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Book a DemoTrends in Higher Education Marketing: The Rise of the Expert
September 12, 2014 - by Philip Bliss
Once upon a time, even generalists were sought after as experts within organizations. These days, as knowledge moves faster around the globe, generalists are no longer as coveted as they once were. In today’s knowledge economy, the specialists are taking their place.
With one Google search, we now have better access to the most specialized expertise anywhere in the world. Take for example the issue of aging, which just 10 years ago was a relatively sparse topic. Now in 2014, with an aging population of boomers, the topic of aging has exploded to include specialists ranging from geriatric psychiatrists like David Conn at Baycrest Hospital, to aging policy advocates such as Dr. Jane Barratt from the Interational Federation of Aging, to Robert O’Toole, President of the National Eldercare Professionals Network addressing the practicalities and financial implications of an aging population.
Governments are demanding more ROI from schools
With specialized knowledge on the rise, this is also being reflected within our economy, as employers are placing a larger emphasis on individuals with a more specialized skill set. This is evidenced by Google’s growth in the Kitchener-Waterloo area since it arrived in 2005 with the acquisition of Reqwireless, a mobile phone software developer. At the time, it had about 30 employees in the University of Waterloo’s research and technology park and now employs over 250. Its strategic location, situated in close proximity to the University of Waterloo, home to one of the world’s top applied math and computer science programs – is no coincidence. The formation of these skill-based clusters have caused other large companies to make the move as well, as recently evidenced by Square, payment platform started by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey.
Politicians have also taken notice and the latest trend for specialized knowledge has now become a priority in how governments fund post-secondary institutions. Earlier this month, the Ontario government unveiled a sweeping set of agreements established with universities and colleges that will oblige them to choose areas of specialty and avoid overlapping programs with one another. This was done largely in an effort to streamline the course offerings and the education system in general to mirror the demands of our current economy and to avoid duplication amongst programs that schools are offering.
Schools need to prove their relevance to the real world more than ever.
This latest move is a reflection of the changing landscape of the post-secondary market in general. Institutions are being challenged more than ever to demonstrate the value of their degree programs and their return on investment to the prospective students deciding on where to go.
The changing nature of the university landscape is now requiring institutions to get on the bandwagon with initiatives such as S.T.E.M. programs focusing on science, technology, engineering and mathematics) in order to help our economy stay competitive in the 21st century.
Reputation matters more than ever.
In this era of specialization, a university’s brand reputation matters more than ever. This reputation is achieved at three levels: the institutional brand level, the program brand and ultimately with the university’s faculty.
Universities currently spend more on their faculty than they do on any other line item in their operational budgets. Yet there appears to be a disconnect between the priority a university places on acquiring and retaining top faculty and the lack of promotion these individuals receive through the school’s marketing channels around their areas of focus.
The new tools shaping faculty brand awareness
For many years, university faculty have embraced social media platforms, such as Twitter, YouTube or LinkedIn as a way to better connect with students and help make their expert profile visible online.
Now a new set of tools and online education platforms such as Coursera, Udemy, EDx (just to name a few) are providing a means for faculty to deliver expert content to a much larger audience through MOOCs (massively open online courses), which in turn are also helping them build their personal brands and showcase their expertise.
As these courses grow in popularity (and by extension, the experts as well) it has never been more important for universities to associate their institutional brands with the brands of their rock star faculty. This starts with helping make their experts more visible.
“Invisible experts” are the key to growing an institutions brand
In addition to aligning themselves with their ‘rock star faculty’, marketing departments at colleges and universities need to place more emphasis on their ‘invisible experts’.
Faculty experts are the key to a university building a specialized brand reputation. Creating ways to make these experts more discoverable for media and speaking opportunities will enable schools to keep their brand top of mind around areas where their reputation really matters.