Your Higher Education Marketing Newsletter… November 2013

As many of you read the November newsletter, I am still on my way to the J.Boye Web and Intranet conference in Aarhus, Denmark. Fine conference in a fine city. But it does take a fair while to get from Detroit to destination.

Next week I hope to meet many of you at the AMA Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education in Boston. More than 700 people are attending for a great line-up of keynote speakers, session topics, networking and more. I am especially looking forward to meeting the 35+ people who registered for my Digital Marketing Strategy tutorial on Sunday.

Whether or not you plan to be at the AMA meeting, follow the link below to the online version of the NYT Education Life supplement that is just out if you do not have the print version. This is the most interesting collection of articles this year.

On a personal note: Tom Hayes, founder of the higher education marketing symposium in 1989, has just announced his retirement from the SimpsonScarborough marketing firm he also helped launch. Read Tom’s reflections on his higher education marketing adventure in an interview atbit.ly/17ANm1v

When Tom first approached me about that 1989 meeting he told me it was because I was the only person in higher education he could find with a vice president of marketing title. How things have changed since then. And thanks to Tom I had the honor of chairing the AMA symposium for 10 years from the early 1990s. From 1989 until the present it has been the premier event for higher education marketers. 

Tom is not about to disappear. He will still be teaching at Xavier University and we will see him out and about on the speaking circuit. Good for us.

And now here are your marketing news and notes for November.
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Social Media: Top University Brands in the U.S.

The top three brands on Facebook over the past month: University of Phoenix, Harvard, and Full Sail University.

The top three on Twitter: Harvard, Full Sail University, Stanford University. 

If details like this are of interest, visit the SocialBakers website at www.socialbakers.com/ for monthly, weekly, and daily statistics under the Education category for each social media site. You can also check LinkedIn and YouTube and sort results by country.
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NY Times Education Life for November 3

When I opened the print version of the latest quarterly Education Life issue I was looking for an article to highlight in today’s newsletter. Unlike some previous issues, that was not easy to do.

Pretty much the entire issue covers changes underway in higher education, from basics like using parents to recruit at college admission events to reviews to strategy level coverage of the disruption underway in the traditional higher education delivery model. 

If you are a marketer thinking just a few years into the future, review what is available in the online version at nyti.ms/HAhLS6 
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Advertising Online: The Value of Retargeted Ads

From my personal experience, more and more colleges and universities are using retargeted ads. For those who might not know, that means chasing you around the web world after you make an initial visit to a higher education website.

To help your planning and set reasonable expectations, review the research that says 48 percent of people never notice the ads, but of those who do notice, many more (about 30 percent) like them then do not like them (about 11 percent.) I like those odds when compared with other forms of online advertising.

More on the results at bit.ly/HsHcVB 
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Tuition Decrease Success Story: University of the South

The marketing value of decreasing tuition rates has long been a topic of debate. Advocates and skeptics are easy to find. Judged by what schools are actually doing, the skeptics so far are winning the discussion.

If the impact of reduced tuition is a topic on your campus, in public or in secret, explore the results at University of the South since a 10 percent reduction two years ago: increases in both applications and yield rates.

The university has also frozen tuition for new freshmen for four years after they start.

For more on the pricing mix at University of the South or Sewanee visit bit.ly/GO8rZm 
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Social Media ROI: Using a PR-based Approach

How you can best measure the ROI of social media efforts is a popular topic where opinions, to say the least, vary. 

The “Marketing Equivalency” approach presented by Peter Friedman suggests using a PR-based system. Calculate the “reach” of your social media efforts and then compare the cost of that with the cost of paying to reach the same audiences in a communications campaign. The difference is your ROI.

Opinions will differ. The Friedman approach may work if “reach” or brand exposure is your goal. It will not work so well if leads and conversion to enrollment is your goal. Decide for yourself after you visit bit.ly/HsHcVB 
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Canadian University Rankings: The New Maclean’s Magazine Report

Ratings are in three categories: Primarily Undergraduate, Comprehensive, and Medical – Doctoral.

Most change this year is among Comprehensive universities, where Victoria University replaces Simon Fraser at the top. Scan the top 15 schools in each category and review the methodology when you visit bit.ly/180Uwqe 
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World University Rankings: Times Higher Education Report from the U.K.

If world university rankings are of interest, you do not want to miss this 2013-2014 report. Harvard wins for reputation while California Institute of Technology is rated first overall.

Sort the results by either 6 regions or 6 subject areas when you visit bit.ly/Hw9JJZ 
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Crafting a Better RFP Process: 8 Steps to Check and Improve

Reading an AdAge article last week reporting on why more advertising agencies were deciding to just toss RFPs without responding made me think about my own experiences over the past 10 to 12 years. 

Two special steps to get the best possible response from an agency: allow enough time to respond (at least four weeks) and state up front the amount you have to invest in the project so that agencies can control the scope of the response. 

More on those and 6 others in a new blog post at bit.ly/1hxwMBm 
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Google AdWord
s: 5 Tips for Tracking Conversions

If you are using Google AdWord advertising in your marketing mix then you want to read the update from Search Engine Land at selnd.com/1f8lsJC to help you survive what the author calls an “ever-more complex big data problem.”

My favorite: starting in November Google will count a phone call from a mobile device as a conversion. 
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Mobile Marketing: 6 Myths 

The first myth in this article from UX magazine: most mobile device use takes place outside the home. In reality, 60 percent of smartphones and 79 percent of tablet use is within the home.

Another key myth: you can survive by offering reducing functionality on a mobile device.

Read about these and other important mythology details at bit.ly/16bd7iJ 
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Most Popular Topic in October Newsletter: Find the Value of Your College or University

Use this website as the public might: to find how the value of an investment in education at your college is rated and to compare with competitors or everyone in your state. Factors include graduation rate, salaries, loan levels and default rates and much more at bit.ly/16kp34t 
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New Conferences Presentations in 2013

November 5-7, Arhus, Denmark: “Writing Right for the Web” tutorial and “A Need for Speed: Responsive Design in a Mobile World” at J.Boye Web and Intranet Conference. Details atbit.ly/12SKJ9a 

November 10-13, Boston: “Digital Marketing Strategy: Building Brand Strength and Enrollment” tutorial at AMA Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education at bit.ly/12yWzSt 

Plan a custom presentation on your campus. Host a workshop on any of my conference presentation topics. Contact me at bob@bobjohnsonconsulting.com or call me at 248.766.6425.

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