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Insights from the Higher Ed Experts

BY Anthony Campisi | June 11th, 2019

Pattern matching: The 10 most important marketing and recruiting insights derived from working across 120 graduate business programs

The 10 Most Important Marketing and Recruiting InsightsEighteen years and more than 120 different graduate business programs.

Do we have your attention?

Our first-hand experiences have unearthed a treasure of insights. And, here’s a unique opportunity for you to take a peek inside. Join Graduate Program Recruitment Solutions (GPRS) President of University Partnerships, Anthony Campisi, at the 2019 GMAC Annual Conference as he gives you a rare look at how to enable your graduate programs to thrive, even during challenging times.

From June 19-21 in Denver, CO, hundreds of industry professionals will converge to share ideas, trends and best practices at the Graduate Management Admissions Council’s 2019 Annual Conference. Complete your stay in the mile-high city with Anthony on Friday, June 21st, from 8:30am – 9:45am, as he presents insights developed working with top graduate programs.

Session Title:

Pattern Matching: The 10 Most Important Marketing and Recruiting Insights Derived from Working across 120 Graduate Business Programs

Session Description:

In this session you will have the unique opportunity to explore the top 10 marketing and recruiting trends that have led to enrollment success across more than 120 different graduate business programs, including MBA, EMBA, Working Professionals, Specialty Masters and Online programs.

Patterns that have emerged time and time again, leading to increased program inquiries, diversification in applicant pool and higher matriculation yield rates.

You will learn:

• What type of content encourages more women to apply to graduate programs
• How many form fields is the sweet spot for an information request form
• You may be closer to an enrollment with your older leads than you are with your newer ones
• To tone down your “calls to action”
• The truth about which geographies online programs are most successful in
• Who your biggest competitor is – spoiler alert – it’s none of the schools you think!

Expect to leave this session with insights that will exponentially increase your market penetration.

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Insights from the Higher Ed Experts

BY Anthony Campisi | May 14th, 2019

Recruiting: The middle of the funnel – who’s responsible?

Recruiting middle of the funnel tug of warIf you’re in B-school admissions or marketing, you’re familiar with the common push-pull of who’s responsible for filling your next class.

Hey, we’re all on the same team, right? Then why does it sometimes feel divisive when it’s time to assign accountability for a waning class size, or take credit for an overflowing classroom on day 1? Let’s talk about where the most important action happens – the middle of the funnel.

Admissions Team

You’ve collaborated with marketing on a strategy to bring leads into the top of the funnel. You’ve stated your goals, approved a plan, and you’re gaining traction. Your pool of leads may be growing and your admissions events have attendees. You’re ready for them to apply – NOW! After all, they showed up, called you or filled out a form – they must be interested right? Here’s where the questions begin:

  • If we spent money to bring them in and they’re not applying, are they the right leads?
  • Did marketing lead us astray on strategy? Should they be doing more emails/advertising/InMails/billboards/radio? (Fear not, marketing folk, we’ll get to you.)
  • Is our database stale?
  • Is the competition eating our lunch?

All of these things (and more) are possible, however, consider asking these questions about your prospects, instead:

  • What barriers do they have and how can I address them?
  • How could I get them to interact with my school, either on-campus or online?
  • Could I connect with them (beyond email) in a meaningful way?
  • Could I collaborate with my team or my agency to develop a calling campaign, email campaign, mailing or webinar series to engage those that have been stagnant?
  • Is there any content I could share with them that would be interesting and compelling, i.e. video or a professor’s recent book?

The goal here is to focus less on “what went wrong” prematurely and more on how you can help your prospects make a decision. With a different approach, you may be surprised at how much action you can spur, pulling them through the murky waters of the middle funnel and down to the bottom where you’re ready for them.

