 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Your Higher Education Marketing Newsletter
8 February 2006
The first weeks of 2006 have moved rapidly on by... best wishes to the many of you who are beginning to compare enrollment deposits this year with last... an early scan says that applications for new freshmen are up more than deposits, but it is still early in another very competitive season.
You no doubt noticed the change in the logo at the heading of this newsletter. “Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC” became a live entity as of January 1 but there will not be any change in the frequency or format of “Your Higher Education Marketing Newsletter.” You’ll continue to receive the same eclectic gathering of marketing news and notes each month. You can use bob@bobjohnsonconsulting.com to stay in touch by email.
I’ll continue working with my colleagues at Creative Communication Associates while expanding connections with long-time friends at the Aslanian Group, mStoner, and TargetX. And I’ll also work directly with colleges and universities to help solve special marketing challenges.
Most colleges have not yet taken the important step of introducing student blogs into their student recruitment communication plan. If you think blogs are a good idea but are having trouble convincing others, register for the Academic Impressions web seminar that I will present this Thursday with Alex Brown. Bring as many skeptics as you can. Click here for details.
If you want to explore in depth the magic that a cursor and a web writer might bring to your website, participate in my CASE web seminar on Writing for the Web on February 16. Details are at web.case.org/onlinespeaker/webwriting/default.cfm
Absolutely Great Brand Definition
Colleges with strong brands can claim a distinctive position in higher education that few if any others can claim. For a fine example, go to chicagolife.uchicago.edu/academic and note how the University of Chicago describes “academic life” at a university “full of people genuinely interested in learning” in “A User’s Guide for Students.”
Students Review Colleges
If you want to know what people are saying about you on the Internet, then check out the StudentsReview.com website. You can search schools by state, type of institution, distance from major cities and much more. As you’d expect, numbers of ratings by students and alumni vary greatly from place to place. Visitors can compare one school with another and save the results of the search.
Rankings groups include Top Engineering Schools, Most Beautiful Campus, and Best Social Life.
Go to www.studentsreview.com for all the above and more.
Top Search Engine Stories in 2005
If you want to practice complete immersion to jump start your SEO expertise for 2006, then you don’t want to miss the links to a wide range of articles assembled at clickz.com/experts/search/opt/article.php/3576406 by Danny Sullivan in “2005 in Review: The Top Search Industry Stories of the Year.”
Be warned that this is likely a record for the largest number of links in a single article. But you can quickly scan the 15 subheads for topics of highest interest. My favorites were “Search Gets Personalized” and “Google Doing Too Much?”
Strong Admissions Page at Stonehill College
Visit www.stonehill.edu/admissions/index.htm to review a strong use of web writing techniques that’s better than what’s found on most admissions first pages. Note first the ability to scan subheads, followed by short text paragraphs that link to further info if the reader is interested. The link to available majors is easy to see. And for those with a high level of interest in a particular program, you can even move from this page to course descriptions.
Best of all from a marketing perspective are the prominent links to outcomes information that emphasized graduate and professional school placements and continues to individual student stories. Information on outcomes remains a highly missing ingredient on too many admissions sites and often when it is available it isn’t easy to find.
Men and Women and the Internet... a New Report
Pay attention to the report released December 28 by the Pew Internet folks, “How Men and Women Use the Internet.” You’ll find a detailed text summary at www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/171/report_display.asp and you can download the entire report in PDF format.
Overall use rates among men and women are pretty comparable today but important differences exist in how the Internet is used. Men are more likely to dig deep for quantities of information and women are more likely to be Internet communicators. A careful reading will give you the basis to modify your Internet communication plans based on the gender and age of your audiences.
Men are more likely to be heavy users of search engines. That’s another compelling reason to pay attention to what happens when people use the search engine on your website. Remember, more and more people today will go direct to your search feature rather than puzzle out your navigation path.
