The future for online education is bright, as online enrollment continues to outpace overall higher education growth. But competition for students is fierce, from both traditional universities and for-profit schools. As a result, higher ed marketers need to be laser focused on driving quality leads, improving awareness, and differentiating programs from competitors. LinkedIn is the perfect platform to do this. Join Geoff and Ira for a primer on how you, as a marketer of online programs, can realize the benefits of a strong social media presence on LinkedIn. Learn how to: • Drive quality leads that are more likely to convert • Improve your creative with examples from other online programs • Lower your cost per lead with new LinkedIn solutions, like Lead Gen Forms • Measure what matters to prove the ROI of your advertising effort

1. WEBCAST:
LinkedIn Guide for
Online Schools
Best Practices for Driving Quality
Enrollment
#LinkedInEDU

2. 2

3. 3
SPEAKERS
Ira Amilhussin
Sr. Marketing Manager
LinkedIn
@iraa
Geoff Marks
Account Manager, Education
LinkedIn
#LinkedInEDU

4. Today’s
agenda
1) The landscape for online schools
2) Why LinkedIn?
3) LinkedIn solutions and best practices
4) Q&A
#LinkedInEDU

5. The Landscape for
Online Schools
5
SECTION 1

6. The horizon is bright for online schools
6#LinkedInEDU

7. 7
Enrollment for online programs is increasing while
public university enrollment decreases
Percentage of enrolled students
taking at least one distance education
course
Number of students enrolled
in public institutions
14.6M
14.8M
14.9M
28.4%
27.1%
25.9%
2012 2013 2014
Source: http://www.onlinelearningsurvey.com/reports/2015SurveyInfo.pdf,
https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d15/tables/dt15_303.25.asp?current=yes #LinkedInEDU

8. 8
“Not everyone can win. We will see a bit of
a shakeout. Any school that has ambitious
goals [whose] brand cache is not national is
going to be caught off guard.”
R I C H A R D G A R R E T T
C H I E F R E S E A R C H O F F I C E R
E D U V E N T U R E S
#LinkedInEDU

9. 9
1. Improve awareness of programs
2. Target and retain quality students
3. Differentiate programs from
competition
Online schools can win if they can
successfully do 3 things:
#LinkedInEDU

10. z
Prospects today are empowered by information
from their social networks
10
PresentPast
Institution website
Family/Friends/Peers
Institution website
Family/Friends/Peers
Professional Networks
Personal Networks
Top influencers on student decision making
Source: Connecting with Today’s Prospective Student, LinkedIn – 8/2015
#LinkedInEDU

11. 11
develop their short list
before reaching out to
a school representative
make the prospects’
short list
ONLY 3
SCHOOLS72%
Source: Connecting with Today’s Prospective Student, LinkedIn – 8/2015
Marketers must influence prospects early
in the decision journey
end up enrolling
at a school from their
short list
93%
#LinkedInEDU

12. 35%
33%
18%
7%
4%
3%
12
Onlinecollegestudentssubmitting
applications
Online school students make their decisions much
more quickly
How long did it take you from the time you first started your search
for an online program to completing your application?
68%of online college students are
submitting their applications within
four weeks of starting their search for
an online program
Less than
2 weeks
2-4
weeks
5-8
weeks
9-12
weeks
3-6
months
7 months
or more
Source: LearningHouse & Aslanian Market Research - Online College Students Report, 2016 #LinkedInEDU

13. Engage prospects with the right content at the
right time
13
Source: Connecting with Today’s Prospective Student, LinkedIn – 8/2015
Base: MBA and Masters Intenders (n=502)
Top types of information sought by intenders in each stage of the higher education decision-making process:
Career Advice
Information on courses and degree programs
Expert commentary
and reviews
Staff and lecturer profiles
Alumni profiles/achievements
Institution rankings
Education and industry news
Awareness Discovery Selection
#LinkedInEDU

14. 14
Why LinkedIn?
Market to Who Matters
SECTION 2

15. Adult learners want to maintain a separate
personal and professional identity online
15
“Use LinkedIn as a way to cultivate a
more professionally-oriented brand.
Chances are what you will gain by
focusing your efforts here will produce a
far greater impact than your 10,000
Facebook Likes.”
- Eduventures, Brian Fleming, Senior Analyst
Source: EduVentures, 2014 Prospective Student Survey
ProfessionalPersonal
Eduventures Adult Learner Survey
#LinkedInEDU

