Not everyone responds well to change, and higher education is a bit notorious for dragging its feet, but in the realm of graduate education we do not have that option, we must change or we will be left behind. As institutions continue to expect more from their graduate programs in relation to enrollment, moving forward with new ideas, evaluating marketing efforts, and measuring recruitment practices are critical steps in creating enrollment success. In this session we will explore what is new in marketing and how that translates into new recruitment strategies that will become the norm as we push forward in these changing times. Brenda Harms, Ph.D. Senior Vice-President Converge Consulting

1. Responding to Change -
Marketing and Recruiting in a New Generation
Brenda Harms Ph.D. – Senior Vice-President
June 2014

2. June 2014
Converge Consulting is a higher education marketing firm.
We use research, Google Analytics, inbound marketing, and strategic
communications practices to positively impact student recruitment and alumni
engagement for colleges and universities around the world.

3. June 2014
Our Focus:
What’s New
and
What’s Next

4. June 2014
Education as a Business
Challenges to Intellectual Property and Academic
Freedom
Criticism for Cost
Changing Student Demographics
Competency Based Academic Offerings
Accelerated Programs
Online Learning and MOOCS
For-Profit Institutions
Non-Academic (or external) Presidents
Labor Market Drivers
The Wobbling of Faculty Tenure
Higher Education Today – A Wild Ride

5. June 2014
“The academy is crumbling!”
Or are we just finally paying attention?

6. June 2014
What Kind
Of Institution Are You?

7. June 2014

8. June 2014

9. June 2014
What Kind
Of Marketing and Recruitment
Department
Are You?

10. June 2014
– How fast?
– How nimble?
– How progressive?
– How uncomfortable?
Really?

11. June 2014
– Work with prospective students “very well”
– Need “more leads” to meet enrollment goals
– Provide high levels of personal attention
– Are responsive to prospective student requests
– Are stretching their budgets in cost effective ways
– Don’t have time to implement new ideas
– Will implement a new marketing or recruitment
strategy when they have the proper technology to
support it
Nearly Every School Believes:

12. June 2014
The Time Is NOW!

13. June 2014
Marketing
What’s New?
What’s Next?

14. June 2014
Stop Pushing and Start Pulling

15. June 2014
Audience is in Control

16. June 2014
Permission Marketing

17. June 2014
Definition of Inbound Marketing
 Earning the attention of prospects
 Making yourself easy to be found
 Drawing students/alumni to your website by producing
custom content that is valued (by them – not you)

18. June 2014

19. June 2014
Search Trends
 About 75% of searchers never go beyond page 1 of the
results
 53% of all searchers click on the very first link on page
#1
 94% of search users choose organic over paid listing
when searching, particularly for purchases
Sources: "Search Engine Rankings: Why They Matter." PmbmediaWORKS. 2011. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. “Ten statistics that
demonstrate the value of SEO”. Intraspin 2012. Web. 21 Mar. 2012.

20. June 2014
SEO Keyword Report

21. June 2014
SEO – Common Mistakes
• Splintered Root Domains and Subdomains (every new domain
or subdomain takes away from your ranking power)
• Duplicate Content (if your content between two pages is 90%
the same search engines won’t rank any of it)
• Title and Meta Descriptions (this is free ad copy – use it to your
best advantage)

22. June 2014
Inbound Marketing – The Pillars
Get Found=SEO
Be Relevant=Content Strategy
Be Social=Social Media
Measure=Google Analytics

23. June 2014
Content Strategy
Content Strategy refers to the planning,
development, and management of content—written or
in other media.
**The term is particularly common in web
development since the late 1990s.

24. June 2014
Content Strategy
ANALYZE
STRATEGIZE
CREATE
MEASURE
Analyze Deliverables:
• Content Audit
• Identification of content roles and
descriptions
• Template for content requests
• Audience based personas
• Half day on campus
Strategize Deliverables:
• Half day workshop on campus
• Written content strategy plan
Create Deliverables:
• Template for strategic content
development
• Idea document in relation to delivery
of content
Measure Deliverables:
• Review of current measurement
system
• Recommendations discussion for
ideal measurement system
• Dashboard for monthly review
What content do you have?
Who is in charge?
Who is your target audience?
What content should be created?
How will it be structured?
How will users find it?
How to measure effectiveness?
What is the purpose, audience,
and brand message?
What do we want them to learn?
What is the best format? (COPE)
How are you doing with: SEO,
Google Analytics goal
conversions, traffic sources,
and dashboards?

