And Carrie On

As a MarComm leader, my budget feels tighter every year. The needs often far outweigh the resources available. That’s why this is one of my favorite blogs. Its reminds me there are so many great tools and offerings to help our teams stretch our limited resources!

One Disclaimer: This list is meant to be shared with others. After all, higher education is better together! Our team does this by putting free resources into a document that lives in our staff meeting agenda. It gives the entire team access to the webinars and learning opportunities at any moment.

Free Resources for MarComm Professionals

PRSA CHE Programming – This is my first year as a member of PRSA’s CHE Executive Committee. This is a PRSA special interest group for higher education leaders. Christy Jackson and I serve as co-chairs and aim to have monthly professional development offerings. Recent offerings have included: hows and whys of reporting, staying mission fit in tough times, and how marketing and communications work together. The next session will be in August!

Association Professional Development – Many of our professional organizations have professional development that is included with membership. Often, the memberships are institutional in nature, meaning anyone from the organization can access the content. As such, a quick conversation with others across campus may result in access to these resources. CASE has ToGathers and other complimentary learning that is available at no cost to members. AMA has members-only webinars and digital downloads that are free for members. Digital Collegium has regular online programming that is targeted by topics or interest groups, and these are available complimentary as well. Finally, UCDA has monthly creative conversations designed to discuss key topics in the design industry.

ChatGPT – This is another great resource for MarComm leaders. I have written several blog posts on ways I’m using ChatGPT as a MarComm leader. I do think this is better as a paid version ($20-$25 a month), but the free version is a great way to start using this tool and understanding how it can help expand team capacity. Some starter use cases include copywriting, brainstorming, and editing.

Enrollify Podcast Network – There are so many great podcasts on the Enrollify Podcast Network. Whether you’re curious about being a CMO, understanding enrollment, exploring key tactics, or leveraging AI in your work, there are numerous shows that can help leaders learn new approaches, build connections with other leaders, and come up with creative ideas to solve marketing and communication challenges!

MarComm Barbie – Community really matters, and I am so excited there’s a Slack channel for MarComm women to discuss the challenges they face in a safe, supported environment. This group celebrates achievements of its members, offers advice, and discusses some of the latest content and fashion. If you’d like to learn more about this group, connect with me, and I can help you learn about this free resource.

Solve Sessions – One of the smartest people I know, Jaime Hunt, has created Solve Sessions. These free webinars provide actionable insights on some of the most current challenges facing our industry. She has offered sessions on building a custom GPT and what the decline in search engine traffic means for our industry. These sessions are relatively new, but they are packed with takeaways and things to consider.

What Else?

Are there other free resources that you regularly use? If so, please comment and let’s keep the conversation going! Sharing what works helps us all grow stronger as a community: your go-to tool might be just what someone else needs.