Newsletter #69: UCL has 28 podcasts in its network; Google says almost half of Gen Z uses TikTok for search; Hyundai’s vision of the future includes creators living out of their cars
✏️ From the Education Marketer desk
UCL has 28 podcasts in its network. And it plans to add more. Look
Nathan and Matt don’t agree with me on dark social attribution. Look
1 huge content discovery I wish I’d made earlier. Look
📰 HE news
More universities are drawing links between academic experience and student wellbeing. New York University runs up to 6 faculty workshops a semester, sharing how to move from lecture-based to experiential teaching. Who knew that someone talking at you for 2 hours could be disengaging? WonkHE and Pearson have a deep dive on the topic too. It turns out that an “inclusive” academic experience can do wonders for students making friends, which, the research shows, is valued above getting on with flatmates and participation in SU events. Even something as small as “making sure lecture recordings are available” had a profound impact on how students felt. Belonging is multitouch. WonkHE Research | Student Experience Project Research (US)
US community colleges continue to find extreme solutions to the country’s enrolment crisis. Laney College, Oakland, is offering… Everything. Free tuition, student health fees, bus passes, meals, weekly produce boxes (on top of meals?) and rental Chromebooks for the fall semester. The college acknowledges that education is now viewed as a luxury by the vast majority of its students - yep, $30,773 a year will do that. That said, it’s a bold effort, but emerging sponsored degrees are getting more press and are definitely more wallet-friendly. Read
📊 Marketing and media news
Meta is about to report zero quarter growth for the first time, which goes some way toward explaining the hot mess of Instagram right now. In fact, reach on Reels is becoming a bit of a meme and Twitter isn’t short of examples: “Views on IG Reels: 🤪35k🤪. Views on my TikTok: … .. 4 🫠.” Meta is DESPERATE to save itself from obscurity. IG slips further down charts for time spent for teens every year and the metaverse is 10 years out. That’s one hell of a gap. With engagement on in-feed posts down 44% on 2019, it looks like IG is betting big on Reels. Make sure you take advantage of the ridiculous reach while it lasts. Zero growth | Fall in post engagement
Google’s reported that nearly half of Gen Z are using TikTok and Instagram for search. If you still need convincing that publishing natively is the future - there it is. This all comes off the back of news that kids and teens are watching (on average) 91 minutes of TikTok per day compared with just 56 minutes of YouTube. Yep, an app on the scene for less than 7 years is eating Google’s lunch across two verticles. What is it to do? Google Maps is a good proxy. Gen Z never used printed roadmaps, so, naturally, aren’t using an app that looks like one. Google’s answer: Immersive View, a way to explore space (visually) via AI. How is that thinking applied to video and search? Somehow I don’t think it’s more YouTube Shorts. Read
Bonus: Meta launched its new “Creator Marketplace.” Worth a look if you want to get started with creator partnerships. Read
🏫 What unis are doing
For fun, I Googled Clearing and followed the first two ads… Oh yes, this is how I roll. Surprisingly, the first was for University of Glasgow (tough year?) which is still rocking its timeless Team UofG creative. The landing page isn’t the best but honestly, it’s good to see a uni campaign like TeamUofG going long. Stick with something long enough and you can build momentum, in this case: A campaign that resonates with the uni’s community as well as incoming students. Next, Oxford Brooks already has its vacancies (grades and all) clearly displayed in a table which is a MAJOR plus. The landing page is good too - functional, clear and ideal for this point in the Clearing cycle. Glasgow | Oxford Brooks
Georgia Tech published a Reel about its new micro robot, which doubles up as the playbook for sharing research news as short-form video. 1) Provide context: An accompanying text post outlines the technology, but grounds it in real-life applications. 2) Be novel: What is the one remarkable thing about the research? Play on that. For Georgia Tech it was comparing the robot to the size of a penny. 3) Good pacing: The video is only 20 seconds but we have 8 edits and movement to keep the viewer’s attention. Look
Moody Bible Institute has a fascinating business model. It generates $110,000,000 annual revenue with around a third of it being made by media sales. Moody Radio (its Christian Radio network) generates $2.3m a year in sponsorship, advertising and donations. Moody Publishers, its book and digital publishing business, generates an incredible $30m a year via book sales and subscriptions. Oh, and then there’s the student recruitment its media drives indirectly… For higher ed, Content marketing is a business model. Moody Bible Institute | Moody Radio | Moody Publishers
🧑🎓 What students are saying
“I have utility bills and rent to pay each month and I'm from a low-income family... They've got to book time off work and cover the cost of fuel to drive up here. I've fought tooth and nail against my health for three years to do a course and graduate, only to come to the point that it's so expensive I can't go and my family can't come.” Students on the cost of attending a graduation event. Read
👾 Culture shock
1970s New York through the eyes of a taxi driver. Look
Hyundai’s vision of the future includes creators living out of their cars. Look
Gen Z’s taking stock and it’s playing out as a trend on TikTok. Of course. Read
