personalization on higher education websites – the new competitive advantage
TRANSCRIPT
Personalization on Higher Ed Websites
March 7, 2017
The New Competitive Advantage
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• 50 minute webinar + 15 minutes for questions and answers • Ask questions through the Zoom Control Panel • Tweet during the webinar with #mStonerNow • Please fill out the post-webinar evaluation • Check your inbox later this week for the webinar recording and slide deck
The Plan
Piero Tintori CEO and Founder, TERMINALFOUR
@pierotintori
Greg Zguta Technical Lead, mStoner
@gzguta
Personalization…foran Amazon voucherplease.
The Question:
What percentage of Amazon.com’s revenue is generated
by its recommendation engine?
The Answer:
35% of revenue generated by personalized recommendations.
Source: http://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/how-retailers-can-keep-up-with-consumers
Agenda1. Personalization Overview
2. Examples for Higher Ed
3. Prerequisites
4. Planning Steps
5. Questions
Overview
Web personalization results in the delivery of relevant and tailored content and navigation to meet the unique
needs of specific individuals or audience segments based on their demographics, behaviors, and actions.
PERSONALIZATION
Vincent O’Malley, TERMINALFOUR
“What do I do to stop my rage, when everyone wants to be on the homepage? There’s a solution I use; maybe you do as well? It’s the wonderfully accommodating carousel.”
https://www.terminalfour.com/blog/posts/-the-web-content-merry-go-round-.html
The Goal
We want you to understand how personalization connects with your content strategy and technology so your institution can position itself to start using website personalization.
Business Case
• Undergraduate and post graduate student recruitment • Alumni fundraising • Student and staff engagement
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78%–
of high school students report websites shape
their perception of an institution
15%–
of prospective students apply on
their first visit
> 54%–
of eventual applicants visit
institution websites five times or more
before applying
42%–
increase in Personalized calls
to action conversions
From the Marketo Campus Technology Whitepaper “2016 Trends in Higher Education Marketing, Enrollment, and Technology”
Examples for Higher Ed
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Personalization Examples
• Persona segmentation features • Topic of content targeting • Geo based targeting • Behavioral Targeting • Source or referral targeting (social, mobile, etc.) • A/B Testing for optimizing UX
In Browser Examples
Overview
Browser LocationFrom a server variable
Browser location
Value:
“New Zealand” or “Australia”
Segment
Browser location
Value: “Fiji”
Course search cookie
Value: “Undergraduate”
“Undergraduates,
Fiji, OZ & NZ”
Persona
Course SearchFrom a cookie
Our Terminology
Visitor: A user visiting the site
Indicator: Single type of data collected on the visitor to base the segment on
Segment: A named subset of the indicator data
Persona: A named collection of segments used to describe a possible visitor
Personalized content: Content that is written / produced for a particular persona
Voltaire Santos Miran, CEO, mStoner
“With great power comes great responsibility.”
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Summary
With great power comes great responsibility: • Personalization offers terrific potential to help achieve goals • Great complexity is a potential pitfall • Appropriate readiness is key
Personalization ….fortwo books,please.
The Question:
What percentage of content watched on Netflix is driven by their personalization engine?
The Answer:
Source: http://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/how-retailers-can-keep-up-with-consumers
75% of Netflix watched content comes from personalized recommendations.
Prerequisites
1Conversions MeasurementContent Management
2 3
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Content Management
• Content management system • Governance • Content strategy
– • Single content management
system • Has a flexible set of defined
templates • Content re-use strategy
implemented • Structure for media file
management• Structure for media file
management• Defined taxonomies for
content re-use• Naming conventions for
content
– • Established authority for
who owns top level website content
• Senior leadership are committed to the plan
• Resources are in place dedicated to creating content and managing the website
• Processes and workflow to manage content are in place
• Wild west has been (mostly) tamed
– • Content policies, processes,
and guidelines are in place.• Information architecture
planning and implementation takes place.
• Editorial calendars are in place to keep content updated
• Content creators have training in key aspects of content creation
Content Strategy:Governance:Content Management:
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Transactions/Conversions
• Third party system integration • Ability to measure • Calls to action
Conversions– • Request information forms• Campus visit scheduling• Contact a counselor• Engagement with academic
programs• Applications• Explore a particular
degree offering
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Measurement
• Google Analytics tracking • Event tracking • Goals/conversions • Campaigns • A/B Testing
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Why Measurement is so Important
• Personalization is high effort • Must have a way to assess success • Need to ensure efforts produce
good and avoid harm • Refining and evolving a
personalization approach requires feedback
Planning for Personalization
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SegmentPOSSIBLE SEGMENTS
Geographic
Device or browser
Frequency and recency
Visitors to key areas (landing pages, programs)
Demographic
• Audiences
• Narrow focus
• Highest value
• Validate with Google Analytics
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Identify Conversions
For any audience segment you want to personalize:
• What conversions should the visitor complete? • Are the conversions already being tracked? • Does baseline data exist to compare before/after efforts? • What result do you desire from visitors seeing personalized content?
Ensure you have measurable conversions to evaluate your efforts.
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Choose a Personalization Tool or Technology
The right tool depends on your situation. Generally:
• CMS-based tools integrate with content • Third-party tools plug into your existing website • The ability to start small and grow is key • No one size fits all • Skills and resources of your team matter
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Create Personas
• Start with priority audience segments • Craft real world use cases • Start small • Craft content for personas PROSPECTIVE
UNDERGRADUATEALUMNI ACCEPTED
UNDERGRADUATEINTERNATIONAL
GRADUATE STUDENT
INTERESTED IN NURSING
STUDENT ATHLETE
INTERESTED IN ARTS
FREQUENT VISITOR
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Design Personalization Experience
• Define calls to action and conversions • Create and design the content and presentation • Test the experience and verify it works • Deploy the personalization experience and measure performance • Revise and refine the experience based on results
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Final Thoughts
Remember the prerequisites: • Content management • Transactions/conversions • Measurement Start small • Lightweight segmenting and personas Measure, test, refine • Never skip measurement
Piero Tintori CEO and Founder
TERMINALFOUR
@pierotintori [email protected]
Mallory Wood Director of Marketing
mStoner
@mallorywood
802.457.9234 [email protected]
Resources
• Check out more resources from TERMINAL FOUR: https://www.terminalfour.com/resources/
• Download Mythbusting Websites: On-Demand Presentation and White Paperhttp://mstnr.me/MythbustingWebsites
• Ready to improve your .edu?http://mstnr.me/SiteCheckup2017
Greg Zguta Technical Lead
mStoner
@gzguta
314.884.1803 [email protected]
Questions & Answers
m storytellers, experience crafters, brand builders