16. 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
LinkedIn: largest global community of professionals
16
32M
500M+
professionals
63M+
students and recent college grads
TotalLinkedInMembers
16#LinkedInEDU

17. 17
Market to who matters on LinkedIn
Reach a higher
quality prospect
Quality
Align your message
with a professional
mindset
Mindset
Use our accurate
data to target your
audience
First-Party
Data
#LinkedInEDU

18. 18
better conversion rates on
LinkedIn vs. Facebook
Universities are seeing
Quality
#LinkedInEDU

19. LinkedIn members are more likely to have the
financial resiliency and grit to complete their
degree
19
41%
80%
Ages 18-34
US Adults LinkedIn Members
3.2
3.8
Ages 18-34
US Adults LinkedIn Members
% Financially Resilient
“probably could” or “certain” they could come up
with $2,000 next month for an unexpected need
Average Grit Score
A validated measure that reflects the
perseverance and passion for long-term goals
Source: LinkedIn survey of 1,096 U.S. members. Duckworth & Quinn survey of 1,554 in the U.S.
Quality
#LinkedInEDU

20. According to admissions, the best candidates
are found on LinkedIn
20
88%
35%
24%
The best candidates are found on which networks?
Source: CarringtonCrisp Survey of Business School Admissions, 2016 (U.S. and Canada)
Quality
#LinkedInEDU

21. Mindset Matters
21
Personal
Networks
“SPEND TIME”
Info on friends
Info on personal interests
Entertainment updates
Professional
Networks
“INVEST TIME”
Career info
Updates on brands
Current affairs
1 – The Mindset Divide research study, TNS, September 2012
Mindset
Context is key for content marketing

22. LinkedIn Ranks Highest in
Digital Trust
22
Mindset
higher than Facebook and
Twitter on trust
LinkedIn scored over
Source: BI Intelligence Digital Trust Report, 2017
#LinkedInEDU

23. Bachelor’s, no MBA
Region: United States
3-10 years work experience
Seniority: IC, Sr. IC,Manager
Education: Bachelor’s, no MBA
Work experience: 3-10 years
Seniority: IC, Sr. IC, Manager
*compared to the average member 23
2.6x More connections
Uber-connected, opportunity-seekers
4.3x More home page views
4.3x More job views
2.7x More inbox views
Part time/Online MBA
Prospect on LinkedIn
Mindset
#LinkedInEDU

24. Bachelor’s, no MBA
Region: United States
3-10 years work experience
Seniority: IC, Sr. IC,Manager
Education: Some college,
Associates degree
Work Experience: 5+ years
Seniority: IC+
*compared to the average member 24
68% Of page views are on
mobile
Mobile, connectors
92% More connections
2.1x More inbox views
2.8x More companies followed
Bachelor’s Completion
Prospect on LinkedIn
Mindset
#LinkedInEDU

25. Leverage LinkedIn’s first-party member data
25
Best-in-class prospect data in the EDU space
Rich demographic data
Education Level, Industry,
Years of Experience,
Seniority, Geography
Interest-based targeting
Group Membership, Skills,
Companies Followed
Form completion
Lead Gen Forms,
Auto-Fill
Your own audience data
Retarget Website
Visitors, Target Email
or Company Lists
#LinkedInEDU

26. Uniquely positioned to reduce attrition
throughout the student journey
26
Research
Schools
Acquire
Knowledge
Develop
Profile
Build
Network Connect
with Alumni
Find
Internship
Develop
Career
Upgrade
Skills
Develop
Career
Give
Back
Prospective Student Current Student Alumni
1st Party
Data
#LinkedInEDU

27. 27
Use LinkedIn alumni data to showcase
your school’s outcomes
1st Party
Data
#LinkedInEDU

28. 28
LinkedIn Solutions for
Generating Quality Enrollment
SECTION 3

29. Sponsored Content
29
Engage your prospects with relevant content in the world’s only professional feed — and beyond
• Bid on CPC
• Served on mobile and desktop
• Premium placement in the newsfeed
• High CTR (.38%)
• Earned media from social actions
• System automatically optimizes across
multiple posts in a campaign
#LinkedInEDU

30. Lead Gen Forms
Recently Released
Collect even more quality leads
from your ads on LinkedIn with
seamless pre-filled forms