Marketing Team

You’ve done your job. You’ve developed a marketing strategy, your advertising is filling admissions events, you’re tracking activity on your dashboard, and you’re seeing an uptick in YOY leads. So why are applications down? Here’s where the questions begin:

  • How is admissions following up with the leads I generated for them?
  • What is happening at admissions events if no one is applying?
  • Do I need to ask for more advertising budget?
  • What is the competition doing that we’re not?

All of these things (and more) are valid, however, consider asking these questions about your prospects, instead:

  • What barriers do they have and how can I address them?
  • How could I get them to interact with my school, either on-campus or online?
  • Could I connect with them (beyond email) in a meaningful way?
  • Could I collaborate with my team or my agency to develop a calling campaign, email campaign, mailing or webinar series to engage those that have been stagnant?
  • Is there any content I could share with them that would be interesting and compelling, i.e. video or a professor’s recent book?

So, you see, the second set of questions is the same for both teams, implying the need for a paradigm shift in how you think about the middle funnel. If you can collaborate and share the responsibility, you can also share the victory.

Find out more about how to engage prospects in the middle of the funnel with digital marketing or contact center solutions. Contact GPRS.

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Insights from the Higher Ed Experts

BY Anthony Campisi | April 30th, 2019

How long does it take for a prospective student to choose to enroll in a graduate program?

Lead Cycle Time for Prospective Student to EnrollIt’s been a year, or two, or 5. Are they still considering continuing their education, did they already complete another program or did they give up the dream?

For some graduate programs, there is fixed window for decisions, while others have a longer lifecycle. Let’s examine typical cycle time from shortest to longest.

1-Year Masters (After Undergrad)

You probably have a year (or 2 max) to catch these students’ attention. They are either super-motivated juniors who are planning their future or exasperated seniors who need to bolster their undergraduate degree to launch a career. If they’ve been in your funnel for over 2 years, it’s worth an email to ask if they’d still like to hear from you.

MBA

Typical lead cycle time for an MBA is 2-3 years. Often, these early career professionals realize after graduating and working for a couple years, that: 1) they don’t like their career choice and need to shift, or 2) they need a broader perspective to move into a leadership role. From this point, it could take a couple of years to prep for an admissions test, find a school and determine the right timing. They have more life decisions at play than a graduating senior, but less than a senior executive. Once they’ve signed up to take a GMAT, you likely have less than 2 years because they will be hit by every school in the country that purchases names of test takers.

EMBA/Global EMBA

Working professionals and aspiring executives who are considering an Executive MBA could be in your funnel up to 5, maybe even 7 years. There are some who know that they want to continue their education, and they want you to keep reminding them (which is why they signed up in the first place and haven’t opted out). There are some that are struggling with barriers like career trajectory, family and personal issues. And for global programs where travel is required, it can be even more difficult to work themselves into a work situation where a boss will give them the time off to pursue a degree. And then there are those who are lifelong learners who may actually be getting another degree in the meantime (yes, this happens). Give them the time they need to make the decision and do all you can to address their concerns. Even though they may seem distant, it’s possible that your messages are getting through and they’ll act when they hear the right one.

Executive Education (Ongoing)

Early-, mid- or late-career professionals and executives either need to fill a knowledge gap right away, or they are pursuing continuing education which means they are always ripe for picking a new program if your offerings coincide with their needs. For this audience, recency and relevance is key because when they’re ready to move, you need to be top of mind.

Online

Prospective students of all career levels that are considering an online education fall in 2 camps. They either need a degree right away to get them to the next level, or they have time to decide and they are banking on ultimate flexibility. While proliferation of online degree programs is up and other free online education options are widely available, give these prospects the most leeway so you don’t lose them.

Find out more about how to engage prospects at different stages of the decision-making process. Contact GPRS.

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Insights from the Higher Ed Experts

BY Anthony Campisi | April 17th, 2019

Conversion Challenges: Do you have the right people in your funnel?

Let’s examine your leads, prospects and future students.

