The role of PR in supporting student recruitment efforts is well-documented. Few successful institutions overlook the importance of impactful content, expertly crafted for – and strategically placed within – go-to sources for prospective applicants. Far from it. The time, effort and resources that schools dedicate to creating content is staggering.
A worthy investment. No question. Between its uses for paid and earned media, not to mention institutional channels, such as websites and social media accounts, impactful content can be a business school’s powerful weapon in bolstering applications to its programmes. But, like I say, most already know this.
Less widely-touted, however, is the role of content in attracting new faculty. It’s true – when discussing the benefits of PR in supporting an institution’s recruitment efforts, seldom is much emphasis put on the power of impactful content in generating interest from prospective researchers and teaching staff. That oversight is not a reflection that some schools aren’t taking faculty recruitment as seriously as they should be. For the most part, institutions recognise the equal importance of faculty resourcing to student recruitment. After all, a business school cannot thrive without a steady stream of talent coming into its classrooms – whether to learn or to teach. Sourcing the best faculty is as vital as attracting the best students.
So, how can content be used to attract top faculty? Here just three (of many) ways your business school should leverage its content to attract new faculty:
Institutional achievements
Ranking results, industry accreditation and achievement awards or recognition are all sources of institutional pride. And so, in turn, they quickly form the basis for impactful media announcements. And rightly so. Announcements like these are crucial when looking to attract top talent – and I’m not just talking about MBA applicants.
But why?
Content like this makes it clear to prospective faculty that your institution meets the standard. Ambitious faculty want to know that the institution they’ll be joining is as high-achieving as they are. So, news around impressive ranking results, as well as industry accreditation and awards, make for really compelling content.
If you want to attract world-class faculty to work with you, publicising institutional achievements is essential.
Thought-leadership
Another sure-fire way to highlight the quality of your institution to prospective faculty is via thought-leadership. High-value media coverage for this kind of content, in particular, is an effective way to underscore the calibre of your school to onlookers.
How? It brings home to potential faculty the quality of your institution in two ways:
- It highlights the quality of the faculty already at your institution. Ambitious academics want to be in the company of talent, from which they can learn from and collaborate with.
- It points to the quality of your institution’s brand. The fact that a member of your faculty has penned an 800-word contribution to, say, the Economist does a great deal for your business school’s brand, as well as their own.
When considering a move, ambitious academics will seek to surround themselves with the best. If you want to attract this kind of talent to your institution, thought-leadership is a tried-and-tested method showcasing the quality already at your school.
Success stories
Just as ambitious faculty want to know they’ll be working with the best, they also want to know they’re teaching the brightest. So, highlighting student success stories can also be important when looking to boost faculty recruitment. Whether it’s a case study highlighting a creative student-led initiative in collaboration with a professor, or a successful alum-founded venture thanks to your institution, success stories are certainly impactful when looking to attract the best teaching staff as they are to student recruitment.
These real-life narratives highlight the quality of the minds entering into your school, but also the quality of the education your institution delivers in cultivating such innovation and skill. Just as prospective teaching staff and researchers will look to the calibre of the faculty already on your business school’s roster, the quality of existing and former students will also serve as a marker for them determining whether your institution is the right fit.
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Attracting the best faculty can be hard. But it’s crucial to the success of your business school. Impactful content, especially when paired with a decent PR strategy, can be a powerful tool in attracting the best applicants to your vacancies. From highlighting institutional successes, to publicising insightful though-leadership, as well as inspiring success stories, content has so many uses when attracting new faculty. It’s just about getting it right.
For support in leveraging your content to attract the best faculty, contact BlueSky Education today.
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Jonny delivers impactful PR results using an evolving network of essential media contacts, from national newspapers like Forbes, The Guardian, the Financial Times and The Telegraph, to specific trade editors such as PIE News, QS Top Universities, We Are The City and University World News. He is committed to helping more ambitious institutions reach international media goals.
