2. Today’s Presentation
• Inbound Marketing: Basics vs. Advanced
• The “Pro” Approach: Planning, Timing, Content
• Inbound & SEO as One: Keywords, Website, CTAs, etc.
• Branded vs. Non-branded Keywords & Competitive Analysis
• “Pro” Measurement Metrics
3. Inbound Marketing: The Basics
● Create Content &
send it out with
links to drive
traffic INBOUND
to your website
● Get your audience
in your house
● Supply content
that is relevant &
useful
● Develop trust &
loyalty
Boosted
Posts
Blogs
4. Inbound Marketing: The Basics
Boosted
Posts
Blogs
● Create Content &
send it out with
links to drive
traffic INBOUND
to your website
● Get your audience
in your house
● Supply content
that is relevant &
useful
● Develop trust &
loyalty
● Building links to your
website improves SEO
● Research keywords that
rank highest in your
category
● Place keywords in titles,
tags, metadata of your
website pages
● Place keywords in your
blog titles and text
5. ● School Objectives:
○ Why do we want to improve our digital marketing presence?
○ What do we want to achieve?
● Self-Evaluation
○ Are we far off from where we want to be?
○ What’s already working and what is not?
● Competitor Analysis
Defining Opportunities
6. How to gauge success?
Defining Opportunities: School Objectives
Likes/
Shares
Enquiries
Page
visits
Subscribers
Forms
Submitted
Visit
Duration
Cost per
Acquisition
Website
Engagement
Anecdotal
evidence
Not
enough
students
Cost per
Lead
Improve
awareness
Define
strategy
7. In order to evaluate your current presence, you can consider the following areas:
1. Website Quality and User Experience (UX)
2. Content Marketing (page content, blogging, social media, etc.)
3. Social Media Marketing
4. Competitor Analysis
Attempt to determine where you feel your strengths and weaknesses lie.
Defining Opportunities: Self-Evaluation
8. Defining Opportunities: Self-Evaluation
Website Quality & UX
● Is our site informative and useful?
● Is it easy for visitors to find what they
are looking for?
● Is website design template clear, and
is
the next step for the potential student
made obvious?
● Are we progressing them naturally
towards taking action?
10. Is there good use of space
and images?
Depth of information
vs
Being visually
appealing
Defining Opportunities: Self-Evaluation
Website Quality & UX
15. Writing Topic Headlines for SEO
★ Use your keywords list at the start to
define the scope of the piece
Writing Content (copy & blogs) for SEO
1. Put your keyword list away for now
2. Write your content
3. Then check if your keywords are visible
4. If not, try to work them in
Defining Opportunities: Self-Evaluation
SEO Keywords
Use Google Search
Console to understand
keyword usage
16. Branded vs. Non-branded Keywords
BRANDED
● School Name
● School Name University / College
● School Name City
● School Name State
● School Name MBA
● School Name Degree
NON-BRANDED
● Undergraduate
● Bachelors
● Graduate
● Masters
● Engineering or Nursing or MBA
● Professional Development
● Continuing Studies
● Learn English for Business
17. Defining Opportunities: Competitor Analysis
Look to your competitors for inspiration
★ Which topics do they cover, generally speaking?
★ What kind of tone do they use? Formal or informal
★ How frequently do they post?
★ Is it working? How are they ranking?
18. Poll #1
How do you measure up?
- Define your Objectives & Opportunities
- Measure Website Quality UX
- Define & Place SEO Keywords
READY
NEEDS WORK
ALMOST THERE
19. Content Creation: Research Your Keywords
1) Continuously adding keyword-rich content
2) Reach your audience when they begin the enrollment journey
20. 1) Continuously adding keyword-rich content
2) Reach your audience on their schedule, not yours
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
CONTENT
ENROLLMENT
Content Creation: Scheduling All Year Long
21. 1) Continuously adding keyword-rich content
2) Reach your audience on their schedule, not yours
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
CONTENT
ENROLLMENT
Content Creation: Scheduling All Year Long
22. Use a Content Calendar for Tracking & Assigning
1) A Content Calendar assigns topics with seasonal intent & relevance
2) Assign which staff will create & update each week/month
23. 1) A Content Calendar assigns topics with seasonal intent & relevance
2) Assign which staff will create & update each week/month
Use a Content Calendar for Tracking & Assigning
24. Inbound Marketing is Used in Decision Making
16% said social media
was very/extremely
important*
*TargetX/MStoner
58% of prospective students use social
media in school consideration process*
54% said website content was
very/extremely important*
25. Content Creation: Advanced
News = noteworthy info about recent or
important events
● School Ranking & Recognition
● Athletics schedules & scores
● Weather-related closures
● Student resources available
BASIC
26. News = noteworthy info about recent or
important events
● School Ranking & Recognition
● Athletics schedules & scores
● Weather-related closures
● Student resources available
BASIC ADVANCED
Blog = regularly updated, written in an
informal or conversational style, delivering
information of interest and value to its
audience
● Student success stories
● Next-level Instructors
● Showcase your learning experience
● Feature student life in & out of class
● How our MBA program is unique
● Alumni attributing success to you
Content Creation: Advanced
27. To make your content
relevant, useful, and
shareable for your
audience …
you must research your
audience.