Top of the Funnel = Leads

Do you have the right people in your funnel?Depending on who you talk to — marketing, admissions, administrators, faculty — these may be the most important people in your funnel and the ones that deserve the highest dollar investment. If your leads are qualified, engaged and ripe for the opportunity at hand (your degree program), they will be much more likely to turn into prospects and seated students. Sounds obvious, right? Then why are there so many temptations to shortcut the lead generation process?

If you’ve ever purchased a list and then watched your email campaign bounce rates triple, or tried to “cast a wide net” with a digital advertising deal that seemed too good to be true, you’ve fallen prey to marketing advice that leaves you with fewer dollars and lots of time wasted. A laser-focused digital strategy that utilizes multiple platforms, compelling ad creative and targeted media may seem insurmountable with your time and budget constraints, but in the long run it can pay off. In fact, 500 quality leads will serve you better than 10,000 expired email addresses you’ve obtained with antiquated mass marketing tactics. And you’ll see the fruits of your labor as your leads convert into the middle of the funnel.

Middle of the Funnel = Prospects

This is where leads turn into real prospects — if the strategic lead generation strategy you implemented at the top of the funnel worked. The middle of the funnel is where the churn begins. Prospects are beginning to ask themselves questions like: Is it time to go back to school? Should I continue to work while I earn my degree? Is an in-person, online or hybrid program right for me? What can I afford? And this is also where you step in to answer those questions.

A targeted email communications flow to address barriers can speak to their concerns. A video or other media on your website can help them decide which program is right for them. A personal outreach or an invitation to an event from the admissions staff or call center can set their minds at ease. If you’re making these efforts at engaging them and you’ve spent the time and money to make sure they’re qualified, you’ll find that the transition from lead to prospect is much smoother.

Bottom of the Funnel = Future Students

As your prospects continue the decision making process, your team’s efforts are pivotal in converting them. It does seem however that it is much easier to convert the right candidate than someone who was never right to begin with — even if they appear ideal on paper. See, the way that prospects appear on paper is very different from their current mindsets. They are more than just numbers, demographics and job titles. They are complex people with real lives, families, circumstances and ambitions. When you market to them, it is imperative to meet them on their journeys — where they are both physically and mentally.

If you focus your efforts early on, you can better connect with the right people at the right time — which is where the magic happens. Once they make it to this point in the funnel, they’ve already been qualified by a fantastic marketing strategy and are ready to be pulled through the funnel by admissions. And congratulations, you’re on your way to filling your next class.

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Insights from the Higher Ed Experts

BY Anthony Campisi | April 3rd, 2019

Your prospects have stopped engaging. Now what?

Letters spelling adaptIt’s crunch time. You’re finishing your final round of admissions events for the year. Your class is starting to round itself out, but you’ve still got those final seats to fill. You’re looking at each and every lead in your funnel, trying to predict which ones will take action.

If you’re like many schools, you’ve got a group of stagnant leads that you’re wondering about. Did they decide to pursue another program/school/path and forgot to let you know? Or is it possible that they may emerge from the black hole of grad school prospects and raise their hands, magically giving you that last push across the finish line of filling your class.

Stagnant leads are tricky for many reasons. Here are a few ideas on what to do with them.

Consider the decision timeline for your program

Some programs like MAcc or MSF, have an immediate decision cycle because students are coming straight out of undergrad. If you haven’t heard from them after a year, it may be time to purge them. With an MBA, the prospects could take up to 1-2 years as they are early in their careers and trying to figure out how to move up or switch directions. For an executive program such as an EMBA, it’s important to give prospects the time they need for their decision because they are weighing (already successful) careers and families to find the right time to weave school into their busy lives. Of course, you want to be sure that your messages aren’t falling on deaf ears, but giving them the time they need, even if it’s up to 5 years, may be necessary.

Audit your current communications mix

Within your current channels, is your messaging getting tired? It may be time to try something new. If an audit of your ads/emails/social/etc. reveals low response rates, get creative with your content. Are you only promoting events? Try some value added content like infographics or videos. Are you tirelessly pushing for applications, with no submissions? Try hosting an informal webinar. Other enticing information can be high profile alumni profiles or student stories. If you’ve tried these things to no avail, it may be time to develop or evolve your digital strategy.

