Digital Marketing Strategy: Skills for Thriving as the New World Continued to Emerge

DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY:
SKILLS FOR THRIVING AS A NEW
WORLD CONTINUES TO EMERGE
©ROBERTE.JOHNSON,PH.D.2014
Bob Johnson, Ph.D.
AMA Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education
Austin, TX
November 10 - November 13, 2014
Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC ... @HighEdMarketing 1

This was real, but silly…
http://2d-code.co.uk/qr-code-airplane-banner/

Who is Bob Johnson?
• Speciality: online marketing communications
• “Top Task” research partner w/Gerry McGovern
at Customer Carewords, Ltd, Dublin, Ireland.
• 76 higher education clients since 2006.
• “Your Higher Education Marketing Newsletter”…
3,450 subscribers each month.
• @highedmarketing… 6,670+ Twitter followers.
• “Higher Education Marketing” blog.
• Symposium for the Marketing of Higher
Education… chair, 1994 to 2003.

A LITTLE BACKGROUND
How we got started and where we
are today

Today’s marketing strategy definition…
• “Marketing strategy is a process that can
allow an organization to concentrate its
limited resources on the greatest
opportunities to increase sales and achieve
a sustainable competitive advantage.”
• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_strategy

Smartphones enabled a revolution…
http://bit.ly/TlMtvN

Technology keeps moving…
http://www.samsung.com/us/experience/smart-tv/

New format for admissions interviews?
http://www.skype.com/en/download-skype/skype-for-tv/

Digital marketing is “Insanely complicated”
http://tiny.cc/71a6ew

Marketers & “digital” in a 2013 survey…
http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/34878.asp

Marketing online for…
Brand awareness…
• We want people to know
who we are today so that
tomorrow if they need
what we offer they will
include us in their choice.
• Does not require call to
action and landing page.
• Institution focused (often).
• Clicks on links optional.
Direct response…
• We want people who are
ready (or nearly ready) to
make a purchase to start
today.
• Requires a call to action
and a landing page.
• Academic program focus
• Clicks on links mandatory.

6 important strategy points…
#1
• Social media…
• Marketing and PR
can’t control the
message anymore
• Facebook wins by
volume
• YouTube is second
#2
• Mobile…
• People are
connected
everywhere, all the
time
• Easy to share
opinions
• Different tasks on
different devices?

Two more really big things…
#3
• Big Data…
• “Big data” = the
capacity to know
more about people
than ever before
• We can use it for
more precise
advertising
#4
• Engagement
• More people will
“like” and “follow”
than will actively
“engage”
• Not everybody
wants to “engage”

And two more…
#5
• New technology
• No need to be first in
everything,
especially if you
don’t know how the
“shiny object” fits in
your marketing plan
• Relax
#6
• ROI
• Difficult to measure
the individual impact
of every step in a
marketing campaign
• But can measure
advertising response

IF YOU WANT TO THRIVE
IN DIGITAL MARKETING…
7 Different Points to Remember.

EMBRACE “BIG DATA”
Essential to deliver the right message
at the right time to the right people…

USE A CRM SYSTEM
Improve your email response
content…

BE WARY OF
RESPONSIVE DESIGN
By itself, it is not a solution for web
success in the mobile world…

BE SMART ABOUT
CONTENT MARKETING
Understand the limits…
People don’t respond to typical
“brand-centric” content.

FOCUS ON TOP TASKS
Focus on tasks important to the
people you wish to enroll or donate.

RESPOND RAPIDLY
Rapid response tells people you care
about their interest in you.

MAKE SURE LANDING
PAGE LINKS WORK
Landing page videos for UCLA and
Northwestern University IMC program
were not working for Fall 2014 ads.

