In this special episode of the Education Marketing Leader Podcast, we revisit highlights from our May book club meeting with Jamie Hunt, founder of Solver Higher Ed, former CMO of Old Dominion, host of Confessions of a Higher Ed CMO, and author of Heart Over Hype.

This session was an exchange between higher ed marketers, strategists, and creatives reflecting on the real-world impact of empathy-driven communication.

Together, we explored the themes, challenges, and opportunities from Jamie’s book, and the insights from the group made this one of our most powerful meetings yet.

Here’s what you’ll learn in this episode:

✅ What empathy really means, and why it’s more than just being nice

✅ How to balance empathy with metrics when leadership demands results

✅ Why storytelling must include the struggle, not just the success

✅ How to engage faculty in marketing without losing your mind (or your message)

✅ What it takes to implement a student communication digest, and get campus buy-in

✅ Tactical ways to reduce email chaos, improve messaging, and focus on what students actually need

✅ How to defend empathy as a strategic approach, especially in rooms where it’s dismissed as “soft” or “too touchy-feely”

💬 Members shared reflections that resonated:

– The emotional weight of the book’s dedication

– Journey mapping fatigue—and why it’s still worth it

– Navigating internal pushback when telling authentic, vulnerable student stories

– Reframing “best” to reflect each student’s reality

– Using empathy not just for student messaging, but for internal communication with faculty, staff, and employees

🎤 Jamie didn’t hold back during Q&A:

She shared lessons from her time at Winston-Salem State and Old Dominion, how she pushed for digest-style emails, navigated political resistance, and convinced leadership to prioritize empathy not just in messaging, but in operational change.

She offered honest advice on how middle managers can influence systems beyond their control, and how to build meaningful relationships to break down silos for good.

📚 Heart Over Hype is a toolkit for anyone trying to build trust in a noisy world.

🎙️ Listen now wherever you get your podcasts.

👉 Want in on the book club?

Join us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13140172/

Until next time. ✌️

On this episode of the Education Marketing Leader podcast, I sat down with Mariah Tang, Chief Content Marketing Officer at Stamats.

We unpack why niche content is the most underrated growth strategy in higher ed marketing right now, and how to actually make it work for you.

This isn’t another talk about SEO basics. It’s a roadmap for building search-visible, AI-resilient, and student-relevant content using the tools and team you already have.

Here’s what higher ed marketers need to know 👇

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝

🔎 Search has changed. Long-tail questions now dominate. “Do you have my program?” has become “Will this get me to my next step?”

✏️ Generic content is invisible. Focused, answer-driven content is what AI surfaces in snippets and summaries.

🍕 You’re not pizza. Trying to please everyone will tank your strategy and confuse your audience.

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰: 𝐒𝐌𝐄, 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐛𝐨

👉 Every campaign doesn’t need a star academic. Use flexible content types like testimonials, timelines, and FAQs.

👉 Don’t box your content team in. Establish a reliable structure and grow from there.

👉 Predictability wins in SEO and human engagement.

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐈 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬

🤖 Use ChatGPT/Gemini to test assumptions, spot blind spots, and map decision-stage questions

🫶 Don’t fear feedback, prompt your tools like you would a junior team member

✔️ Good input = better AI output. Then validate every claim and source.

𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐝

🏥 University of New Mexico Health Sciences CenterTurned a neuroscience program into a “Day in the Life” story. No paid ads. Won awards. Still outranks bigger institutions.

🚗 Harper College’s Lyft Pass PostBeat major universities in organic search by being first, relevant, and student-centered.

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐪𝐮𝐨𝐭𝐞:

“Start with one SME. Set them up for success. Give them structure. Then scale.” — Mariah Tang

🎧 Listen to the full episode wherever you get your podcasts.

✅ Follow Mariah for expert takes on content strategy, AI, and enrollment marketing.

✅ Follow Stamats for proven frameworks and case studies on what’s actually working in higher-ed.

✅ And follow Education Marketing Leader for real conversations with zero fluff.

Until next time. ✌

In this episode of the Education Marketing Leader podcast, I sat down with Seth Odell, Founder & CEO of Kanahoma, to unpack the brutal truths facing higher ed marketers.

From the enrollment cliff to vanishing name buys, Seth doesn’t sugarcoat what’s ahead, and why speed, focus, and fundamentals matter now more than ever.

What You Need to Know

• The cliffs are real. Enrollment. Search. Perception. Different challenges depending on your market, but all converging fast.
• If you’re not doubling down on your best-yielding zip codes and events (like campus visits), you’re wasting budget.
• The list-buy era is over. Diversify your sources, retarget your site visitors, and prioritize parent-specific digital campaigns.
• ROI matters more than ever. Use outcome data (even LinkedIn alumni tabs) and focus on telling relatable alumni stories, not just outliers.

Practical Moves to Make This Month

• Swap your homepage video for a program finder.
• Add a CTA to your thank-you page to “start your app now.”
• Use plain-text emails with subject lines like “Chris, quick question” to re-engage admits.
• Refresh your creative. Go from 15 ads to 250. It matters.
• Rethink microcredentials—dual enrollment and B2B are the best bets.

What’s Coming

• More closures. More pressure. Less time.
• Avoid M&A unless you really know what you’re doing.
• AI isn’t a silver bullet, but it’s getting real—especially in admissions.
• Fix your fundamentals first before chasing anything shiny.

Follow Seth on LinkedIn and check out Kanahoma.

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