Cater to your target and their communications preferences

You’ve heard the buzzwords surrounding multi-generational workforces. Catering your messaging to prospects with different mindsets – even if you’re inviting them to the same event – can work to your advantage. Here are a few ideas on communicating to different generations:

  • Boomers – prefer face-to-face interaction but also like a balance of voicemail and email
  • GenX – prefer succinct email, but since they strive for work-life balance, prefer business communications during working hours
  • Millennials – prefer all forms of online communication, but need prompt feedback

Of course, these are broad generalizations. If you’re having trouble connecting with a particular age group, do some research on their communication preferences.

Vary your calls to action

Get creative. If you’re seeing some engagement, i.e. they opened the email but didn’t click, consider what you’re asking them to do. Is it too tall of an order to request that they start an application in an email if they haven’t attended an event yet? Is it possible that something is holding them back from attending an event and perhaps they’d like to connect on the phone first? Try being flexible and varying your calls to action and see what happens.

Ask them if they’d like to opt out

“No way!” may be what you’re thinking. But consider this…how many emails do you get in your inbox per day? How many online ads or social media posts do you see per day? People are overloaded. Couldn’t everyone benefit from a little less noise? A short email to prospects who’ve been stagnant may actually spur the action you want as they say, “I’ve been watching from the sidelines for too long and now it’s time for me to act!”

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Insights from the Higher Ed Experts

BY Alicia Lyons | March 29th, 2019

Awareness Ads vs. Remarketing Ads: What’s Missing from Your Online Campaigns?

At GPRS we employ a full funnel approach. You may be comfortable with search and display ads, but how experienced are you with awareness and remarketing campaigns? Without them, there’s a very good chance you’re missing out on critical leads.

Awareness Campaigns

Ad awareness on computer, tablet and phoneAn awareness campaign lives at the very top of the funnel. They are the simplest campaigns to deploy. A potential lead has never heard of your program. They may be considering going back to school to further their career but don’t know yet which college they’d like to attend. They may be researching through Google when they come across your awareness ad.

An awareness ad is directed at a large audience, often using broad keywords in order to cast a wide net for potential leads. These ads take a much softer approach to sales than remarketing ads, which many times encourage prospective students to “Apply Now!” or push them with an admissions deadline. In an awareness campaign, you might choose to highlight that you are a top-ranked university with the kind of program that would interest them. They may not be familiar with your school, or the options you provide, but a well-written awareness ad could entice them to explore further and request information – or a contact.

An awareness ad can be a search, display, or social media ad. A search ad should include general information about your school and the degree program. You can peak their interest with words like – “No GMAT” or “Fixed Tuition”. You could try highlighting degree length or overall ROI. Display ads should include welcoming or interesting images that will catch the browser’s eye. The Call to Action (CTA) is usually a term such as “Learn More” and will lead to the homepage of your degree program’s website. This way candidates are given the opportunity to educate themselves on your programs.

Things to remember when creating an awareness campaign:

  • Don’t overcrowd ads with information but use brief enticing headlines
  • To optimize your budget, work on your geo-targeting and audience demographics
  • Employ an omni-channel campaign incorporating all of the marketing platforms including Google Ads, social media, your website, and SEO

Most leads will not convert with an awareness campaign alone, but it is a critical step in filling the funnel for the long term. And a foundation for remarketing campaigns to activate.

Remarketing Campaigns

There may be times when you’re browsing Facebook and you suddenly start to see ads from a website that you have visited in the past. This is an example of a remarketing campaign. A remarketing campaign is aimed at a much narrower audience. These individuals have already visited your website but haven’t yet converted.

A remarketing campaign typically has a much stronger sell. You can encourage prospects to apply by stressing your admissions deadline, advertising an upcoming event, or encouraging them to contact an admissions counselor. Remarketing campaigns can have a CTA of “Apply Now!”, “Download our Brochure”, or “Contact Admissions”.