Research Your Audience to Build Personas
28. Persona Development: Background Information
The Avid Online Learner
Background
• May be either male or female
• Aged 18-25
• May come from Southeast Asia, China, India, Central
America, or the Middle East
• May have recently moved to North America or Europe
• Will hear about (School Name) through social media or
online research
29. Persona Development: Motivations
The Avid Online Learner
Motivations
• Is looking to improve their English skills to improve job prospects in a time of
economic uncertainty
• Mostly focused on academic outcomes, but welcomes the opportunity to meet
new people and practice English with like-minded individuals remotely
• Wants a school that has robust online learning software and qualified instructors
• Seeking a school that offers ample online resources to help students excel
remotely
Your prospective
student motivations drive
the messaging of your digital
marketing
content.
30. Persona Development: Concerns
The Avid Online Learner
Concerns
• Nervous about the quality of instruction they’ll receive online, and whether or
not online learning will help them develop the English skills they need
• Worried about having the self-control and dedication required to complete
their course work from home
• Concerned about the ability to practice their English skills with their peers
online
Your messaging can be
focused to overcome key
barriers to booking
31. Persona Development: Key Messages
The Avid Online Learner
Motivations
• Wants a school that has robust online
learning software and qualified instructors
Concerns
• Concerned about the ability to practice
their English skills with their peers online
All (School Name)’s online courses use a comprehensive
learning platform and are taught by qualified instructors
(School Name) boasts small online class sizes, with an
average of 6 learners per session. This allows for ample
conversational practice between students
Key Messages
32. Social Content Sharing Workflow
Share on Twitter
Publish content
on your website
Share on LinkedIn
Share on Facebook
33. Poll #2
How many of these 3 things
does your Inbound Marketing achieve?
1. Creating Continuous Content
2. Content Calendar
3. Writing to Showcase Your School
All 3 !!
0-1
1 or 2
34. Measurement & Analysis
● Understand Your Channels
● Choose Data Points to Track Your Goals
● Consider Your Calls-to-Action & TY Pages
40. Poll #3
How many of you are
consistently measuring your
Inbound Marketing
Performance?
Yes, consistently
Um, need to
work on that
Well, periodically
42. Conclusion – Advanced Inbound Marketing
• Define your school’s Goals, Objectives & Opportunities
• Research your audience. Build a Content Strategy &
Content Calendar.
43. Conclusion – Advanced Inbound Marketing
• Define your school’s Goals, Objectives & Opportunities
• Research your audience. Build a Content Strategy &
Content Calendar.
• Create Content that speaks to your audiences &
showcases your school.
44. Conclusion – Advanced Inbound Marketing
• Define your school’s Goals, Objectives & Opportunities
• Research your audience. Build a Content Strategy &
Content Calendar.
• Create Content that speaks to your audiences &
showcases your school.
• Add links to Social Media posts & CTAs to website.
45. Conclusion – Advanced Inbound Marketing
• Define your school’s Goals, Objectives & Opportunities
• Research your audience. Build a Content Strategy &
Content Calendar.
• Create Content that speaks to your audiences &
showcases your school.
• Add links to Social Media posts & CTAs to website.
• Measure & Analyse Goals in your Website Analytics.
47. Free Inbound Marketing Consultation
Scott Cross
North America Regional Manager
514-312-3968 x 117
scross@higher-education-marketing.com
Lara Chuang
North America Client Representative
514-312-3968 x 115
lara@higher-education-marketing.com