AS WE LOOK TO THE
FUTURE…

What’s growing & what’s not in 2014…
http://bit.ly/1nRSO78
Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC 24

Steady growth in online advertising…
http://bit.ly/Xb67ob

Apollo spends $63.5M on search ads…
http://bit.ly/1BCqWG4 /

Mobile vs. desktop to 2017…
http://bit.ly/1lSPfrC

Not yet a mobile spending tsunami…
http://bit.ly/1zrSAq3

Challenges for “the next few years…”
http://bit.ly/1p6wzqm

THE GOOD NEWS…
Facebook & Google in constant
competition to allow better targeting…
• “Guest Post: Facebook Is Now The Best Ad
Targeting Platform Around”… March 2013
• http://bit.ly/17MDYGL

Changing formats, improving results…
http://adobe.ly/1w2emhJ

REASONABLE
EXPECTATIONS FOR
SOCIAL MEDIA
Most popular sites…
Influence vs. websites

Social media “experts” often insist…
• “A two-way conversation between marketers and
consumers is the whole point of social…
• “Anything less… is a reflection of outdated broadcast-
style thinking.”
• Consider an alternate reality
• Most people “follow” and “friend” brands to listen, not to
engage in a conversation.
• Numbers do count… the more listening the better.
• Reality makes “ROI” extremely challenging to measure
• What are all those “followers” and “friends” actually doing?
• When will they take a “desired action”?

Top 10 social media sites, 10/6/12…
http://ex.pn/SV3o84 FB + YouTube = 82.9%

Top social media for college-bound teens…
Noel-Levitz E-expectations survey, 2014

How influential is social media?

2 important points re social media…
• Lifespan of a new item
on Facebook, Twitter is
very short… just a few
minutes.
• Not everyone visits
social media every
day… even teens.
• If something is
important, post it more
than once.
• On more than one day
if timing permits.

ADVERTISING IN THE
DIGITAL WORLD
Where are the $$$ going now?
Big Data = messages that don’t annoy
Recognition as response key

Major players in digital advertising…
http://bersondeanstevens.wordpress.com/tag/mobile-advertising/

Social media advertising dilemma…
• “Social media is a very personal experience
for most users and it is not clear yet just
how much advertising they will tolerate
from this medium.”
• “Mobile social advertising makes quantum leap forward” at
http://bit.ly/16mOktB Mobile Marketer, April 2013
• Big Data = increased ability to target
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Where does Big Data come from?
http://slidesha.re/15THr6E

Big data = Customer intelligence…
• Fact: few people object to ads that interest
them
• Opportunity: reduce mass advertising, focus
lead generation marketing to people who
might have an interest
• Conversion: with permission to speak, keep
content relevant to top tasks of people
receiving it
• Penalty: to much “brand speak” and people
will withdraw permission to speak or just
ignore you
• Reward: people will like your brand

Yes, teens respond to ads…

Recognition is the ad response key…

“Journey to purchase…”
http://www.google.com/think/tools/customer-journey-to-online-purchase.html

Elements vary re decision impact…
This is “Edu/Gov” category

“Direct” is best for final action…

FACEBOOK
ADVERTISING…
The Facebook example…
Targeting on a mass media site

Facebook is today’s mass media…
• About 1% of people who follow major brands
actively “engage” with them… almost everyone
just listens. That’s OK.
• “People need to understand what Facebook can
do for a brand and what it can’t do. It doesn’t
really differ from mass media. It’s great to get
decent reach, but to change the way people
interact with a brand overnight is just unrealistic.”
• Karen Nelson-Field, (Ehrenberg-Bass Institute,
Australia), based on FB metrics “People Talking About
This”

Facebook on mobile…
http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Will-Desktop-Ad-Spending-Peak/1009959

Facebook cut ad options in 2013…
http://newsroom.fb.com/News/620/An-Update-on-Facebook-Ads
• More Facebook recommendations:
• “Our vision is that over time, an advertiser can come to
Facebook and tell us what they are trying to achieve,
and our ads tools will automatically suggest the right
combination of products to help them achieve it.”
• Goal: easier for non-professionals to plan,
place advertising

