guest Blogger, May 2008
CEO
OmniUpdate, Inc.
lance@omniupdate.com
May 23rd, 2008
George Bernard Shaw once said, “The problem with communication is the illusion that it has been accomplished.” Such is the case for traditional forms of advertising when it comes to prospecting a student population. High school students just aren’t getting the message because they are becoming unplugged from TV, radio, print, and even email. They TiVo or DVR past commercials, and get their news, sometimes inaccurately, through online social communities like MySpace and Facebook. Information, both good and bad, spreads like wildfire via blogs, RSS feeds, chat and private email sent through social networks.
What’s a college to do? Embrace the change!
Your website is still your most valuable marketing asset. And, when used in combination with some truly amazing Web 2.0 technologies, one of the most powerful as well. Consider for example:
1. RSS feeds are an extremely effective and easy-to-add form of communication. Feeds can be directed by students to their preferred medium, such as a cell phone (through text messaging) or to a Facebook account; these can even be used to communicate urgent messages in a crisis situation. I’ll expand further on the value of this feature later.
2. It’s never been cheaper and easier to record and post video to a college website. Rich media is engaging, commonly shared, and expected by your audience.
3. Online chat gives your staff the unique opportunity to speak one-on-one with a student, perhaps providing that nugget of information that might just be the key to influencing his or her enrollment decision.
A content-rich and well-managed higher education website will contain some, if not all, of these features. If your website has not progressed that far yet, you’re not alone–most sites aren’t there yet either. But, keep moving forward. Remember the old saying, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.” Start a pilot today of just one new Web 2.0 technology!
Lance Merker
Guest Blogger, May 2008
CEO
OmniUpdate, Inc.
lance@omniupdate.com
May 20th, 2008
The phrase “Content is King” has been around for a while, but it still holds true. While website design is intrinsically valuable, visitors aren’t searching for design—they’re looking for information. They arrive by typing in a URL, choosing a bookmark, or clicking on a link. The aesthetics of the site has no bearing on their initial arrival. Once there, of course, imagery and graphics help. But, lacking the “right content,” a visitor will quickly leave, and perhaps never return.
For your college or university, the need to provide prospective students with quick access to current and relevant information is intensified. This generation moves fast, thinks fast, and wants their information fast. According to a recent study by Noel Levitz, James Tower and NRCUA on the E-Expectations of high school students, 66% and 61% of A and B students (respectively) rated website content more important than the multi-media experience, and 73% of all students wanted their desired information to be just a few clicks from the home page. These findings are significant when you consider that another 2006 Noel Levitz study on institutional E-recruiting practices found that according to 40% of campuses, 20% of their electronic applicants had made no prior known contact with the institution before applying.
So, what’s the takeaway here? When it comes to your website, content matters! And, when it comes to recruiting, you need to make sure that the really important stuff like academic programs, tuition tables and financial aid—the stuff that decisions are made from—can be found right up front. Good content, complemented by helpful navigation and attractive design and imagery is the foundation of a great website. Add to the site marketing mix some social networking tools, such as the previously discussed blogs, and you’ve competitively spiced up the offering.
Other tools such as RSS and rich-media add real content value too, but we’ll save that discussion for another day…
Lance Merker
Guest Blogger, May 2008
CEO
OmniUpdate, Inc.
lance@omniupdate.com
May 13th, 2008
In my last post, I left with the idea that stimulating regular visits to your blog can be about “wanting more.” The cliffhanger approach to blog posting is certainly one method that works. The fact that you are reading is proof itself. But there’s more. And, last time I promised you three more tips to keep your audience coming back. So, here they are…
Tip #1
Give them what they want!
If your institution is blogging as a means of communicating with prospective students, current students, and others of the “millennial generation,” don’t force institutional messaging into blogs. Create an environment where students themselves can participate (in a controlled manner) in the blog posting. Believe me, your student bloggers will know what topics are most interesting to their peers. Now this might seem very obvious, but it’s not as simple as it sounds. The software and contractual controls you put in place should ensure that you can monitor and veto blog posts before they are live on the web (as marcom professionals it’s your responsibility to the institution). But, don’t get trigger happy with the veto button. Work with your student bloggers to ensure they know where you must draw the line, yet let them be creative with the subject matter to ensure it’s
relevant and interesting to the audience you’re trying to reach.
