Ep. 73: From Contact Lists to Storytelling Networks

Jenny Li Fowler chats with Joel Renner, VP of Partnerships at MeetYourClass. Joel shares how higher education communicators can establish a campus storytelling network—a human infrastructure made up of champions, connectors, and contributors. They also discuss treating storytelling as an ongoing relationship network rather than a contact list, leveraging authentic organic social media over polished marketing, and how human trust, rather than software, breaks down institutional silos. Guest Name: Joel Renner, Vice President of Partnerships, MeetYourClass Guest Socials:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelrenner/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/joelrrenner/ Threads: https://www.threads.com/@joelrrenner Guest Bio: Joel Renner is the Vice President of Partnerships at MeetYourClass, where he works with colleges and universities to better understand how students actually make enrollment decisions and how institutions can influence those decisions earlier in the process. MeetYourClass helps enrollment leaders gain visibility into student intent before deposit, improving yield, reducing melt, and strengthening the transition from admission to arrival. Joel brings nearly two decades of experience across higher education strategy, enrollment, and digital engagement. His career has focused on helping institutions connect insight to action, whether through strategic planning, graduate and undergraduate enrollment growth, student success initiatives, or marketing and community-building efforts.  Prior to MeetYourClass, Joel served as a Strategic Leader at EAB, where he partnered with presidents, provosts, and enrollment leaders at institutions across the country. His work centered on enrollment strategy, market-responsive program development, and building scalable frameworks to improve student outcomes. He also played a key role internally in advancing thought leadership and social selling, helping leaders strengthen their voice and influence in the market. Joel spent more than a decade at The George Washington University, where he led digital strategy and career systems initiatives that significantly expanded the student community connection and employer connectivity. During that time, he also became a recognized voice in higher education marketing and community-building, serving as co-chair of the eduWeb Digital Summit, faculty for CASE’s Social Media and Community programming, and a frequent speaker on how digital behavior shapes the student journey. Across his work, Joel has consistently focused on one idea: student decisions don’t happen in systems, they happen online and with their community. Today, he brings that perspective to MeetYourClass, helping institutions rethink how they engage students before they ever step on campus and follow their journey till they are experienced alumni. Based in the Washington, D.C. area, Joel lives with his wife and three kids. Outside of work, he can usually be found coaching, cooking, or following soccer. - - - -Connect With Our Host:Jenny Li Fowlerhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jennylifowler/https://twitter.com/TheJennyLiAbout The Enrollify Podcast Network:Confessions of a Higher Ed Social Media Manager is a part of the Enrollify Podcast Network. If you like this podcast, chances are you’ll like other Enrollify shows too! Enrollify is made possible by Element451 — The AI Workforce Platform for Higher Ed. Learn more at element451.com. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.