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You’ve probably watched enough “Law and Order” episodes to be familiar with the phrase, “follow the money.” Usually the prosecutor is telling the detectives or a forensic accountant to “follow the money.” The same is true for smart CMOs. Right now, we’re being bombarded daily with talk of “Big Data.” And, while it’s easy (and often more convenient) to look at myriad data points on impressions, circulation, visits, postcards dropped, day parts, opens and other metrics, they are only leading indicators of the real question. “How much money did we generate?” So, in the spirit of April. Don’t be fooled. Focus on ROI.
Posted in: Digital Marketing
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You know how to blog and to use Twitter and Facebook to connect with customers. But do you know how to create the content that attracts and retains them? According to Joe Pulizzi, author of “Epic Content Marketing” and founder of the Content Marketing Institute: “Content marketing is the marketing and business process for creating and distributing valuable and compelling content to attract, acquire and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action.” The keywords here are “valuable” and “compelling.” If your content doesn’t fulfill these two prerequisites, chances are it is not reaching too many people. Are you offering your customers something they wouldn’t get from another firm? Is your content compelling enough to be widely shared on social media? Take a look at these companies who are producing valuable and compelling content and think about how your content provides your customers value. Red Bull It’s fair to say that Red Bull will do anything, … Continue reading
Inbound marketing is essential: Provide information customers want, via blogs, videos, podcasts, articles, newsletters, social media updates and SEO and they’ll naturally turn to your website to learn more. Using multiple tactics makes inbound marketing a proactive approach that’s extremely effective. Paid advertising is critical: Wouldn’t it be great if you could tailor ads to speak directly to your target audience? With pay-per-click ads, that’s exactly what happens. The keywords potential customers type into a search bar lead them directly to your ads. Boots on the ground make connections: It’s hard to achieve success online without an effective ground game taking place offline. Military strategists know it. Political campaigns live it. This means making time to go on road shows. Plan seminars for prospects. Meet face-to-face. Follow-up is everything: Getting new leads is just the beginning. These leads must be nurtured with follow-up email/call campaigns, invitations to special events, and other escalation tactics to move hot prospect towards a close. … Continue reading
Posted in: Marketing Strategy, newsletter
Search is one of the most frequently used online tools among US adults. A 2012 Pew Internet Survey found that 91% of adults use search engines to find information on the Web. This survey also revealed that younger and more educated people, meaning current or prospective college students, are most likely to use search engines. So for these young people, when they make one of the biggest decisions of their life — where to go to college — search is one of the top few resources they use to narrow down their choice. This was confirmed by another Noel Levitz survey of 2,000 college bound students which found that search engines are the second most used resource by prospective students for researching colleges. The popularity of search engines in this user group has led to a huge increase in search engine marketing – both PPC and SEO – in the higher education marketing space. An interesting story recently aired on … Continue reading
Google recently introduced a secure search protocol – meaning that every search performed on Google is now secure. Any keyword typed in as a Google search will be listed as “not provided” to the website owners using analytics software. This means that website owners will not have access to the keywords that directed readers to a website through organic search. But the good news is that some keyword data is still available in Google Webmaster Tools. Let’s look at some implications of the secure search protocol and how they can be overcome using data from Webmaster Tools. #1: Branded and non-branded traffic We often see a correlation between branded and non-branded traffic where an increase in non-branded traffic over time provides a lift to branded traffic as well. This data will become more obscure as a result of secure search. In a 100% not provided world, this trend becomes harder to prove. But as searcher habits don’t change over time, … Continue reading
Posted in: Google secure search, Search Marketing
Here are Q2 charts from Google that shed light on what’s happening with higher education related searches:
Posted in: Higher Education Marketing
Anyone involved with higher education branding and marketing has used such shorthand as “four-year liberal arts college” or “four-year degree.” Likewise, most colleges and financial aid sources will talk about a bachelor’s degree as a four-year effort. But the best national data tells a different story. Reports from the American Council on Higher Education and the national Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study tell us that the average time to a bachelor’s degree is six years. Time published a story earlier this year says that according to the Department of Education, fewer than 40% of students who enter college each year graduate within four years, while almost 60% of students graduate in six years. At public schools, less than a third of students graduate on time. Judith Scott-Clayton, an assistant professor at Teachers College, Columbia University, does a thorough job of explaining the mix of politics, economics, misinformation and parenting that collide in the simple question of “can I graduate in … Continue reading
Many of our friends and clients and prospective clients are heading into a delicate season right now. For many it’s the end of the fiscal year, meaning that whatever budget remains for marketing or communications must be very carefully managed. At the same time, clients in higher education have just three months before a new academic year begins and some are still struggling to put together the cohort of right fit students for the fall. Now more than ever, it begs the the age old question: how to do more, with less? Of course, we can’t tell you what will work for you. Every problem is different, and each requires careful thought and a unique solution. But here can make some recommendations about how to approach the challenge. Start by defining the desired outcome. Rather than thinking to yourself, “I need a better Facebook presence,” or “I need a better website,” think “I need an additional 35 students.” Keep an … Continue reading
To higher education marketing pros, April & May is “yield season.” It’s the culmination of all their marketing and relationship-building efforts to convert a suspect to a prospect to an applicant to an admitted student. Yield is the percentage of admitted students who actually decide to enroll. This is a big deal in enrollment marketing – having knowledge of where the yield percentage might fall provides a target of how many students the admissions office needs to, or is willing to, accept. Tracking the tuition deposits as they begin to trickle in is a daily process for admissions, and is why the final piece of marketing communications – the admissions yield piece – is so important. Over the years I have seen all kinds of yield tactics from fact sheets to multi-page brochures. They all seem compelled to give the prospect ‘one more reason’ to consider their school. (As if two years of curated courtship through the admission process has … Continue reading
Posted in: Admissions Marketing, Admissions Yield
As the director of new business development, I do a little bit of problem solving and a little bit of matchmaking. It’s my job to do everything I can to help contacts clearly articulate their challenges and then to determine if and how Elliance can help solve those problems. The best part of my day is introducing a prospective client to the colleagues who I know will be able to help. If you’re considering a project with Elliance, I’d encourage you to think about a few things first. First, we’ll probably talk about who you are, and what your company or institution stands for. I’m also interested in finding out how you came to Elliance, who we might be working with within your organization, and what you’re looking for in a partner. A great collaboration is a meeting of the minds. Let’s talk about whether there may be one between us. Next, what do you need? Chances are, you’re thinking … Continue reading