1. Influencing the Influencer: Connecting with the Parents
of Prospective Students
Slide 1
Influencing the Influencer:
Connecting with the Parents of
Prospective Students

2. Influencing the Influencer: Connecting with the Parents
of Prospective Students
Slide 2
1) The Sway of Parents
2) Some Stats
3) Ways to Engage With Parents
Overview
Source: Higher Education Marketing – Influencing the Influencer: Connecting with the Parents of Prospective Students

3. Influencing the Influencer: Connecting with the Parents
of Prospective Students
Slide 3
 Parents have strong sway in a student’s choice of where to
attend university or college.
 In Eduventure's spring 2014 “Survey of Admitted Students”,
it was reported that over 60 % of prospective students
responded that their parents were the most important
influencer in their enrollment decision.
 Students and parents clearly have different information
priorities and choose different digital media to fulfill them.
 For a full analysis of some of the differences, see Noel
Levitz’s 2011 E-Expectations Report on Prospective
Students and their Parents.
1. The Sway of Parents
Source: Higher Education Marketing – Influencing the Influencer: Connecting with the Parents of Prospective Students

4. Influencing the Influencer: Connecting with the Parents
of Prospective Students
Slide 4
 Some of their findings included:
 Among students who had Facebook accounts, 27 percent said that
they had visited a college’s Facebook page, compared to just 12
percent of parents with Facebook accounts.
 Only 9 percent of students and 5 percent of parents said they had
Twitter accounts.
 More than 75 percent of both parents and students said they never
or only rarely read blogs.
 I am sure some of these stats will have evolved since that
original study was done but the most important point I want
to make is that students and parents have different tastes
and appetite of details.
 I am very sure that that is still that same.
2. Some Stats
Source: Higher Education Marketing – Influencing the Influencer: Connecting with the Parents of Prospective Students

5. Influencing the Influencer: Connecting with the Parents
of Prospective Students
Slide 5
 Once you understand the differences in context that you are
working with here, it's time to define a mix of tactics that you
believe will work to meet your content and communication
priorities, with the parents of your prospective students.
 Of course email is generally used by all to tie these recruitment
efforts together, so we are not going to talk much about that. We’ll
assume everyone is already well schooled in how to use email
effectively.
 So, here are eight examples of different digital marketing
approaches that you can use to reach out to, and connect
with, the parents of prospective student.
3. Ways to Engage With Parents
Source: Higher Education Marketing – Influencing the Influencer: Connecting with the Parents of Prospective Students

6. Influencing the Influencer: Connecting with the Parents
of Prospective Students
Slide 6
1. Newsletters
3. Ways to Engage With Parents
Source: Higher Education Marketing – Influencing the Influencer: Connecting with the Parents of Prospective Students

7. Influencing the Influencer: Connecting with the Parents
of Prospective Students
Slide 7
2. Blogs
3. Ways to Engage With Parents
Source: Higher Education Marketing – Influencing the Influencer: Connecting with the Parents of Prospective Students

8. Influencing the Influencer: Connecting with the Parents
of Prospective Students
Slide 8
3. Facebook Pages
4. Twitter Accounts
5. YouTube Videos
3. Ways to Engage With Parents
Source: Higher Education Marketing – Influencing the Influencer: Connecting with the Parents of Prospective Students

9. Influencing the Influencer: Connecting with the Parents
of Prospective Students
Slide 9
6. Webinars
7. Online Chat
8. Web Portals for Parents
 Parents pages are very common but more and more schools are
moving forward with this idea, creating fuller microsites or portals to
serve the prospective and enrolled student parent experience.
 There is no question that it adds a significant element to your
already over-taxed workload but the results can be well worth it!
3. Ways to Engage With Parents
Source: Higher Education Marketing – Influencing the Influencer: Connecting with the Parents of Prospective Students

10. Influencing the Influencer: Connecting with the Parents
of Prospective Students
Slide 10
 As is evident, these communication channels are the same
as you would use when communicating directly with your
prospective students. It’s the context in which you present
your information to parents and the voice that you use to
communicate it that are so very different.
3. Ways to Engage With Parents
Source: Higher Education Marketing – Influencing the Influencer: Connecting with the Parents of Prospective Students

11. Influencing the Influencer: Connecting with the Parents
of Prospective Students
Slide 11
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