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PODCAST

Talking Tactics

Dayana Kibilds, Safaniya Stevenson

Every game-changing tactic starts with a spark — that moment when someone notices something others missed, asks a different question, or sees a pattern hiding in plain sight. Talking Tactics celebrates these flashes of genius in higher education wherever they come from: the work-study student yapping in the commons, an admissions counselor pulling a late night, or the frazzled enrollment coordinator juggling a million tasks before noon. We explore both the insight AND the action, how a single

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All Episodes

00:33:10

Ep. 63: From Likes to Leads: Finding Your Marketing...

Talking Tactics ·

2025/11/25

This week on Talking Tactics we’re talking social media championships and test kitchens? We’re joined by Michaela Taylor, Senior Social Media Strategist at the University of South Carolina—home of Rival IQ’s back-to-back social media champs. She’s breaking down how a “try it on LinkedIn” mindset turned into a growth engine for the university’s digital strategy. Whether you're managing a university account or just trying to figure out if facilities services really needs its own Instagram, this

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00:27:46

Ep. 62: Turning Keynotes Into Curriculum to Create...

Talking Tactics ·

2025/11/11

NC State University sold out 700 tickets in just two days when they brought Alton Brown to campus, but that was only the beginning. Nash Dunn and Allie Bloom Whitley share how NC State’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences transformed a single keynote into a year-long initiative that engages students, alumni, donors, and faculty across multiple touchpoints. Discover the tactical framework behind "The Human Factor" speaker series and why your next keynote should be more than just a one-night

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00:35:38

Ep. 61: New Game, New Rules, and Rewriting Student...

Talking Tactics ·

2025/10/28

What happens when a fundraiser decides to end one of higher ed’s most sacred traditions—the senior giving campaign? In this episode, Safaniya sits down with Alex Rodríguez from UC Berkeley, who made the bold move to shut it down and rebuild student giving from the ground up. From pandemic pivots to Mario-inspired metaphors, Alex shares how he turned a once-obligatory tradition into a culture of authentic student philanthropy. Tune in to hear how rethinking generosity, meeting students where they

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00:33:41

Ep. 60: Building Alumni Affinity Through Curiosity...

Talking Tactics ·

2025/10/14

Safaniya Stevenson sits down with Daniel Freeman, Chief Development Officer at Gaston Community College, to unpack how a “curiosity-first” approach reshaped alumni engagement. Tapping into years of fundraising experience and his knack for building authentic relationships, Dan shares how he turned passive alumni into active supporters using low-cost, high-impact development tactics. If you're in enrollment marketing or advancement and you're wondering how to spark alumni giving at a two-year

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00:30:45

Ep. 59: Risky or Rewarding? Bold Design Lessons for...

Talking Tactics ·

2025/09/30

Most higher ed campaigns play it safe—and end up milk toast. In this episode of Talking Tactics, Safaniya Stevenson sits down with Baldwin&’s Ashley Yetman and Emily Watson to unpack why bold ideas beget bold design. Partnering with the North Carolina School Board Association on a hearts & minds campaign, they leaned into disarming nostalgic illustrations and creator collaborations to humanize messaging. They reveal how taking creative risks can unite communities, energize audiences, and spark real

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00:40:33

Ep. 58: Turning a Brand Transformation Into a Party

Talking Tactics ·

2025/09/16

What happens when a team of former tourism and events pros are in charge of rolling out a rebrand? You’ll want to hold on your beignets for this one. In this episode, we’ll hear from Anne Falgout, Director of Strategic Communications for South Louisiana Community College on why they took a festive approach to their brand launch.Guest Name: Anne Falgout, Director of Strategic Communications, South Louisiana Community CollegeGuest Social: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annefalgout/Guest Bio: Anne

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00:15:21

Ep. 57: Passing the Baton to Your New Host

Talking Tactics ·

2025/09/02

You thought we were done with the show? Think again. The pursuit of top-tier tactics continues! Talking Tactics isn't going anywhere, but we ARE getting a new voice behind the mic. After 56 episodes of Day Kibilds serving up the tactical gold you've come to love, she's officially passing the torch to Safaniya "Safy" Stevenson, a brand strategist and cultural analyst equally obsessed with tactics. Get to know your new host and what she's got in store for the show. Also, find out what Day will be

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00:26:14

Ep. 56: My Favorite Moments from Two Years of Talking...

Talking Tactics ·

2025/07/22

After two years and 55 episodes packed with practical, joyful, and wildly clever ideas, Talking Tactics comes to a close. In this final episode, host Dayana Kibilds reflects on the “why” behind the show, shares her personal favorite tactics from past guests, and celebrates the everyday enrollment pros doing exceptional work in higher ed.From transforming request forms and hacking Reddit to AI-powered emails and fundraising squirrels, this send-off is full of bite-sized brilliance you can still use —

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00:31:10

Ep. 55: How Campus Geese Tripled Unrestricted Giving

Talking Tactics ·

2025/07/08

On this episode of Talking Tactics, host Day chats with Stormie Harless and Reggie Hayes of Ball State University about one of the quirkiest—and most successful—Giving Day campaigns we've ever seen: letting donors name a goose. Yes, you read that right. This creative, low-cost tactic more than tripled gifts to the Ball State Fund, turning a fun gimmick into a strategic fundraising win. Learn how a "goose gang," Canva templates, and clever messaging made all the difference—and why sometimes a little

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00:23:45

Ep. 54: How Iowa Boosted Clicks and Gifts on One Day...

