Valerie Kelly: The One-Person Marketing Dynamo in Higher Education
In this engaging episode of the Higher Ed Demand Gen podcast, hosted by Shiro Hattori of Concept 3D, listeners are introduced to Valerie Kelly, a dynamic senior marketing specialist at Sacramento State College of Business. Valerie shares her journey of navigating the complex terrain of higher education marketing as a one-person team. With her podcasting experience and a knack for storytelling, Valerie has become an essential asset in amplifying the voices and successes of students and faculty at her institution.
Embracing Storytelling to Highlight Student and Faculty Success
Valerie’s role involves highlighting remarkable achievements and stories from Sacramento State’s community, often focusing on those from minority or challenging backgrounds. She details her involvement with the Center for Small Business, which provides students with hands-on experience that eventually leads to employment opportunities. A particularly touching anecdote involves a student who overcame significant personal challenges to pursue a master’s degree, showcasing the transformative power of education.
Navigating the Multifaceted Challenges of a University Marketing Role
Valerie discusses the unique challenges faced by higher ed marketers, where roles are typically a “one-stop shop”. A survey mentioned in the episode illustrates that the average higher ed marketer fulfills 2.5 different roles. Despite the overlapping responsibilities, Valerie excels by maintaining a project management mindset, exemplified by her efforts to relaunch the “Business Features” publication both in print and digital formats.
Harnessing the Power of Digital and AI for Marketing Impact
Transitioning from traditional print to digital strategies is a significant focus for Valerie. She spearheads campaigns using platforms like Google Ads, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram to promote graduate programs. The College of Business is also integrating AI through a new concentration, leveraging partnerships with OpenAI and ChatGPT. Valerie emphasizes the necessity of staying current with AI trends to maintain marketing efficiency and relevance. By embracing these tools within podcasts, social media, and publications, the institution is poised to enhance productivity and outreach significantly.
Valerie Kelly’s inspiring journey reflects the evolving landscape of higher education marketing, where creativity and adaptability drive success.
Read the transcription
Shiro [00:00:15]:
Welcome to the Higher Ed Demand Gen Podcast hosted by Concept three d. If you like our content, please follow and subscribe to us. As always, I’m Shiro Hattori, your host, and I’m very excited to talk about a situation I’m sure a lot of folks in higher ed are feeling in higher ed marketing specifically, which is how a one person marketing leader works in higher ed. So for the topic, I’m very thrilled to speak with Valerie Kelly. She is the senior marketing specialist at Sacramento State College of Business. Valerie, welcome to the show.
Valerie Kelly [00:00:51]:
Awesome. Thank you for having me.
Shiro [00:00:54]:
It’s great to have you. I ask all my guests this as a nice break here. Please tell me what you love about higher ed.
Valerie Kelly [00:01:01]:
Yes. That’s a great question. I have technically been in higher ed, a little bit under a year. I started off, teaching digital marketing with an organization called 2U, where the cohort ran about four months. And then I started out at, Sac State, in August of twenty twenty four. So it’s been nearly seven months now, and it kind of just was kind of a stroke of fate, I wanna say. And I, for a couple of months, I managed both of these roles concurrently, which was a lot. But right now, after my cohort finished with two u, I have been at Sac State.
Valerie Kelly [00:01:43]:
There’s been a lot to learn. I manage branding, digital presence, storytelling, and student engagement in my role, and it’s a one person marketing team, for the school of business. We do have marketing roles, throughout different departments in the university, but I am the marketing lead, with the College of Business, and I do have support of a student assistant. So shout out to Alexis. With her help, I focus on elevating the school’s visibility, driving enrollment, through strategic marketing initiatives, and it’s really been a big passion of mine. I’ve come from the education sector, but higher ed is its own ballpark as I’m learning, but I am really enjoying it.
Shiro [00:02:29]:
That’s awesome. I mean, yeah, I don’t really get to ask this question a lot to someone, you know, so new to someone in your position. Like, is there anything that stuck out that’s like, oh, this is pretty cool about this industry now that you’re on the institutional side, just because it’s so new to you?
