This afternoon (Monday, 18 August 2014) DUT hosted the KZN Mace (Marketing, Advancement and Communication in Education) workshop where respected media professionals gave insightful talks on how higher education institutions can improve and optimise their media presence online and in print.
MACE unites marketing, advancement and communication practitioners from higher education (HE) and Further Education and Training (FET) sectors in South Africa. Held at the University’s Ritson Campus, the workshop aimed to promote competence, networking and partnerships as well as advancement in the marketing and communication departments within regional higher education.
In previous years, DUT has scooped several MACE awards for best practice in marketing and communications.
Communications and PR practitioners from DUT, MUT, UKZN as well as Pax College attended the workshop, which concluded with a pamper session for the attendees at the University’s Somatology Clinic, also at the Ritson Campus.
Independent Newspapers Marketing Editor; Greg Dardagan spoke about news coverage, saying in terms of this (news coverage) universities are public property, much like people in high positions or celebrities.
“Every university should have a clear procedure and strategy to deal with bad news. To react with a ‘no comment’ is the worst thing you can say to a journalist because they can then say what they like about the institution because they have tried to fulfill their ethical duty (of getting the full story),” he said. He also advised the attendees to cultivate positive relations with the media, which could also help universities in getting positive news coverage.
Rich Armstrong; mobile app and user experience designer spoke about mobile marketing, a powerful tool with the potential of reaching targeted audiences wherever they are, adding that universities must keep abreast of technological innovations.
With internet users being bombarded with so much information which is available on their mobile devices, he also spoke about ways of making information stand out. “There’s so much information (on the internet) that there’s an information overload.
So how do you make your information stand out?” He said in order to consume information; those at the receiving end must be given information that is worth consuming. “That information must be helpful and beneficial,” he said.
Nazareen Ebrahim; social media and content strategist gave strategies on how universities can use social media to gain influence online. Quoting from the SA Social Media Landscape 2014 research report, she said the use of mobile (devices) has increased in the country. According to the report, the country has 9.4 million active users on Facebook, 7.4 million active users on Mxit, 5.5 million users on Twitter and 2.7 active users on LinkedIn. Usage of Instagram and Youtube were also on the rise.
With there being so many online platforms available to engage audiences in, she however warned that while there is strength in numbers, having a presence on too many online platforms could prove counterproductive as a lot of time and energy needed to be expanded in managing each one.
Zama Phakathi; Splendid Marketing CEO ended the session with an inspirational talk, urging attendees to never allow their mistakes to define them as well as not to limit themselves. “Have a purpose and goal; don’t live for the sake of living. Try and influence what happens to you through planning and surround yourself with positive people who inspire and mean well but can tell you when you’re wrong because you need that in your life,” she said.
-Sinegugu Ndlovu
Pictured: The speakers and attendees at the workshop. From left is Mbali Mkhize; Senior Director: Marketing and Communications at MUT, Rich Armstrong; mobile app and user experience designer, Nazareen Ebrahim; social media and content strategist, Alan Khan; Senior Director: Corporate Affairs at DUT, Normah Zondo; Director: Communications and Marketing at UniZulu and Vasantha Govender; Marketing and PR Manager at DUT.
