Insights

All Marketing AutomationEmail MarketingPaid MarketingProject ManagementWeb Development and TechnologyCMSEdtechDesign ThinkingDesignInstitutional StrategyProfessional DevelopmentDear JaimeContent & SEODesign & UXSocial MediaMarketing

Impactful storytelling elevates marketing, but where do you start?

Actionable strategies for uncovering transformative higher ed stories to create powerful marketing campaigns that resonate and drive results.

Marketing /
By: John Azoni
Can higher ed re-engage stop-out students and help them graduate? article image. Split image: On the left, a stressed woman at a desk holds a receipt and covers her face in frustration, with cash and a laptop in front of her. On the right, a smiling graduate in a cap and gown holds a diploma. Blue arrows connect the two images, representing transformation and progress.

Can higher ed re-engage stop-out students and help them graduate?

Collaborations between financial services and education leaders aim to address financial challenges and support stop-out students in completing their degrees.

Institutional Strategy /
By: Allison Minutillo
Breaking Down Silos: Secrets to Collaboration in Higher Ed Teams article image. A diverse group of professionals collaborating around a wooden table, surrounded by laptops, tablets, and documents with charts and graphs. Speech bubbles are overlaid on the image, symbolizing communication and teamwork.

Want to know the secret to collaboration in higher ed teams? Breaking down silos.

Here are three strategies for fostering collaboration through clear goals, open communication, and strong leadership.

Marketing /
By: Joshua Charles

Popular on Volt

The Ethics and Economics of AI: Lessons for Universities article image. A composite image featuring a calculator, a spreadsheet with financial data, and a bronze statue of Lady Justice holding scales, overlaid with colorful lines of computer code. The visual elements represent a blend of technology, finance, and ethics.

Universities can learn from AI’s ethical and economic challenges.

African leaders navigate AI’s complexities, shedding light on its implications for higher education.

Web Development and Technology /
By: Adi Gaskell
You’re cute when you care. How emotional storytelling transforms donor appeals article image. A joyful embrace between two graduates in academic robes outdoors, symbolizing achievement. The scene transitions into a historical university building overlaid with a filmstrip.

You’re cute when you care. Emotional storytelling transforms donor appeals.

Emotional storytelling bridges the gap between donors and institutions, creating meaningful connections that drive impactful giving.

Marketing /
By: Kim Hallman
Can’t-Miss Higher Ed Conferences for 2024-25

Can’t-Miss Higher Ed Conferences for 2025

Our tracker of virtual, in-person and hybrid higher education leadership conferences for the upcoming academic year.

Professional Development /
By: Volt
Boring? Think Again: Social Media Content That Stole the Show in 2024 article image. A young woman with curly hair, wearing glasses and a yellow plaid shirt, enjoys listening to music on red headphones. She appears relaxed and happy, surrounded by floating slices of pizza in a surreal, neon-lit cityscape background.

Boring? Think Again: Social Media Content That Stole the Show in 2024

Discover the unexpected niche social media content of 2024 that turned “boring” into brilliant.

Social Media /
By: Kellen Manning

We broke up with our OPM. Your institution can, too.

D’Youville University’s decision to leave its OPM highlights how institutions can save money, grow enrollment and take control of online programs.

Institutional Strategy /
By: Jeremiah Grabowski
Are you still using follower count to define your institution’s social media success? article image. Close-up of hands holding a smartphone displaying an Instagram post. The screen shows a large blue thumbs-down icon with "Disliked by 800 others" written below.

Are you still using follower count to define social media success?

AI-driven curation is reshaping social media, and engagement now reigns supreme over follower count.

Social Media /
By: Kellen Manning
A male runner with short dark hair and beard, wearing a white and black striped shirt and black shorts running through a race banner with the word "Myth" written across it multiple times.

Breaking Barriers: 3 Persistent Media Myths That Limit Potential

These media myths constrain higher ed marketing, but breaking the barriers can lead to more effective campaigns, even with limited budgets.

Marketing /
By: Chris Huebner
A male college student walking through an open doorway with an "exit" sign above. Instead of "exit" the sign depicts the blue butterfly of the Bluesky logo.

Why Bluesky may not be your school’s next social media star.

Emerging platforms like Bluesky might be gaining buzz, but without one key factor, they’re unlikely to be the future of social media.

Social Media /
By: Kellen Manning
A split image with two female students, both with long brown hair, standing and speaking with a seated male professor with short blond hair. To the right is a school building teetering on the metaphorical demographic cliff.

Turn the demographic cliff into an opportunity with four strategic moves.

Even with enrollment challenges, colleges can thrive through uniqueness, flexible spaces, community ties, and refined communication.

Institutional Strategy /
By: Tori Grandstaff
Three keys to turn students into stakeholders by humanizing the experience article image. Collage of four images, top left: A close-up of a hand signing a document with a pen. Top right: two students smiling and collaborating outdoors. Bottom left: a professional standing outside a university building, holding a tablet. Bottom right: a classic stone university building with an arched wooden door, surrounded by greenery. White circular arrows overlay the images.

Humanize the experience. Three keys to turn students into stakeholders.

What if, instead of focusing solely on retention rates, higher ed gauged success by the generational impact of student stakeholders?

Marketing /
By: Elliot Lollis
What speaks to your donors? Emojis, GIFS, smoke signals? article image. A woman is seated at a desk, working on a laptop in an office setting. She is surrounded by floating icons of envelopes with red dollar signs, symbolizing email fundraising or alumni giving donations.

What speaks to your donors? Emojis, GIFS, smoke signals?

One preparatory school did the leg work to find out what works best to solicit alumni giving. The answer may surprise you.

Marketing /
By: Danielle Hladky
"Breaking the one-size-fits-all trap by optimizing higher ed marketing, pr and communications for success." article image. Three women in a professional setting, each representing different roles: one on the left holding a laptop and smiling, the middle woman holding a camera up to her eye as if taking a photo, and the woman on the right with gray hair and glasses writing on a clipboard. The background shows a blurred office environment.

Optimizing higher ed marketing, PR and comms to avoid the one-size-fits-all trap.

Separating marketing functions can streamline efforts, boost results and enhance institutional reputation.

Marketing /
By: Melissa Horvath, PhD
Two people collaborating at a desk in an office setting. A bearded man in a gray shirt reviews a document with a young woman in a striped shirt who appears focused on taking notes. A laptop and notebook are on the desk in front of them.

Want a strategy for higher ed’s survival? Unite the faculty and administration.

In a polarized climate, faculty-administration alignment can drive student success and ensure higher ed’s resilience amid today’s challenges.

Institutional Strategy /
By: Dr. Kelly Dore