Tip #2
Embed Videos
The popularity of plopping YouTube videos right into blog posts should come as no surprise. Blogging is very much a Web 2.0 phenomenon and mixed media is a big part of the equation. Offer your bloggers a way to add videos — and if YouTube is just not acceptable (I’ll talk more about that later), then offer ways to convert and upload video files directly to your server. Don’t be afraid of video, embrace it.
Tip #3
Use the 1 in 5 Rule
For every five bloggers you recruit, you’ll only get one that keeps it going. Believe it or not, for all the concerns your administration might have about “appropriate” content issues, the biggest problem you’ll have is a lack of content. Most of your bloggers will disappear on you. And, worst of all, you won’t know which ones until it’s too late. The most enthusiastic, the best writers, or the ones you’re certain will be great are the ones you’ll probably lose first. The solution is to get lots of bloggers. If you figure you’ll have one in five who make it, you won’t be disappointed later.
Ok, let me get off my blogging horse, and get to one of the biggest issues of online communications!
Ah, but for that, you’ll need to wait until next time…
Lance Merker
Guest Blogger, May 2008
CEO
OmniUpdate, Inc.
lance@omniupdate.com
May 7th, 2008
Movies once did it well. Daytime TV still does it well. Some of the biggest budget shows ever aired on TV do it amazingly well–for example, The Sopranos and Lost. I’m talking about the art of the “cliffhanger.” So, why is it that blog posts rarely give you a reason to come back for more?
I’ll come back that that question in a moment…
The purpose of my first post as guest blogger for the month of May is to introduce myself, so I’ll start there. My name is Lance Merker and I’m the CEO of OmniUpdate, Inc. Of course I didn’t start my career as CEO, and fortunately for you, I also didn’t start off in finance as many CEOs do. No, I paid my dues in Marketing for many years, and I can relate well to the efforts you make every day promoting your institution’s brand and identity. I’m here this month to help you with a few ideas, practical tips, and suggestions to help amplify your on-line efforts and make you more successful in your job!
Ok, enough with the formalities. Let’s get back to the topic of cliffhangers…
Blogs are used is so many ways today. They’re used for news, gossip, politics, marketing; the list goes on and on. Not surprisingly, blogs that are wildly popular offer some reason for the reader to return. Sometimes it’s just to read the latest “happenings,” but even those are only popular when readers know something interesting will come next. Regular frequency also creates expectancy in the readership, and helps stimulate more visits. In a nutshell, keeping blog visitors “wanting more” is a huge driving force to successful blogs.
So how can you keep your blog visitors “wanting more”? I’ve got three important tips that I’ll share with you. But, in the spirit of cliffhangers, please tune in next week for these and more…
Lance Merker
Guest Blogger, May 2008
CEO
OmniUpdate, Inc.
lance@omniupdate.com
May 1st, 2008
If your school is suffering from image problems or you know that people have a hard time finding your campus you may have tried just about everything to get people to notice. TV spots. Print ads. Mailings. Hip interactive web sites. You may have even gotten desperate enough to make some really bad videos (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVENWl8uBeg). Let’s face it: brand recognition is a tough thing to buy. But if you’ve been through the ringer trying to get prospects to notice you don’t despair…try flogos!
What’s a “flogo?” A flying logo! (
http://www.flogos.net/) Inventors and special effects gurus Francisco Guerra and Brian Glover have discovered a way to make simple shapes out of a mixture of soap and helium and can send them flying just about anywhere you want. They last up to an hour and can be sent flying into the air from just about any location as long as its a location that can house their super-secret “flogo generator.” And considering that these babies can fly as high as 20,000 feet, you can only imagine the impact that they’d have at your next open house, sporting event, or homecoming day!
