Jay Kelly and Ann Oleson will gave this presentation on "inbound marketing" at the 2014 LASAC conference. View this presentation on powerful marketing techniques.
Stop Pushing & Start Pulling: Inbound Marketing for Higher Education
1. Stop Pushing and Start Pulling
The Evolution of Higher Education Marketing
Ann Oleson, Converge Consulting
Jay Kelly, Converge Consulting
May 29, 2014
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Definition of Inbound Marketing
Earning the attention of prospects
Making yourself easy to be found
Drawing students/alumni to your website by producing
custom content that is valued
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Search Trends
About 85% of searchers never go beyond page 1 of the
results
53% of all searchers click on the very first link on page
#1
94% of search users choose organic over paid listing
when searching, particularly for purchases
Sources: "Search Engine Rankings: Why They Matter." PmbmediaWORKS. 2011. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. “Ten statistics that
demonstrate the value of SEO”. Intraspin 2012. Web. 21 Mar. 2012.
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Goal
To be found
wherever
prospective students,
parents, donors, and
alumni are
searching.
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These guys have changed the rules!
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History of SEO Tactics: Humming Bird and
Content as King
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Trends and Expectations for the Future
Value is future proof and
algorithm proof.”
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Modern SEO Tactics
• Everything works together to build AUTHORITY
– Not just one keyword, lots of keywords
• Develop high level strategic themes
Over 70% of the traffic you earn for any
given page will come from keywords you
didn’t try to optimize for.
15% of all Google searches, over half a
billion per day, have never been seen
before.
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More Than Just Webpages
Search engines index more than just Websites
Images
Maps
Videos
News
Blogs
Social Sharing
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Videos and SEO
Think short: length, title, and
description
Optimize titles, tags, and
descriptions for all content
Tag ‘influencers’ in videos
Encourage FB video ‘likes’ by
requesting them directly in the
description of the video
Consider Promoted videos
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Quality, Not Just Quantity
–Strength of the
linking domain
–Strength of the
pages the links
are on
–Strength of the
links themselves
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That Which is Measured Improves
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SEO Checklist
Have you done a technical
crawl?
Do you know your top
performing Unbranded
Keywords?
Have you thought about 3
to 4 overall brand
messages for thematic
SEO?
Do you have an SEO
evangelist on campus?
Do you have a dashboard,
report on SEO monthly?
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Inbound Marketing – The Pillars
Get Found=SEO
Be Relevant=Content Strategy
Be Social=Social Media
Measure=Google Analytics
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Who has a content strategy plan?
Where does your school’s content exist?
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Content Strategy
Content Strategy refers to the planning,
development, and management of content—written or
in other media. The term is particularly common in
web development since the late 1990s.
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Why Should I bother with Content Strategy?
Your institution’s brand is connected to everything else…
Which means Brand Strategy really can’t exist without content
strategy to support it.
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Strategize
•What content should be created?
•How will it be structured
•How will I find it?
•How to measure effectiveness?
Create
•What is the purpose, audience, and
brand message?
•What do we want them to learn?
•What is the best format? (COPE)
Measure
•How are you doing with: SEO,
Google Analytics, goal
conversions, traffic sources, and
social insights?
Analyze
•What content do you have?
•Who is in charge?
•Who is your target audience?
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What content do you have?
Webinars
Infographics
Blog posts
Videos
Printed materials (publications, magazines)
Phone scripts, speeches
Other?
Analyze
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What content should be created?
How will users find it?
How will we measure it?
Strategize
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Working Across the Institution
Communications
IT
Admissions
Financial Aid
Faculty
Sr. Leadership
Marketing
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Content Process
Requested Created Approved Published
• Marketing
• Program
Stakeholder
• Marketing
• Subject Matter
Expert (SME)
• Marketing
• Program
Stakeholder
• Compliance
(as needed)
• Marketing
Email to
Marketing
Marketing
Initiative
Copy,
Design,
Interviews
Email to
Approve or
Edit
Entered
and
Published
edits
Estimate Timeline:
Varies
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1. What is the purpose of the content?
2. Who is the audience?
3. What brand messages are we communicating?
4. What do we want the user to learn?
5. What is the best format to deliver the content?
6. How will we measure the
success?
Create
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• Optimize your On-Page elements for SEO.
SEO + Content Strategy
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COPE
Create Once.
Publish Everywhere
SEO + Content Strategy + Social
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SEO report, keyword rankings
Conversions from blog referral traffic
Google Analytics custom dashboard
Measure
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Content Checklist
Do you have a strategic
approach?
Do you use templates to
determine priority?
Do you use personas to
target specific audiences?
How do you COPE?
Do you have a process in
place for assessing
effectiveness of your
content?
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Inbound Marketing – The Pillars
Get Found=SEO
Be Relevant=Content Strategy
Be Social=Social Media
Measure=Google Analytics
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If Facebook were a country,
where would it rank in size?
3rd, After
China and India
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Facebook Advertising
Custom Audiences
- Upload your prospective student list and retarget your
ads to move students further down your recruiting pipeline
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What’s new in Higher Education
Facebook
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What’s new in Higher Education
LinkedIn
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Blogs
Ties in with SEO
Student and faculty voices
Use a combination of content: news and
events, alumni stories, faculty publishing,
expertise and thought leadership
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Social Checklist
Do you use social
monitoring?
Do you blog?
Do you have a social
media strategy?
Do you have a shared
social media calendar?
Do you have an identified
social media champion on
campus?
Do you have a
measurement system in
place?
