Month: April 2007

The web: whose job is it?

The latest post from Eric Hodgson of Fuzzy Content poses that nagging question about the web that we’ve all heard or asked many, many times:

Whose job is the web, anyway?

For many university staffers, the answer is, “Not mine.”

Writes Hodgson: “In helping colleges understand how a Web site should be managed day-in and day-out, I am sometimes surprised at how closely Web content is held by a select few. It is also surprising how many departments want nothing to do with keeping their site up to snuff for visitors.”

For those who say, “The web is not my job,” Hodgson responds:

The Web is everyone’s job, since it affects every department. If you are in the Biology department, and that site is out of date, you need to either change the content or alert the proper channels. You may not be an official “content author”, but if you find a mistake, get it fixed.

More good stuff over there.

New study: marketing pays off

This just in from CASE:

Survey Shows Spending More on Marketing Pays Dividends

Colleges and universities that spend more on marketing are more likely to attract top applicants and boost enrollment yields, according to a new integrated marketing survey by CASE and Lipman Hearne Inc. The nationwide survey of 153 institutions also finds that targeted strategies—including direct, interactive and internal marketing—improve alumni engagement and overall fundraising performance.

“We have known for a long time that colleges and universities benefit by telling their stories in focused and cohesive ways,” said Rae Goldsmith, vice president for communications and marketing at CASE. “But what this survey points out is that the more an institution invests in strategic marketing and communications, the more it will gain in terms of achieving student recruitment and other goals.”

The survey tracks spending approaches and results for 2006 marketing budgets among public and private institutions, including liberal arts, master’s level, and research/doctoral institutions. It is the sixth such survey of marketing spending by Lipman Hearne.

The results show that colleges are spending 50 percent more on marketing than they did as recently as 2000. Much of the increase supports interactive Web-based communications and e-mail, although traditional methods such as letters, view books, and brochures remain strong.