Valerie Kelly [00:02:47]:
Yeah. I think probably one of the biggest things, for me is working with the faculty, and the students, highlighting their accomplishments. And I’ve one thing I have noticed though, within the university system at CSU is that a lot of positions within the system are a one stop shop. I’ll give you an example. I work in the dean’s office. We have an executive assistant, and we also have an HR and budget analyst. So it is kind of a small office, and each prospective department, has varying roles as well. I think there are one or two other colleges that might have, a marketing specialist or analyst, or communications coordinator or something similar within that realm, but not every college does.
Valerie Kelly [00:03:35]:
So it’s really interesting, how those how those roles are kind of, divvied up within the system. And, sometimes some of them might be kind of intersect a little bit with, administration duties. I think I did see one position that was, like, an executive assistant along with a, like, communications specialist. But it is, like, really, like, you are managing a lot. So and I think, actually, my dean had told me that ahead of time that it is, very common within the university system, for it to be that way. So I probably that’s probably the biggest thing that kind of, was almost like a culture shock in a way for when I started working within higher ed.
Shiro [00:04:20]:
Yeah. No. I I agree. I I I don’t know if I told you about the higher ed salary survey we just conducted. It’s our first one ever, and we just reported the the findings, was it, like, three weeks ago now? And we found that the average higher ed marketer wears about 2.5 different roles worth of hats. Yeah. And, like and then, you know, in in our answers, like, there are people who said all of them. Right? Like, there’s, like, 10 things listed and they’re, like, they check marks.
Shiro [00:04:51]:
Is there an option for all? So next year, I have to code update it because there’s people like you who, you know, work for a college of business or college of engineering, and they’re a one person marketer. So, and so they handle everything. But, yeah, it’s you’re definitely not alone, and I definitely hear this a lot. Given your your background coming outside of higher ed and with a lot of fundamental background in marketing, like, is there something you brought new to the table that your your dean is like, oh, this is new. Like, you know, this is not something I’ve tried yet. Like, have you had the opportunity to do that in your in your short time?
Valerie Kelly [00:05:30]:
Yeah. That’s a great question because this is actually a conversation that my dean and I had probably, I wanna say, a few months back. And he actually told me that one of the reasons that he had hired me, is because of my podcasting experience, and he was eager to potentially, in the near future, to, maybe, potentially put out a podcast, that is focused on the College of Business and initiatives, that the faculty are doing, things that the the students are doing, and kind of showcasing all these accomplishments. And, so I think that, for me, was really exciting, kind of coming in with that experience, but also potentially being able to develop a podcast, from the ground up because I did something similar actually in my last organization. And, initially, I was really hesitant because I’m like, well, I don’t really know. Never done a podcast before. But I found that I really enjoy doing it, and, and it was exciting for me to potentially bring that to, another institution as well.
Shiro [00:06:35]:
You’re speaking to the choir. I love talking about podcasting, how it can be used as a a marketing asset. So that’s exciting. I’m I’m excited to learn more and hopefully, listen to your first episode when it launches, so make sure to send that over to me. Absolutely. Well, let let’s talk about your journey so far. Right? Six plus months so far. You already kinda captured and highlighted some of this, but what are some of your wins so far?
Valerie Kelly [00:07:01]:
So I think for me, it’s been the power of storytelling. I’ve interviewed many students and faculty members, and it’s really it’s different kind of coming from the nonprofit world, into the public sector, within higher ed. And it’s it’s I feel like there’s been, a lot of sense of, like, I feel more not satisfied, I wanna say, but fulfilled. I I feel like there’s a lot more fulfillment, in being able to highlight these stories directly from students and especially, like, students who, are, you know, minority students or students, who’ve had difficult backgrounds and learning about their stories, what brought them to campus, and what their journey has been kind of, coming into Sac State. And the same thing with our faculty and learning about everything that they’ve done, within the institution and the work that they’re doing. It’s not just about, their work within the classroom, but it really extends beyond that. I recently interviewed someone who manages the Center for Small Business where they partner with a variety of different industries, from the public, private, nonprofit sectors that help students gain, the experience that they need via projects. And a lot of these companies have actually hired out students from, some of the things that I’ve that I’ve, some of the things that I’ve learned recently.