25. June 2014
Who is Using Personas?

26. June 2014
Inbound Marketing – The Pillars
Get Found=SEO
Be Relevant=Content Strategy
Be Social=Social Media
Measure=Google Analytics

27. June 2014
Social Media – Content is King
• Understand your strategy
• Create some boundaries (a slightly narrowed focus can
sometimes help attract others)
• Brainstorm a hefty list of creative ideas (and have some fun)
• Explore other institutional Social Media outlets (i.e. - Athletics,
Greek Life, Nursing Department)
• Monitor (“doing” is only activity – monitoring helps you to
better understand the value of what you are doing, who you are
engaging, and justifying (or cutting) the work to others)

28. June 2014
Blogs
 Ties in with SEO
 Student and faculty voices
 Use a combination of content: news and
events, alumni stories, faculty publishing,
expertise and thought leadership

29. June 2014
Inbound Marketing – The Pillars
Get Found=SEO
Be Relevant=Content Strategy
Be Social=Social Media
Measure=Google Analytics

30. June 2014
Analytics
• Segmentation – the name of the game
• Acquisition Data – where visitors came from
• Behavior Data – what are they doing
• Conversion Data – are they doing what you want them to do
• Flags Problems – user experience issues can often be
uncovered using analytics

31. June 2014
Web Analytics: A Continuous Process

32. June 2014
Recruitment
What’s New?
What’s Next?

33. June 2014
Admissions
or
Recruitment

34. June 2014
What is your
recruitment process?

35. June 2014
Recruitment Process
A series of touch points designed to
move a prospective student toward
enrollment and eventually to
graduation.

36. June 2014
Suggested recruitment process
first 30 days
(assuming no serious
engagement)

37. June 2014
Suggested Recruitment Process
(first 30 days)
 Inquiry – Day 1
 Personal connection (email and phone) within 24 hours
 Follow-up contact (call) – Day 3
 Follow-up contact (email) – Day 4
 Follow-up contact (call) – Day 7
 Follow-up contact (email) – Day 10
 Follow-up contact (call) – Day 14
 Follow-up contact (call) – Day 20
 Follow-up contact (email) – Day 26
 Follow-up contact (email and call) – Day 30

38. June 2014
What are your
conversion rates?

39. June 2014
Key Conversions
 Inquiry – Application
 Application – Enrolled

40. June 2014
Suggested Key Conversion
Rates to Monitor

41. June 2014
Suggested Key Conversions
 Inquiry – Set Appointment
 Set Appointment – Attended Meeting
 Attended Meeting – Application Started
 Application Started – Application Completed
 Application Completed – Accepted
 Accepted – Enrolled
 Enrolled - Graduated

42. June 2014
How are you collecting
and using your
outcomes data?

43. June 2014
Leverage Outcomes Data
 Numbers are powerful
 Job promotion data
 Salary increases
 Student debt data (maybe)
 Number of large companies represented in your
MBA program
 Lives saved by those in your MSN program
 Telling the story
 Video – UCLA Executive MBA Example
 Redefine Success – Social Justice Campaign

44. June 2014
The Cost of Not Being Educated

45. June 2014
45
The Strategy – What’s New? What’s Next?
• Establish and follow CHANGING practices
Seek prospects who know about your institution/program
Chose quality over quantity in relation to leads
Establish a robust recruitment process and follow it
Manage appropriate lead number to recruiter ratio
Establish and measure key metrics
Use your website to drive marketing and recruitment efforts
Leverage data that supports your goals

46. June 2014
46
Get comfortable
being uncomfortable
Be willing to engage
in the hard conversations
within your department

47. June 2014
Thank you!
Please – check out our resources on these topics
www.convergeconsulting.org/resources
and……….

48. June 2014
Embrace what’s next and what’s new in higher education marketing.
Join us October 13-15 in Nashville, TN!
VISIT CONVERGECONSULTING.ORG/CONVERGE2014 TO REGISTER TODAY!

49. June 2014
Thank you!