Executive Director of Marketing at York College of Pennsylvania

If you work in higher education marketing, you likely receive a dozen phone calls and emails weekly from vendors promising to address a host of your marketing needs—from improving your organic website traffic to reaching prospective students for niche programs and everything in between. Even more challenging than keeping up with the high volume of solicitations is deciphering which companies may be worth your time.

A critical skill for all education marketing leaders is knowing when to invest in external partnerships and when to invest in hiring or developing internal personnel. Both are essential to achieving success but it can be hard to determine which pathway will lead to greater success.

The higher education landscape has changed drastically over the last decade, from shifting demographics to the public’s perception of the value of higher education. The marketing departments tasked with promoting their institutions have advanced to effectively fulfill their missions. Many colleges and universities recognize marketing as a critical business function and have begun investing more heavily in this area. Additionally, the digital marketing space is evolving rapidly, resulting in a need for marketing teams to expand their knowledge and expertise to meet this growing demand. In order to address the demand, leaders need to first assess whether they should expand their permanent team or look to outsource.

Two benefits of working with a partner organization are quicker timelines and usually a greater depth of expertise. Through our marketing partnerships, we’ve been able to tap into experts with specialties such as search engine optimization (SEO), media strategy and buying, and brand development. While my team knows these areas, they do not specialize in them; external partners can provide this expertise and free up my staff to focus on other important aspects of their roles.

  ​A critical skill for all education marketing leaders is knowing when to invest in external partnerships and when to invest in hiring or developing internal personnel. Both are essential to achieving success but it can be hard to determine which pathway will lead to greater success

On the other hand, it’s important to hire personnel to fill key positions that require consistent support. When you invest in your people, there’s a deeper understanding of your institution’s strategic goals and objectives, a personal investment in the success of the organization, and better oversight of the work. Social media management is a great example of when an internal position is likely best. This role requires intense oversight of multiple platforms, high volumes of content, and a keen understanding of what resonates with your audiences. While there’s not a one-size-fits-all approach, there are some key points to consider.

There’s no silver bullet. Don’t fall victim to the idea that third-party solutions or partnerships can solve all your problems. It's especially important that partners aren't left to manage themselves, nor do they usually want to.