Building a Digital Marketing Strategy to Attract Post- Traditional Students Bruce Douglas, CEO Education Dynamics Austin Showcase – 2/16/17 CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC
Laying the Groundwork For Your Marketing Plan to Attract Post-Traditional Students 2 CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC
Target Audience – Post-Traditional Students Know Key Facts About Your Target Audience • Market Size – 40% of all students enrolled in higher ed • Sex – majority are female, almost 70% • Age – range 19-54, average undergrad is 29, grad is 33 • Family – more likely to be single, have fewer children • Race – cross-section, but majority are non-minority • Work Status – majority hold either full or part-time jobs • Pre-Existing Credits – about 80% have already • Financial Status – independent from parents, need aid 3 CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC
Focus on What is Important to Post-Traditional Students Know What Drives/Motivates Your Target Audience • How Looking to Study? – increasingly prefer online learning, 90% rate online classes better or the same as campus class • Why Looking to Study? – improve/change employment • What Crucial Post-Graduation? – high job placement rate • What Are Crucial Enrollment Decision Factors? – Tuition, reputation & convenience • Features of Online Classes? – 82% prefer written vs. audio assignments, 78% prefer frequent short quizzes vs. less frequent exams, 59% prefer assignments due at the end of the week 4 CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC
Create Your Value Proposition for Post-Traditional Students Know How to Distinguish Your School With Your Target Audience • What do you offer to your target audience? • Does this meet their needs? • Is this unique and distinct from your competition? • Can you easily articulate it to your target audience? • What is the best means of articulating it? 5 CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC
Why It Is Critical to Utilize Multiple Digital Marketing Channels 6 CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC
Search Engine Optimization (SEO/Organic Search) The Process of Earning Traffic to Your Website Through “Natural” or “Free” Search of All Search Clicks are to Results on Google, Organic Search Yahoo, Bing, and Results, Other Search 33% of Which Go To the #1 Result Engines 7 CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC
SEO – The Four Essential “Legs” to Success To Succeed, Deliver on Each Critical Area • Excellent/Relevant Site Content – both “Head Terms” AND “Long Tail” Search Phrases/Keywords • A Site That Can Easily Be “Found” by Search Engines – Great Technical Site Structure • Extensive Links to Highly Reputable Sites • A Comprehensive Presence on Social Media 8 CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC
SEO – Pros and Cons • Pros • No Direct Cost • Very Targeted Traffic • High Converting • More Trust-Worthy than “Ads” • Creates an Aura of Authority • Cons • It Takes Time (6-12+ months) • No Guarantees of Success • Must Be Continually Updated/Optimized 9 CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC
Search Engine Marketing (SEM)/Paid Search The Process of Gaining Website Traffic by Purchasing of all Search Clicks Ads on are to Paid Ads Search Engines 10 CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC
Paid Search – Pros and Cons • Pros • High Intention & Targeted Traffic • Quick Results • Consistent Traffic • Easily Trackable and Measurable • Huge Volume Potential • Easy To A/B Test • Only Pay If Consumer Clicks on Ad • Cons • Time Consuming to Set Up and Manage • Can be Very Costly • Can be Very Competitive 11 CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC
Display and Social Advertising Graphical Advertising/Video That Appears Next to Content on Web Pages, Mobile Applications, E-mail.. 12 CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC
Display and Social – Pros and Cons • Pros • Huge Reach • Builds Brands • Lower Cost Per Click Than Paid Search • Remarketing of Website Visitors • Easy to Track and Measure • Targetable by Demographics • Cons • Lower Conversion Rates Than Paid Search • Little to No Intent, Likely Lower Quality Traffic • Higher Risk; Usually Purchased as CPM (cost/thousand) 13 CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC
Affiliate Marketing Performance-Based Marketing Where An Institution Compensates a 3 rd Party Marketing Company For Each Inquiry Generated by the Affiliate’s Marketing Efforts Pay Per Action Types Pay Per Lead Pay Per Inquiry Pay Per Click Pay Per Sale Pay Per Download Pay Per Call 14 CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC
Affiliate Marketing – Partner Types Affiliate 1. Traffic Sent to School Shows Ad and Conversion on Website Happens on School Site User Clicks On Ad 2. Entire Consumer User Interaction Takes Place submits on Affiliate Site and RFI Conversion Sent to School User is Tracked and Labeled as a Successful Conversion! 15 CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC
Affiliate Marketing – Pros and Cons • Pros • No Upfront Marketing Expenditures • Only Pay on Desired Results • Easy to Outsource • Additional Brand Exposure • Cons • Affiliates Must Be Actively Managed and Metrics Traced Very Closely • “Rogue” Affiliates Can Damage Brand and Increase Liability 16 CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC
Television No Marketing Channel is More Effective in Driving Awareness and Improving Branding • Very Large Reach • Frequency is Critical • Essential for Branding • Targeting is Crucial • Lifts Effectiveness of Other Marketing Channels 17 CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC
Television – Shifting Consumer Consumption Mobile Devices and Web Enabled Televisions are Rapidly Shifting How People Consume “Television” Netflix • Hulu • Apple TV • Chromecast • YouTube • Amazon Prime • HBO Now • 18 CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC
Mobile Marketing Implications You Can Not Truly Succeed Without Mobile Marketing • 51.2% of Website Visits Are On a Mobile Device • Every Aspect of Your Sites, Including Your Forms, Must Be Mobile Optimized, Preferably Built Specifically for Mobile 19 CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC
Other Brand Driven Channels Utilize Numerous Marketing Channels If You Can Do So Cost Effectively • Radio – traditional and internet • Print – newspapers, magazines, free standing inserts… • Outdoor/Billboards – including transit • Sponsorships – sports, charities… • Event Marketing – actual presence at events 20 CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC
Television/Branding – Pros and Cons • Pros • Reinforces Other Marketing Channels • Reaches Wide Audience Very Quickly • Creates Branding & Grows Awareness • Uses Sight, Sound and Motion • High Converting and Well Qualified Audience • Cons • Can Be Very Expensive • Difficult to Do Clean A/B Testing, Takes Time to Make Changes • Difficult to Track Results For Each Spot Run • Takes Time to Get Desired Results 21 CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC
E-Mail Marketing E-Mail HAS to Be Part of Everyone’s Marketing Mix • Consumers Purchase From E-Mail – 44% of adults • Personalized E-Mail is More Effective – 29% higher open rates, and 41% higher click-thru rates • ROI is Very High – for every $1 spent on email marketing, the average return on investment is $38.43 • Marketers Love E-Mail – 75% believe most effective tactic for awareness, acquisition, conversion, and retention 22 CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC
E-Mail Marketing – Pros and Cons • Pros • East to Track Results • Easy to Test • Further Establishes Brand Awareness • Very Low Cost • Easy to Produce and Personalize and Target • Can Message Many Prospects with Same Message at Same Time • Cons • Heavy Consumer In-Box Clutter • Low Open and Click-Thru Rates • Unsubscribe Rates are Increasing 23 CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF EDUCATIONDYNAMICS, LLC
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