What kinds of flogos can they make? They claim to be able to make just about any shape, but the examples (
http://www.flogos.net/downloads.html) they provide on their site seem to indicate that this is a keep of “keep it simple, stupid.” But even if you can’t get your complicated heraldic school crest “flogoed,” think about the possibilities for getting your initials in the sky, the shape of your mascot, or even a simplified version of your President’s head (provided that he or she has a distinctive enough shape).
At this point flogo’s seem like they’re in the “beta” stage, and pricing isn’t available. Even if there are a few bugs to be worked out, I’m sure that we’re all going to see flogos flying over our heads in the pretty near future.
April 17th, 2008
Hello all …
I don’t post often, I rather the monthly guest authors do the postings and if you caught yesterday’s, by the April guest author, Sean Carton, of idFive, you should have noticed it was an April Fool’s posting.
Just to catch all of you up, in case you didn’t know, the 2008 Conference Schedule is now up and chock full of lots of great presentations, including some pre- and post-conference workshops.
Early Bird Registration is now going on till June 1st; it’s $495 till then, going up to $595 after that through the conference. If you’ve already registered and interested in one of the workshops, you can still go back and sign up for those separately; they are $150 per.
And don’t forget … the Conference is hosting the 1st Annual eduStyle Higher-Ed Web Awards on Tuesday, July 22nd. You can still nominate a website or blog.
See you in July!
Shelley Wetzel
Conference Director
April 2nd, 2008
Just when most administrators and vice presidents are finally catching on to the importance of the web in recruiting new students, it turns out that they may be too late. Rather than embracing technology the way their Millennial predecessors have, today’s “GenRen-ers” (those born after 1992) have been turning away from technology in record numbers.
A new report from the PeeU Internet and American Life project (an ongoing research effort that tracks demographic trends in technology) has shocked the technology community by discovering that the majority of kids under the age of 16 aren’t all that interested in technology and are, in fact, turning towards medieval times (and even earlier!) for fun.
“It’s somewhat of an understatement to say that we were completely shocked by the results of our survey,” commented Dr. Basil P. Longfellow, Director of the GenProbeKidScan™ Longitudinal Study Project at PeeU. “While we knew that many pre-teens and teens had begun to be turned off by all the hype surrounding social networking, mobile technology, and gadgetry, we had no idea how far the backlash had gone. But the numbers don’t lie.”
This chart tells the tale. Taken from a sampling of over 10,000 elementary and middle school students nationwide over the past 7 years, it’s a stark indicator of a very clear trend: medieval recreation is in and technology is out for most teens. Over the past 7 years, interest in typical teen pursuits such as talking on the phone, surfing the web, and watching TV are “out” and busking, practicing the lute, and bullbaiting are “in.”
Why are kids turning away from the Web? Professor Jacques DeMoney (pronounced “dee-moe-NAY”), renowned chair of the Media Studies Department at SUNY Hogseye in upstate New York, feels that the answer may lie in the very forces that shape our culture. “If one examines subdeconstructivist dialectic theory, one is faced with a choice: either accept Derridaist reading or conclude that culture serves to reinforce outmoded perceptions of Modernity, given that the premise of Foucaultist power relations is valid.” opined DeMoney in a recent interview, “Thus we must posit a didactic ‘Derridaist reading’ to denote the futility, and some would say the rubicon, of dialectic Modern identity. This trend suggests that we have to choose between subdeconstructivist dialectic theory and poststructuralist objectivism.”
Perhaps, but the kids don’t really care about theory. What they care about is how the burden of growing up with technology has made them feel. When asked why she was spending her afternoon constructing rings of posies in a local park instead of IM’ing her friends from her home computer, Montanna Jenkins, a 12 year old girl from Bethesda, MD, put it simply: “More sorwe ne wot y non,” she intoned in an accent that could only be described as “straight outta Bath,” “yet I speken mine conscience!”