Things to remember about remarketing campaigns:

  • Start remarketing with your top performing ads
  • Back up your results by tracking your campaigns
  • Choose the optimal frequency cap to not over saturate your audience

Great marketing plans start with a solid awareness strategy to capture the top of the funnel audience, followed by a strong remarketing campaign strategy to nurture those leads into conversions. Remember the audience that is being retargeted has already been imprinted with your brand, and has shown a level of interest – now you have a foundation from which to build on.

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Insights from the Higher Ed Experts

BY Alicia Lyons | February 28th, 2019

LinkedIn InMail:  Hyper-Targeting Prospects for Enrollment

Computer with LinkedIn website on screen

How LinkedIn Can Benefit Your Recruiting ROI

LinkedIn is a platform often overlooked by most schools, as they prefer to lean towards SEM or Facebook, but LinkedIn can be a viable and essential medium for marketing graduate programs. LinkedIn is a networking platform that targets working professionals. It is also the number one platform for B2B marketing.

 

Statistics show that
  • 61 million LinkedIn users are senior level influencers
  • 40 million are in decision-making positions
  • 44% of LinkedIn users earn more than $75,000 a year

 

Sound familiar? This audience demographic is precisely the target market for graduate programs. Some of the benefits of targeting this demographic through LinkedIn are:

  • The majority of users interact with LinkedIn while at work. Also, some employers will contribute to on-going graduate education. Therefore if your prospective student sees your message while at work, this may spark an exploration or conversation with their employer about professional development.
  • Users on LinkedIn are looking to increase their skill sets and worth in their employer’s eyes. A majority are also looking for new career opportunities.
  • LinkedIn users treat the platform as a social network, following thought leaders, consuming content and forming personal/professional connections.

 

LinkedIn offers two forms of paid advertising:
  • Sponsored Content which is much like Facebook’s boosted posts. They are images, ads, and blog content that will appear on the users’ news feeds.
  • Sponsored InMails are specific to LinkedIn. InMails are messages that include the member’s name that will appear in the user’s LinkedIn messages. They are a personalized form of both awareness and remarketing ads.

 

How does InMail work?

InMail is simple and effective and works much like an email campaign. First, determine your budget and audience demographics. InMail can be pricey, so it is important to target well and develop compelling messaging.  Audience demographics should be determined by location, education, and career background.  Messaging needs to include a clear call to action and should be personalized.

How to write a good InMail

Write a brief but pointed message — 3 paragraphs of no more than 100 words each. Introduce yourself, why you are writing to them, what you are offering, the benefits to them, and why they should contact you. The message will be sent to a user’s inbox. The message will only be sent to users that are currently active on the platform, and there are strict frequency caps (a user can only receive an InMail every 45 days from any organization, not just yours specifically) to ensure that users don’t get inundated.

How does InMail generate leads?

InMails employ a combination of awareness and remarketing tactics. When a school introduces their program through an InMail, they are starting the awareness process. This tactic is at the top of the marketing funnel. These users are just becoming familiar with your programs. However, within that same InMail, the school can start encouraging the user to connect by advertising upcoming events, admissions deadlines, and calls for more information. Therefore, through one message a School has the opportunity to appeal to multiple points in the decision making/funnel process.

Beginning a Dialogue: When Leads Become Conversations

Engagement is much higher with InMail campaigns. The average open rate for most of our clients is 94%. A well written InMail with a solid CTA and a sense of urgency can quickly turn into a conversation or a request for more information on the program.

 

For more information on social marketing for graduate programs or other topics discussed in this article, please visit our blog.

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Insights from the Higher Ed Experts

BY Alicia Lyons | February 22nd, 2019

Know Your Audience – Graduate Program Audience Personas

In order to develop a marketing plan with impact, you must first determine who your prospective student should be. In order to do this you must ask yourself three questions:

  • Who are we?
  • What makes us stand out?
  • What individual would benefit the most from our program?

