What events are ideal for an online recruitment campaign?

1. Maximising Lead Generation at Your School’s
Events with Digital Micro-Campaigns
Presented by:
Higher Education Marketing

2. 1. What is a Micro-Campaign?
2. Different Types of Events for Micro Campaigns
3. Creating Tailored Content for Your Event
4. Build a Social Media Micro-Campaign
5. Increasing Lead Generation with Targeted PPC & Advertising
6. Integrating Your Micro Campaign with Physical Marketing
7. Measuring the Effectiveness of Your Campaigns
Overview

3. 1. What is a Micro-Campaign?
Source: HEM – Creating Digital Micro-Campaigns Around Your College Events
Every college has dates on their calendar that are extra special.
It could be a-
„ Sporting event
„ Academic conference
„ An historic moment in your school’s history
„ A public event in your hometown e.g. a festival
Each of these events are a unique part of your school’s
identity, and an ideal opportunity to communicate your story and
message to prospective students!

4. Micro Campaigns are smaller, more focused initiatives centred
around events to boost your profile and generate new leads.
They can include:
„ Targeted advertising
„ Customised content
„ Social media hashtags and promotion
„ Integrated physical marketing
Let’s see how you can start building micro campaigns around your
events, and create a more targeted online recruitment strategy!
Source: HEM – Creating Digital Micro-Campaigns Around Your College Events
1. What is a Micro-Campaign?

5. In addition to the events already mentioned, micro-campaigns
can also be used to promote-
„ Guest lectures from renowned experts or public figures
„ Social and recreational events such as balls and concerts
„ Festivities built around sporting occasions e.g. homecoming
„ Student Recruitment events like fairs and open days
„ Regular calendar events such as graduations or orientations
„ Special online events
2. Different Types of Events for Micro
Campaigns
Source: HEM – Creating Digital Micro-Campaigns Around Your College Events

6. Example-
Royal Roads University made serious waves with their “Future View”
campaign. Current students and faculty members wore Google Glass and
GoPro cameras so that prospective applicants could experience the
campus through their eyes.
2. Different Types of Events for Micro
Campaigns
Source: HEM – Creating Digital Micro-Campaigns Around Your College Events
Online or virtual recruitment
events can include:
Ø Virtual tours
Ø Streamed lectures
Ø Online Q&As
Ø Live chats with faculty

7. In the lead up to your event, you can tweak your regular
content to make it more relevant. For example:
„ Write a blog post profiling a guest speaker at a conference
„ Create an article around the history of a sporting rivalry or a
longstanding college tradition
„ Post a guide to the local area for prospective students before an open
day
Every event holds its own unique potential for branded content, and with a
little creative thinking you can come up with some very interesting ideas!
3. Creating Tailored Content for Your Event
Source: HEM – Creating Digital Micro-Campaigns Around Your College Events

8. Example:
Florida State University launched their “Countdown to Commencement”
campaign in 2014, complete with a countdown clock, live videos, and a
‘bucket list’ for seniors of essential university experiences to check off
before they left!
3. Creating Tailored Content for Your Event
This online campaign was a
great way to take a regular
part of college life and turn it
into a truly special
experience for students!
Source: HEM – Creating Digital Micro-Campaigns Around Your College Events

9. Events can also provide unique opportunities for promotion through
social media. You can promote your school’s presence using:
„ Twitter Q&As with special guests
„ Event pages on Facebook promoting your school’s presence at larger
events like recruitment fairs
„ Pages promoting happenings on your campus that are part of local
festivals
„ Creating specific hashtags to promote events on Facebook and Twitter
4. Build a Social Media Micro-Campaign
Source: HEM – Creating Digital Micro-Campaigns Around Your College Events

10. Example:
„ Trinity College Dublin adopted the ‘TrinIT’ hashtag to promote its ICT
showcase event, an annual science and technology conference, on Twitter
and Facebook.
4. Build a Social Media Micro-Campaign
Hashtags can be helpful in
getting events trending across
multiple social media channels
and seen by
prospective students!
Source: HEM – Creating Digital Micro-Campaigns Around Your College Events

11. Source: HEM – Creating Digital Micro-Campaigns Around Your College Events
Ø The increased visibility you’ll enjoy in the build-up to your
event will also open up new opportunities for advertising
Ø Creating new ads that highlight your event as a USP can
help you stand out from the crowd!
Ø Event micro-campaigns are also ideal for PPC
remarketing
Ø Use tools like Facebook Custom Audiences to target
previous leads, offering the event as something new to
reignite their interest!
5. Increasing Lead Generation with
Targeted PPC & Advertising

12. Example:
Ø Southampton Solent University advertise their open days in a banner
display ad on opendays.com, a website which provides a calendar of
recruitment events in the UK.
5. Increasing Lead Generation with
Targeted PPC & Advertising
You can stagger your ad
campaigns for different areas,
promoting earlier to
prospective students from out
of town and later to your local
market!
Source: HEM – Creating Digital Micro-Campaigns Around Your College Events

13. Integrating your physical and digital campaigns as much as
possible will help maximise potential lead generation from your
event. Here’s some useful tips-
„ Include things like event hashtags and Facebook page details on your
brochures, flyers, and posters
„ Have a physical presence for your recruitment staff at the event itself,
such as a stall or people handing out brochures
„ Provide a contact sheet to take any details of potential leads!
6. Integrating Your Micro Campaign with
Physical Marketing
Source: HEM – Creating Digital Micro-Campaigns Around Your College Events

14. Micro campaigns produce measurable results. Recruiters can
easily isolate the timeline of a campaign and track any changes in -
„ Website visits
„ Social media exposure
„ SEO improvement
„ Increases in lead generation and conversions
7. Measuring the Effectiveness of Your
Campaigns
Source: HEM – Creating Digital Micro-Campaigns Around Your College Events