Yesterday, I was interviewed on Twitter in my first ever “twitterview” about next month’s eduWeb Conference.  If you didn’t catch the interview, or found it a bit hard to follow, here it is! 

@eduwebconf: Hi Karlyn, great to have you hear today to participate in our series of Twitterviews with key conference participants

@KarlynM: Thanks! I’m glad to be taking part in it

@eduwebconf: first, tell us a bit about yourself, experience in higher ed, etc …

@KarlynM: I’ve been in higher ed since 2003, first in admissions as an online recruiter…now i split my time between working in a college fundraising office and doing consulting through my own company…my specialty is in web marketing

@eduwebconf: Tell us about your connection with eduWeb this year

@KarlynM: well after last year’s conference, I wrote a blog post about what I thought was missing from the event… and the next day got a phone call telling me to put my money where my mouth was and participate this year! so…I joined up with @mherzber to create the new track for this year’s event

@eduwebconf: yes, I met Matt thru @ehodgso from Iowa, both cool guys…I remember that phone call n you’ve had a blast so far this year working on your track?

@KarlynM: it’s definitely been a unique experience and i give you a lot of credit for taking the risk and giving it to me 

@eduwebconf: what are you doing in the fundraising office? how do u help them at Dartmouth?

@KarlynM: i assist internal clients like the Dartmouth College Fund (@SupportStudents) in creating their web/email/SM strategy

@eduwebconf: Explain your guest author track, Get It Done, and what you want to accomplish with it?

@KarlynM: what i find lacking from a lot of conferences is advice on practical implementation. that’s what people who are going to these things are looking for! i want the track to give people steps they can take immediately…really applicable advice instead of just high level theory

@eduwebconf: Give us a tidbit on some of the speakers and what they’ll be presenting, n why you’re excited by their content.

@KarlynM: so many great speakers for this track Christopher Schmitt (@teleject) will be talking about javascript for noncoders…@bradjward will be talking about all the great things you can do with google…@nikkimk and @robin2go will be talking about twitter, as will @aaronrester…@mherzber will talk about social media…and I’ll be doing email marketing…and more….just a strong track overall

@eduwebconf: who else is bringing practical ideas to your track? Who would u recommend n why?

@KarlynM: one of the requirements for the track was that they had to submit practical takeaways, so everyone has them…i can honestly say that i will be attending every session in the track and can’t wait to learn from these speakers

@eduwebconf: so like a list of what you can actually do or your office back at campus? great! any buy-in problems?

@KarlynM: well there’s always buy-in problems…my hope is that people will return home not feeling as overwhelmed about next steps…like when you leave a conference saying “great ideas! but how do I DO it?”

@eduwebconf: Always true, buy-ins are not always easy. Your blog is well read n you appear to becoming an expert in online mktg, what insights can u share with our audience?

@KarlynM: i think the biggest thing is a marketing mix that includes web, email and social media, all complimenting each other…doing just one really well won’t get you half as far as doing all three….many places just focus on one, maybe two…and that email is anything but dead…still the highest ROI of any medium out there, despite the rumors of its demise. finally, don’t be afraid to experiment and try new things…some will work, some won’t…but you’ll never know without trying things and testing them out! use the 70/20/10 rule

@eduwebconf: what you’ve been talking about is what I like to call - n others - integrated mktg communications …

@KarlynM: exactly! FWIW, your online initiatives should also compliment print…it all works together

@eduwebconf: how much time a day do you spend on socially engaging with others? for yourself n/or the fundraising office?

@KarlynM: it varies by day….i joke on facebook that “i have no life because of this social media nonsense”…maybe an hour or two? not counting blogging, which takes longer if i’m really working at it

@eduwebconf: I wonder how people find the time to keep up with all the “socializing?” Blogs do take more time, I agree. What key social media apps do you use? Are they the critical ones u think higher ed should use?

@KarlynM: i’m actually kind of a slacker…Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are my primary ones…I don’t know that I think any one tool is critical for ALL colleges…it depends on goals and resources. though I think everyone should have, at minimum, a facebook page

@eduwebconf: what do u think Admissions should use more so than say Alumni? or Athletics?

@KarlynM: one thing I would say admissions should NOT spend a lot of time on right now is twitter…demographics aren’t there…other than that, there aren’t really huge differences….SM tools work for all audiences when done right

@eduwebconf: I agree w/you on no Twitter w/Admissions; I took my 16 yo niece 2 a campus visit n she was texting all the time, but had no clue what Twitter is and it went right over her head

@KarlynM: i think the youngin will come around eventually to the awesomeness that is twitter 

@eduwebconf: where should someone in higher ed look for demographics for SM?

@KarlynM: Pew Internet and American Life Project - http://www.pewinternet.org/ it’s the best resource!

@eduwebconf: What is your “big thing” in online marketing?

@KarlynM: MEASUREMENT! everything on the web can be tracked…while not 100% exact, it can be done accurately…also, you should always try to relate your data directly back to business goals of your institution…like increases in online applications, increases in fund raising dollars, etc…things that matter to the higher ups

@eduwebconf: using Google Analytics, Web Trends? your email app? what else?

@KarlynM: Google Analytics is a MUST…it can be integrated with email so that you can see more data, like conversion

@eduwebconf: don’t forget though, higher ed doesn’t consider itself a biz

@KarlynM: but it SHOULD consider itself a business…without enough dollars coming in the door, then institutions will cease to exist…its not about profit, but about being able to execute your mission of educating students

@eduwebconf: I TOTALLY AGREE, but very few higher ed institutions ever see themselves like that; it’s part of their personality

@KarlynM: well i’m sure they’ll see it that way when they’re looking for jobs

@eduwebconf: Thank you Karlyn n can’t wait 2 see you at this year’s conf., July 20-22 in Chicago; register at eduwebconference.com

@KarlynM: Thank you! It’ll be a great conference!

I think eduWeb is shaping up to be a really great event.  There’s still time to register!  Visit the conference website for more.

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Hire Karlyn: Karlyn is the President & Principal Consultant of DoJo Web Strategy, a consultancy dedicated to helping colleges and universities to utilize the web in their marketing efforts. Find out how she can help your institution by requesting a proposal today »