Who are we?

This may seem like a simple question, but you need to be specific if you are going to determine the types of prospective students that you want to attract. How large is your program? What tracks do you specialize in? Where is your program located? These are just a few questions that you could ask yourself. Try to keep it concise, yet targeted.

What makes us stand out?

What makes your program different than the others? Do you have professional mentoring, affordable tuition, or an international immersion experience? What values do you look for in candidates and what culture are you looking to foster? Why should a prospective student attend your program?

Who would benefit the most?

The best way to tackle this question is with audience personas. An audience persona is a semi-fictional representation of the prospective student that you are looking to attract to your program. You can shape your perfect student. Then Graduate Program Recruitment Solutions (GPRS) can get them through your door.

How to Create the Perfect Audience Persona

Ask the right questions:

  • What are their demographics? Gender, Age, Location.
  • What are their motivators?
  • What industries are they working in?
  • Where are they in their career trajectory?
  • What are their career aspirations?
  • What does your student enjoy? What are their interests? What are their hobbies?

These are just a few questions that you can ask as you create the perfect graduate student profile.

Create a Great Profile

Start to put this information together and create a hypothetical dossier for that student. Maybe include a photo or and sample student ID to add some realism.

Tips

  • If you need inspiration, look at some of your current students and alumni. What do they have in common? What patterns can you spot?
  • Try to keep them grounded in reality. Personas should reflect the best student opportunities for your program.
  • Don’t spend a great deal of time putting together the aesthetics of the report, it’s the information that counts.
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Insights from the Higher Ed Experts

BY Anthony Campisi | January 30th, 2019

How EMBA Prospects Choose Their Future Programs

The decision-making process for a prospect to enroll in an Executive MBA program is painfully long. Statistics show that this process can take up to two years. So what can you do to speed up the process? Develop — and implement —  a pull-through digital enrollment marketing strategy.

Audience Targeting

Audience targeting is a key component of any successful marketing strategy, online or offline. Don’t throw a wide net; targeting will produce better results. Why? Because you will be delivering relevant content. If you bid on keywords that are too broad, you may be wasting your online advertising dollars. To promote a Healthcare EMBA program, for instance, both the keywords and the ad messaging must be specific. Otherwise, you may receive a great number of leads but not quality leads. Quality leads are more engaged in your EMBA program and, therefore, more likely to commit sooner.

Timing

Timing is everything. While you want your online ads to appear prior to your program deadlines, you also want prospects to see them at key stages in their decision-making process. Keep in mind that, although these two timelines may intersect at certain points, the overlap may be minimal. That’s why you should schedule ads throughout the calendar year, not just based on the academic calendar.

So what are some of the stages that prospects will go through on their path to enrolling? Here are a few common stages:

  1. Considering an EMBA
  2. Deciding what type of EMBA program
  3. Seeking information
  4. Applying
  5. Enrolling

Reasons Why a Prospect Stalls

Just because you get a prospect into the funnel, that doesn’t mean it will be smooth sailing. Bottlenecks can pop up anywhere:

  • Cost of the program
  • Concerns regarding work-life balance
  • Questioning ROI of EMBA degree

Offering Incentives

Your program positioning and digital marketing strategy must address and overcome these and other obstacles. You can kill two birds with one stone, so to speak, by offering incentives for early enrollment.

First, financial incentives will help to bring down the overall cost of an EMBA. Second, incentives can help shorten the decision-making process.

What kinds of incentives can you offer? That depends on your program’s pricing and operations budget. Some programs offer scholarships, waive application or GMAT fees (some programs waive the GMAT altogether), or pay for textbooks. Other programs offer incentives to specific groups, such as military veterans.

If you find that work-life balance is an issue for prospects, take a look at your program format. EMBA programs must be willing to rethink traditional models in order to appeal to professionals with limited bandwidth. Programs with flexible scheduling will have an advantage over those with rigid formats and may prompt commitments earlier in the decision-making process.

