It is not always easy to brand your own teaching brand. Some of you may have already heard about the case where a University in the UK was ordered to pay compensation to its former Head of Marketing and Communications after she was found to have breached a contract by falsely representing herself as an independent academic consultant. The lesson here is that it takes more than just an academic degree to make you a market leader. You need to be a trusted figure who can be relied upon to deliver when it comes to branding your consultancy or chairmanship, whether you are advising students or lecturers at a university.
If you have already gained some reputation within your industry, it is advisable to step up your branding efforts. However, there are some constraints when it comes to creating a new identity for your academic or educational institute. One of these is the fact that branding in education requires something more than just academic credentials. It requires something more than a nice face. For many educational institutes, this means engaging with the wider social media communities.
In the summer of 2021, just before the start of term, a former Student approached an educational consultancy firm with a question. He asked how the branding for the university would differ from the branding for an outside company. His query was prompted by the recent criticism of a prominent business personality for tweeting, "Uk universities need more British Universities". A few days later, the businessman changed his Twitter profile picture to that of the University of Buckingham. The businessman's case illustrates how the internet can backfire on those wishing to project themselves as respectable members of the public.
When branding in the education sector, it should not be forgotten that there are several avenues to explore beyond the traditional academic community. For starters, what about social media? Recently, an entrepreneur-turned-businessperson decided to launch a consultancy following the example of branding his own firm on Twitter. His aim was to create a more professional image for himself and establish a more networked relationship with his clients. Although he started off well, the branding for the firm as a whole soon came off as being slightly out of touch with the current demands of the digital marketing industry.
Another issue is the trend towards hiring and promoting from within. This is not only a cheaper alternative than hiring outside contractors (which many educational institutes do), but it can also work better as long as branding in education sector remains relevant. In a way, the branding for an educational institute can be likened to that of the government's branding for a country. While it is true that people are trending away from government, it does not mean they no longer care about the institution itself.
Therefore, the educational industry should be careful not to get too fixated on implementing a campaign that will go out of use very quickly. The best way to go about this is to engage with current consumers through social media channels (particularly Twitter). Many people, especially established professionals in the field, use Twitter as their main source of communication for business. For them, it's more practical to just follow up with their clients via a message on Twitter rather than going through the traditional channels of the educational system or industry.
A further issue that teachers in the education sector have to deal with is the increasing difficulty of finding work. With the number of teaching posts lying vacant across Australia, the consultancy firm ACI Global has launched an initiative to help create jobs in this industry. The program, called Curriculum Development in Australia, targets industries such as the health care, legal, information technology and engineering industries. This initiative is designed to help provide the country with the required manpower in order to cater for the rapidly growing needs of these sectors. The plan is to build up and create jobs in areas that are not yet served by qualified teachers.
Even though the program works for both teachers and universities, many Australian academics are apprehensive about enrolling into a ph.d student training program in the UK. Some fear that it might not be conducive to their teaching style. But having a Ph.D. student living in the country makes life easier for those who want to teach English, for example.
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