News and Events are no substitute for brand-themed stories
Scanning many university website home pages, you come across this scenario all too frequently: The hero images and headlines at the top of the page show pictures from a recent event, or announce a speaker coming to campus, or last month’s alumni party. Where is the
I can imagine how this happens – in fact this is how it has been explained to me many times:
This is what the Administration wants to see
This is what Faculty wants to see
This is what Donors want to see
This is what Marketing wants to see
This is what Prospective Students want to see
These are all true, except for the last one. Prospective students don’t want to see news, or events, or speakers. What’s even more short-sided about this approach is that these universities believe they are executing on their brand promise – they are showing the brand by displaying these news and events features on the home page, believing that prospective students will intuit what the university stands for through them. The thinking goes like this: Having the former president of Finland give a speech at your university shows how global you are. Showing pictures from the last alumni awards banquet shows how much you value tradition.
In my experience this is approach is too convoluted.
What do prospective students want to see? Well if you believe my research, or similar research conducted by others in the higher ed space, they want to see how much it will cost to attend your university. They want to see what your degree programs are like. They want to see what other students look like. But they’re not really interested in learning about your brand. So, what is that big space on your home page for?
That space is for telling stories. Stories that resonate with prospective students.
These stories should inspire, and reveal, and explore deeper truths about the genuine experience that students become immersed in at your university. They should also be deliberate about your brand attributes. Headlines should feature brand keywords. Story subjects should demonstrate brand values.
Also: aspire to produce professional-looking content. It’s tempting to believe that the standard for students is lower, or even that content that looks (and possibly is) student-produced is more genuine, and will therefore be seen to be more authentic. The problem with this thinking is that students A) know how much you charge for tuition, and are not receptive to any idea of thriftiness, and B) are sophisticated consumers of media and culture. They expect high quality content (even if they say they don’t really notice it).