Pay for FB results 3 ways…
https://www.facebook.com/help/614797551881954
• Pay for views
• Pay for clicks
• Pay for actions
• How to budget at
https://www.facebook.com/help/318171828
273417/?ref=u2u

Start: Pick a campaign objective…
https://www.facebook.com/ads/create/?act=40154125

Create an ad account…

Create a profile to see your ad…

Set your budget… (you can change)

Select the image(s) you’ll use…

Desktop only, pay for action only…

Newsfeed option also exists…

Define the audience…

Our landing page…
http://www.bowdoin.edu/biology/

Track your conversions…
https://www.facebook.com/help/435189689870514/

Create a “custom audience”…
https://www.facebook.com/business/a/online-sales/custom-audiences
• Conversion ads to
move people through
the recruitment cycle.
• Send ads to potential
students already in your
database.
• Upload contact info
(email or phone)… FB
will match with its current
database.
• FB says 40% to 60%
match.

YOU TUBE + GOOGLE AD
WORDS…

Teens & millennials love YouTube…
http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Teens-Press-Play-on-YouTube/1010629

The “get started” page…
http://www.youtube.com/yt/advertise/get-started.html

My CE video to promote…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s64B-NNRxTA

Video links to this page…
/http://che.engin.umich.edu

After a “Chemical Engineering” search…

Your ad in on this page…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAWLMMZlkq4

Your choice… “In-stream”

Your choice… “In-display”

Your ad works on a specific video…
http://bit.ly/1neA2kv

Your ad works on YouTube searches…

Your ad works on Internet searches…

How much to spend?

Select your video…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s64B-NNRxTA

Keyword selection…
Keywords in content… Keywords in searches…

Pick the time for your ad to run…

Your AdWords account page…

Attention to campaign results…

DIRECT RESPONSE
DISPLAY ADVERTISING
Focus on specific academic programs…
Place ads in related interest areas

Really poor targeting…

Much better targeting…

Leads to a proper landing page…

And a social media connection…

Simple, clean, quick email response…

And ongoing contact…

A professional school’s email ad…
October 10, 2014

The landing page…
http://bit.ly/ZTnVFV

Change the opening text…
• Consumers and audiences today face — and help shape — a
constant stream of marketing messages over a wide range of media,
and the most successful organizations are those that make their
marketing campaigns stand out through a deeper understanding of
consumer behavior. That's why there is such high demand for
graduates of Northwestern University's online Master's in Integrated
Marketing Communications (IMC) program. As an IMC student, you'll
enter a customer-focused curriculum that teaches you how to extract
actionable consumer insights from consumer data analytics to create
compelling messages and strategies that grow business. You'll gain a
global marketing perspective, grapple with real-world marketing
challenges and solve problems using up-to-the-minute, measurable
tactics. Leveraging data-driven insight with digital, social and mobile
formats along with more traditional ones, you'll experience the deeper
understanding of consumer behavior that distinguishes our program.
And you'll benefit from Northwestern's world-renowned tradition of
excellence in the program that pioneered IMC education, studying
with Medill professors who are some of the greatest minds in the
industry.

To this, or (best) just drop it…
• Consumers and audiences today face — and help shape — a
constant stream of marketing messages over a wide range of media,
and the most successful organizations are those that make their
marketing campaigns stand out through a deeper understanding of
consumer behavior. That's why there is such high demand for
graduates of Northwestern University's online Master's in Integrated
Marketing Communications (IMC) program.
• As an IMC student, you'll enter a customer-focused curriculum that teaches
you how to extract actionable consumer insights from consumer data analytics
to create compelling messages and strategies that grow business.
• You'll gain a global marketing perspective, grapple with real-world marketing
challenges and solve problems using up-to-the-minute, measurable tactics.
• Leveraging data-driven insight with digital, social and mobile formats along with
more traditional ones, you'll experience the deeper understanding of consumer
behavior that distinguishes our program.
• And you'll benefit from Northwestern's world-renowned tradition of excellence
in the program that pioneered IMC education, studying with Medill professors
who are some of the greatest minds in the industry.

