How many of us often feel fatigued because our job feels like we’re just chasing people to get them to notice and pay attention, to respond, to visit your websites, like your departmental Facebook pages? Ok, and even if you didn’t just raise your hand, how many of you feel like that part of your job has gotten much harder over the past few years?
Here’s some great news: In the 3 or so years since the UFCN last met formally on a regular basis, we’ve seen an amazing upswell in the need for effective strategic and visual communications – as a crowded higher ed landscape continues to evolve. The noise we have to cut through to be effective is only getting more dense, requiring all of us to be at the top of our game.
At the same time, we’re in fiscal crisis mode. And we all know the first targets for budget cuts when the going gets tough: marketing and advertising. We could spend a year eating Breakfast Buzz bacon and talking about how to solve THAT problem…
The key for now is to stop chasing after the attention of our audiences, and start building experiences that attract them to us.
Jim Harrison is UF’s Creative Director in the Office of University Relations.