mobile marketing in higher education: getting ready for 2012 and beyond

Mobile Marketing in Higher Education: Getting Ready for 2012

and Beyond ©Robert E. Johnson, Ph.D. 2011

AMA Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education

November 6-9, 2011Chicago, IL

Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC 1

Part I: Overview for 2011… and onward

Strategy imperative…Remember the land-line telephone?

Key Strategy Challenge:Why should I put scarce

resources into mobile marketing?

Helping or hurting your brand reputation…

Website experience shapes brand perception…

Not claims & colors

Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

Growing expectation…

A “mobile friendly” web presence

25% smartphones world wide…http://bit.ly/grclDr

Use of mobile for social media…http://bit.ly/grclDr

Major reason people go to any website…

Complete a task

Gerry McGovern:

“You don’t have a mobile strategy, you have a top task

strategy.”

Content strategy question:

How will 30+ home page links become 8 to 10 mobile links?

Top tasks for recruitment might be…

• Find academic course list• Check enrollment profile• Get cost information• Inquire about enrollment• Apply online• Check application status• Get to campus

Mobile App or Mobile Website?

• Mobile App– Different apps for

different devices– How will people find

your app?– Not easy to update– Higher performance

possible/Easier use

• Mobile Website– Access from any

mobile device– Can find using

“search”– Easy to update– Will perform as well

as you build it

If you’re thinking about an app…

Prediction for 2015…http://bit.ly/mPtumX

• Financial Times already has left App Store and created a HTML 5 mobile site.

• App Store will follow AOL and “By 2015 we’ll all feel silly talking about apps.”

• Counterpoint: “I think it’s a bit of a stretch to assume that it is going to go away that quickly.”

Part II: Basic Usability Issues

Slow, steady improvement but not yet equal to large screen mobile experience

Main mobile challenges…Jakob Nielsen at http://bit.ly/iqAv8

• 4 major problems– Small screens– Awkward input– Slow downloads– Poor design for mobile

• Impact on task completion in 2010– 80% success on regular websites from a PC– 59% success from a mobile phone

Meet challenges and success grows…

• Task success was higher at sites designed for mobile access…– 64% task completion at “sites for mobile”– 53% task completion at regular websites

• Larger screen = more success– Regular cell phones… 38% success– Regular smartphones… 55% success– Touch screen phones… 75% success◄

Mobile usability update… 26 Sept 2011Jakob Nielsen Alertbox… http://bit.ly/aq2goa

• “Our new research shows that mobile sites and apps have been improving their usability, even though it's still far below that of regular websites accessed from a desktop computer.”

• “The current success rate for mobile Web use (62%) is about what we measured for desktop Web use in 1999. The current desktop success rate is 84%; unless mobile usability starts improving more rapidly, we'll have to wait until 2026 to reach that level.”

• “This leads to the first, and maybe most important, guideline for improving the mobile user experience: design a separate mobile site. Don't expect users to access the same site from both desktop and mobile browsers.”

• “A second key guideline… clear, explicit links from the full site to the mobile site and from the mobile site to the full site.”

• “As long as users don't need to navigate, they might actually be okay when they're dumped into a site that works poorly on their phone...

• “But if users want to know more than what that one page offers, they'll suffer if they're stuck on the full site. That's when the link to the mobile site will come in handy.”

How fast does your site load?http://bit.ly/bFHRP1 ... for Top 30 sites

• Where do you fit among these examples?– Sears……. 3.59 seconds– Dell……. 5.23 seconds– Walgreen’s…… 6.29 seconds– Wal-Mart…… 6.32 seconds– Amazon.com…… 6.79 seconds– Barnes & Noble… 7.01 seconds– CVS….. 7.59 seconds– Lowe’s….. 7.66 seconds

Part III:Designing for mobile…

Basic design rule for mobile…

Keep things simple…

First impression… this?

First impression… or this?

The Golden Rule remains…

5 to 8 seconds to connect when a page opens

The holy grail… one website

One website for every access point

Dilemma at the start…

What do we do with content on “traditional” websites?

We have to solve the dilemma…

• “Short is too long. Ultra-short rules the day” in mobile content.– Jakob Nielsen– Alertbox: August 1, 2011 http://bit.ly/pftKhp

• How much of your content is “dead” & “useless” junk that impedes navigation & search results?– Gerry McGovern

Long necks and long tails…• “Much of the long tail is

a dead zone… full of dead and useless content.”– Gerry McGovern

• Long tail content gets found in search and included in links

• “Mobile” can’t afford this

Can you answer this?How will you reduce links on your home page to 8 to 10 for a

mobile site?

How will you change this page…

To this home page?

Navigation by icons or…

Navigation by words…

Or give people a choice?

After the home page…

3 approaches to a mobile site…http://bit.ly/nMPJSk

• Tweak your present website– Automatic basic adjustments through a CMS

• Adaptive layout– Changes your images and layout on your

“traditional” site to fit a mobile screen– Works best if designed from the start to adapt

• Dedicated mobile website…– Most expensive solution– Best experience for visitors

Beware the iPhone tech trap…

• iPhone can display your traditional web pages

• But in a size that nobody can read without finger flicking

• Goal: no finger flicking

Keep graphics small & relevant…

• No room (or need) on mobile pages for graphics not directly related to the content

• Make sure key content areas are immediately visible

Long links = easier navigation…

• 3 to 5 word links are easier to touch• Avoid one word links

– And especially a series of one word links one after another

• On lists, leave enough space between words

A caveat on program presentation…

The NY Times goal for mobile…

“The Internet should work like it does on PC screens.”

Can we meet this challenge?