After the inquiry form…

The brochure in 8-page PDF format…
First page is OK… Text like this is not OK…

Two serious mistakes…
Video did not work… Frou-frou marketing copy…

RETARGETED
ADVERTISING
Creepy to some, successful to others

The retargeting trail…

An agency asks these 5 questions…
http://bit.ly/TjUlOz
• Do you have an online marketing budget of at least a
$1,000 dollars per month?
• Do you have at least a few thousand visitors to your
Website each month?
• Do you sell a product or service with a long
consideration cycle or customer research process?
• Are you concerned with continued branding for your
business online?
• Do you have significant online competitors?

RETARGETING MESSAGE
STRATEGY…
Focus on academic program visited
in response to program-focused
advertising or organic search that
brought people to your website.

Retarget for individual programs…
http://onlinemba.neu.edu/

Starting with a search in May 2012…

REJ on a automobile forum…

REJ on Flyertalk…

REJ on the Washington Post…
http://wapo.st/HfuLaY

Explore retargeting specialists…
http://www.adroll.com/

Watch the videos…

Targeting options…
• Worldwide
• U.S.
• Custom locations
• U.S. zip codes only
• Country
• Region
• Metro or city

And check Google Remarketing…
https://support.google.com/adwords/answer/2454000?hl=en

GROUP ADVERTISING
“Lead gen” for more leads at less
cost w/ 3rd party screening

“Online masters degree finance”...

89 schools advertising here…
http://www.elearners.com/online-degrees/finance/

Schools using the program in fall…
• University of Maryland - College Park
• Northeastern University
• Boston University
• Georgetown University
• Colorado State University – Global Campus
• University of Liverpool

Program info to decide re inquiry…

The inquiry form…

LINKEDIN ADVERTISING…
Best for young professionals in
search of new credentials?

Start here…
http://www.linkedin.com/advertising

Do you want response or reach?

Response campaign starting page…

Sort the details here…

Select cost and campaign length…

LinkedIn ad example…
9:55A.M. 4/19/2013

After the LinkedIn ad…
The landing page…
Immediate inquiry
response…

Continue with email follow-up…
January 13, 2013 February 15, 2014

IN THE (NEAR) FUTURE…

Future opportunities & challenges…
http://bit.ly/1p6wzqm

Extraordinary speed…
• “In 2000, “the first ads we wrote for Oracle were
about 7 seconds. If the consumer was online and
didn’t get the content that they wanted within 7
seconds, they’d be gone.
• “Now 7 seconds is a lifetime.”
• In 2017?
• “If Spotify is fixated with delivering content in under 200
milliseconds now, can you imagine what the competition
will be in 5 years?”
• Lawrence A. Kimmel, CEO, Direct Marketing Association

A verbal search future…
https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/1331723?hl=en
• In the mobile world, no
need to touch anything
• What words will your
visitors use?
• Must work better than
your “search” works
now
• “Top task” even more
important… know
“Taskwords”

More video content…
http://www.startstorytelling.com/

Google glass… still a marketing puzzle
http://bit.ly/1hRHbVP
For 2012 in New Orleans… For 2013 in Boston…

For 2014 in Austin, still a question…
http://bit.ly/1sbRbSa

And what might you do with this?