Your digital marketing strategy must demonstrate program ROI. How? Include testimonials on ROI from current students and alumni. If favorable, compare your tuition to that of other EMBA programs. Survey your alumni to find out how they moved up the career ladder (and how quickly) and how much their salaries increased post-graduation. Collect stats, and then use them to your advantage.

Digital enrollment marketing is more than just “setting and forgetting” a search engine marketing (SEM) campaign. Your strategy should be made up of many components: keyword optimization, banner and search ads, landing pages, search engine optimized (SEO) web content, social media advertising, retargeting campaigns and more. Your online campaign also should be consistent in visuals and messaging with offline marketing.

Don’t forget to monitor your campaigns. Tracking results will reveal which components worked best, and which fell flat. Then tweak your campaigns for optimal results.

A coordinated, consistent, ongoing marketing effort will produce the best results and, ultimately, shorten the prospect’s decision-making timeline.

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Insights from the Higher Ed Experts

BY Alicia Lyons | December 15th, 2018

3 Ways Consistent Marketing Can Save Your Graduate Program

Do you feel like you are constantly paying for digital marketing and garnering little results? Most programs are unsatisfied with their Return On Investment (ROI), but when they try to fix it, they don’t know where to start. What most programs don’t know is that it’s likely your marketing plan that’s to blame. But it isn’t the plan itself that’s the problem, it’s that you’re not following it consistently. The majority of marketing plans fail due to inconsistent posting, overextending platform use, and reactionary responses.

Stick to a Consistent Marketing Plan

At the beginning of each academic year (before the start of the semester) your team should create a marketing plan. The plan should be consistent and utilize a marketing and social media calendar. You should know what and when to post no later than a month in advance. Try to stay consistent.  This is key. Marketing efforts consisting of events, networking, newsletters, speaking engagements, and deadlines are considered targeted marketing and create a sense of immediacy that attracts leads and creates conversions. This doesn’t mean you should wait until the last minute to market them. As soon as an event is scheduled you should include it in your marketing plan.

Don’t Overextend Your Platform Use

Another trap most graduate programs fall into is overextending their platform use. Efforts pay-off when you use a level of constraint. It’s easy to want to post on all of the social media platforms. This heightens awareness, right? More platforms, more leads! If your marketing department cannot handle this workload or if you don’t have the content to support the plan this may end up hurting your program. Try to stick to one platform at a time and work your way up. Consider your audience personas and choose the platforms that best suit your prospective students. Also, remember these widely accepted rules:

Facebook = Awareness

LinkedIn = Connections

Twitter = Spreads the Word

Instagram = Is Hardly Ever For Over 25-Year-Olds

Don’t Fall into the Trap of Knee-Jerk Posting

The three pitfalls that can lead to reactionary posting are:

  • There are so many new inquiries, you no longer feel the need to market. A few weeks or months later, there is not a single prospective student in sight.
  • You are not receiving the ROI that you expected, so you utilize a knee-jerk response by randomly posting everywhere. Here, you lose the consistency that we spoke about before, and this leaves your audience confused or bombarded.
  • You didn’t plan accordingly for an upcoming event or deadline. At the last minute you post anywhere and everywhere to increase exposure.

Reactionary posting leads to marketing plans that are never executed. At the beginning of the year, you spent a great deal of time and effort formulating the perfect marketing plan. Why abandon it now?

Inconsistent marketing can confuse and frustrate your audience. It may leave them feeling unsettled and as a result they may find your program untrustworthy. A thoroughly planned and consistently executed marketing plan will result in more leads, more conversions, and more students.

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ABOUT GPRS

For over two decades, GPRS has been a trusted higher education marketing agency, offering custom solutions to institutions of all sizes and degree types. Admissions directors, marketing directors, deans, and presidents rely on GPRS to provide a depth of services, including strategy, lead generation, digital marketing, nurture communications, recruiting, and analytics.

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