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Inbound Marketing – The Pillars
Get Found=SEO
Be Relevant=Content Strategy
Be Social=Social Media
Measure=Google Analytics
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Received
an
email
Went to a
landing page
Looked at
degree options
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Web analytics is a process,
not a tool.
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Web Analytics: A Continuous Process
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Measure quantitative and qualitative data
Continuously improve your website
Align your measurement strategy with your
organizational strategy
Primary web analytics tasks
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Web analytics doesn’t start here
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http://www.dilbert.com/strips/comic/2011-10-30/
Create a plan
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Analytics Checklist
Do you have GA installed?
Do you have Goals set
up?
Have you discussed a
transition to Universal
Analytics?
Have you completed a GA
assessment?
Do you report weekly or
monthly findings to
measure recruitemtn
success?
Do you have an Evangelist
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Definition of Inbound Marketing
Earning the attention of prospects
Making yourself easy to be found
Drawing students/alumni to your website by producing
custom content that is valued
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Ann Oleson
ann@convergeconsulting.org
@anncoleson
Jay Kelly
jay@convergeconsulting.org
@jckell3
Hinweis der Redaktion
Introductions – AMA, Jay, Shawna
As marketers remember the four P’s: Product, Place, Price, Promotion
Everything about Marketing has changed
Has anyone worked in Higher Education for the past 10 years and hasn’t seen these changes?
If so please leave the room now!
Let’s talk promotion- which is where most of you spend a great deal of time and resources at work
How is your target audience consuming media, messaging and promotion these days?
Shawna – So what is inbound marketing?
Shawna – So what is inbound marketing?
Shawna – So what is inbound marketing?
Shawna - Online is the great equalizer
Shawna - So why should you care about SEO? When your VP asks you why it is important to spend money Optimizing for things you are already ranking for …
These are 3 facts that you can communicate
So why should you care about SEO? When your VP asks you why it is important to spend money Optimizing for things you are already ranking for …
These are 3 facts that you can communicate
Shawna - Online is the great equalizer
YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine
Example- someone searching for someone on YouTube
Shawna – placing content in places you don’t own can be challenging. Make the SEO argument for using Youtube. Shawna example of IT wanting to bring videos in house
YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine
Example- someone searching for someone on YouTube
Shawna – placing content in places you don’t own can be challenging. Make the SEO argument for using Youtube. Shawna example of IT wanting to bring videos in house
Jay – overview. Can measure how long users are staying on your videos. Shawna - We’ve had the most success with under 3 minutes
World’s second larges search engine. I want a viral video is not a strategy. Video is a great way to provide content to potential students and others about your programs. Esp since we have been struggling to get students millennials to read
World’s second larges search engine. I want a viral video is not a strategy. Video is a great way to provide content to potential students and others about your programs. Esp since we have been struggling to get students millennials to read
World’s second larges search engine. I want a viral video is not a strategy. Video is a great way to provide content to potential students and others about your programs. Esp since we have been struggling to get students millennials to read
Jay - Let’s talk about how you can impact your SEO
How many of you are doing keyword research
How many of you know your top unbranded keywords
So the question is, how do I impact our institutions SEO? Through understanding the metrics, analyzing them, and making decisions to improve
Search, social, links, brand mentions
Jay - Let’s talk about how you can impact your SEO
How many of you are doing keyword research
How many of you know your top unbranded keywords
Affordable – longterm
Q&A
Jay Content and brand strategy are tied together
Process. Double-edged sword is that colleges are so content rich that a lot of the time needs to be spent not creating content but streamlining it and aligning it with strategy
Shawna Opportunity to ask what other kinds of content schools are using
Jay
Shawna - Marketing is the central hub that content creation flow to and through, but content area experts play a vital role in the creation of accurate and compelling content. Our integrated enrollment management structure means that admissions counselors are responsible for the day to day posting on Facebook but that the strategy and the implementation plan runs through marketing. Blog ideas come in from the faculty and staff and are worked on w/ the marketing team. Importance of not working in a vacuum. Forming relationships and processes.
Shawna - Important to have a plan and share it across the institution
Who is using personas? Jay – Creighton personas specific built for an in state and out of state. Shawna – politics of personas. How and why we made it work.
Think with the end in mind
Shawna – we have more than a dozen staff around institution resp for content. A calendar is essential in organizing who is going to do what when and why. Helps keeps those who create and post on schedule and on message. Without this your strategy is going to go off the rails
Jay – tech details. Don’t forget the importance of on page elements
Posted a blog about X – tweeted it, Diversity abroad retweeted it, we posted it on facbook, x people shared it. One set of content, many channels of publishing
Jay - Let’s talk about how you can impact your SEO
How many of you are doing keyword research
How many of you know your top unbranded keywords
Affordable – longterm
3rd after China and India
October 1, 2013
October 1, 2013
October 1, 2013
Insert Blog example graphic
Jay - Let’s talk about how you can impact your SEO
How many of you are doing keyword research
How many of you know your top unbranded keywords
Affordable – longterm
SEO drove this many, social drove this many, etc.
Shawna – importance of conversion from Facebook in measuring
One of ND’s goals was to measure time on site. Engagement goal. This tells us we are doing a good job delivering quality content.
Inbound marketing dashboard (available for download on our website!) for the phases of Inbound. Attract = how they got there Convert = Goals Delight = engagement
Most effective way to measure effectiveness is to set up goals. ND set this goal up to capture info and get permission to start a dialog.
UA will give us better data. For instance, if you are logged on with these 3 devices, you will be counted as 1 user.
Jay - Let’s talk about how you can impact your SEO
How many of you are doing keyword research
How many of you know your top unbranded keywords