There are increasing calls for collaboration between higher education institutions. These are being driven by the government and sector leaders in response to the sector’s funding crisis and to drive great financial efficiency. But is there a risk that collaboration comes at the cost of differentiation?

Tracy Playle. Pickle Jar CEO and Chief Content Strategist, shares openly and vulnerably the impact that the challenges of a pandemic and the current higher ed downturn have had on our business. She shares that she’s here to stay, and the changes that we’re making at Pickle Jar to make sure that we can keep supporting this sector.

Struggling to define content strategy? It’s more than just marketing - it’s about structure, governance, and long-term impact. Tracy Playle goes back to basics and breaks down the essentials, from strategic vision to content operations, that help education institutions create sustainable, effective content strategies.

Content strategy might feel like a luxurious investment to make for a school, college or university. However, the costs of not having one in place can be substantial. In this post, CEO and author of The Connected Campus, Tracy Playle, explores the hidden and not so hidden costs of not having an effective content strategy.

How can we use social media to become one of our top student recruitment and enrolment marketing tools? Hear our Content and Experience Designer, Mikki Collins, featured on the Confessions of a Higher Ed Social Media Manager podcast with Jenny Li Fowler.

Zero-click behaviour takes place when users get the information they need without ever clicking through to a website. And it’s on the rise because of advances in search and AI technologies. In 2024 60% of Google searches ended without a click. So, what does this mean for education marketing? And what can we do?

If student recruitment and enrolment marketing were online dating, students would be swiping right on universities that align with their values, aspirations, and ambitions. So, what can university marketers learn from online dating platforms to refine their student recruitment and enrolment marketing strategies?

In January this year our CEO Tracy Playle had the opportunity to visit KAUST in Saudi Arabia to deliver a whole programme of support, including giving a keynote talk all about overcoming the barriers that we put in our own way to success. Here she shares the recording of her talk.

Universities are known for their sameness and rarely are seen to create bold brands that truly stand out. But now more than ever universities need to embrace the courage to stand out and develop bold brands.

In times of financial crisis, cutting learning and development budgets appears to make sense. But for higher education, cutting those budgets disempowers the very values that we stand for.

While online audience research is convenient and cost-effective, in-person research is now often overlooked as an unnecessary extra. However, being physically present can offer unique insights and valuable context that online methods just can’t.

Which education institutions already have signs of a great content strategy in support of postgraduate student recruitment? Here we share some of our favourites.

In the third part of our series on content strategy for postgraduate student recruitment we start to think about content planning.

In the second part of our series focused on content strategy for postgraduate recruitment we're exploring audience insights and - specifically - audience mapping techniques.

Is it time to prioritise a focus on postgraduate recruitment in your institution's content strategy? In this four part blog series we explore why and how to approach this.

In recent months, there have been many brands and organisations reconsidering their presence on X (formerly known as Twitter). Mikki Collins asks if now is the time for education institutions to also leave.

Learn how to stay focused on your personal mission and your “why” when the pressure of the now and chasing enrolment numbers might feel all-consuming.

Understand how Pickle Jar is supporting education marketing and communications professionals by developing and deploying AI that goes far beyond just generative AI. Learn about some of our real client applications.

Mikki Collins discusses the value of discovering your Tok on TikTok to support your student recruitment conversion.

We are super excited to announce that this December, we welcomed Mikki Collins into the Pickle team as our new Content and Experience Designer!

We asked Mikki to answer a few questions for you to get to know her a bit better.