WRAPPING UP…
STRATEGY POINTS FOR
SUCCESS

Digital strategy steps…
• First impression online is critical…
• Top tasks from customer viewpoint
• Abandon “marketing speak” content
• Big Data to craft targeted advertising
• Simple online inquiry forms boost ROI…
• Immediate inquiry response…
• Telephone, email, or texting
• Continuing response unless told to stop…
• New role for video story telling

An underused strategy element…
• Academic program interest of potential
students as the starting place…
• Online advertising for individual programs
• Use academic program interest from first response
• Inquiry, application & finance options from every
academic program page
• Academic content written for students, not faculty and
their friends
• Social media plan for selected programs
• Video stories from students and faculty in academic
programs

THANKS FOR BEING
HERE IN AUSTIN!
Bob Johnson, Ph.D.
bob@bobjohnsonconsulting.com
www.bobjohnsonconsulting.com
@highedmarketing

DIGITAL MARKETING
RESOURCES
12 sites and subscriptions to add to
your kit bag.

Keep up with current news…
http://mashable.com/category/digital-advertising/

Internet advertising resource center…
http://bit.ly/1tGQMJr

Industry self-regulation…
http://www.aboutads.info/

To watch the legalities…
http://1.usa.gov/1oiQJLP

Subscribe to ClickZ Newsletter…
http://bit.ly/1uTB27j

Subscribe to Search Engine Watch…
http://bit.ly/1m3b33Z

Academic research sources…
University of Maryland
http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/digits/
Dartmouth College
http://www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/digital/

Ehrenberg-Bass Institute…
http://www.marketingscience.info/

Data-Driven Marketing Institute
http://thedma.org/ddmi/

Pew Internet research projects…
http://www.pewinternet.org/

Social media strategy cheat sheet…
http://bit.ly/UVq4XC

Social Media Examiner…
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/

“Secret guide” to CRM selection…
http://bit.ly/1xGPtfw

EXTRA NOTES ON
ADVERTISING…
Twitter…
“Native” advertising

TWITTER ADVERTISING
Open to anyone in the U.S. since
April 2013

TWITTER SAYS…
“Our system rewards marketers for
being good, not for being loud.”
• https://blog.twitter.com/2013/announcing-
twitter-ads-api

Twitter on mobile…
http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Will-Desktop-Ad-Spending-Peak/1009959

Start here… pay only for followers
https://business.twitter.com/
start-advertising
Selection criteria include…
• Similar user names
• Interests
• Location
• Gender

Selections for “Education” & Metro…

“Tailored audience” on Twitter…
https://blog.twitter.com/2014/new-ways-to-create-and-use-tailored-audiences
• More conversion
opportunities
• Minimum of 5,000
people
• From your CRM
database using email
addresses
• Similar in use to FB
opportunity
• Only pay if people click
on your ad

New in 2014… the Website Card
http://bit.ly/1v4iQ9h (April 2014)
• Move people to a
specific website
address.
• Appears in newsfeed.
• Combines a tweet, an
image, & a call to
action.
• Again, academic
program content.

New in 2014… Lead Generation Cards
http://bit.ly/1qV4odG (May 2014)
• Tweets expand to
display an ad if a
person hovers over it.
• Captures name, twitter
handle, email.
• Offer is critical to
response.
• Newsletter on
innovations in
architecture.

NATIVE ADVERTISING
“Paid ads that are so cohesive with the page
content, assimilated into the design, and consistent
with the platform behavior that the viewer simply
feels that they belong.”

“The Native Advertising Playbook”…
http://www.iab.net/media/file/IABNativeAdvertisingPlaybookFINAL.pdf
• A challenge…
• How to integrate ads into
regular content that have
easy-to-see full disclosure
that the content is an ad.
• “Simply put: Regardless of
context, a reasonable
consumer should be able
to distinguish between
what is paid advertising vs.
what is publisher editorial
content.”

In-Feed Units…
• Also used by:
• Yahoo
• Facebook
• Twitter

Paid search units…
• Also used by
• Google
• Bing
• Ask

“Recommended for you” widgets…
• Also used by:
• Taboola
• Disqus
• Gravity

Promoted listings…
• Also used by:
• Amazon
• Foursquare
• Google

Evaluating what type to use…

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