- June 18th: James Runkle, Second Melody

June 18thTwitterview with James Runkle, Chief Strategy Officer
Second Melody

Here’s the transcript of the whole interview:

eduwebconf: Hello @SecondMelody ! Ready to join #eduweb for your 1st Twitterview? #highered

secondmelody: We are ready, willing and able! Very excited to talk to you #eduweb #highered!

secondmelody: Thanks for setting this up, #eduweb !

eduwebconf: sorry about that @SecondMelody, so glad you can chat today, 1st, tell our audience about u n your HE background? #eduweb #highered

secondmelody: I actually worked in admissions for a number of years in admissions recruitment before joining @secondmelody #eduweb #highered

eduwebconf: @SecondMelody great to hear that you have HE background, as do I; it helps out a lot! let’s get started ... #eduweb #highered

eduwebconf: @SecondMelody how do u recommend to a (potential) client that they should have a marketing plan n then a part 4 social media? #eduweb

secondmelody: 3 things: 1) think of your budget to implement the technologies - some are free, some are not #eduweb #highered

secondmelody: 2) Who is your audience? what social media are they using? It could be different outside the US, remember. #eduweb #highered

secondmelody: 3) What are your internal resources? Social media has to be up-to-the-minute so who has the time to manage that in your office? #eduweb

eduwebconf: Great info! one thing I had trouble keeping up with when I was in HE was metrics; why are they so important? @SecondMelody #eduWeb #highered

eduwebconf: What is the best way to measure? Google? WebTrends? how frequently do u monitor/report on them? #eduweb #highered @SecondMelody

secondmelody: If you can’t track it, don’t do it! Metrics are so important. You can measure emails read, website visits, impressions, #eduweb #highered

secondmelody: Metrics help you do three things: 1) know what’s working so you can do more of it #eduweb #highered

secondmelody: 2) Know what isn’t working so you can stop spending money on it #eduweb #highered

secondmelody: 3) prove to your higher-ups that you’re doing your job and your budget is necessary #eduweb #highered

secondmelody: Google Analytics are great - robust and FREE. WebTrends is robust, but frankly, not necessary to spend the money on it #eduweb #highered

secondmelody: Check analytics as often as you can! Be obsessive. Look at the numbers and think “so what?” #eduweb #highered

academicoatmeal: Yes! Metrics are important in every form of advertising.Outdoor advertising finally got metrics: Article: http://tinyurl.com/2fbmkb3 (expand) #eduweb

secondmelody: So What does this number mean to my institution, specifically? So what does it mean to my enrollment funnel? #eduweb #highered

eduwebconf: who in HE is doing the metrics? social media? someone in IT? marketing/Communications? #eduweb #highered @SecondMelody

academicoatmeal: RT @secondmelody: Check analytics as often as you can! Be obsessive. Look at the numbers and think “so what?” #eduweb #highered

secondmelody: The person who pays for the mkt campaign should also know if it’s working AKA check the metrics! #eduweb #highered

secondmelody: IT staff won’t be as invested in the success of your campaign as you will be. Plus, they won’t have to defend any failures. #eduweb

secondmelody: You can also have custom analytics built for your site to suit your specific needs, if you like, as an option to keep in mind. #eduweb

eduwebconf: If you’re institution is recruiting internationally, what r the top 3 things 2 do for their website design? @SecondMelody #eduweb #highered

secondmelody: Sorry for all the tweets but as you can tell, we love metrics around here! I can’t stress the importance enough. #eduweb #highered

eduwebconf: that’s cool about the metrics, I don’t think enough people know enough of them @SecondMelody #eduweb #highered

secondmelody: For recruiting internationally: websites can be your best recruitment tool. Keep these three things in mind…#eduweb #highered

secondmelody: 1) design is important - a photo of a bridge might not mean ‘bridge the gap’ in another language #eduweb #highered

secondmelody: 2) assess your current site - can you remove some cultural idioms to make it easier for int’l students to understand? #eduweb #highered

secondmelody: 3) don’t translate, transCREATE (thanks @marketingprofs for that) #eduweb #highered

secondmelody: Don’t just translate your content. Create a new experience for students from that region. Some things just don’t translate. #eduweb

academicoatmeal: @secondmelody and @eduweb are having a Twitterview right now about #highered marketing! Follow #eduweb for excellent info.

eduwebconf: what do you mean by transCREATE? @SecondMelody #eduweb #higheerd

eduwebconf: can you offer some HE websites that fit this “transCREATE”? @SecondMelody #eduweb #highered

secondmelody: Yes, transCREATE. Think of your website for int’l students as a whole new creation, not just a translation of your current site. #eduweb

secondmelody: We did a website for Study New Jersey - a consortium of all NJ schools http://bit.ly/cEVvKI (expand) #eduweb #highered

secondmelody: Check it out - the design and language is purposefully basic such that it will work across different cultures #eduweb #highered

secondmelody: The Study New Jersey site also provides navigation in simple terms so int’l students can navigate it on their terms. #eduweb #highered

eduwebconf: I’ll check out NJ site ... another ? when do you advise a HE institution to outsource? why? for what? #eduWeb #highered @SecondMelody

secondmelody: When to outsource is a good question. It’s really a question of time and money #eduweb #highered

secondmelody: Keeping thins in-house is often cheaper, but takes more time. By adding add’l staff (outsourced) you can speed up the process. #eduweb

secondmelody: The other benefit of outsourcing is that you get a fresh perspective. New blood. New energy. That alone can be worth the $$$. #eduweb

secondmelody: Pay the $$$ and outsource when it’s something you can use for a long time AKA social media sites, CMS set-up, new web templates #eduweb

eduwebconf: @SecondMelody what tasks would you outsource? what do you recommend? #eduweb #highered

eduwebconf: @SecondMelody our tweets ... Q n A s ... are hitting each other at the same time, so sorry for repeats #eduweb #highered

secondmelody: Outsource design and development - keep content in-house because you know your school better than any agency could! #eduweb #highered

eduwebconf: @SecondMelody Here we are using Twitter n doing a Twitterview, which I don’t think most people know of what SM tools do u recommend? #eduweb

secondmelody: 3 things: 1) Facebook fan page for the whole college (note: be open for honest wall posts!) #eduweb #highered

secondmelody: 3) private online communities (such as sites built in Ning) are great for the right audience AKA accepted students #eduweb #highered

secondmelody: 2) Twitter accounts, broken down by dept, if possible. Have a main school Twitter account as well. #eduweb #highered

secondmelody: OK, one more: remember int’l audiences use Orkut and other SM that we don’t think of here in the US. Depends on your pop. #eduweb #highered

eduwebconf: @SecondMelody Well, we’re coming to an end shortly of our twitterview; anything else you’d like to talk about? #eduweb #highered

secondmelody: Yes, don’t get stuck inside the ivory tower. There is a lot you can learn from other industries and the way they market. #eduweb #highered

eduwebconf: @SecondMelody Thnx 4 taking the time today 2 be part of our 2010 Twitterview Series! Will see you end of July n Chicago #eduweb

secondmelody: Also, we are psyched to attend the conference in July! Hope to see everyone there! #eduweb #highered

secondmelody: Thank YOU @eduwebconf for the opportunity. We will see you in Chi-town! #eduweb #highered

academicoatmeal: Excellent Twitterview with @eduwebconf and @secondmelody today! Check it out at #eduweb

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