Newsletter #79: How to encourage students to write reviews; Education Marketer is now a podcast; Organic reach is falling on LinkedIn
✏️ From the Education Marketer desk
How distinct is your postgrad messaging? Read
If current trends continue, TikTok will generate more ad revenue than Meta by 2027. Read
How to encourage students to write reviews. Read
Organic reach is falling on LinkedIn. Read
📰 HE news
The government missed its own recruitment targets for teachers by 80%. If there was a shortfall of this scale in any other industry - marketing, for example - you’d have students on waiting lists and starting salaries of £50K. But not for teachers. I saw this coming in 2010: As an English major, pretty much all of my coursemates signed up for their PGCEs on graduation. They were happy for a while but eventually, they all left the profession because of stringent curriculums and a painful lack of progression. The truth: It wasn’t worth it then, for £25K, and it isn’t worth it today for just three grand more. UK unemployment has recently fallen to just 3.5% – the lowest rate since 1974 - and talent is starting up elsewhere: The attainment of graduates entering the teaching profession is in decline, with 75% holding a first-class or 2.1 degree this year, down from 78% last year. This won’t be solved with incremental salary rises. Read
📊 Marketing and media news
Meta, Snap and Google are laying off workers but TikTok is planning to increase its US headcount by 2,000. Why? The existential threat of being shut down. Since its mass adoption, TikTok has been scrutinised by politicians, regulators and even the FBI for its use of personal data. Now, it’s escalating. Recently, Forbes uncovered that TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance planned to use the app to monitor the location of some US citizens… But still, advertisers aren’t phased: According to Insider Intelligence, TikTok is expected to make nearly $10 billion in advertising revenue, growing 155% over 2021. So, should higher ed marketers be concerned? Absolutely. With Twitter, we’ve seen what happens when a platform changes the rules of the game: Chaos. Now, imagine if one of your core platforms was removed entirely… Have a backup. Pair several discovery-based channels (like TikTok) with owned channels like email and gated communities. It’s a lot easier to move your audience when you own the data. Spread your bets on social. TikTok tracking citizens | Advertiser caution
Amid declarations of “a war on Apple” and the publication of “The Twitter Files,” it’s easy to miss some of the more subtle changes happening at Twitter. Announced last week, recommended tweets are being rolled out to all users. This means Twitter is flipping the “discovery switch” and it will be harder for those with big followings (universities) to stay on top. However, it also primes audiences to be more receptive to ads and sponsored content (if Musk leaves anything standing for brands to sponsor.) It’s not the TikTok of text (yet) but for a platform that invented the idea of “the follower,” it’s ironic that yours are about to be worth a whole lot less. But there is one silver lining: With creators moving to alternatives like Mastodon, Post and Hive - there is less competition. If you’ve been reconsidering your Twitter strategy in recent weeks, now might be a good time to start publishing and experimenting with what works. Chances are, you’ll reach a new audience. Read
Bonus - Confirmed: Posting memes = more web traffic. Read
🏫 What unis are doing
University of Sydney has mastered the art of “Gen Z vox pops” on TikTok. Three videos, each clocking in between 16K to 365K views. The format is simple: One overarching question e.g. “What are you doing to do with your degree?” and then share the best responses. Instant comedy. Although, for Sydney, some of its comments are pretty savage… Happy comments | Savage comments
Miami University has some new messaging: “The Power of Will.” It’s not badly executed, but when you look at a piece of content, your first thought shouldn’t be “oh look, they have a copywriter!” Be clear, not clever. But where Miami gets it right is its collaboration with The College Tour. Another quality episode. The UK needs an equivalent. The power of Will | Miami on the College Tour
University of Rochester knows how to organise its content. Its news section makes use of categories, building out streams like admissions, research and careers development. I like this. It means you can publish content like “admissions advice for parents” alongside “how feathers evolve over time” and still have everything make sense. Someone’s put in the hours. Homepage | Newspage
Bonus - How far would you walk for Glasgow’s open day? Look
🧑🎓 What students are saying
“[Universities have been] propping up the companies most responsible for destroying the planet, [while the climate crisis was] the defining issue of most students’ lifetimes.” Students on three more universities - The University of the Arts London, University of Bedfordshire and Wrexham Glyndwr University - joining the fossil fuel employer ban. Read
👾 Culture shock
YouTube comments, but they’re interactive art. Look
AI creates a movie. Look