Valerie Kelly [00:08:34]:
And we also have, what’s called the BHAN program or business honors program. That’s also been a really great one as well. Again, learning about, where the students have come from, all the great work that they’re doing, in our business analytics program as well. One of our faculty chairs, Minh Lee, has been doing a lot of great work, when it comes to AI. There was a championship that happened, I wanna say late last year, where students, had an opportunity to apply, real life principles, into this competition. And so there were group projects and just kind of seeing, all of the work that even collaboratively, both the students and faculty are putting in to these different organizations on the campus and seeing all of their hard work kind of kind of come together outside of the classroom, I think, has been really rewarding. I talked to one of our students, and she, was tearful in in a really good way and just talking about how, between her her undergraduate degree and coming in for, her masters, how, she never thought she’d be able to, come back and get her master’s because there were some things in between, personal things within her life that kind of got in the way. And she said that, you know, she’s nearing graduation, and it’s just really those inspiring stories that have really been a highlight for me.
Valerie Kelly [00:10:10]:
And then also no department, I found, operates alone. Again, we are, a lot of one stop shops, but I collaborate, with our university print who helps with design. Sometimes I also work with university communications or university marketing. And while I don’t directly, let’s say, work under our director of marketing communications, They have separate positions. Sometimes I’ll seek their input, on different blogs maybe that I’m doing. I have one of our directors actually consult me about some potential Google campaigns, for the university, because it was a new initiative that she was looking into. So I think there’s a lot of really great camaraderie and just, like, really being able to help one another even though, like, we are kind of, like, owning our own roles. Right? But I think building these relationships has really been crucial for me.
Valerie Kelly [00:11:06]:
It’s made my work more effective. And also a big, big thing for me is having a project management project management system in place or project management mindset, which has really been critical in my position. I was previously a content specialist in my last role, and kind of taking on the those broader roles within marketing and kind of managing those projects, while simultaneously, working with working with content or working with social media. So there’s a lot of prioritization, planning, and execution that kind of comes in. So that’s been something that I’ve been learning over these past, several months. It’s doing a lot of the same similar type of work, but in a more of a project management, type of role. Right.
Shiro [00:11:59]:
Yep. And I I believe, yeah, that’s in our precall. You that you mentioned that was one thing that, you learned that, like, maybe I could have done this one sooner a little bit too. Right? And
Valerie Kelly [00:12:08]:
Yeah.
Shiro [00:12:09]:
I mean, the like, I I feel the same way. I I self serve this podcast almost entirely minus some editing. And, you it’s you really have to manage, like, your schedule, and it’s it’s hard.
Valerie Kelly [00:12:20]:
Yeah. Absolutely. You.
Shiro [00:12:24]:
That’s great. You you talked about some of your wins being, you know, honestly, just like talking to the faculty and students around campus and hearing their stories. But, from a marketing lens, how have you, how have you captured their stories? How have you distributed them? And what have the outcomes been, like, you know, whether it’s metrics or anecdotal?
Valerie Kelly [00:12:47]:
Yeah. It’s a great question. So there are a variety of different avenues I’ve been working on. One of my biggest projects that I’ve been working on right now is the business features future’s publication. And right now, it has been on hiatus for about two years, because my position was vacant for a little bit of time. So I am relaunching that, and that’s really exciting, to be able to show everything that’s happened within the past two years, all the exciting initiatives.
Shiro [00:13:16]:
Yeah. Can can you tell us real quick about what what that is, and what Yeah. What it aims to do within, the School of Business or College of Business? Sorry.
Valerie Kelly [00:13:26]:
So the business features publication, is a magazine that we have both imprint, and also in digital format. So it’ll it will live on our website once it’s published. We do have some past editions on there as well. They’re pretty old, but there are a couple that are on there. And then we’ll print them. Once I put together all of the materials, we work with the university print who then prints out the magazine. And then we work with our office of alumni relations who will then help distribute, those magazines, the digital magazines, for our alumni, prospective students as well. We’ll probably also distribute it, within our social media system as well, maybe through email campaigns.
