Graeme Menzies, Director of Marketing Communications & Social Media at The University of British Columbia, joins Michael Waxman-Lenz, Intead CEO and co-founder, to share his vast knowledge of marketing and social media in the higher education realm. Higher education professionals seeking to improve their marketing, communications and social media strategies will gain a great deal of insight through Mr. Menzies discussion.
Mr. Menzies colorful marketing history includes serving as the Director of Communications for the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games. His experience of Olympic proportion has given Mr. Menzies a unique understanding of marketing and communication at the global level.
The first consideration to developing a marketing communication or social media strategy is how to address the vast number of channels that currently exist. Marshall McLuhan’s Tetrad of Media Effects provides a useful framework and leaping off point. The Tetrad is a useful workshopping tool for thinking through the social media and marketing tool box. Institutions that are considering new channels for exposure might find the Tetrad useful in their analysis.
According to Mr. Menzies, “A consequence of social media is that email has gotten some credibility back.” Students don’t want to receive chatty emails-- chatty, social messaging is best found on Facebook, Twitter and similar tools. Students see email as authoritative and official and expect messaging to be similar. Mr. Menzies goes on to discuss differences in communication with domestic and international prospective and admitted students.
The conversation also includes suggestions about managing social media strategies globally. Mr. Menzies warns about spreading oneself too thin. Careful consideration needs to occur before an institution leaps into every social media outlet globally.
The podcast covers a discussion of the customer service aspect of social media, the identification and establishment of new channels, management of social media, goal setting and measuring success.
