SquaredPegBrad J Ward’s Thoughts on Higher Education Recruitment

So day 1 is over with, and it was a pretty good start to the conference.  Again, I don’t get nearly as much from the presentations as I do from talking with people, so tonight’s networking reception and the events taking place afterwards were total brain food for me.

We did hear some good presentations today.  Here are a few of my notes/takeaways:

• Don’t just think outside of the box, DO outside of the box.
• More kids are homeschooled (~1.2 million was the stat, I believe), than private/charter schools combined.  I think this could certainly be considered an untapped market for most institutions.
• We need to invest in ideas that will get exposure.
• Become as good at narrowcasting as you are at broadcasting.
• Make the goal engagement, not exposure.

Spent most of the night talking shop with a good mix of crowds.  Special shout outs to Matt and Obie, looking forward to talking to these guys more in the future. As usual, I have so many ideas running through my head, just struggling with getting the buy-in/resources I need to make them a reality.  Just gotta keep trying.

Tomorrow’s schedule looks pretty good as well.  Topics covered will be Video/YouTube, Myspace, Facebook, Brand/Print/Web, Interactive Technology, Keywords/Coding and Analytics/ROI.