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Meeting the University Branding Challenge with Video

In a recent post in University Business Magazine, Redefining the concept of university branding, Kimberly R. Cline, president of Long Island University, aptly discusses the challenge and necessity of branding in universities. She mentions branding in higher education is often much more complex than branding a corporate product, and is just as important. Tellingly, Ms. Cline admits, that some aspects of traditional Fortune 500 branding strategy remain true for university brands – specifically, the need to amplify your brand story in a way that resonates with your target audience.

In the near future, how well universities brand themselves will closely correlate with nearly every facet of talent (or awesomeness) of its students, faculty and administrators. Interestingly enough, the article fails to mention the power of video to help articulate the university message and to elevate their branding strategy to the next level.

VideoLink has partnered with public and private universities for over a decade, providing video solutions to help them increase their brand profiles and attract new talent. Over the years, we have found that video– whether through live TV appearances or online video, is an essential part of any college or university’s branding strategy. It offers a consistent and easy way to elevate a university brand profile to attract and retain top-notch faculty and students, motivate alumni and influence colleagues.

Why video works

Students, faculty and scientists love video; and the younger generation in particular, is embracing video as a primary means of communication. It’s now a necessity to have a deliberate and coherent video strategy that complements the colleges’ overall business plan. Branding has gone digital, and video enables colleges and universities of all sizes to capture the essence of a student body, the college’s mission and the overall student and faculty experience.

Visually showcasing students and faculty enjoying an idyllic campus or a hustling busy city campus says more in 90 seconds than any picture, quote or press release ever could. More and more, college and university marketing and communications departments are taking advantage of live and recorded video to engage with potential applicants, current students, faculty, and alumnae. Video is no longer a nice to have communications medium, it’s now a communications tool expected by the school’s audience.

Ways to use video

Many universities and colleges have already used the university overview video, which typically showcases the campus, student life and student testimonials. New innovative ways to use video to help you stand out from the competitive landscape include:

• Recruiting – Live TV has an immediate impact on attracting top talent to your university. Branded video smartly distributed across various digital channels (including your website), helps elevate your brand profile.and can influence media outlets, colleagues, graduate students and faculty.
• Internal Communications – Use video for President’s Welcome message to new classes, alumni webcasts and video conferencing between campuses. Shifting learning styles also creates a void in traditional written communications. Stay connected with the younger generation and those on the go with video instead of written email.
• Performance / Presentation Preparation – Help your students and faculty improve presentation skills with video. Use a video studio or a video crew to record and playback your presentation. It’s a fast and easy way to identify improvements – both to content and performance.
• Course Summaries & Faculty Bios – Students love video. Capture their attention with online video course overviews. Introduce your faculty with short, fun video faculty bios. Extend the reach of your program offerings by sharing them on social networks.
• Lecture Highlights / Overviews – Students love to study on their own time and video lets them do it. Improve student engagement and learning outcomes with a condensed classroom lecture. Save classroom time for hands-on learning and interaction, rather than lectures. Enhance condensed lecture videos with rich-media options, which incorporate PowerPoint slides to emphasize key learning points.

Campus Technology Forum

Our higher education clients are using video in all aspects of their branding strategy – from live TV appearances to student life videos, to President’s Welcome to alumni webcasts and thought leadership. Come visit with us at during the Campus Technology Forum in Long Beach, CA on April 8-9^th to learn more about technology that enables colleges and universities to easily produce video and share their expertise on live TV.