#111 - How To Recruit Graduate Students Using Storytelling

Grad school enrollment is hard right now. International pipelines are drying up, domestic demand is soft in a lot of markets, and prospective students have more options — and more skepticism — than ever. So how do you cut through? This compilation episode features three marketers from three very different graduate programs who are each doing something smart with storytelling and content creation to ultimately impact enrollment. Katya Popova at American University's Kogod School of Business went all-in on a bold AI identity and turned it into a PR machine. Chris Lewis at University of Michigan Flint built a podcast from scratch — solo — and is using it to meet prospective grad students exactly where they are. And Laura Beth O'Brien at Gatton College of Business and Economics at University of Kentucky figured out that "this degree opens doors" isn't enough — you have to show people how it actually fits into their real, busy, complicated lives. In this episode: 💡Why Kogod claiming to be "the first AI-first business school" wasn't just a positioning move — it became their entire enrollment engine 💡How AI search engines have become their own audience segment, and why earned media is the way to feed them 💡The podcast strategy that's building a grad enrollment pipeline at UM Flint — and why even a small audience is worth the effort 💡Why Gatton stopped leading with aspirational alumni outcomes and started leading with "this will actually fit in your life" 💡How to track storytelling content through the enrollment funnel (including a QR code attribution trick) 💡The content ecosystem argument: why no single piece of content closes the deal — and what "the whirlpool" actually looks like Key Takeaways: 🔑Staking a bold, specific institutional claim ("AI-first") gives your PR, content, and enrollment teams something to rally around — and gives media something worth covering. 🔑AI search engines are an audience. Treat them like one. Run monthly reports on what ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity say about your school and adjust accordingly. 🔑Earned media feeds AI findability. Third-party validation (not your own website copy) is what LLMs trust. Put money behind your earned media hits, not just original content. 🔑Podcast transcripts are an underrated SEO and GEO asset — they're long, keyword-rich, and naturally repetitive in a way written content can't be. 🔑A LinkedIn newsletter for your podcast is a low-lift distribution channel that self-selects a genuinely interested audience. A thousand subscribers who opted in beats ten thousand passive email recipients. 🔑Grad school decision cycles are long (18+ months). Your storytelling has to be present at multiple touchpoints — not optimized for the last click. 🔑"This degree will open doors" is table stakes. The story that actually converts is: "You can do this without blowing up your life." 🔑Every story you collect about student or alumni success is also a coaching resource for your own admissions team — Chris Lewis uses podcast episodes to help staff better articulate program value. Connect with the Guests: 🔗Katya Popova, CMO, Kogod School of Business at American University —   / katyapopova   🔗Chris Lewis, Director of Graduate Programs, University of Michigan Flint —   / drchristopherlewis   | [email protected] | Victors in Grad School podcast 🔗Laura Beth O'Brien, Director of Marketing Communications, Gatton College of Business and Economics, University of Kentucky — http://linkedin.com/in/laura-beth-o-b... Resources Mentioned: 📌Kogod School of Business at American University: https://www.american.edu/kogod/ 📌Victors in Grad School podcast (University of Michigan Flint): (search on your podcast platform) 📌Gatton College of Business and Economics alumni video series:    / @ukgattoncollege   📌HubSpot Inbound Conference: https://www.hubspot.com/inbound 📌Poets & Quants (named Kogod "most consequential AI transformation in business education"): https://poetsandquants.com 📌Axios (featured Kogod student AI research): https://www.axios.com Connect With John: 👉LinkedIn:   / johnazoni   🎥Website: https://unveild.tv 📧Newsletter: https://unveild.tv/newsletter — Also follow @HigherEdStorytelling on Youtube, Instagram and Tiktok and join our subreddit. 👉Youtube:    / @higheredstorytelling   👉Instagram:   / higheredstorytelling   👉TikTok:   / higheredstorytelling   👉Reddit:   / higheredstorytelling   — WEBINARS: 📌The Art of the Testimonial Interview:    • WEBINAR: The Art of the Testimonial Interview   📌Higher Ed Content Creation, But Make It Not Suck:    • WEBINAR: Higher Ed Content Creation, But M...   📌What’s Working in Higher Ed Video:    • Whats Working in Higher Ed Video in 2024