The Application with Allison Turcio

Ep. 57: Meeting Short and Long Term Enrollment Goals Without Sacrificing Well-being

Episode Summary

In this episode, Allison talks with Lauren Brooks, a higher ed marketing strategist known for her innovative approaches to CRM implementation, digital campaigns, and team alignment. With over a decade of experience in helping institutions achieve enrollment goals, Lauren brings insights into balancing immediate enrollment targets with long-term strategic goals without compromising mental health. The conversation covers practical ways to align teams, maintain brand clarity, and prioritize mental health, drawing from Lauren’s own experience and her passion for advocacy.

Episode Notes

In this episode, Allison talks with Lauren Brooks, a higher ed marketing strategist known for her innovative approaches to CRM implementation, digital campaigns, and team alignment. With over a decade of experience in helping institutions achieve enrollment goals, Lauren brings insights into balancing immediate enrollment targets with long-term strategic goals without compromising mental health. The conversation covers practical ways to align teams, maintain brand clarity, and prioritize mental health, drawing from Lauren’s own experience and her passion for advocacy.

Key "How-Tos" You'll Hear in This Episode:

• Achieve Alignment on Enrollment Goals Across Departments Learn methods to break down silos and foster collaboration between admissions, marketing, and academic departments to ensure all teams are working toward a unified goal.
• Prioritize Long-Term Strategy Alongside Immediate Wins Gain insights on creating "optimistic" and "realistic" versions of strategic plans to set expectations, manage resources, and prevent burnout.
• Incorporate Mental Health and Wellness into Team Culture Hear Lauren’s journey and her advice on creating a work environment where team members can communicate openly about capacity and personal needs, and where leaders actively support mental wellness.
• Leverage Consistency and Clarity in Brand and Enrollment Messaging Discover how maintaining a consistent brand story across ads, emails, and face-to-face interactions can enhance the student experience and ultimately drive enrollment results.

Create Sustainable, Data-Driven Communication Strategies Learn practical steps for segmenting communications by audience type, collecting accurate data, and ensuring prospective students receive relevant, timely, and personalized messages throughout their journey.

Guest Name: Lauren Brooks, Enrollment Marketing Manager, California College of the Arts

Guest Social: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurencbrooks/

Guest Bios: Lauren Brooks has worked in higher education for over 10 years in both the admissions and marketing/communications departments at three different institutions. Her speciality is creating new processes the institutions haven't utilized yet. She's lead teams in implementing CRMs, new email campaigns, and digital marketing. Her experience helps to connect admissions and marketing teams to trust one another and work together to hit their enrollment goals and processes. In the fall of 2021, she quit her job due to extreme burnout and took a mental health break. She is passionate about advocating for people's mental health, especially Black women. In everything she does, she aims to bring her full and authentic self. In her free time, you can find her spending time with friends, watching or listening to true crime documentaries, reading all the books, going to concerts, enjoying a nap or three, or watching women's sports (go Bay FC and the Valkyries).