31. Sponsored Content: Lead Gen Forms
Easily generate high-quality leads from your campaigns, based on a variety of calls-to-actions and
objectives
Lead Form options
Clicking ad
opens a card
with pre-filled,
lead form
• Capture leads directly in
ad
• Mobile only, desktop
coming H2
• CRM integrations with Drift
Rock, Zapier, Eloqua
• Dynamics and Marketo
coming in H2
#LinkedInEDU

32. Jack Welch Management Institute
increased its sales funnel while
maintaining high quality leads to
further enhance its brand
32
“When you compare quality of candidates coming
through the LinkedIn funnel, it has always been
better than other platforms .”
Fareed Raja, Digital Channel Manager, JWMI
Challenge
• Gain market share and
drive quality enrollment
Solution
• Sponsored Content
• Lead Gen Forms
Results
• More likely to convert
#LinkedInEDU

33. LinkedIn Sponsored InMail
33
Send timely, convenient, and relevant private messages to the people that matter most to your business
• Bid on cost-per-send
• Served on mobile and desktop
• Accompanying 300x250 on desktop
• Delivered to members only when they are
live on LinkedIn
• Average open rates of 35%-45%
• Members can receive only 1 Sponsored
InMail in a 60-day period
#LinkedInEDU

34. LinkedIn Sponsored InMail
34
Product Updates
• Available on self-service
• No minimum spend and can built/launched
without going through LinkedIn team
• Coming changes
• H2 – Lead Gen Forms: capture leads directly
in the InMail
#LinkedInEDU

35. FIU Online generates high
quality results that directly
impact the bottom line
35
“We are able to promote FIU Online to prospects that
are qualified for our programs and follow their path
from lead to enrolled.”
Cristina Raecke, Executive Director, Marketing, Recruitment, Enrollment FIU Online
Challenge
• Drive enrollment for online
master’s and bachelor’s
programs
Solution
• Sponsored InMail
• Sponsored Content
Results
• 4 applications in less than
2 weeks from 1 InMail
#LinkedInEDU

36. Dynamic Ads
LinkedIn Dynamic Content
• Bid on CPM basis
• Unique, LinkedIn 300x250 display ad
• Incorporates member’s image, thumbnail and copy
• Served only on desktop which results in higher
landing page conversion rates than typical display
Personalize your creative to resonate with buyers

37. Dynamic Ads
LinkedIn Dynamic Content
• Ability to add a custom background image is
available
• Coming changes in H2
• CPC bidding
• Deliver on LinkedIn mobile app
• Purchase on Self-Serve
Product Updates
#LinkedInEDU

38. LinkedIn Text Ads
38
Generate quality leads with an easy, self-serve solution • Bid on CPC
• Available on self serve and IO
• Served only on desktop
• Thumbnail image and copy
• Average CTR = .02%
#LinkedInEDU

39. 39
Leverage LinkedIn’s first-party member data
• Years of work experience
• Undergrad senior
• Career Changers
• Job Searchers
Target by Member Persona
Company Industry
Size
Name
Gender
Education
Level
Geo
Groups
Standardized
job titles
SeniorityFunction
Occupation
Skills
Skills
Best-in-class prospect data in the EDU space
#LinkedInEDU

40. Matched Audiences
Recently Released
Better engage the audiences that
matter most through:
Website Retargeting, Contact
Targeting, and Account Targeting
#LinkedInEDU

41. LinkedIn Audience
Network
Upcoming release
Scale reach through Microsoft &
industry-trusted partners
Launch in June
#LinkedInEDU

42. Education marketing is all about quality,
not quantity
42
Use first-party data to validate every impression, click, and conversion
#LinkedInEDU

43. 43
Address your KPIs and measure what matters
Measure quality, not quantity
Measure and track beyond CPC
Evaluate your marketing-impacted pipeline
Go beyond leads delivered
Track marketing-impacted revenue
Determine quality of conversions
Things to consider:
#LinkedInEDU

44. 4444
• Leverage 4 Pieces of content for Sponsored Content at one time
• Create concise messaging with bullet points, short paragraphs for InMail
• Use a multi product approach to drive higher engagement
• Lean on seniority and years of experience while avoiding age and gender
targeting
• Focus and optimize towards the right metrics
Best Practices
#LinkedInEDU

45. Q&A
45

46. To learn more about how you can market your
programs to quality prospects on LinkedIn, visit
lnkd.in/highered
46