Don’t rely on the marketing department. Come up with a strategy and create content on your own.
This is a message I share with professors and leaders of different academic units (it’s applicable for many others as well).
Robert Olinger, Assistant Dean of Institutional Collaboration at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, is doing this quite well. I used to work with Robert over 10 years ago. I wasn’t aware about the latest developments in Robert’s work helping Fuqua develop one of Kazakhstan’s most prestigious institutions: the Graduate School of Business at Nazarbayev University. Over the last months, that has changed thanks to the fun videos Robert is recording and sharing with his own audiences on a weekly basis via LinkedIn.
I interviewed Robert to learn about his content creation journey. Here are 3 key points that I gleaned from the conversation that are applicable for other leaders of different academic groups / initiatives.
1. Be your own communications department!
The Fuqua / Nazarbayev collaboration has been going on since 2009.
“I have always been kind of frustrated that we have this really interesting project that needs to be talked about more, but there’s not really a channel at Duke to do it,” Robert said.
After hearing a guest speaker on campus talk about using LinkedIn, Robert came to a realization: “If I’m really concerned about the story being told, why aren’t I just telling it.”
2. Come up with a system for creating content that works for you, leveraging AI.
Robert’s process is to take a short walk and record some of his thoughts. He then feeds the audio recording into Otter, an AI transcription tool. He will then take the transcriptions and put it into ChatGPT which will assist in pulling out the main ideas. That AI-generated summary from ChatGPT will serve as the basis for the short videos he records that are ultimately edited and finalized in CapCut.
This system works best for Robert. Find the system that works best for you. Obviously leverage AI tools that can enable you to create content quite efficiently. Related to this, don’t let lack of resources hold you back. According to Robert, one of the biggest impediments to content creation is thinking you don’t have the resources. Often such resources are available for free or minimal expense. Be resourceful and think creatively about how you can use what’s available to you.
3. Don’t get hung up on your stats.
Robert’s goals were to create a documented history of the project he has been involved with for more than a decade. He also thought it would be a nice way to update his network – many of whom are stakeholders connected in some way to the project in Kazakhstan. He doesn’t fixate on how many people are watching his videos, engagement numbers, etc.
What other points would you add on the keys to creating content on your own as a subject matter expert? Weigh in via this LinkedIn post.