Marketing Your Upcoming Class LBS Harper College Continuing Education and Business Outreach January 7, 2016 Presenter: Mike McCandless, Manager, CE Marketing and Operations

Agenda Introductions Marketing at Harper CE Marketing resources for CE Instructors Questions, Discussions and Sharing Assignment

Marketing at Harper CE Your instructor. Marketing is a team sport. It’s all about enrollments. Why courses get cancelled. Promotion helps.

Marketing resources for CE instructors 1.Web pages 2.Course Schedule 3.CE Blog 4.Social media 5. 6.Flyers 7.Press releases and PR 8.Open houses/Events 9.Telling others 10.Testimonials 11.Advertising 12.Videos More on the website at

1. Web pages Harpercollege.edu/ce is a modern, responsive website.

2. Course Schedule The print course schedule currently is produced three times per year and is mailed to between 130 and 150,000 addresses each term. We are actively looking for ways to reach more people in our district with more information, more often. We welcome your ideas for reaching these goals within our budget.

3. CE Blog Become a blog subscriber, commenter and contributor at ceblog.harpercollege.edu. We are working on best ways to use the blog and getting the software working the way we’d like it to. But you can send us ideas and content for blog posts any time. We can use these in a variety of ways. We use WordPress and a free template hosted on a Harper server.

4. Social Media CE Blog posts are pushed to our social media pages: Facebook Twitter Google+ Tumblr LinkedIn Please visit these pages and do your own posting or comments. Post items to your personal pages and direct viewers to harpercollege.edu/ce.

5. and newsletters We use Salesforce Marketing Cloud as our bulk and integrated marketing system. We can produce custom s with ready-made content and lists in csv format. We are planning an increase in using for promotion.

6. Flyers We can accept your copy, images, and ideas for flyers to promote your class. Please provide either a complete and ready-to-go PDF or InDesign file, or unformatted copy in a Word doc and images that will look good when printed. We reserve the right to edit and conform your submissions to Harper standards.

7. Press releases and press relations Do you have any press contact? Don’t waster your time sending out unsolicited press releases. Use your blog and social media interactions to generate interest. It’s not a bad idea to have a one page press release handy in case you need it to send to someone you meet at an event or online.

8. Open houses and other events Take advantage of the free Information Sessions we hold periodically to promote your class. Check with your coordinator for opportunities. We are considering an evolved version of InSpireU to promote the fall 2016 term. Any thoughts on this? Look for opportunities to promote your class at professional and community events you may be attending.

9. Telling others Networking, the old fashioned way, still works. Again, use your personal social media profiles, pages, and posts to stir the pot and generate interest in your class. A good way to get attention from others on the Web is to show interest in them by comment and re-blogging their posts.

10. Testimonials A good review from a student or opinion leader remains the best way to create interest in your class. There is a “best practice” around getting testimonials from busy people. If they seem so disposed say, “Would you feel comfortable saying something like __________________________ about my class?” They’ll refuse altogether; offer a revision to your idea; or say, “Sure, go for it.” As appropriate, ask happy students to recommend you on LinkedIn, etc.

11. Print and Digital Advertising We do very little advertising due to expense and the need to be fully coordinates with the agency-advertising that Harper is already doing. We are hoping to run several new digital ad campaigns in this fiscal year, but we can’t give you a hard date yet.

12. Videos Here’s one of our first “quick look” videos. It’s hosted on our YouTube channel. We are planning more of these, and instructor interviews as well, but are very limited in funds.

What Makes a Good Course Description? Marketing Your Upcoming Class Continuing Education wants your classes to run! Assist us by reaching out to your professional network to boost class enrollments. Learn about the templates for s, newsletters, flyers and other print advertising. Gain insight in how to contribute student testimonials, create blog content, and identify if your classes are good candidates for press releases and social media tactics. Attendees who successfully complete this class receive a Harper College digital badge showcasing your skills and a $50 stipend. 75 words

Harper Standards The Harper College Editorial Style Guide.PDF (updated 06/01/2015) has been designed to help you prepare copy for internal and external communication materials. Harper College Editorial Style Guide.PDF For questions not covered in this guide, consult The Associated Press (AP) Stylebook or the college edition of Webster's New World Dictionary.The Associated Press (AP) Stylebook Since its founding, Harper College has enjoyed a growing reputation for high quality. Maintaining that reputation takes some attention to the way we present ourselves to audiences within and outside our institution. In all of our communications, we must work to convey an image of quality, consistency and excellence. Harper College Identity Standards (Revised October 2013).PDF 38 pagesHarper College Identity Standards (Revised October 2013).PDF

Assignment Complete these assignments by January 15, 2016 to receive a $50 stipend and Harper College CE digital badge. Send your to Send a course description designed to attract students to one of your courses. Write 100 words or less. Write an instructor bio of 100 words less that provides relevant info about you and why you teach this course. Create a list of three tasks you plan to initiate to promote your course. These can be tasks will do yourself or things you will work on with CE marketing.

Discussion and Sharing In groups of three or four, please take the next ten minutes to discuss with other instructors your ideas for promoting your classes. We’ll reconvene at that time to share with the whole group.

Questions?

Thanks For Attending! Marketing Your Upcoming Class LBS Harper College Continuing Education and Business Outreach January 7, 2016 Presenter: Mike McCandless, Manager, CE Marketing and Operations