Education PR Blog

As universities and business schools around the world face an increasingly competitive recruitment environment, it’s vital that educational institutions continue to come up with creative and strategic ways in order to attract students.

Securing media opportunities for faculty is one of a university or business school communications professional’s most important responsibilities.

The best research communications specialists are, to all intents and purposes, bilingual. To do the job well, you have to be able to converse fluently in complex academic terminology and translate it into the language of the everyday without simplifying or dumbing down.

While many business schools and universities are excelling with their institutional social media accounts, often the Dean or President focuses on this success, meaning their own individual social media can sometimes be forgotten. Yet, a Dean or a President utilising their social media can be incredibly important for visibility and connection to a wider community.

Beyond traditional elements of branding like logos, colours, and messaging, your online reputation embodies the perception of your business school in the digital landscape. It encompasses what individuals say, think, and feel about your institution based on their online interactions, experiences, and encounters.

As a university or business school looking to get your alumni, research and professors featured in media opportunities, trade press can sometimes feel like an afterthought, particularly when your focus is on top-tier publications like the Financial Times, Forbes and the Economist.

If you’ve read our previous blogs on how to craft a compelling pitch or construct a powerful press release and have taken our advice to heart you’ll, hopefully, by now have been on the receiving end of some positive responses from journalists at your target publications.

Improving our relationship with the planet is vital as the lack of consideration for the natural environment is impacting more than just people (animals, ecosystems, etc.). A warming planet leads to changes in our climate, causing heatwaves to become more likely, and has exacerbated the cost of living as rising sea levels interrupt supply chains, affecting the availability and cost of goods.

Did you know that PR stunts can have real impact? Even for business schools and universities, a PR stunt can raise considerable awareness about the institution or an important individual. PR stunts can take many forms, but in order for them to work, originality is key.

My journey with public relations started over 10 years ago. It’s now been over a decade since I signed up to study Public Relations & Communications as an undergraduate. Back then I remember family and friends asking me “So what actually is public relations?”.

Language is essential to communications, but it seems that some people still underestimate the power it has. Choosing the right words and crafting compelling messaging is key to success in PR and communications efforts both at home and in international markets.

A once-held, later debunked belief in the Western world is that, in traditional Chinese, the word ‘crisis’ is made up of two other words: ‘danger’ and ‘opportunity’.

Yes, they’re the Dean. Yes, they are the head of the school. But no, they shouldn’t be your only spokesperson.

Although 18 percent of journalists say their relationships with PR professionals have improved over the past year, 16 percent has said the relationship has gotten worse, according to Cision’s 2023 Global State of the Media Report. So, as a communications professional, you need to make sure you’re getting it right when it comes to working with journalists.

How we cater to our insatiable appetite for instant information is constantly in flux, and technology is forever transforming how we consume news. The Reuters Institute Digital News Report, based on a YouGov poll of 93,000 people, provides a spread of insights into the habits, preferences, and behaviours of news consumers across different platforms and countries. As any good public relations professional will know, understanding a journalist’s or publication’s audience and medium is vital for cooking up that perfect pitch and getting your school into the news…

When was the last time you sent out an email inviting a journalist to attend an on-campus event, and received a positive response? Or sent out a release under embargo, only to receive silence in response?

Like Britain’s once ice-blanketed countryside, the state of the UK media landscape is always evolving. Polar bears no longer prowl the Scottish Highlands and town criers screaming “hear ye! hear ye!” have become a scarce novelty.

For those who don’t work in the field of communications, it is very easy to assume that public relations and marketing are pretty much the same thing. In fact, you’d find it hard to come by a PR professional who hasn’t described their job as ‘similar to marketing’ to their family, friends or virtually anyone new they meet.

In the world of public relations, buzzwords can come and go faster than you can say "press release".

Entering into the world of communications, PR and media relations can be confusing for some. At first, you may wonder what the difference is between public relations and media relations? But overtime, you will begin to notice the unique factors that they each bring to the table.

