How to measure absolutely everything

Nick Valentino • Office of the Vice-Provost Students • [email protected] • @nickwebguy

So…

what's the big deal about analytics?

mailto:[email protected]


58%check email first thing in the morning

http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/wrap-up/top-5-takeaways-email-summit-2013



$1Amount spent converting customers for every

$92 spent acquiring them. http://unbounce.com/conversion-rate-optimization/report-2012/


http://unbounce.com/conversion-rate-optimization/report-2012/

http://unbounce.com/conversion-rate-optimization/report-2012/


People are more likely to survive a plane crash than click a banner ad

http://prestigemarketing.ca/blog/who-looks-at-banner-ads-infographic/





66%prospective college students that believe schools should

have a social media presence

http://cursivecontent.com/7-content-marketing-stats-that-should-shake-higher-education-and-5-ways-to-act-on-them/





1 / 5students removed a university from consideration after a

bad experience with the school’s website






79%of N.A. universities don’t know their email

clickthrough rate!Email Marketing for Educators, Benchmark Email: http://www.benchmarkemail.com/resources/manualinfo/education



These are examples of...

DATA!



How to MeasureAbsolutely Everything



How to MeasureAbsolutely Everything

… and do it effectively



You don’t know...



...why things aren’t working



…why things ARE working



...with whom you should be communicating



The Fundamentals

Determining your goals:● What do you want to measure?

● Why do you want to measure?

● Is your marketing performing?



The Fundamentals

Determining your goals:● Is your marketing performing?

● Why do you want to measure?

● What do you want to measure?



Is your marketing performing?




“A lot of marketers don’t listen to their prospects’ digital body language. They don’t measure and match the behaviour of their prospects on their website and follow up.”

Jordie Van RijnEmail Monday




Process funnelAttract/Convert/Measure
















R.O.I.




R.O.I.● Students are “revenue sources”

○ in other words, our customers○ measure them as such




R.O.I.● Austerity demands ensuring we maximize

revenue generating potential○ “do more with less”




R.O.I.● Communication activities have

monetary value




S.E.M.● strategic enrolment management● attract students who will succeed

○ ...and keep them!



Why do you want to measure?




UnderstandDecideControl

http://www.slideshare.net/HubSpot/marketing-analytics-101-how-to-measure-the-effectiveness-of-your-website




UnderstandWhat’s happening with your marketing.





DecideWhat to invest in.





ControlYour growth.





“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.”

John WanamakerMerchant, former U.S. Postmaster General




Use measurement of your marketing tactics to inform future spending



What do you want to measure?



Key Performance Indicators

quantifiable measurements,agreed to beforehand,

that reflect the critical success factors of an organization




Must be quantifiable




Define the KPI and stay with the same definition from year to year




They will differ depending on the organization.




Reflect the organizational goals



Key Tactics



Key Tactics

● Leads■ prospective students■ parents of prospective students

● Contacts■ applicants and current students■ teachers and counsellors



Key Tactics - Attract

SEO● use keyword analysis tools to see density

● review the keywords used to find your site

● inbound links (especially the text)




Social Media Analytics● Reach

○ The number of people who could have seen a story about your page.

○ This is counted for each person who loads the story about your page while browsing Facebook.




Social Media Analytics● Influence

○ Influence is the ability to cause desirable and measurable actions and outcomes.

○ This definition incorporates the line of thought that we can consciously influence things and people.




Social Media Analytics● Sentiment

○ Natural language analysis that determines the opinion being expressed by the poster




Social Media Analytics● Tracking referrals

○ URL shorteners■ shorter, easier-to-remember urls■ click tracking




https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/1033867?hl=enhttp://bit.ly/urlbuilderlink




Traditional Media● Your goals determine how you use this tactic

● Another good use for your url shortener





○ need to evaluate effectiveness of specific media?i. e.g. display ads versus mailoutsii. buy specific urls for each medium





○ campaigns vs. standard marketing materialsi. special campaign-specific urlsii. landing pagesiii. reserve home page url for standard marketing




Traditional Media● QR Codes● FAIL!




Traditional Media● QR Codes● Don’t use them!




Traditional Media● QR Codes● No, really, I mean it




Email



11.5%general open rate

Technology Leaders, LLC



2%general clickthrough rate

Technology Leaders, LLC



40.5%York U open rate



8%York U clickthrough rate



2xbetter open rate when using a subject line with

less than 40 charactersTechnology Leaders, LLC



42%of North American universities email monthly

Email Marketing for Educators, Benchmark Email: http://www.benchmarkemail.com/resources/manualinfo/education



6%email to distribute information and to fundraise




47%report open rates greater than 40%




79%don’t know their clickthrough rate!





25 email elements you can consider testing:1. Subject line2. From name3. Day of the week4. Time of day5. Frequency6. Mostly-images vs. mostly-text7. Short copy vs. long copy8. Links vs. buttons9. Number of links

10. Unsubscribe at the top11. First name personalization — in the subject

line12. First name personalization — in the email

body13. Animated gifs14. Font colors15. Font styles16. Opt-down17. Social sharing icons18. Social connecting icons19. Delivery by time zone20. Call to action — number21. Call to action — placement22. Post-click landing page23. Social proof24. Tone — human vs. corporate25. Copy length




25 elements you can consider testing:1. Subject line2. From name3. Day of the week4. Time of day5. Frequency6. Mostly-images vs. mostly-text7. Short copy vs. long copy8. Links vs. buttons9. Number of links




















Key Tactics - Convert

Web-based lead collection





#1 & #2 on the list of 15 Web Form Fails…

...don't try to collect every detail all at once

http://blog.straightnorth.com/15-web-form-fails-ceo-marketing-tips/







#10 No privacy message

#13 No motivation: Give me one good reason to complete the form









A/B Testing● email calls to action● design changes on your site




A/B Testing● Email

○ subject lines○ call-to-action message○ link positioning○ email distribution systems generally make this easy




A/B Testing● Website design

○ key element positioning○ Google found the optimal shade of blue


http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/01/business/01marissa.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/01/business/01marissa.html



Usability and accessibility● card sort tests● direct user testings● accessibility

○ screen readers○ monochrome○ increased font size



Big Red Button



Big Red ButtonAnalytics said “Programs 1st”

Make it as easy as possible to find the content they need

Radical solution



Big Red ButtonWorked!

Improved flow through program pages

But… user blind spots



Print marketing “failures”



Print marketing “failures”Use # of pieces mailed/ distributed/given out as indicator

Use unique urls to track usage



Print marketing “failures”Use # pieces mailed/ distributed/given out as indicator

Use unique urls to track usage

Results seemed low

In reality, response rates excellent compared to industry standards

True evaluation elusive

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Thank you!


Education

How to measure absolutely everything