I’ve spent most of my communications career working in agencies. I trace my love for higher education to my first official account – the College of Computing at Georgia Tech, a top-10 computer science program. There, I was exposed to technology innovations on a regular basis – robotics, cyber security, big data. Coming from a more “numbers-not-words” family, data and analytics piqued my curiosity. While computational algorithms were light years beyond my level of comprehension, I relished seeing and hearing first-hand how big data was going to shape the world around us.
Fast forward 10+ years, and we see how data has reshaped the way we live, work. And, for the purposes of my chosen career field, how we communicate. Data has given us the ability to put science behind what was once considered an art. It makes communications more customized and targeted, predictive and quantified.
Similarly, we as communicators also can use measurement to test assumptions that other parts of the enterprise make. In that way, we can help improve the operations of the businesses we work in.
Data and PR: Still A Struggle
And, yet, as communicators, there is still a struggle with how to apply data to our work. Why have data and PR always had such a tricky relationship?
Consider higher education. Often at the directive (OK, pressure) of presidents, provosts and board members who have focused heavily on academic prestige, top PR practitioners at universities traditionally have spent more hours figuring out how to get a story in The NY Times than making sure the right audiences on the right channels are receiving the messages the university is sending.
I’m certain some readers are nodding in empathy with this example. Academia is far from alone in having leaders who think media relations begins and ends with placements in The NY Times, Wall St Journal or other major outlets.
Conversations about channel optimization and holistic campaigns are sometimes considered too marketing – and, let’s be honest, “marketing” is misunderstood and vastly underestimated in a university setting. Often confused with branding or confined to business and law schools or online degree programs, historically marketing has taken a second seat to communications. The evidence is a paucity of true CMOs in higher education.
Course Correction
But now, some universities are shifting course – and data is helping to drive that change. Job boards are filling up with postings for senior-level strategic marketers, content strategists and digital communications leads who understand how to harness the power of data and insights.
And communications departments are connecting more closely with their admissions and advancement counterparts, integrating PR and social with fundraising campaigns and recruitment efforts to more clearly demonstrate ROI against true financial objectives.
In light of this evolution, what are ways that communications teams can start to effectively use data to improve performance?
- Track and Audit Constantly. Regularly audit peer and competitor channels to understand whitespace, not just at a macro, brand level, but even on a channel-by-channel and story-by-story basis. Track competitor engagement levels and their reach as regularly as you do your own metrics. Understand what topics they are leaning into, so you can determine the best way to differentiate your storytelling and stand out. Also, take immediate advantage of new social ad transparency policies to see what other institutions or organizations are promoting. This can help shed light on not just what others are promoting, but alert you to sponsored posts that are talking about you – accurately or not.
- Use data to ensure that stories – and the way they are told – are resonating and standing out. Each story – whether on new research, improved educational offerings or even just cool campus features – has a unique audience that seeks out and digests information differently. Take cues from our marketing counterparts and create a profile or persona of each key audience for the university, including stats on news consumption habits and social engagement. When pitching stories or creating campaigns, use these personas as the foundation for your strategy and the best way to find that sweet spot of where to place a story to watch it take off. And then keep track of that post’s performance over time, feeding intelligence into future editorial conversations and decisions to constantly improve performance.
- Integrate paid social as a key part of your 2020 communications budget. Whether to foster greater alumni engagement or chase more research dollars, targeting and amplifying content, especially earned media articles, is imperative for tracking performance and measuring success. But communications teams, unlike their marketing counterparts, often fail to put adequate (or even any) paid media dollars in their annual budgets. In today’s cluttered and highly confusing content environment, using old-school metrics like impressions misrepresents – and actually undervalues – communications’ influence. The data generated when paid is put behind a post or article can help teams prove that content is reaching intended audiences like corporate or government funding agencies, and more closely quantify success aligned with business metrics like admissions yield, research funding and philanthropic donations.
Paid Media and Attitudes
I recognize that some faculty and academic leaders still may look down on paid media, thinking that a sponsored tag on social is akin to “pay-for-play” and lessens the prestige of that hard-earned article on groundbreaking research. Not so!
Instead, counter any uninformed arguments by noting that 55 percent of U.S. adults get their news via social media, and organic posts have a very limited reach. So, without an extra boost, chances are that the coveted New York Times article months in the works will never reach its full, intended audience – and frankly not be worth the time, effort and investment.
Yet another way data can be a higher education communicator’s best friend.
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