For a summary of the report that includes easy to scan demographic charts, visit www.clickz.com/stats/sectors/traffic_patterns/article.php/3574176
Best Email Contest for 2006
Do you have an email marketing campaign that deserves recognition?
Visit emailawards.marketingsherpa.com for the details of MarketingSherpa’s current call for entries. You’ll find 12 categories that illustrate the complex nature of successful email marketing and you can enter in one or all of them.
My favorite just might be “Best welcome letter to new subscribers,’” a category where colleges and universities do not do well when they respond to online inquiries from prospective students. Check yours now. Does it address the new inquiry by name? Does it include the name of a real person at the end? Does it link back to more information on your website that a new inquiry wants to know more about? Does it thank the person for making the inquiry?
Visit the contest and see which of the other 11 categories might spark your imagination in 2006.
Ask a Parent at McDaniel College
Isn’t it amazing how little most colleges and universities are paying attention to Millennial Generation parents in their recruitment communication plans?
McDaniel College is one of the few that makes a serious effort to use the power of interactive online communications to engage and involve parents during the recruitment process. At www.mcdaniel.edu/122_276.htm you’ll find a list of eight parent contacts under an “Ask a Parent” heading.
To help people select whom to contact, information includes the name, graduation year, and major of the four sons and four daughters of these parents. In six cases, extra curricular activities are also listed.
This is a well-done feature. Think about adding something similar to your website in 2006.
Tips to Create Landing Pages that Work
Search engine advertising works. And so it is becoming more competitive and more expensive in 2006. That’s why it is more critical than ever to develop special landing pages that convert a quick peek into a lasting connection. Without that, you're wasting your ad money.
The modest $5 required to view the six landing page test lessons at marketingsherpa.com is well worth the cost. The A/B tests are from a campaign for home mortgages but I will be very surprised if you can’t adopt some of these for your own campaigns.
You can still add a new year’s resolution: create more special landing pages on your website and watch more people take the desired action when they click through your ads and search email.
Killer Content and Filler Content
That’s the theme of Gerry McGovern’s column at www.gerrymcgovern.com/nt/2006/nt-2006-02-06-content-value.htm that asks “Is your content a waste of time and money?”
Gerry’s message is that pages that are not read detract from pages that might be read. Do you know, for instance, how many pages on your website are seldom if ever visited by anyone?
That might indeed be an interesting task for an integrated marketing team to undertake. Just how much is the marketing impact of your website being held back by large volumes of information that hide what your most important visitors want to find?
Admissions Stories from Top MBA Schools
Visit the Clear Admit MBA Admissions Wiki at clearadmit.jot.com/WikiHome to read what people think about their admissions interviews, campus visits, and more at MIT, Cornell, Yale, Harvard, Duke and others.
Future students recount their experiences on the quest for a prestigious MBA.
Not only is this an excellent site for aspiring MBA students to share and compare details of the admissions process, it also seems a fine place for those with a bent for competitive research.
Visit often if MBA admission is of interest. So far in February, 15 new entries have appeared.
For Better Direct Mail Response Rates
Do you want higher response rates for direct mail? In the electronic age, well-crafted direct mail is far from dead but it does require continued attention to successful techniques to achieve a reasonable return on investment.
Go to www.marketingprofs.com/6/attwood1.asp for “Four Ways to Raise Direct Mail Response Rates” by Tony Attwood. The advice includes “Ask and Answer an Interesting Question” and the always necessary prompt to pay more attention to benefits that features.
Not Many Students Pass Advance Placement
USA Today at www.usatoday.com/news/education/2006-02-07-advanced-placement_x.htm reports on advance placement testing between 2000 and 2005, noting that the percent of students “passing” with a “3” or higher continues to grow. State by state pass rates are provided.
Of course, growing success is a relative thing. In New York, the state with the highest success, 22.8 percent of students achieve a “3” or higher. Only Maryland and Utah join New York with pass rates above 20 percent. Visit www.collegeboard.com/press/article/0,,50291,00.html for the full “AP Report to the Nation” from the College Board.
