IT’S NOT ABOUT ATTRACTING MORE STUDENTS…

IT’S ABOUT ENROLLING MORE OF

YOUR STUDENTS

FOR TODAY •  The changing landscape •  Discussion: Is your data big, smart, both, or

neither? •  How to find your students

2!

THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE

SCHOOLS CLOSING?

MOODY’S – SCHOOL CLOSINGS WILL CONTINUE

•  "Small public universities are unlikely to be closed due to political support and their community college roles, but may be merged with other institutions or into systems where they can benefit from greater economies of scale.”

Source: Moody’s Investors Service – Small College Closures Poised to Increase

THE MARKETING EVOLUTION

Source: Moody’s Investors Service – Small College Closures Poised to Increase

IS YOUR DATA BIG, SMART, BOTH, OR NEITHER?

DISCUSSION •  How do you measure enrollment success?

•  How do you measure marketing success?

•  What is the main purpose of your website today?

•  Who are the main stakeholders?

•  Who owns your website today?

MEASURING SUCCESS

9!

SYNAPSE ANSWERS BUSINESS QUESTIONS: o  What marketing channels are driving quality

matriculants and at what cost?

o  What are the conversion rates by state or region?

o  What keywords or campaigns drive the most applications?

o  How well are my admissions teams converting inquires to applications?

10!

HOW TO FIND YOUR STUDENT:

HIGHLY TRACKABLE DIGITAL MARKETING CHANNELS

AWARENESS CONSIDERATION COMMIT

CHANNELS "STARTS WITH THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE

Decision phase is complex. Inputs are everywhere. Students expect omni-channel.

ONLINE SEARCH

VIDEO

SOCIAL DISPLAY

INFO SESSION

PHONE APPLICATION

ANALYTICS

ONLINE SEARCH

TRADITIONAL SOCIAL

DISPLAY

INFO SESSION

AWARENESS CONSIDERATION COMMIT

PHONE

ANALYTICS AT THE CORE "STARTS WITH THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE

ANALYTICS

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS TODAY •  Basic engagement metrics: impressions, page views,

traffic, and clicks •  Some lead tracking is online but unreliable

IN OUR SHARED FUTURE •  A clearer path to conversion •  Cost Per: Keyword, Campaign, Geography, Lead,

Completed App, Deposit, Matriculant •  Conversion rates at critical student moments

15!

16

Your website is the keystone of all marketing efforts. All prospective student paths always lead to your website. As such, it should be given highest priority.

.edu  Blogs  

Email  Marke2ng  

Paid  Media  

Open  Houses  

Print  Media   Social  

Media  

Landing  Pages  &  Microsites  

SEO  

Videos  

Leveraging Your Most Valuable Asset: .EDU Website

CHANNELS IN ACTION

CONTENT MARKETING

WIDENING THE FUNNEL – CONTENT MARKETING

First 5 Results: 68%Pages 2 to 3: 6%Pages 4 and beyond: Irrelevant

PERFORMANCE FOR SINGLE ARTICLE

WEBSITE TRAFFIC WITH AND WITHOUT BLOG

Traffic for School of Business page in January with blog traffic

Same View blog traffic removed

COST VS RETURN ON INVESTMENT

Unlike paid advertising, this increase comes from fixed cost of labor generating a longer term equity

TRADITIONAL

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MARKETING MIX MODEL "USE YIELD CURVES TO IDENTIFY EFFICIENT BUDGETS BY CHANNEL

24!

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MARKETING MIX MODEL "BRAND IMPRESSION YIELD CURVES IDENTIFY WHICH CHANNELS TRULY DRIVE BRAND AWARENESS

25!

CONVERSION RATE OPTIMIZATION

CHANGES •  Added “Next Step’ as the primary Call to Action (CTA)

instead of email/print icons

•  Change the header “Request Information” to “Receive Program Inform and Financial Aid Options”

•  Added 3 bullet points to expand on what visitors can expect by completing the form:

•  Detailed Program Overview •  Personalized Financial Aid, •  Individual Admissions Support”

•  Change “Submit” to “Get more Information”

Thank you.