August
As Seen On TV!
Dan Karleen over at Thomas Peterson’s Syndication for Higher Ed has just put up an interview with Matthew Winkel about RSS and Podcasts. One part stood out to me:
I asked him what’s going with RSS at TCNJ, and how the College is planning to roll out podcasting. They’re toying with the idea of doing a podcast interview series with professors and others on campus.
Nor is Mr. Winkel the only one thinking of or making podcasts with this sort of content. Are prospects really going to listen to this? (Edit: Dan pointed out that Mr. Winkel was not necessarily using his podcasts just for the prospective student audience.) Most of our research has suggested that they (at least our market) are interested in music or music-related podcasts far and away more than any other podcast genre, and that makes sense.
Seems like listening to a talky podcast that a college puts out to sell itself would be about as exciting as watching info-mercials on late night TV. Am I crazy for thinking this? I guess the same could be said for admission videos, though, and those certainly work. I can see a student who’s sitting on the fence being interested in podcasts as a way to help them choose between two or three well-matched schools, but I can’t imagine an average prospect getting much from it. Anyone have any numbers or ROI data they can share?
Maybe it would work best if you included “Act now through this special Podcast offer and receive the limited edition Joe University t-shirt ABSOLUTELY FREE!”
August 14th, 2006 at 11:10 am
Hi Morgan,
Thanks for the mention. Matthew didn’t actually say that his podcasts are intended to have a recruiting-specific focus. Newer media like blogs and podcasts are shaking up university communications in general. However, since you mention recruiting, let’s say I’m a sports nut choosing among several institutions, and one of them happens to offer a video or audio interview with the coaches, players, or staff. All other things being equal (and assuming careful selection of on-air talent), which institution do you think is at an advantage? Taken this way, it’s an opportunity game, not a numbers game, in my opinion. Your thoughts?
Dan
P.S. Love your new blog. Keep up the good work!
August 14th, 2006 at 11:33 am
Thanks for the comment and correction Dan. You’ve given a perfect example of returning to your market to keep your marketing efforts relevant. I sometimes wish that I worked at a big enough institution to make something like a content-specific podcast really worthwhile! One of the problems being at such a small place is that our marketing efforts generally have to appeal to a wide swath of prospects with very different interests and personalities.