Marketing is changing in big ways. Nothing in recent memory helps illustrate this more vividly than the example of Techsmith, a software company that, among other things, offers screencasting software. I share this story as a way of expressing some thoughts on how those in Higher Education might begin to think of this New Marketing in their own space.

A few weeks ago, I received an email from Techsmith’s chief evangelist, Betsy Weber. She noticed that I had posted to my blog about a conference earlier this year where I presented and recorded my presentation using Camtasia, Techsmith’s screencasting package. (Betsy is obviously monitoring the blogosphere for posts about Techsmith and its products.) In my post, I had mentioned that there had been technical difficulties in recording some of the presentations. Betsy was getting in touch with me because she was concerned that the technical issues had to do with Camtasia. (In fact, they didn’t.) I thanked her, and mentioned as an aside that we had an upcoming conference (HigherEd BlogCon) that would feature screencasts prominently.

In a post to the Techsmith blog last week, Betsy was kind enough to mention HigherEd BlogCon and point to the screencast I did for the MarCom week. (I noticed Betsy’s post as soon as her blog started referring traffic to this blog.) Through the same post I learned that Techsmith has a “Screencast of the Week” feature, which last week highlighted one done by Ed Doering at Rose-Hulman. Ed’s presentation definitely pushes the envelope. He uses embedded presenter video taken via a webcam, and he shows the setup he uses to capture handwriting as part of the screencast. Even though I’ve used Camtasia many times, I learned a ton from this screencast.

So, what can we learn from this example?

1. Monitor the blogosphere for references to your institution. Scratch that. Monitor as many channels as you can. An audience was shocked last week when I showed them that a rejected b-school applicant had posted his rejection letter on his blog. This is becoming more and more commonplace. Do you know which of the applicants to your institution are blogging, and do you regularly read their blogs? Why not start collecting applicant blog addresses on your application? If you are in alumni relations, do you know which of your alumni are blogging? If you are working with students who are at risk of dropping out, find out whether they blog, and if they do, start reading.

2. Be proactive contacting those who may have reported problems with your institution. Doing so can help solve problems early, before additional damage is done. Don’t be afraid to comment on blogs and identify yourself. It will show that you care.

3. Seek creative ways to highlight those who benefit from your institution or its services in new and innovative ways. Take a look around your campus. The Ed Doerings are everywhere.

4. Be generous about contacting, mentioning, and linking to people who are positive about your institution. It goes a long way in fostering good will. Thanks to the positive nature of my interaction with Betsy, I will certainly considering purchasing Techsmith products as the need arises in the future.

5. If your institution doesn’t have a chief evangelist doing the kinds of things Betsy does, consider hiring one today. But don’t be fooled into thinking that it’s necessarily going to be easy to find someone like Betsy.

6. If your institution doesn’t have a blog that will support the kinds of communications that Techsmith’s does, consider launching one today.

Thanks for the example, Betsy!