As budgets tighten and competition intensifies, colleges and universities scramble to find innovative, cost-effective strategies that boost their marketing impact.
With U.S. higher education institutions collectively spending over $2 billion annually on paid advertising, the financial stakes are high.
That's why Hannon Hill's newly released Expert Finder module represents a timely solution for institutions looking to boost their visibility while controlling costs through earned media strategies.
Earned media, unpaid news coverage, expert commentary, and public relations exposure, has emerged as a powerful force in higher education marketing.
Unlike paid advertising, earned media carries the credibility of third-party validation while delivering substantial cost savings.
Recent case studies demonstrate the remarkable financial impact of successful earned media campaigns:
These examples illustrate a clear pattern that institutions that effectively leverage their expertise and stories through earned media can achieve marketing impacts worth millions, without equivalent spending.
Hannon Hill's Expert Finder module directly addresses one of the most significant barriers to earned media success: connecting journalists and media outlets with the right university experts at the right time.
Here's how this tool can drive substantial cost savings through enhanced earned media opportunities:
1. Maximizing faculty expertise visibilityThe Expert Finder creates a searchable database of faculty expertise that makes it remarkably easy for journalists to find authoritative sources for their stories. When breaking news happens in specialized fields, from climate science to economic policy to public health, media outlets need qualified experts quickly. Universities with accessible expert directories gain a significant advantage in securing these valuable media opportunities.
This increased visibility directly translates to earned media value. As Wayne State University demonstrated, proactively connecting faculty experts with journalists can generate media coverage worth millions in equivalent advertising costs.
Timing is everything in today's fast-paced news environment. The Expert Finder module enables rapid connections between media and university experts, dramatically improving response times to media inquiries. This speed advantage can mean the difference between your institution's expert being featured in a major news story or missing the opportunity entirely.
The University of Nebraska Omaha's experience shows that streamlining media outreach processes can yield hundreds of thousands in cost savings while increasing coverage opportunities.
3. Showcasing institutional excellence through expert voices
Every university possesses unique expertise and knowledge. The Expert Finder helps institutions strategically highlight their particular strengths by making subject matter experts more discoverable in their areas of distinction. This focused approach ensures that media coverage aligns with institutional priorities and reinforces key brand messages. The kind of strategic alignment that would cost significantly more to achieve through paid advertising.
A Cost-effective investment with substantial returnsWhile implementing an Expert Finder system requires some initial investment, the potential returns are substantial. Consider that:
The benefits of the Expert Finder extend beyond direct cost savings. When the University of Dayton's earned media value jumped to $12 million in FY2024, this exposure came from 4,278 media mentions worldwide, creating billions of potential impressions. Similarly, SMU's conference move announcement not only generated $163 million in media value but also doubled traffic to their admissions website.
These examples demonstrate how earned media drives tangible institutional outcomes:
increased application inquiries, enhanced reputation, and broader awareness, all without equivalent advertising expenditures.
Implementing Hannon Hill's Expert Finder module is a straightforward process designed to maximize your institution's earned media potential:
Marketing efficiency is more important than ever. Hannon Hill's Expert Finder represents a strategic investment that can help institutions dramatically reduce their reliance on paid advertising while increasing their media presence.
As the case studies demonstrate, successful earned media strategies can deliver exposure worth millions in advertising value, exposure that carries greater credibility and impact than traditional paid placements. By making your institution's expertise more accessible to the media, the Expert Finder module creates a direct pathway to these substantial cost savings and marketing benefits.
Ready to transform your institution's earned media strategy and realize significant marketing cost savings?
Contact Hannon Hill's Professional Services team today to schedule a personalized demonstration of the Expert Finder module and discuss implementation at your institution.
Last Updated: Apr 15, 2025 11:00 AM
