Printing with Personality: Make Every Mailing One-of-a-Kind

It may sound contradictory, but mass mailings have become personal. Advances in digital printing technology mean an institution can now directly tailor every piece it sends out to each individual recipient. This new capacity for print personalization is opening up entirely new ways to connect with both students and alumni.

E-newsletter Best Practices

An e-newsletter can be a very effective tool in your communications arsenal. When produced in tandem with a Web site, magazines, viewbooks and other print pieces, e-newsletters can help your institution keep a constant flow of information directed at your target audiences.

Hot Topics for Higher Education Strategic Communication:
The 2008 Audio Slideshow

We’ve prepared a forecast of some hot topics in marketing communications for 2008, from personalized digital printing to zeroing in on a goal-oriented, budget-driven communication plan.

Guidelines for a College Photo Shoot

A two-or three-day admissions shoot can be incredibly productive. However, unless the quality of the work is to suffer, the client, art director and photographer must be extremely well organized to accomplish so much in such a short time. Here are some pointers to make the most of your shoot.

The Death of the Viewbook

Gone are the perhaps simpler days of search, viewbook, then application. Higher ed professionals are revamping their entire approach to admissions communications — without necessarily larger budgets — to appeal to the media and information consumption habits of the Millennial generation. This paper covers effective trends in print and online admissions campaigns.

Come Together: Strategies for Integrating Web and Print

Web and print are two very different mediums, and content developed for one cannot simply be retrofitted or repurposed for the other. Although there are no absolutes, best practices and insights for creating complementary Web and print products are emerging. (First published in CASE CURRENTS magazine, April 2004.)

It’s Standard(s)

Feeling overwhelmed by Web design abbreviations like CSS, XHTML and XML? Alarmed by Section 508 accessibility requirements, but not sure how to proceed? Learn the basics of Web standards and their benefits for accessibility, and view tips on how to make your Web communications more efficient and adaptable.

Yield By the Numbers

Would you like to design a yield communications campaign that will effectively and almost effortlessly allow you to maintain top-of-mind awareness with your admitted students, all the way through confirmation and enrollment? This paper examines how you can get the right information, delivered by the right people at the right time through the right tools.(First published in Admissions Marketing Report, August 2004.)

Discussion Boards, Chat Rooms and the Power of Transparency

Even if you don’t currently offer boards or chat on your Web site, prospects will find ways to discuss your institution. Stay engaged in that conversation by following these tips and rules for creating successful community experiences. In turn, you might be surprised at what you learn.

How to Make It in the Blogging World

Believable. Manageable. Meaningful. Engaging. These are just some of the ingredients for a successful blog. Blogs can add a valuable human dimension to your marketing communications, but you have to enlist some winning personalities to carry them out. Remember, people subscribe to people, not blogs. Do your thing and the audience will follow.

Six Rules for Digital Success on Your Next Shoot

You’ve finally got the budget approved for a major photo shoot. Now begins the process of finding the right photographer for the job. Learn how to determine if the photographer whose Web site you like can present final files that will pay you back in longevity, flexibility and quality.

The Power of Data-Based Recruiting

If you’re not tapping into the many valuable — and often free! — research tools available, you're missing out on an opportunity. In this paper, we offer tips for accessing and using marketing research, surveys and other information to improve your marketing plans and strengthen your recruitment efforts for business schools.

Engagment Marketing:
Tips for Communicating with Applicants on Their 'Turf' via Blogs, Discussion Boards, Podcasts and Wikis

This white paper examines how you can integrate free marketing into your current communications campaign to convince your applicants and potential applicants that your program is the best match for them, and enhance your chances of conversion from admits to enrollees.

Creating a Compelling Cross-Media Campaign

How an admissions-focused Web site working together with a print and e-mail campaign turned prospective students into active seekers and receivers of information, and helped applications increase by 20% at longtime leader Columbia University School of Social Work.

Hot Topics for Higher Education Strategic Communication: The 2006 Edition

Hot-button issues and emerging trends for this year include the death of the traditional viewbook, the ubiquitous podcast, and early action communications. See more in this list of hot topics.

The Cross-Media Communications Checklist

Whether you’re thinking print or going to the Web, here are a few things to remember.

Integrating Print, Web & E-Strategies for Measurable Recruitment Results

Tips on how to combine the right print, Web and e-mail communications tools in just the right way to recruit for results. Ideas to help you use your resources most effectively for the next admissions cycle.

The Rebirth of a Magazine

How an organization transformed a 17-year-old magazine into an eagerly awaited publication that takes advantage of new media opportunities and is positioned for growth.

Demystifying the Web Site Building Process

Learn the secrets of building a site that works with your other marketing material and over the long haul.

The Power of Usability Testing

Usability testing is a critical step in building a user-friendly Web site in a cost-effective manner. And it’s easier than you may think.

Storytelling: Ancient Art,
New Media

You’ve got the interview that captures a key aspect of your community. Now you need to deliver a credible message that cuts through the cultural clutter. Learn to parlay your story across multimedia channels in Part II of Zehno’s Storytelling white papers.

Interview Techniques that Get Storytelling Results

Admissions, development, communications — our work is all about building relationships, and one of the best ways of forging these connections is storytelling. The best ones move people to action: to enroll, donate or seek more infomation. This paper delivers tips to help you generate intriguing and articulate interviews.

Txt Me

Teens everywhere have embraced the power of texting. In this white paper, education institutions are using this current communications obsession to get their marketing messages out.

Hot Topics for Higher Education Strategic Communication:
The 2007 Edition

Hot-button issues and emerging trends for this year include marketing to boys, de-mystifying the U.S. News rankings, and creating effective podcasts and videocasts. See more in our list of hot topics.

Choosing a Strategic Communications Partner

Tips on how to make the (almost) perfect match — and how to make it last.

Now Featuring:
Case Studies on Web Features

If you believe your Web site could be working harder to help you meet your department goals, consider using a Web feature. These short, high-impact tools will capture — and keep — your audience’s attention. Read case studies of how schools have used Web features.

Hot Topics for Higher Education Stategic Communications in 2005

As experts in integrated marketing communications for higher education, Zehno receives requests from clients industry conferences to present best case practices and workshops on a variety of topics. We’ve prepared a list of the hot topics for 2005, ranging from implementing RSS feeds to creating goal-and-budget communication plans. Let us know if you see a topic of interest, or have ideas on what we could cover that would help you most.

The Five W’s of Communications Audits

A communications audit helps to obtain a clear picture about what works — and what could work better — in your institution’s communications strategy. Get the answers to key questions about this useful tool, including what they are and why — and when — your institution should consider one.

Does Your Web Site Support Your Enrollment Goals?

The dynamic communications environment known as the World Wide Web shows no signs of slowing down — instead spawning new technologies that increasingly influence student recruitment. Are you making the most of this medium?

The Three Magic Words of Marketing

How knowledge, passion and timing work together to assure a project’s success.