G/O Sales Summit: How to Target the "Always On" Student to Increase Enrollments

2016 Sales Leadership Summit Powered by G/O DIGITAL
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How To Target The
‘Always-On’ Student
Jennifer Wiles
Connecting The Right User With The Right Medium,
With The Right Message, At The Right Time

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of current students
take at least one online
class, and roughly half
of all classes are
expected to be online
by 2019.
The ‘Always-On’ Student
WHAT ARE THEY INTERESTED IN:

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Why they are interested….
3%
I’M ABOUT TO
GRADUATE
HIGH SCHOOL
3%
UNEMPLOYED AND
LOOKING TO
BECOME MORE
MARKETABLE
12%
LEARN A
VALUABLE SKILL
12%
CHANGE CAREERS
13%
ENTERING THE
SKILLED
WORKFORCE FOR
THE FIRST TIME
20%
EARN A
HIGHER WAGE
37%
ENHANCED
OPPORTUNITIES IN
MY CHOSEN FIELD

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SEARCH ENGINE
(GOOGLE, YAHOO,
BING, ETC.)
YOUTUBE OR OTHER
SOCIAL MEDIA SITES
(FACEBOOK, TWITTER,
INSTAGRAM, ETC.)
53%
24%
ONLINE RATINGS
AND REVIEWS
13%
PRIVATE OR
CAREER SCHOOL
WEBSITES8%
2%
CAREER WEBSITES OR
BLOGS/FORUM PROVIDE
ADVICE/GUIDANCE
How they research:

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Source: G/O Digital Education Survey 2016
3%
CAREER
PLACEMENT
4%
FACULTY
PLACEMENT
13%
CONVENIENCE
13%
REPUTATION OF
THE SCHOOL
14%
LOCATION
16%
COST
16%
EDUCATIONAL
PROGRAMS
OFFERED
How they choose:
School decisions come down to three things:
PROGRAMS COST LOCATION

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Connected with
schools through
emailing the school
directly
Connected through
an on-campus visit
First looked into
certain schools
because of word-of-
mouth referrals
How they connect to a school:

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The ‘Always-On’ Student
HOW THEY LIKE TO BE REACHED:
of students say they
preferred to be contacted
by the school via email
versus social media,
direct phone calls and
text messages.

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Active Seeker The Researcher The “Don’t Knowers”
Align your strategy to the right user

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RIGHT USER - THE ACTIVE SEEKER
Source: Hanover Research 2015
Who does that
look like?
High school graduate and/or some
college looking to further their education.

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Challenges?

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How They Choose?

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Googles ‘online
bachelors degree in
Phoenix’ on their
mobile device
Marketing Cycle Example:
The user clicks the
PPC ad at the top
Taken to a PPC
landing page
Calls or fills out
form to get
information
Then they travel to
the school’s
Facebook page to
read comments and
review
1 2 3 4 5

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RIGHT USER - THE RESEARCHER
Source: Compete, Inc U.S Custom Education Study Q3 2011
G/O Digital Education Survey 2016
Who does that
look like?
Ages 20-45

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What does this
stage look like?

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Challenges?

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How they choose?

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How they choose?
1 2 3 4 5 6
Googles
‘Healthcare
colleges’ and
clicks on the
PPC ad
Takes them to a
landing page
The user then
later goes back
to Google and
searches for the
school again via
organic listings,
see school’s
website
Reviews the
school’s website
content
Then they move
to review sites to
get ranking
information on
the school and
cost comparison
Go back to
Google and
perform a
branded search
for the school,
and finally
convert

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RIGHT USER - THE DON’T KNOWERS
Who does that
look like?
Source: http://pewsocialtrends.org 2014

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#GoSummit2016Source: http://pewsocialtrends.org 2014
Who does this stage
look like?

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Who does this stage
look like?

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How they choose?
They choose based on
program length
They choose based on
accessibility through online
programs and evening
classes
They will choose based on
how affordable the
program is and access to
financial aid
Longer buying cycle than
an active seeker and
researcher

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User sees a
Facebook ad
promoting a better
life and
advancement in
their career
Perform Google
searches on articles
to obtain info on
salary information
and mom bloggers
on balancing work
life with going back
to school which
contains a link to a
school’s website
(SEO back link)
They review website
content on program
options and then
leave the site
They receive an
e-blast promoting
the school a month
later and the
program only takes
9 months to
complete
Google search for
the school and
travel back to the
site to read about
Financial aid
options before
converting
1 2 3 4 5
How they choose?