Tell Tom or Ray about Your Worst Marketing Mistakes
Roy Adler at Pepperdine University and Tom Hayes at Xavier University are working on a book featuring the worst marketing mistakes in higher education that people are willing to share with them. Anonymity is guaranteed. Really.
If you have a tale to share, send it to Roy at radler@pepperdine.edu or Tom at hayes@xu.edu.
My Upcoming Presentations in 2006
Plan now to attend an upcoming event. Share questions and answers with people like yourself who are building a competitive edge in enrollment or advancement marketing. Looking forward to meeting you soon!
February 9, Web Conference: Academic Impressions, “Integrating Blogs into Student Recruitment.” Content and registration information at academicimpressions.com/web_conferences/0206_blogs_recruitment.php
February 16, Online Seminar: CASE, “Writing for the Web.” Program details at web.case.org/onlinespeaker/webwriting/default.cfm
February 22, Mizzou: University of Missouri-Columbia: “Writing for the Web” on campus.
March 7-9, Dallas, TX: Big 12 Development Conference. Presentations on “Constituency Development and the Web: Tips for Success in an Electronic World” and, with Brian Niles, “Practical eSolutions for Fundraising Enhancement,” with more information at www.bigxii.org/Tracks.htm
March 24, Washington, D.C.: EASFAA Graduate/Professional Symposium. Presentations are on “Writing for the Web” and “Top Websites Features for Scholarships and Financial Aid.” Symposium details are at www.easfaa.org/docs/toc_symposium.html
March 30, Las Vegas, NV: Target X Workshop on 100 Ways to Effectively Recruit Today’s Students. Program and registration information is at www.targetx.com/workshops/index.html
April 20-21, Denver, CO: CASE, Conference on Communications, Public Relations and Marketing on the Net. Register at www.case.org/conferences/internetsplash/default.cfm
June 14-15, Kerhonksen, NY: SUNY CUAD, “Getting and Keeping Alumni Loyalty: 11 Tips for Success in an Electronic World” and “Writing for the Web.”
July 14, Washington, D.C.: Law School Admissions Council, workshop on recruiting and communicating with Millennials.
July 19-21, Chicago, IL: ACT Enrollment Planners Conference. Session details will come along later. Early information is at www.act.org/epc
Energize people on your campus with an on-site presentation. Select from the topics here or ask about creating a seminar especially for you. To start a marketing buzz on your campus, write to me at bob@bobjohnsonconsulting.com
That’s All for Now
Be a marketing champion on your campus.
Bob Johnson, Ph.D. (bob@bobjohnsonconsulting.com)
President and Senior Consultant
Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC
Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC
We stand outside your forest, review your marketing plans and communication materials, and recommend strategies to enhance your competitive strength. We specialize in short term, cost effective consulting assignments that jump start key ventures on your campus and identify barriers that might slow your progress.
Consulting services are offered directly to colleges and universities and together with the marketing experts at these partner firms.
Aslanian Group offers market research and enrollment management services to colleges and universities to increase their market share of adult students. Learn more at www.aslaniangroup.com
Creative Communication Associates is a 22-year leader in the design and implementation of marketing communication strategies for colleges and universities. Learn more about CCA at www.ccanewyork.com
mStoner helps colleges and universities with Internet strategies and website development to meet changing audience expectations, technologies, market pressures, and institutional positioning. For the details, visit www.mstoner.com
TargetX brings the power of the Internet to recruit students and communicate with alumni through higher education’s only integrated suite of online tools. Explore what’s possible at www.targetx.com
Newsletter Archive
19 December 2006
29 November 2006
1 November 2006
26 September 2006
29 August 2006
25 July 2006
28 June 2006
24 May 2006
26 April 2006
28 March 2006
28 February 2006
8 February 2006