Valerie Kelly [00:14:16]:
But we really wanna showcase it to, within our college as well. So our faculty, our staff, student assistants, and college as a whole. So it has been a bigger project that I have been working on. And then there is another one. That one is was formally called the Dean’s Digest. And since I started in the role, we rebranded it to, Biz Buzz, to kind of give a little bit of flare, but also our dean was saying that he really wants us to be focused on the achievements within the college and not just to focus on the dean. And so this will showcase all of our achievements of our faculty and our staff as well. And this could be things, maybe awards that they’ve gotten or things that they’ve done, degrees maybe that they’ve gotten, certifications, maybe some of our staff have gotten, a variety of different things.
Valerie Kelly [00:15:12]:
And this is for the College of Business as a whole. We are actually also working on, a big campaign push with the Sacramento Business Journal. So we will have a hub for a few months, that will house about six blogs. And each of these blogs are dedicated to, a variety of our different programs. So we have, an AI concentration that’s coming this fall that we’re showcasing. We’re featuring our business analytics program, our center for small business, and much, much more. So these have been kind of a labor of love for me these last few months, and I worked directly with the faculty, to put these articles together. I spent time interviewing them, and then we’re collaboratively working on them.
Valerie Kelly [00:16:00]:
And then, of course, relaunching our social media channels because those had also been stagnant, for quite some time too prior to my onboarding. And although we used Facebook and Instagram, previously, LinkedIn, although we had 10,000, followers, had never been utilized.
Shiro [00:16:22]:
Wow.
Valerie Kelly [00:16:23]:
So definitely a missed opportunity, and so that’s kind of been, a really great initiative for me as well.
Shiro [00:16:29]:
That’s amazing. So it looks like you’re you’re relaunching some of the the old, which was the, Biz Buzz, which was previously the Dean’s Digest. Right? And and is that a physical publication?
Valerie Kelly [00:16:45]:
Yes. That’s a great question. This one is digital only.
Shiro [00:16:48]:
Okay. Got it. Digital only. So that’s, like, like, a newsletter. You’re relaunching the the magazine, which can be distributed probably now digitally as well, but mostly started out in print. But now you’re looking to LinkedIn, and then you’re working on some partner advertising locally, with the Sacramento, area. Is that right?
Valerie Kelly [00:17:09]:
Yeah. And, actually, one thing I wanted to add is that, actually, prior to my onboarding the position, there was a lot more, print marketing, advertising that was going on, and my dean really emphasized that we really kinda wanted to transition more over into digital. So I think that’s one way the position has kinda changed and evolved, with my onboard.
Shiro [00:17:32]:
Have those digital campaigns lodged so far?
Valerie Kelly [00:17:36]:
Yeah. So we work with, a variety of different vendors that will, help us with Google Ads, social media advertising. We just started with one, called Study College. They work with so many different colleges. So they’re a new one for us. And we just launched a campaign, with them, so we’re really excited to see how that performs.
Shiro [00:17:58]:
Is that LinkedIn, by the way?
Valerie Kelly [00:18:00]:
That one is that one is not on LinkedIn.
Shiro [00:18:03]:
Okay. Okay.
Valerie Kelly [00:18:04]:
But they are doing advertisements, through YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram, I believe.
Shiro [00:18:09]:
Cool. Sorry. I don’t didn’t mean to cut you off. I was just curious.
Valerie Kelly [00:18:13]:
No. No worries.
Shiro [00:18:14]:
Any of those working well so far, like early indicators? Like, how what are you looking at in terms of data? And the reason I ask is I’m trying to just for our listeners, you know, give advice on, like, how you look at data, how you look at programming that’s successful, like, this early, and especially with your background coming from outside of higher ed. Like, I feel like we move a little faster. So, yeah, I just wanted to see how what your lens is on how you’re seeing campaign performance.
Valerie Kelly [00:18:41]:
Yeah. It’s a good question. So this particular one with study college just launched, a week ago, and I’m actually due to have a consultation call with them next week. And so Mhmm. We’ll kinda figure out what those preliminary, results look like. So more to come on that. But we also work with another one, called McClatchy, a very similar type of, campaigns. And so, usually, what we do is, so we have a three month campaign.
Valerie Kelly [00:19:11]:
We usually have kind of a midpoint kind of touch base, kinda talk about some of the keywords that are working, how many clicks, how many impressions that we’re getting, and kinda discuss. And then, prior to launching these campaigns, I’ll usually be the one that puts together the warning, and work with a variety of different stakeholders on potential edits and things like that depending on the programs that we wanna feature. And this is really a focus on our graduate programs. So all of our advertising really is really focused on our graduate programs.