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Using the right medium

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Targeted Email Marketing
Reach your potential customers with
targeted emails.
RIGHT MEDIUM
Push Techniques Pull Techniques
Social Advertising
Put your product, services & brand
in front of the right audience.
Social Media Management
Create dynamic, relevant content
tailored to your audience.
Search Engine Optimization
Our SEO digital marketing services
will drive quality, local traffic to your
website.
Search Advertising
Capture local customers actively
seeking your services.
Retargeting
Stay engaged with potential
customers, even after they’ve left.

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Targeted Email Marketing
Reach your potential customers with
targeted emails.
RIGHT MEDIUM
Push Techniques
Email Marketing works for all users in various
stages, but the key is to customize the message
to target the right user.
Example: The e-blast is targeting a user who
wants to get certified quickly and jump start
their career.

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RIGHT MEDIUM
Push Techniques
Social Advertising works to target all types of
users. Facebook ads can be used to push specific
programs, on-campus events, and enrollment
information.
Facebook ads can generate leads when building
targeted personas that would make a good fit for
the program.
Facebook ads give the advertiser the ability to
test ad messaging with various personas.
Social Advertising
Put your product, services & brand
in front of the right audience.

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Social Media Management
Create dynamic, relevant content
tailored to your audience.
RIGHT MEDIUM
Push Techniques
A strong social presence gives the school an
opportunity to showcase its personality.
Case Study:
Followed
Want relevant content
Read reviews

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RIGHT MEDIUM
Pull Techniques
SEO is important, as a school’s website is a high
influence on a users decision to enroll. Boosting
quality traffic to their website should be a top
priority.
Case Study:
Website turn offs:
Search Engine Optimization
Our SEO digital marketing services
will drive quality, local traffic to your
website.
Were influenced
Not enough
info
Difficult to
navigate
Vague
language

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RIGHT MEDIUM
Pull Techniques
Search Advertising like PPC is the number one
lead generation channel for higher education
clients. It is also the most competitive channel in
the digital marketplace.
An active user to a don’t knower will connect
with a school through a PPC campaign.
Case Study:
Search Advertising
Capture local customers actively
seeking your services.
Were influenced to click on
Search results most relevant
What influenced a user most to click on a search
result?*
15% clicked on an ad that listed the program they
were interested in.
Only 7% clicked on a result that was at the top of the
search engine.

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RIGHT MEDIUM
Pull Techniques
Retargeting is a key channel to help drive a
prospect student back to the website during the
buying cycle, and assists with eventual
conversion.
Creating an ad messaging specific to a program
the user showed interest in increases the click-
through rate of the ads and conversions.
Retargeting
Stay engaged with potential
customers, even after they’ve left.

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Align with the right message

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Career Services Available
Courses – Program Length
Monetary Interest/Opportunity
Job Stability and Growth Opportunity
Financial Aid/ Scholarships
Hiring/Post-Education Support
• Depending on the stage of user and digital
medium, an impactful CTA is different to everyone
(is the issue financial, is timeline to start the
issue?).
• Address based on technique and the type of
individual you are trying to target, as opposed to
a blanketed statement hoping to catch-all.
RIGHT MESSAGE

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RIGHT MESSAGE
Pull Techniques
Who?
Users actively seeking information
(Active Seekers/Researchers)
PPC
Actionable content that speaks to ease and
convenience.
Marketing Solutions
Retargeting/Programmatic
Calling back users to the site who have stated a
level of interest.
SEO
The process of increasing the visibility of a
website in organic search, to target researchers
and build credibility.
Social
Engaging content that shares genuine interest in
the user…prospective, current, or alumni
students.

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RIGHT MESSAGE
Push Techniques
Who?
Users who are unaware
(Don’t Knowers)
Marketing Solutions
FacebookAds
Mix of actionable content (CTA) and call outs
(Still looking for X?) to various personas and
videos.
Banner Display Ads
Mix of actionable content and call outs.
Email
Different messages meeting different stages of
the user.

