webinar: converge 2015 recap
TRANSCRIPT
PRESENTERS:
Ann OlesonMegan Cendrowski
Converge 2015 RecapWEBINAR | 11.12.15
About the Presenters
Megan is Vice President of Content Strategy at Converge. She leads inbound strategy and content development to build new websites and innovative marketing campaigns for colleges and universities across the country.
Ann is Converge’s CEO and founder. She is passionate about leading the discussion on what is new and next in higher education. She loves working with clients and is thrilled that, in the past 4 years, Converge has partnered with over 100 colleges and universities.
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Overview
1. Higher education is doing inbound2. Personas are driving strategy3. Search is changing big time4. Content is strategic5. Measurement matters
1. HIGHER EDUCATION IS DOING INBOUND
Inbound PassGetting your campus to support a new (digital) game plan
THE AU Digital Marketing Game Plan
• Google Universal Analytics
• Recent adoption of CRM tool
• Pilot: 4 graduate programs• 3 partners• Governing group• Project manager
• Evaluate – how did it work?
• Assess – what is core, what can be outsourced
• Scale up
Personas
KEY MESSAGES AUDIENCE – PUBLIC ANTHROPOLOGY
Achieve your American Dream
Springboard for careers in public service, community organizing, and social advocacyConcentration in cultural/social anthropology or in archaeology
Gain important skills in interviewing, how to pay attention to language & subtlety, how to analyze text
Joint venture with the Peace CorpsD.C. ranked #2 best city for job seekers
Success rate for employment is highOpportunities at NGOs
(UN High Commission for Agencies, Alzheimer's Association, or American Indian Education)Make your community, country, and world better
Destination D.C.
#1 coolest city in America - Forbes 2014 Live & Learn
Most literate city in the nationDynamic arts & cultural scene
World-renowned museums & historical sites
Monumental Learning
Acclaimed and dedicated facultyArcheology is big focus
Commitment to social justiceLavender Language Conference
Community-based documentary filmResearch project
Community voice projectField studies such as Great Dismal Swamp
Small classes deepen learning
Message Matrix
Blogs generate inbound links to program page
Recruiter Communications Map Post-Inquiry & Post-Application Workflows
INQUIRY EMAIL 1 CALL A EMAIL 2 EMAIL 3 CALL B EMAIL 4 NEW WORKFLOW
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APPLY EMAIL 5 CALL C EMAIL 6 EMAIL 7 EMAIL 8 EMAIL 9
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Post-Inquiry WorkflowEmail 1 – Thank You – Inquiry Follow Up • Immediate follow up to inquiries upon submission• Someone will be in touch within 24 hours • Addresses “Why American?” – high level program details
Call A – It’s Great to Meet You – Introduction to Program Liaison• Gives more details on the program and addresses questions• Prefaces Email 2 – “I’ll follow up with more information tomorrow”
Email 2 – Experience American – Testimonials & Stories• Complements Call A – continues the conversation• Includes testimonials and videos of featured students or alumni• Value of an American University graduate education, vibrant community
Email 3 – Your Degree is Within Reach – Addressing Barriers• Addresses barriers to application (costs, time, prerequisites)• Presents information on scholarships• Directs the student to financial aid for more information
Call B – Are You Still Interested? – Q&A – From Program• Use this conversation to re-engage the student or remove from workflow• Prefaces Email 4 – “I’ll follow up via email tomorrow.”
Email 4 – The Time is Now – Apply• Don’t wait. The time to earn your graduate degree is now.• Outcomes information, internship opportunities
Post-Application WorkflowEmail 5 – Next Steps – Reminder to Complete Application• Immediate follow up to applications upon submission• Reminder to complete application before upcoming deadline• Provide a point of contact to reach out to with questions
Call C – How can I help? – Final Reminder to Complete Application• Designated point of contact reaches out to student directly• AU value propositions and why a graduate education is worth it
Email 6 – Confirmation – All Application Materials Received• We’ve received all of your application materials – thank you!• Directs the student to financial aid for more information
Email 7 – Campus Visit – Event Information• Confirmation that registration has been received• Details expectations for visit and time / date information• Provides engaging details about the vibrant D.C. community
Email 8A – Congratulations – Automated Acceptance Email 8B – Thank You – Automated Deny
Email 9– Deposit – Paid
Results, Lessons learned
Wins
• Faculty love the personas• Staff motivated and empowered• Message matrix makes the CRM more powerful and efficient• Program and landing pages make redesign of other pages easier• Leads for the 4 pilot programs are up 88% over same time, last year• Program page (SEM) accounts for 33% of leads• Landing page (SEO) accounts for 34% of leads• Lead volume is quickly such that we can begin to retarget• Applications started up 34%• Deans and program directors lining up to be next!• Case management systems (internal and external) too new to evaluate
Prospects Applications Started
Applications Submitted
Applications Completed
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5 0
109
226 8
Sum of Total as of 8/31/15Sum of Total as of 8/31/14
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16
86
297
90
8 10
3Origin Source
Event AttendeeGraduate FairLanding PageOnline ApplicationOpen HouseProgram PageWeb, Create AccountWeb, Inquiry(blank)
The PreparedU Project: Our On-Ramp to Inbound
@ValerieFox, Bentley University | #CONVERGE2015
PreparedU/prəˈperd yo͞o/noun
1. A storytelling platform to position Bentley as an authority on preparing graduates for career and life success.
What does Prepared mean to you?
