2017 higher education digital marketing trends report
TRANSCRIPT
Thewebinarwillbeginshortly…
CarolAslanian MichaelFlores AnthonyLevatoPresenter Presenter Moderator
2017HigherEducationDigitalMarketingTrends
CarolAslanian– AslanianMarketResearchMichaelFlores– EducationDynamics
Introduction• Collegedecisionstakeplacelargelyinthedigitalrealm…social
media,organicsearch,etc.
• Notbrochuresoropenhouses
• But,personaltouchtoo!Needtoconnect
• Allcollegesneedadigitalmarketingplan
• EducationDynamicssurveyof100schools:whereandhowtheyspenddigitalmarketingdollars.
DigitalSnapshotofProspectiveStudents
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9outof10prospectivestudentsareaccessingyourwebsiteviaamobiledevice.
TopTwoSourcesofInfo-gatheringforProspectiveStudents
1. SchoolWebsites
2. InternetSearchEngines
UseofCollegeSearchSites
14%Ofstudentsrelyoncollegesearchsiteslike
eLearners.com
DigitalMarketingTrendsfor2017
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Trend1:ChannelDiversification
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KeyTakeaways1. Seventy-fivepercentofschoolsusedFacebookads
asadigitalmarketingchannel.
2. MorerespondentscitedFacebookadsthananyotherchannel.
3. Smallerschoolstendtousefewerdigitalmarketingchannelsandgetfewerinquiriespermonth.
Trend2:RapidResponseTimes
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PollQuestion• Howfastdoprospectivestudentsbelieveyourinstitution
shouldrespondtotheirinquiry?A. Lessthan1hourB. Lessthan1dayC. Lessthan2daysD. Morethan2days
KeyTakeaways1. Two–thirdsofcolleges’firstresponsesareimpersonal:
anautomated“thankyou”message!
2. Studentsvaluearapidresponsetotheirfirstinquiry.Thoughmostthoughtthatreceivingaresponsewithin48hourswassufficient,roughlyhalfofstudentsenrolledinthefirstcollegethatresponded.
3. Today’sstudentsmakefasterdecisions!2016sawa28percentgrowthinstudentswhoappliedwithinamonthofbeginningthecollegessearch.
Trend3:SmarterInquiryTracking
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BiggestCampaignManagementChallenges(inorderoffrequency)1. Addingnewinquirysources2. Addingmorelandingpages3. Trackinginquirysources4. Changinginquiryformplacement5. Changinginquiryformlayout/copy6. Changingdigitalmarketingmessages
TopInquiryManagementPriorities(inorderofimportance)1. Keepingprospectsengagedateachstepofenrollment
lifecycle2. Analyzing/optimizingcampaignperformance3. ReducingcostsandincreasingROI4. Managingrecurringtasks,liketargetedemailcampaigns5. Consolidatinginquiryformplacement6. Gaininginsightintoandcontrolofcampaigns7. Gettingrealtimeinquiryvalidation
KeyTakeaways1. Overthree-quartersofschoolssaytheirCRMs
performbasicinquiryvalidation.
2. Keepingprospectsengagedisthemostimportantchallengesforinstitutions.
3. 85%ofinstitutionstrackthenumberofinquiriestheyreceive,butonly9%trackcostperinquiry.
Trend4:SeekingMarketingHelp
fromanAgency
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PollQuestion• Whomanagesyourweb-basedadvertisingandpromotions?
A. Managedbyin-houseteamB. ManagedbyanexternalagencyC. Co-managedbyin-houseteamandexternalagencyD. Idon’tknow
KeyTakeaways1. Smallerschoolsaremorelikelytomanagedigital
marketingin-house,whereaslargerschoolstendtoseekatleastsomeagencyassistance.
2. Thereisahighoverlapbetweeninstitutionsthatusesixormoremarketingchannelsandthosethathireanagency.
3. Institutionsusingagenciestendtoupdateandoptimizetheirdigitalmarketingcampaignsmorefrequently.
Conclusion
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• Bestadvice:actquicklytofine-tunecampaigns,addnewchannels,quicklyrespondtointerestedstudents.Ifyoucan’t,hiresomeonewhocanhelpyou.
•Measureyourresults.
FreeDigitalMarketingAudit• Foroveradecade,EducationDynamics’certifiedmarketing
expertshavegeneratedhundredsofthousandsofstudentprospectsannually,andover15,000newenrollmentsperyearforover900institutionsacrosstheglobe.
• Ourexpertiseincludes:• PaidSearch• RemarketingandRetargeting• SearchEngineOptimization• SocialMedia• AffiliateManagement