• “As you go to site XYZ it will automatically create a single-column, mobile-friendly view that has navigation scaled to produce videos or slideshows so users won’t have to pinch or scan or scroll or download an app for everything.” – Robert Z. Samuels, director of mobile product

development, New York Times

The NY Times on mobile…

Accessibility issues…

Mobile web best practices from W3C

• Mobile web guidelines at– http://www.w3.org/TR/

mobile-bp/

SlideShare review at http://slidesha.re/aec8DY

Part IV: Mobile Marketing in Higher Education

1. Direct marketing focus…

One goal: get an inquiry

The first image… while it loads

If you are a student like this…

Very simple enrollment inquiry…

Immediate email response…

Email links to admissions page…http://www.kettering.edu/futurestudents/

2. Task oriented home page…

Focus on internal & external users is a special challenge…

A task-oriented home page…

No “finger flicking” here…

Easy to scan academic majors…

Clean, simple program page…

3. Successful search outcomes

Easy to enter search word…

Well presented content…

3. Text messaging option

Find high interest inquiries early in the recruitment cycle……

High interest students: 2010…

• % of inquiries opting for text updates…– 3.9% (1,416 of 35,606)

• % of applicants opting for text updates…– 30.6%(1,140 of 3,720)

• % of deposits opting for text updates…– 46.5%(269 of 578)

High interest students: 2011…

• % of inquiries opting for text updates…– 4.8% (1,923 of 40,246)

• % of applicants opting for text updates…– 13.5%(593 of 4,387)

• % of deposits opting for text updates…– 55.6%(385 of 692)

Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC 67Bob Johnson Consulting, LLCBob Johnson Consulting, LLC 6767

Overall inquiries Inquiries who opted-in for text updates

Yield: Inquiry to Deposit, 2010

Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC 68Bob Johnson Consulting, LLCBob Johnson Consulting, LLC 6868

Overall inquiries Inquiries who opted-in for text updates

Yield: Inquiry to Deposit, 2011

Ongoing contact to increase conversion…

Text messaging each month as the recruitment cycle unfolds…

Build internal opt-in database…http://www.stmarytx.edu/admission/?go=mobileupdates

Not yet applied for admission…

• “Be early, catch the worm. Submit ur admission application by Jan 15 for priority consideration. Get info at www.stmarytx.edu/admission.”

Join our online community…

• “Cre8 a profile on the St Marys online community at www.BeARattler.com by Feb 1 to be entered to get ur $200 enrollment deposit waived!”

Register for Orientation…

• “Bob, R u ready 4 Orientation? Sign-up is now open. Go to https://gateway.stmarytx.edu. We R lookin 4ward to seeing u on campus!”

4. QR Codes

Using in print advertising, view books, printed recruitment pieces, college fair exhibits

Get started here…http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_code

QR code use in the U.S.…http://bit.ly/lpcggL

• In February, 2011…– Get coupons…………… 53%– Access more information… 52%– Sign up for more info……. 26%– Access video….. 24%– Access social media site… 23%

Good advice in 2011…http://bit.ly/q2QWrW

• Test the code with different readers

• Be careful w/ text or it might break the code

• Link to mobile pages• Don’t use where people

can’t connect• Offer value at the

destination

If you use QR codes…

Essential to create a mobile friendly landing page for quick scan…

2 Sky magazine May 2011 examples

Not-so-good landing page…

Mobile friendly landing page…

Experiment at “QR Stuff”…http://www.qrstuff.com/

5. Online Mobile Application

University of the Pacific received 10% of undergraduate applications in 2010 from mobile

phones

Online application can work…

Including international students…

Professional school application…Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School… m.johnmarshall.edu/apply/

Part IV: Future Mobile Marketing Challenges

Legal Technical

Management

Continuing provider challenges…

• Multiple providers build “walled gardens”…– Apple– Google – Blackberry– Nokia

• Multiple standards for ads, apps, displays– More cost to implement mobile program

Legal challenges in U.S.…

• Must have consent for SMS messages– Even if someone has already signed for email

• Visible “small print” cost disclosures– Verizon agreed to 12 pt. font settlement

• Likely: easy to find, understand “stop sending” option

Technical challenges…

• Usability…– Visitor experience will determine success

– NY Times is right… “easy as access from a PC” is the goal

– We are not there yet

– But we are moving in that direction

– Nielsen smartphone research is encouraging

Management challenges…

• Content… – Content is added to websites, seldom removed– Most web content is irrelevant to most people– Silly to make all “traditional” website content

“mobile friendly”… no resources for that– But what content to leave behind?– Will that question hinder mobile websites?

Video challenges…

• An important element, but…– Data plane expense might limit use past “early

adopters”

– Video done for regular websites may not play well on smartphones

– Video users will demand rapid play

Part IV:Sources of Information to Follow

Mobile Marketing Association…http://mmaglobal.com/policies

Mobile Marketer… http://www.mobilemarketer.com/

210 Design Guidelines…http://www.nngroup.com/reports/mobile/

Government guide to top tasks…http://1.usa.gov/4kgbK8

Bob Johnson’s marketing blog…http://www.bobjohnsonblog.com/mobile-marketing/

Mobile in Higher Ed blog…http://www.dmolsen.com/mobile-in-higher-ed/

MIT Open Source code for mobile…http://sourceforge.net/projects/mitmobileweb/

mobiThinking for international…http://mobithinking.com/

Thank You!

Bob Johnson, Ph.D.President

Bob Johnson Consulting, LLCMarshall, MI 49068

248.766.6425 bob@bobjohnsonconsulting.com

Customer Carewords Website Research www.bobjohnsonconsulting.com

mobile marketing in higher education: getting ready for 2012 and beyond

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