PreparedU: Media Rollout
• Content formats› White papers› eBooks› Alumni magazine articles› Infographics› Videos› Live events programming
• 4 Phases over 18 months› Phase 1: Millennial Preparedness› Phase 2: Millennial Women in the Workplace› Phase 3: Millennials at Work› Phase 4: Getting Millennials Ready to Work
Results: 400% growth in YoY media impressions
Marketing Ecosystem
Source: Twittermania.nl
PreparedUContent
PreparedU Extension: Paid, Owned, Social
• Content formats› Blog posts› eBooks› Infographics› Longform articles
• Channels› Paid: content syndication› Social amplification› Owned
– bentley.edu/prepared– Alumni magazine– Email newsletter
Results
2. PERSONAS ARE DRIVING STRATEGY
My Imaginary FriendsUsing Personas to Target Prospective Students
Sandra Soliz Assistant Vice President, Marketing Communications
Brenda Cooper Assistant Director, Content Marketing
Copyright © 2015 University of St. Thomas
What is a Persona?
A fictional sketch of an audience segment, based on customer demographics and behavior, along with an understanding of their motivations and challenges.
Marketing personas contain in-depth, lifelike character traits, including names, to help guide marketing and content decisions.
The most effective personas are on-brand and data-driven.
How to Use Personas
• Developing web content• Restructuring existing web content• Outlining new brand messaging• Generating marketing initiatives and campaigns• Getting consensus on audience segmentation• Brainstorming and sharing ideas with internal teams
http://convergeconsulting.org/blog/2014/07/user-personas-higher-ed/
Why Develop Personas?• When you put a name and background to the people
reading what you write, you can meet their needs better
• When you build personas for your core audience, you can improve the way you solve problems for customers
• You can relate to your audience as human beings
https://blog.bufferapp.com/marketing-personas-beginners-guide
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UNC Chapel Hill - Essay
PERSONA TEMPLATE• Describe my demographics.
• Goal: What am I trying to achieve?
• Background: Describe my education and professional experience.
• Challenges: What pain points might I experience?
• Behaviors + Habits: What are my hobbies and interests? What unique personality traits do I have?
• Online Activities: What websites am I on? What social media channels do I use?
• Influencers: Who has a say in my decisions?
• Key information: Why am I screening your website? What am I looking for?
RESOURCE: MAKE MY PERSONA
Persona generator: makemypersona.com
3. SEARCH IS CHANGING BIG TIME
Now Google looks like this
And they are not big fans of SEO
Google’s advice for Content/SEOhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8s6Y4mx9Vw
Our reaction: MAKE MORE CONTENT
67% of marketers deem blog posts or articles as the most effective content format
FB: 25% of social traffic. 1.3M shares/min
http://bit.ly/1LCSdl6
79% of marketers report their orgs are shifting
to branded content
Source: Forrester Research
Old way: Get all the links and shares to the hub
New way: Publish to all the streams that work for your audience
The Goal: Loyalty
Content types that create loyalty
http://bit.ly/1d4kZfsSource: The Dutch Linkbuilder
Reality Check:It can take 12-17
months
Source: Content Marketing Institute
On Page:- Content- HTML- Architecture
Off Page:- Links- Social- Trust- Personal
ON PAGE VS. OFF PAGE
Content
ON PAGE: CONTENT
NNU
LEARNING TO C.O.P.E.
NNU
Goals and Volume
NNU
Content Themes• Brand Focus• Usable content ideas• Practical enrollment ROI
10 themes over12 months
25% increase in organic search traffic
RESULTS: NNU
4. CONTENT IS STRATEGIC
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Rose – meet with your librarian
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Organization of current content key
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Organization of current content key
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Organization of current content key
UNC - Blogs
UNC - Amplification
5. MEASUREMENT MATTERS
Effective Marketing Measurement
Shelby ThayerPenn State Outreach and Online Education
The LandscapeWhy Measure? Campaign Measurement
Setting up to be effectiveTechniques for troubleshooting campaigns Types (email and content)Attribution
Measure marketing campaign effectiveness.Optimize marketing campaign and websites.
The goal of measuring is to improve.
Measuring Campaign Effectiveness
Micro and Macro Goals!
Macro Goal: Visit ApplyEnroll
Micro Goal: Read about the schoolRead about majorsWatch videosUse the tuition estimatorChat with admissionsCall admissionsFill out an RFI
Trackable URLs
Rule #1: StandardizeParameters
Parameter labels should be exactly the same.
Create a 'smart' spreadsheet.
Terminus App http://www.terminusapp.com/blog/best-analytics-url-builder/
Click ThroughBounce RateConversion Rate% New UsersPages per sessionAverage session duration
High % new sessions
High bounce rate
Low engagement
0 conversions
Target audience in upper funnel? Assisted conversions!Look at your micro conversions! Does the landing page match the ad?Consider A/B testing the landing page.
The goal of measurement is to improve. Know your website goals.Get out of GA every once in a while!Setting up accurate tracking is critical. Don't obsess about not being able to measure everything.Problem-solving approach to campaign troubleshooting.Context is everything.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Lessons Learned (Mistakes We Made For You)Photo Source: The Minimalists
Photo source: scribewise.com
Think differently.
Photo source: scribewise.com
Don’t expect to find a playbook.
Focus on a goal.
Create. Promote. Measure.
Amplification kicks in
Content Syndication: Outbrain, Taboola, Nativo Paid Social: LinkedIn, Facebook, TwitterSEO: On-site optimizationEmail: Bi-weekly newsletters
29x Growth in Traffic
Tree falling in forest
Source: Why Content Marketing Fails, Rand Fishkin
Don’t strive for perfection.
Just get started.
@rcameron1
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Thank You!
Ann OlesonCEO & Founder
Megan CendrowskiVP of Content Strategy