In today’s digital age, traditional marketing strategies alone are no longer sufficient to capture the attention of prospective students. As a result, business schools and universities around the world are embracing newer approaches to engage with their target audience and stand out in a competitive landscape, and they’ve discovered content marketing.

Decision-maker: “Tell me why PR matters.”

To borrow a phrase from Bill Gates, “Content is King”. Content marketing and copywriting are commonly used terms in a marketing context, but they often get confused for each other. While they are related activities, it’s helpful to draw a sharp line between them. So, what are the differences, and where do they overlap?

Chances are, at some point in your career, someone will Google you. While you can’t ever completely control what appears at the top of the search engine results page, you can help to shape what information is available about you online. This can be done by building a strong personal brand.

In the fast-paced world of public relations, where the news agenda evolves rapidly, professionals often find it challenging to keep up with an ever-changing landscape. Nonetheless, planning in PR is crucial to success! By developing a comprehensive PR plan, you can effectively navigate the media environment, align your messaging, and capitalise on opportunities. And a PR plan does not have to underscore every last detail! In fact, in such a dynamic world, being adaptable is a huge advantage…

5 reasons why you didn’t get quoted… The bread and butter of any public relations strategy is media engagement – securing opportunities to speak directly with journalists from a wide range of outlets, across your target audiences and geographies. Sharing your voice, your institution’s values, your expertise and successes with credible media gives you a greater platform to be seen and heard, as well as actively demonstrate your worth.

The media landscape is ever-changing, which is why it’s important to implement updated strategies that will keep you connected to your audience. One of the best ways to do so is through regular media interviews. Not only do they provide a platform to share your message, but they also help put a human connection to your institution, particularly if you’re the Dean or a key spokesperson.

It goes without saying that everyone wants to reach top tier media. It is also widely known that it is easier said than done. In this edition of our blog, drawing on insights from Roxhill Media and our own work, we’ll take a look at some of the best business profile slots in the UK, and I will provide some advice on how to gain success when pitching to the journalists who write the features.

As an academic at a university or business school, you may spend countless hours researching, analysing data, and writing papers. Is this effort only worthwhile if your work is promoted and distributed to the audience to who it is aimed at? I imagine you’d answer yes to this. Well, social media is an amazing way for academics to publicise their research, the media coverage it gets, and engage with people beyond their institutions and peers.

We truly love working with journalists. There is an incredible amount of value to building and maintaining those working relationships, and it really can make working in PR even more enjoyable. Although, journalists can get quite a bad “rep” from other industries. Whether it’s for being unapproachable, or for never responding to emails, there can be a lot of grumbling when journalists come up in conversation. We believe that when pitching to journalists, there are some key things to do that will make both your life and theirs easier, creating a smoother process for all involved.

Did you know YouTube is the second largest search engine next to Google? People upload more than 100 hours of video per minute to YouTube! It’s one of the best ways to communicate to a wide audience, whether you’re promoting programmes or providing information to current students. It is an amazing tool for both your school and your students. How can you use YouTube to promote your university or business school? A short snappy intro video Find your niche Show what you have to offer Be consistent Invest in high quality video Student experience content Keep your comments on Make playlists Embrace your culture Congratulate your students and show off their success!

Some business schools that are world-renowned – whether that’s the likes of Harvard, Stanford or Wharton – can simply rely on little else than their reputation to attract the world’s best faculty, students and corporate partners.

Working with journalists can be daunting, especially if you are in a new position or have not done it before. However, journalists are also just normal people doing their job. Still, there are a couple of things you should consider when working with a journalist or setting up a meeting for another member of faculty. These “do’s and don’ts” are here to provide a guide for you when working with journalists.

A timeless truth, understanding what the media is after will always be fundamental to media success, irrespective of the specific year.

Italy is well-known for many things; Pizza, pasta, and gelato in the culinary sense; da Vinci and Michelangelo for artists; Armani and Versace in the fashion world; or Lamborghini and Ferrari if you’re into cars.

Hashtags are a feature of social media that can be difficult to understand, use, and keep up with. But, once you get the hang of them, the results are clear to see.