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Right Time
• 24% arrive at least 60 days prior to conversion.*
• Most query paths (74%) end after only 1-2 search
queries and ⅔ of these paths are non-branded
only.*
• 8 out of 10 students apply online.*
*Source: Compete, Inc U.S Custom Education Study Q3 2011
(ThinkEducation with Google)
20%
24%
10%
8% 10% 12%
16%
120 Days 60 Days 30 Days 3 Weeks 2 Weeks Same Week Same Day
Arrive at least 2 weeks prior
to conversion

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Schools’ inability to
truly estimate their
buying cycle.
RIGHT TIME
The Buying Cycle
Took more than 12 months
to make a decision, while
the lowest margin of
students — 14% – took less
than one month.*
21%
*Source: Compete, Inc U.S Custom Education Study Q3 2011
(ThinkEducation with Google)
Marketing year-round is
critical to the success of
the campaign regardless
of the fluctuating search
volume on search
channels.
There is no clear
timeframe for when
students start
researching schools
to when they actually
make a decision.

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RIGHT TIME
– Jennifer Howard Published July 2013
*Source: Google Education Case Study

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INTEGRATED MARKETING STRATEGY – ACTIVE USER
The user is served a
Facebook ad which
will send the user
to a mobile friendly
Facebook landing
page
The user will then
go to the school’s
timeline to review
post and reviews
The active user will
then perform
mobile searches for
programs and
search for school by
brand name where
they will click on a
PPC ad that takes
them to a page with
relevant content to
their search criteria
The user will then
convert right away
by filling out a
form, as they prefer
email
communication
when interacting
with schools
If they do not
convert, retargeting
ads will follow user
as they travel to
their favorite sites
to drive them back
to finally convert
1 2 3 4 5
Active User

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INTEGRATED MARKETING STRATEGY
The researcher will
receive an e-blast
about the school
and program
offerings which
they will click
through to the
website to obtain
information on the
school including
financial aid
information
Once on the
website they will
click the Facebook
link icons to read
reviews and content
posted by the
school to get an
idea of the culture
Later, the
researcher will then
perform searches
on Google for
programs and
degrees options to
compare schools’
offerings
The researcher will
also review articles
about the school
and articles relating
to the program field
they are interested
in. The user will be
served retargeting
ads next to these
articles, so the
school stays top of
mind
The researcher will
convert on the
client’s website in
order to obtain any
missing information
or schedule a
campus tour
1 2 3 4 5
The Researcher

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Don’t Knower
1 2 3 4 5 6
The user will be
served a
Facebook ad
talking about
starting a better
life and jump-
starting their
career
The user will
search for
articles on how
to advance their
career and salary
information then
be served a
banner ad
promoting the
school with a call
to action of
‘affordable fast
career programs’
The user will
then review the
content on the
landing page or
site
The user will
have a longer
delay as they will
continue to
debate if going
back to school is
right for them.
Retargeting ads
keep that
thought top of
mind
The user then
goes to a search
channel to
research
educational
programs
specific to their
career growth
and clicks on a
PPC ad
The user will
convert on the
PPC landing page
and work with an
admissions rep
to find a program
to fit their
lifestyle

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G/O developed a comprehensive digital advertising
strategy including Facebook advertising, Social Media
Management, PPC and Retargeting solutions. The
client wanted to develop a broad and engaged
presence among its target audience.
The Results:
The client was able to reach millions of potential
applicants, increase engagement and community
growth on its Facebook Page, as well as convert
potentially lost candidates through retargeting.
INTEGRATED MARKETING STRATEGY – CASE STUDY
Healthcare Training Institution
LEADS IN
30 DAYS
PPC CAMPAIGN CLICK-
THROUGH RATE
AVERAGE KEYWORD
POSITION
FACEBOOK AD
IMPRESSIONS IN 30 DAYS
FACEBOOK PAGE
IMPRESSIONS

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Final Thoughts:
In order for schools to be truly successful at
marketing to boost enrollments, they must adopt
both a push and pull strategy (integrated marketing
strategy) when targeting all the various user
personas.
There is no cookie cutter strategy that works for all
education clients. The strategy must be customized
to fit the goals and needs of the client.
Marketing to reach potential students should occur
year-round to ensure they are catching users in all
various stages of the buying cycle.
Create messaging that speaks to various users in the
right time of the buying cycle.

G/O Sales Summit: How to Target the "Always On" Student to Increase Enrollments

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G/O Sales Summit: How to Target the "Always On" Student to Increase Enrollments