Shiro [00:19:44]:
Got it. And do you blend in some of the, like, quotes and pieces from your interviews with students and faculty into these campaigns?
Valerie Kelly [00:19:53]:
Yeah. Absolutely.
Shiro [00:19:55]:
Okay. Very cool. Let’s let’s talk about LinkedIn real quick. What is your plan or strategy for the LinkedIn play? You already have 10,000 followers. What do you plan on doing that with that?
Valerie Kelly [00:20:09]:
Yeah. That’s a great question. So I think for our LinkedIn, our biggest showcase is really going to be and we’re actually just talking about that recently as well, but showcasing, the impacts of our faculty. So we’ll have our faculty feature. We’ll have our student feature, which are generally our graduate students, but this is also a platform where we will show some undergraduate students as well. There are some students that are involved within, athletics. So they have they’re managing a variety of different things, and they have such great stories to tell that will sometimes feature our undergrads there as well. And then, larger college of business initiatives.
Valerie Kelly [00:20:54]:
We had a business pathways networking event yesterday, and we have another part of our college. It’s called the office of student engagement. So there are parts of the college that they’ll maybe have, some LinkedIn pages that post communications that are specifically for a student audience.
Shiro [00:21:12]:
Mhmm.
Valerie Kelly [00:21:13]:
Our channels are more geared towards the college as a whole. But there are different subsets mostly on Instagram, but our LinkedIn will show, content, for the college as a whole, in any upcoming events, any guest speakers that we might, have on the campus, different networking opportunities, career fairs. So it’s really kind of a one stop shop for really everything within the college of business, positions that we’re hiring for, and things like that.
Shiro [00:21:46]:
Got it. Okay. Yeah. So it’s like it just seems like a multiuse kind of approach with your your company page. Got it. Do you are you planning to put any, paid spend behind this at all?
Valerie Kelly [00:21:58]:
Not at the moment.
Shiro [00:22:00]:
Got it. So kinda utilizing your current follower base and seeing what you can do from that.
Valerie Kelly [00:22:05]:
Yeah.
Shiro [00:22:06]:
Super cool. Last thing I really wanted to touch on, I know you actually have some experience using AI right now with Outlier, and so I’m speaking to the right person. But, like, how how do you envision AI being a bigger part of your team within marketing and your role and then as a organization at a whole, at, Sacramento State?
Valerie Kelly [00:22:35]:
Yeah. That’s a great question. So within, the College of Business as a whole, there is an AI concentration that is coming up, coming up this fall, which is really exciting. And
Shiro [00:22:48]:
Is that AI in business? Is it, like, AI use in business? Is that, like, a certificate that attract?
Valerie Kelly [00:22:55]:
So it’s like a AI concentration. So it’s gonna be part of the College of Business, but it’ll there’ll be a concentration, with our business degree.
Shiro [00:23:04]:
Got it. Very cool. And and keep going. Tell me more about how, you’re using it on the faculty or staff side as well. We’re planning on using it.
Valerie Kelly [00:23:15]:
Yeah. So it’s actually interesting, actually, with Sacramento State as a whole. There is a partnership that’s coming, with, OpenAI and ChatGPT, which is gonna make, the platform more accessible to faculty, to students. Of course, there are so many different opinions on the use of it, especially within the classroom. Our faculty are doing a lot of different initiatives, especially within business analytics, with AI. And within our college as a whole, it’s really been, pushed to really learn as much about, AI and the variety of different platforms, that are available to us as a whole. In my position, as I mentioned, we’re talking about potential podcasts, and there might be some use of that in creating, a podcast for the school of business, and working with, our variety of different social media channels and content publications, and really just kind of helping us to be more efficient. So not even just my position, but, all positions, faculty, staff, within the college are really, there’s a lot of, lot of emphasis on, learning, everything about AI that we can, because I especially within marketing roles that you can become obsolete pretty quickly, if you’re not adapting to the latest, you know, trend and the the latest thing.