Business desks are notoriously difficult to pitch to; they receive a high volume of pitches on a daily basis, leaving editors tasked to find the stories that are truly newsworthy. With strict deadlines, an audience to think about and often very limited resources – this can make news desks very hard to reach for PR professionals, like you and me.

To the Gen Z community, the world of social media and online engagement is part of everyday life and has been for their entire teenage and adult years. It is something that, to a large extent, is their primary form of communicating with each other.

Higher education institutions often strive to set themselves apart from the crowd. For their programmes to be viewed differently – more innovative, more industry-focused, more competitive, better respected – from similar market offerings. The ideal of being “unique” is highly sought.

Social media has now become one of the main platforms for people to not only interact with each other, but with brands as well – this includes universities and business schools! However, this comes with increasing pressure for brands to compete with one another. Here are a few ways marketers can successfully use social media, with insights from Meltwater’s State of Social Media 2023 EMEA report. This report shares findings from 750 marketing and communications professionals located in the EMEA region.

Students are at the heart of every business school or university. They are the future leaders of our society, and the drivers of change in many institutions. A university or business school’s success lies with the constant flow of eager, inspired, and motivated students. This is why it is essential that all communications teams know how to entice and influence potential students to their campuses and courses.

You would not wear the same clothes to visit Alaska and the Golden Coast, nor would you send the exact same press release to journalists in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. Underlying both scenarios is the simple understanding that it is unsensible to approach a new environment if you are not properly prepared.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock you can’t have escaped talk of ChatGPT. You can’t browse any blog or social media site these days without seeing the answers to questions people have asked the AI bot, tips on how to use it, concerns over plagiarism, and fear that students will take advantage of the tool for essay writing.

The concept of ‘word of mouth’ reviews has changed dramatically now that the internet and social media is an integral part of our lives. Years ago, disgruntled students and applicants would express their dissatisfaction by telling their friends and family. Now, they tell the world via a frustrated tweet, withering LinkedIn comment or damning Google review. The speed at which these comments can be shared means that your institution can suffer reputational damage, even though we know these complaints are usually rare, which is why it is important to manage them with care. So, what can you do? Well, firstly, social media makes it harder to distinguish genuine reviews as some networks like Twitter make it easy for people to set up fake profiles, and the anonymity that people can achieve on the internet makes some more comfortable with losing their sense of decency, respect, and good manners. So what's the best way for universities and business schools to overcome these hurdles when dealing with negative reviews and comments? Don’t try to take the review down Respond to all feedback – positive and negative React promptly Treat the negative review as a lesson to put things right and demonstrate your outstanding service Assemble all of the facts and be fully aware of the details of the complaint before replying Remember to apologise Discuss the problem privately Even the very best institutions get the occasional negative comments and reviews

We’ve all seen disastrous media interviews before. A politician, a business person, or even a sports person comes on to the TV and you can tell they are unprepared. They’ve not planned what they want to say, they are coming across as incompetent and unprofessional and they are saying ‘no comment’ to all of the difficult questions. It doesn’t look good for the spokesperson or the organisation.

Have you ever considered hiring or working with a PR agency, but you’re not entirely sure of what PR entails?

BlueSky Education has had an incredible year! 2022 was a busy one and we are constantly evolving and growing, with over a 40% increase in clients, and so many other amazing statistics that we’re keen to share with you.

Whether at a business school, university, start-up or multinational conglomerate, the men and women that sit in the C-suite are more than just leaders.

LinkedIn is the place where business gets done online. For your business school, your LinkedIn Page could really be the hub of your institution’s online presence. Of any social media platform, it has the most relevant demographics in terms of users and, being focussed on the world of work and careers, it’s therefore a great platform for schools to engage with target audiences. It’s where you can amplify your brand and culture, carve out thought leadership, stay in touch with alumni, and make meaningful connections with target audiences such as potential students and corporate partners.

Here at BlueSky Education, our main goal is to not only get our clients a certain quantity of coverage, but to deliver quality coverage.