marketing to the niche

Marketing to the Niche

What is niche marketing?

• Small, highly specialized groups of prospects

• Combines geographic, demographic, and psychographic targeting

Why is it important

• More degrees and certificate programs

• More competition

• Limited marketing budget

• Greater opportunities for online marketing

Awareness

Interest

Engagement

Conversion

“Old Think” – The Marketing Funnel

The Old Way…

Focused on the University Brand

The New Way…

Focused on Program Differentiation

The End Game with Niche Marketing

• Fewer leads• Higher quality prospective

students• More likely to self-select• Each prospect is important

Build infrastructure before launch

• Web site• Landing pages • Inquiry form• CRM• Dedicated

phone number

JMH’s strategy creation process

Understand your program

Understand your

audience(s)

Map audience(s) onto

each platform

Allocate budget

Design campaign

s

Understand Your Program

What will I learn?

How can I apply it?

Why is this important?

Understand your audience(s)

Demographics• Age

• Gender

• Location

• Income Level

• Education Level

• Marital or family status

• Occupation/Sector

• Ethnic background

• Experience Level

Psychographics• Personality Traits

• Values

• Interests/Hobbies

• Lifestyles

• Behaviors

Age

Location

Occupation

Education Level

Interests

The Niche!

Understand your audience(s)

72% female, 22-45 years old

within 25 miles of Atlanta with an undergraduate

degree in education and

interest in math or science

Paid Search

Digital Display

Social Media

Print Radio/TVDirect Mail

TARGETING

Demographic

Behavioral/Affinity

Keyword/Content

REACH

National

Local/Regional

COST

Cost Per Click

Cost Per Thousand

Cost of Entry Low Low Low High High Depends

FLEXIBILITY

Lead times 1-2 weeks* 1-5 days 1 day 1-2 months2-4+

weeks2-3 weeks

TRACKABILITY

Easily trackable

Niche Targeting with 4 Key Channels

Paid Search

Digital Display

Facebook Ads

LinkedIn Ads

Simple campaign

Standard campaign

Niche targeted campaign

Targeting with paid search

Original campaign

Google campaign JMH campaign

# of AdGroups 1 10 14

Sample keyword

Sample ad

Click through

rate

Cost per inquiry

Original campaign

Google campaign JMH campaign

# of AdGroups 1 10 14

Sample keyword

careers in healthcare

+masters +healthcare

“executive masters in healthcare”

Sample ad

Healthcare LeadershipFocus on Healthcare for 16 months instead of an MBA or MPHwww.university.edu/exec

University MPH16-Month Executive Masters Program, Healthcare Leadership. Learn more!www.university.edu/public-Health

University – Executive MastersExecutive Masters in Healthcare. University Name. Learn more!University.edu/exec/healthcare

Click through

rate

Cost per inquiry

Original campaign

Google campaign JMH campaign

# of AdGroups 1 10 14

Sample keyword

careers in healthcare

+masters +healthcare

“executive masters in healthcare”

Sample ad

Healthcare LeadershipFocus on Healthcare for 16 months instead of an MBA or MPHwww.university.edu/exec

University MPH16-Month Executive Masters Program, Healthcare Leadership. Learn more!www.university.edu/public-Health

University – Executive MastersExecutive Masters in Healthcare. University Name. Learn more!University.edu/exec/healthcare

Click through

rate.17% .68% 1.48%

Cost per inquiry Baseline 87% higher 23% lower

Several months to reach optimization

Typical “Non-Niche” Mistakes in Paid Search

• Brand focused keywords

• Broad match keywords

• Internally focused language

• Too few ads

• Forgetting the competition

Paid Social & Display Marketing

Google Display Facebook LinkedIn

Location Age Gender Income level Education level Marital status Parental status Occupation/Industry

Seniority Job Title Interests Websites visited Groups/Affiliations

Skills

Typical “Non-Niche” Mistakes in Paid Social

• Internally focused language

• Not exploring interest areas

• Non-customized ads

• Not “refreshing ads”

Capture Your Leads

Image courtesy of Unbounce

Conversion Landing Page

• Stand-alone page

• Can’t access from main website

• Guides visitors to your goal

Why do I need a landing page?

• Clarify the next step• Focus on prospect’s

needs• Control the

conversation• Capture important

information

Landing Page 101

• Define your offer

• Craft a call-to-action

• Short inquiry form

• Compelling Headline

• Persuasive Copy

• Clear branding

• Trust marks

Niche Marketing & Landing Pages

• Speak to

different

audiences

• Include different

CTAs

• Increase ROI on

marketing

dollars

Tracking & Results

Tracking Media Performance

Use tracking URLs to identify where inquiries originate

Tracking Media Performance

3. Compare inquiry generation and cost per inquiry across channels to aid in determining effectives.

Clicks

CTRInquiri

esConv Rate

CPC CostCost-per-Inquiry

Bing Paid Search

2252 0.82% 1044.62

%$3.1

8$7,153.41 $68.78

Facebook 1465 0.02% 120.82

%$1.1

0$1,606.68 $133.89

Google Display

6364 0.10% 711.12

%$1.0

3$6,525.75 $91.91

Google Paid Search

4516 3.56% 3858.53

%$4.1

8$18,892.8

3$49.07

LinkedIn 1664 0.04% 1448.65

%$2.0

7$3,443.83 $23.92

Grand Total 16261

0.09% 8155.01

%$2.3

1$37,622.5

0$46.16

JMH’s strategy creation process

Understand your program

Understand your

audience(s)

Map audience(s) onto

each platform

Allocate budget

Design campaign

s

JMH Consulting

Higher Education firm

Online marketing

Recruitment & Retention

Non-credit certificates

Thank you!

Jon Hornjhorn@jmhconsulting.com

Nicole Foerschler Hornnfoerschler@jmhconsulting.com