Valerie Kelly [00:24:50]:
Right? So I think specifically for the College of Business for, I wanna say, for staff, it’s really gonna be about, efficiency. And that even can be, like, emails that we sent, or articles that we’re writing. Again, like we mentioned in the podcast, it’s really come so far, and I think the partnership that the university has, I think, is gonna be really, really exciting and life changing for all of faculty, the students, and really just university wide.
Shiro [00:25:21]:
Yeah. That’s super exciting. Is is that the one that’s called, like, collegeoruniversity.gpt? I I spoke
Valerie Kelly [00:25:29]:
with someone question. It hasn’t
Shiro [00:25:31]:
launched yet. About
Valerie Kelly [00:25:32]:
it. Okay. But we got an email actually not too long ago about, there is gonna be a, software, in our software our software catalog. There is gonna be an option loaded on to there. So we’ll learn more about that soon.
Shiro [00:25:53]:
Okay. Cool. Very cool. I was actually going to I’m recording an episode with Tina Miller from ASU, and she’s their org is massive, but they have huge departments and budgets. Not even budgets, just more like people power allocated towards AI, and they have their own GPT and partnership with OpenAI too. So super cool. But, yeah, that’s that’s very exciting. I’m always constantly looking for ways to incorporate AI just beyond just, like, chat GPT prompts into my workflow.
Shiro [00:26:25]:
So I’m always curious to learn how other marketers are utilizing these tools. So love the podcast idea. I’d love to see how we can maybe, you know, create more clips or create more content from, AI as well. So that’s cool. Well, I think we’re just at about time. I’m wondering where our listeners can connect with you and learn more about all the good work, you’re doing, in your role or outside of this. Yeah.
Valerie Kelly [00:26:54]:
Yeah. It’s a great question. So you can find me over on LinkedIn. My name over there is, Valerie Kelly Curl. And I usually will post access to my podcast episodes over there. I have my own podcast called The Slice of Empathy. I’m over on Instagram at valerie j kelly. So you can connect with me over there.
Valerie Kelly [00:27:17]:
My website, valeriejkelly.com. Those are some of my passion projects that you’ll find, that both kind of intersect with my my daily marketing work, and also my passion for podcasting.
Shiro [00:27:32]:
Amazing. Well, thank you so much for joining. It’s been a pleasure having you, and I’m excited to hear all the results maybe in, like, a year from now, once you’ve you fit into your boots a little bit more.
Valerie Kelly [00:27:44]:
Yeah. Absolutely. It’s been a pleasure.m. You know? So if you wanna see mom me, in you wanna see professional me, that’s, you know, more like LinkedIn and x.
Jenny Li Fowler [00:32:53]:
And yeah. I mean, you know, the one thing I’ll add is, you know, I am, a faculty member in the digital community co cohort by Josie Alquist, and it it’s a it’s a cohort learning group for social media strategy and how to move forward, you know, how to set a strategy, how to set goals, or if you’re more sophisticated or and more advanced in where you are, like, how you, manage up with social media and how you get more buy in or how you create more influence. So, it’s it’s for all levels and, registration is literally open right now. So if you look digital community cohort, I’m sure we’ll,
Shiro [00:33:37]:
add
Jenny Li Fowler [00:33:37]:
the link in the show notes. And, yeah, we’d love to see your listeners there, Shiro.
Shiro [00:33:44]:
That’s awesome. Is this is the first time I’m hearing about this group. Is this, like, specific to higher ed social, or is it more broad across several industries?
Jenny Li Fowler [00:33:53]:
Yeah. So when it was launched, it was, social it was higher ed specific, but it it seems to attract, has attracted people across industries because it’s really sort of, you know, industry agnostic. It it is we really just like, we’re talking about tactics and platforms and strategy of just social media, and I think it applies to anyone in any industry that does this work.
Shiro [00:34:19]:
Okay. Well, that’s awesome. I didn’t know about this community. So, yeah, definitely check out the digital community cohort. And don’t forget, Jenny also hosts the confessions of a higher ed social media manager, so make sure to check out her podcast, where she gets to be on the other side of the microphone too. Jenny, thank you so much for joining us today. This has been awesome. I love talking about social media, so it’s right up my alley.
Shiro [00:34:43]:
Thank you so much.
Jenny Li Fowler [00:34:44]:
Oh, Shiro. Thank you so much. I had a great time. I appreciate it.
