Higher education marketers are busy, so finding the time to keep up with the latest industry developments can be challenging.

Have you missed an important update to a key tool? Is there a high-performing tactic, channel, or platform you’re not currently using? How are external trends and events going to affect your broader marketing strategy?

Figuring that stuff out can be tough.

Fortunately, plenty of smart folks can provide the answers: higher ed thought leaders who regularly post about what’s happening in the industry (and what it means for people like you). Here are ten higher education marketers you should start following right now.

1. Carrie Phillips

Who Are They?
Carrie Phillips is chief communications and marketing officer at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and was previously director of university marketing and communication at Arkansas Tech University. She’s been working in higher ed marketing for 15+ years.

Where Can You Find Them?
Carrie is active on LinkedIn, posting on average at least a couple of times a week.

Why Should You Follow Them?
We love how Carrie shares best practices on topics like content ideation and how to get the best out of marketing conferences:

Her advice tends to be succinct and practical, which isn’t always the case on LinkedIn! And she also shares thought-provoking content on topics and trends beyond the immediate world of higher education, such as the marketing lessons you can learn from the Barbie movie launch.

2. Josie Ahlquist

Who Are They?
Josie is a higher education digital leadership consultant who spent 12 years working on college campuses before branching out independently. She wrote the book Digital Leadership in Higher Education: Purposeful Social Media in a Connected World, which was listed as an Amazon #1 new release for college and university student life.

Where Can You Find Them?
Everywhere! Josie has a website, a YouTube channel, and Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter accounts. But her biggest platform is LinkedIn, where she’s amassed around 160,000 followers.

Why Should You Follow Them?
Josie frequently shares polls on LinkedIn. Given her substantial following, these are a helpful way for higher ed marketers to gauge the pulse of the industry and understand what their peers are thinking.


Image source

Of course, she also links to plenty of her content. Best of all, if you don’t have time to read a full blog post, Josie always includes some of the key learnings within the post itself:

That way, you can pick up valuable takeaways without leaving your LinkedIn news feed.

3. Liz Gross

Who Are They?
Liz is the founder and CEO of higher ed-focused social listening agency Campus Sonar, having previously worked in various insight and strategy roles at the Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation and Affiliates. She was also director of university marketing and communications at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee at Waukesha.

Where Can You Find Them?
Liz is a frequent tweeter, and you can find her on LinkedIn, too.

Why Should You Follow Them?
As you might expect from someone who heads up a higher education social listening company, Liz is attuned to pretty much everything that happens in the industry, making her a valuable source of information (and analysis) on big news, trends, and other developments:

She also raises many questions with her followers (particularly on LinkedIn). It’s always worth checking the replies to discover what other people in your field think about common issues and challenges.


Image source

4. Maya Wesby

Who Are They?
Maya is a social media manager at Harvard University and a self-confessed nerd about user behavior and smart insights.

Where Can You Find Them?
Check her out on LinkedIn.

Why Should You Follow Them?
Maya is always eager to test anything new — and she’s happy to share her on-the-job learnings and thoughts:

As such, she’s a valuable resource for higher ed marketers who want independent advice on whether it’s worth investing time and effort in a new tactic, tool, or platform.

5. Jenny Li Fowler

Who Are They?
Jenny is the director of social media strategy at MIT and was previously the web editor and social media manager at Harvard Kennedy School of Government. And she’s the author of the book Organic Social Media: How to Build Flourishing Online Communities.

Where Can You Find Them?
Jenny is on LinkedIn but is more active (and has a larger following) on Twitter.

Why Should You Follow Them?
As an old hand when it comes to higher ed social media, Jenny has a wealth of valuable insights about how best to reach and engage your target audience through social platforms:

She also posts a bunch of relatable and motivational content:

Which you’ll appreciate when you’re not feeling your best self!

6. Ryan Morabito

Who Are They?
Ryan is a brand marketing expert with over two decades of higher education experience. He’s worked with more than 125 colleges and universities, helping them develop and implement various branding and marketing-related initiatives.

Where Can You Find Them?
Connect with (or follow) Ryan on LinkedIn, where he’s built a network of 10,000+ followers.

Why Should You Follow Them?
The first thing you need to know about Ryan is that every one of his posts starts with the sentence: “I’m going to tell you another truth about higher ed marketing.”

Some of his “truths” are thought-provoking; some will give you a new perspective on common higher ed marketing goals and challenges; others are just interesting. And they’re always succinct, making his content enjoyable to engage with.

7. Bart Caylor

Who Are They?
Bart is the president and founder of Caylor Solutions, a higher education-focused marketing consultancy. He also co-hosts the Higher Ed Marketer Podcast.

Where Can You Find Them?
Other than the podcast above, you can find Bart on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Why Should You Follow Them?
Bart is big on offering straightforward, practical advice on specific marketing challenges, such as how best to use Instagram Reels or level up your email marketing.

And as a podcaster, he speaks to a bunch of guests from around the world of higher education, and he shares some of their top insights through video and text posts:

Even if you don’t have time to listen to an entire podcast or dig into a video, you can still pick up some practical, bite-sized takeaways from his LinkedIn content, packed with easily digestible, bullet-pointed tips and tricks.

8. Brian Piper

Who Are They?
Brian is director of content strategy and assessment at the University of Rochester. He co-authored the book Epic Content Marketing alongside Joe Pulizzi, founder of the Content Marketing Institute.

Where Can You Find Them?
Brian has a website where he blogs about content strategy and creation, focusing on using data to enhance your marketing. Social media-wise, he’s most prolific on LinkedIn.

Why Should You Follow Them?
As a serial podcast guest and blogger, Brian is a one-person content curation machine for any higher ed marketer:

So, if you’re looking for a constant stream of new articles and podcast recommendations, he’s well worth a follow.

9. Teresa Valerio Parrot

Who Are They?
Teresa began her professional higher ed marketing career two decades ago as director of donor relations for the Boulder Campus at the University of Colorado Foundation. Since then, she’s founded TVP Communications, a public relations agency focused on issues specific to higher education.

Where Can You Find Them?
As well as hosting the Trusted Voices podcast, Teresa shares her thoughts on all things higher ed on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Why Should You Follow Them?
Unsurprisingly for the head of a PR agency, Teresa loves conversation; she’s always asking her audience about their challenges and goals (and wading in with her own opinions, too):

Her LinkedIn is also a treasure trove of thought-provoking content about planning and leadership:

10. Jaime Hunt

Who Are They?
Jaime is vice president for university communications and chief marketing officer at Old Dominion University in Virginia and previously held similar roles at Miami University and Winston-Salem State University.

Where Can You Find Them?
Find Jaime on her website, The Higher Ed CMO, and her podcast, Confessions of a Higher Ed CMO. Or follow her on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Why Should You Follow Them?
Whereas most of the higher ed marketers in this article are all about short, punchy content, Jaime is a big fan of long-form posts:

This approach helps you get a deeper insight into her thoughts on higher ed marketing.

As a podcast host, Jaime regularly shares takeaways from conversations with her guests, covering everything from branding and culture to measuring the effectiveness of your strategic enrollment planning.

Are you seeking higher ed social media marketing tips, insights, and best practices? Register for our next social media conference for higher ed!

Featured image by Freepik.

Find this content useful? Share it with your friends!