Talking Tactics ·

2025/06/24

What if a few strategic email decisions could boost your click-through rates by 73% and gifts by 26% on your giving day? On this episode of Talking Tactics, Day sits down with Veronica Jones and Zack Schmidt from the University of Iowa Center for Advancement to unpack how they moved from a time-consuming email process to a smart, automated strategy that actually improved the donor experience. If you're looking for better ways to connect with alumni and donors during your next giving day — and drive

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00:23:51

Ep. 53: Driving Alumni Engagement with Digital Downloads

Talking Tactics ·

2025/06/10

What do planners, quizzes, and pumpkin stencils have in common? At Cornell, they’re powering growth in alumni engagement. In this episode of Talking Tactics, Sarina Alexander, lead graphic designer for Cornell’s advancement team, shares how her team grew digital downloads fivefold — sparking a 40% increase in email clicks and doubling alumni engagement in just three years. From ideation to execution, Sarina breaks down what’s working (and what’s not), and how you can steal a page from Cornell’s

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00:24:31

Ep. 52: Three Tactics to Stop Summer Melt

Talking Tactics ·

2025/05/27

In this special compilation episode of Talking Tactics, host Day sifts through the archives to bring you a trio of field-tested summer strategies that actually move the needle. From boosting post-deposit engagement with 90% email open rates to winning back withdrawn students with a creative goodbye message, these stories from real enrollment pros are packed with actionable ideas for reducing summer melt.Guest Names: Darcy Porter, Director of Content Strategy, SUNY Brockport Kristin Miller,

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00:25:09

Ep. 51: Reducing Payment Stress With More Human Emails

Talking Tactics ·

2025/05/13

What if the key to supporting students with payments isn’t a new policy, but a new tone? In this episode of Talking Tactics, host Dayana Kibilds chats with Karen Sorrell, Senior Business Operations Manager at Carroll Community College, about how one simple change—revamping payment reminder emails—led to big results. By shifting the tone from transactional to supportive, Karen’s team boosted student outreach by 16%, resolved 95% of payment issues for those who responded, and dropped outstanding

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00:21:31

Ep. 50: Triple Course Enrollment With Just Four Emails

Talking Tactics ·

2025/04/29

In this episode of Talking Tactics, Dayana Kibilds is joined by former Hidden Gem host and current CMO at Carroll Community College, Maya Demishkevich. Maya shares how she tripled enrollment in a continuing education course by creating a more personalized email sequence—and how that tactic has since shaped how her the team approaches course promotion across the board.You’ll get the inside scoop on the structure, strategy, and psychology behind the emails that got real results.Guest Name: Maya

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00:24:07

Ep. 49: Sending Financial Texts to Reduce Summer Melt

Talking Tactics ·

2025/04/15

Frostburg State University ran a game-changing billing and financial aid texting campaign that engaged 73% of admitted students and their parents—resulting in a 7% reduction in summer melt. In this episode, Kristin Miller, Recruitment Communication Manager at Frostburg State, shares how her team leveraged texting to create personal, stress-reducing conversations with students and families. She walks us through the steps to run a texting campaign, the unexpected benefits, and how texting is shaping

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00:20:16

Ep. 48: Using Cold Calls to Turn Direct Mail into...

Talking Tactics ·

2025/04/01

Most fundraisers accept a 1.5% response rate from direct mail as standard. But Brenda Turner? She used cold calls to push that number to a staggering 20%, securing four major donors from just 37 letters.Brenda, a certified fundraising executive with 16+ years of experience and nearly $1 billion raised, shares the exact tactic that made her outreach so effective. She breaks down her approach—from writing an “audacious” letter to making fearless follow-up calls—and explains why phone calls are an

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00:25:13

Ep. 47: Attracting Grad Students Using Career Blogs

Talking Tactics ·

2025/03/18

Graduate programs often focus on outbound marketing, but what about capturing students who are deciding whether to go back to school in the first place? Purdue Business found a solution that works—blogging. Shannon Hess, Director of Content and Communications at the Mitch Daniels School of Business, shares how launching a prospective graduate student blog led to a 425-keyword increase in non-branded organic search rankings, 680 additional website sessions per month, and 400+ new website visitors

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00:23:10

Ep. 46: “Fill In The Blank” Video Prompts To Cut Down...

Talking Tactics ·

2025/03/04

In this episode of Talking Tactics, John Azoni, owner and executive producer at UNVEILD, unpacks how to capture impactful video testimonials while saving on cost. John reveals his go-to tactic: using “fill-in-the-blank” questions to draw out strong, structured responses that deliver memorable intros and outros. This simple tactic can cut editing time by up to 10% while guaranteeing your videos start and end with impact. From thinking like an editor to using AI to craft better questions, this episode

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00:22:33

Ep. 45: Boosting Yield By Scaling Personalized SMS

Talking Tactics ·

2025/02/18

In this special episode, Enrollify’s Marketing Manager, Erin Fields steps into the guest host role to interview Day Kibilds. Day shares an innovative tactic she spearheaded while at Western University: a two-way texting initiative that connected admitted students to professors, current students, and alumni during the chaos of 2020. With over 4,000 personalized conversations, this approach led to a surprising boost in yield at a time when higher ed faced unprecedented challenges. Get ready to be

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00:23:03

Ep. 44: Using Short GIFs To Win Back Students

Talking Tactics ·

2025/02/04

Sean Whitten, Senior Director of Enrollment Services at Southern Methodist University, is redefining how admission counselors handle one of the toughest parts of their job: letting go of students who choose another path. With empathy at the forefront, Sean created a clever, heartfelt tactic to celebrate the relationships built with students and families—a simple yet impactful goodbye video. Not only does this video leave a positive impression, but it’s also driving surprising results, with about 10%

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