So what are we as higher education technology and marketing professionals to do if we’re going to reach “GenRen?” It’s a tough call: we’ve already staked our careers on the fact that previous generations wanted more technology. Reaching a generation intent on rejecting technology will call for a retooling of our recruitment and communications methodologies. We can only ignore these trends at our peril. Here are some suggestions for reaching out to GenRen:
Move away from the “viewbook” and to the “viewscroll.” GenRen-ers see anything that’s printed as “old tech” and therefore “bad.” They value hand-crafted items as more “authentic” and more “honest.” “Don’t marketest to me!” seems to be the battlecry of this generation. To meet this challenge, try retraining your soon-to-be-obsolete technical staff as illustrators and scribes and have them hand-copy admissions materials onto vellum.
Ignore your web site. It doesn’t work anymore for a generation to whom turning on a lightswitch is seen as the ultimate “sell out.” You may want to maintain a separate “parents only” site for now and an intranet for your more elderly faculty, but begin plans to phase this out over time.
Be aware of the sights and smells of campus. GenRen-ers love open sewers, bonfires, and livestock running around in the open. If you can’t tear down your student housing to accommodate the the “Renners,” stop referring to them as “dorms” and start referring to them as “hovels.”
Email is out. “Campus Criers” are in. Don’t expect to be able to reach “GenRen” kids with email, IM’s, or even on their cellphones. Instead, send a member of the communications staff into the campus Commons every day to shout out the day’s announcements. This is also a good job for any retired faculty who need something to do. They can usually be found lurking around receptions, Commencement ceremonies, or anywhere else it’s possible to find free snacks.
Host “Faires” to attract new students. GenRen is a wary bunch and the idea of an “Open House” will probably spook them. However, if you can assemble a bunch of falconers, strolling minstrels, and fortunetellers to showcase your campus, you’ll be on the right track.
Rethink dining options. GenRen-ers seem to thrive on oversized smoked turkey legs, beef ribs, mead (non-alcoholic, of course!), and pretty much anything served on a stick.
Talk to the Athletic department about their offerings and be sure to insist on sports that involve blood, mud, and armor.
Odors matter! If the admissions staff smells too good they’ll be immediately dismissed. Institute a policy that all admissions counselors can only bathe once ever month.
These ideas may seem a little out there, but it’s vital that we all respond to the trends of today’s prospective students. Many of us missed the boat when the web came along and changed everything…we don’t want to make the same mistake again.
SEAN CARTON, DCD
sr. vice president, chief strategy officer
April 1st, 2008
Yesterday I was chatting with my colleague Cory Cone (about Bodyworlds, painting, and a bit of work) and he asked me why we weren’t using more web apps across our enterprise — or if we had thought of doing that. (When I say “web apps” here I am talking about web apps offered to higher education institutions by folks like Google and Microsoft.) 
My lame answer was that yes, we have been thinking about it and, well, there are some complicated reasons why we haven’t done more of it. (When higher ed administrators don’t have a good answer, you know, we say that the answers are many and complex.) Some of those complex answers have been hashed out thoughtfully over at the CIO forum at EDUCAUSE.
This morning I was reading a post by Floyd Teter over at ORCLville about an experiment he is conducting this month “of attempting to go an entire month without using locally-based apps for anything.” (Speaking of web apps and Oracle: my wife told me the other day that when I say “I was talking to Oracle the other day . . .” she imagines that I am having a serious work chat with the LinkedIn wizard guy at right.)
I still don’t know the answer(s) to Cory’s question. We are pushing so much of our administrative work to web based systems that we host, could/should some of that go to free-ish web apps that we don’t host? I don’t want to open up a new debate (see the EDUCAUSE link above for many reasons why and why not to do it), but I do think it is a good question to keep asking and keep trying to answer it.
Thanks Cory for asking the question (again), thanks Floyd for sharing with us (again), and thank you all for reading.
Ted Simpson
March Guest Blogger
Director, Technologist, Dragoman & Project Manager
Maryland Institute College of Art
tsimpson@mica.edu
March 25th, 2008
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