TOP WINNING STRATEGIES

10Enrollment Marketing

for

Seaof SAMENESS

There is a lot of repetition in higher ed marketing and schools

really struggle to stand out.

So, what makes your school unique?

When we ask, we find a lot of schools don’t know.

Our market research (competitive insights, program viability, audience segmentation) is included for almost every marketing project.

PRO TIPNot only do we help them figure out what makes them unique, we bring it to life in the creative and ads included in ourmarketing campaigns.

TOP WINNING STRATEGIES

10Enrollment Marketing

for

7-10 timesSTUDENTS NEED

TO SEE AN AD

over 3+ months BEFORE THEY ACT

andPlan AheadtoDRIVE

ENROLLMENT

SO BUILD YOUR MARKETING PLAN ACCORDINGLY

Turning off your marketing will result in a decline in enrollment later on.

First, students are making theirdecision to enroll throughout the year (not just before your application deadline):Why?

Also, will penalize you

7%

2%4%

6%8% 9% 10%

15%

24%

11%

1% 2% 2%

2017

2016

BeforeSEP 2016

SEP OCT NOV DEC

I still have not made a final

decision.

Don’t know

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN

Best Practices for

7

% SPENDING ofREVENUE

COMPETING

15-25% 25-35%ACCELERATINGSUSTAINING

10-15%

Budgeting

Your website can directly increase (or decrease) enrollments and revenue.

LOWER PERFORMING HIGHER PERFORMING

INCREASE IN REVENUE

3% Increasein WEBSITE

PERFORMANCEresults in

Site VisitorsLeads

Visitor to Lead ConversionLead to Enroll Rate

EnrollsAverage RPS

100,000 5000 5% 4% 200$35K

TOTAL REVENUE = $7M

WEBSITE Version A WEBSITE Version B

Site VisitorsLeads

Visitor to Lead ConversionLead to Enroll Rate

EnrollsAverage RPS

100,000 8000 5% 4% 320 $35K

TOTAL REVENUE = $11M

60%

LOST REVENUE = $4M

Good vs. Bad Creative

Not everyone is ready to apply yet

More than one way for students to contact you

Strong call-to-action appropriate for those in the research phase

Motivational headline targeted towards a

specific audience

Prominent placement of chat and phone number for those

ready to inquire

Readily available form for the exact moment when users

are ready to take action

No Request for Information form

available on the site

Use of stock imagery

Sometimes the prettiest creative isn’t the most effective.PRO TIP

No easy way for students to contact you

Give students several ways to get in touch with you

Phone calls are 2-3x more likely to convert to enrollment (and 15% of your traffic comes from phone). Chat is a great way to engage users who have quick questions to help qualify your institution.

PRO TIP

Give students several ways to get ahold of you (at a minimum: Form, Phone, Text).

Marketing performance will vary by the programs and audiences you’re recruiting for

11

Undergrad

• Generally less expensive to generate leads, but the conversion from app to enroll is lower because students are applying to a lot of different schools.

• Students are making their decision around the experience, student life, does the community reflect me?. Also, addressing the parents of prospective students is important.

• (average CPE $2,500-5000; 12-24 months to enroll)

Graduate

• Typically more expensive than undergrad to generate leads, but tend to convert to enrollment at a higher rate because students do more research upfront.

• Program-specific advertising and transparency into cost and the application process is critical because this audience wants to get the information upfront.

• (average CPE $3,000-12,000; 9-18 months to enroll)

Professional

• Leads are not difficult to acquire but conversion is challenging because there isn’t financial aid and the degree has to be aligned to helping achieve an outcome (getting promoted, getting a new job).

• Advertising is similar to the approach for graduate but we have to make payment as easy as possible (shopping cart like Amazon).

• (average CPE $1,500-5,000; 6-12 months to enroll)

Be sure you’re tracking

12

Results all the way to enroll

Display Ad

Paid Search Text Ad

Social Media

SEO / Organic Search Traffic

Microsite

Website

Request for information

form onevery page

CRM

Leads

Application

Enrollments

Inquiry

Enro

llmen

t tea

m e

mai

ls

Enro

llmen

t tea

m p

hone

calls

W O R K I N G P R O F E S S I O N A L S

T R A D I T I O N A L L E A R N E R

R E T U R N I N G A D U LT

Answer the top questions on Students’ minds

Have someone who hasn’t been to your site before try to find these answers in 30 seconds or less.

PRO TIP

How Much? How Long? What do I get for it? When can I start?

Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar April May June July

MEDIA LAUNCH4

7

20

28

36

60

+3

+8

+13

+24

+8

+4

PaidDEPOSITS

Give it time. Demand typically peaks in January, with apps to follow

PRO TIP

It takes time for leads to mature to enrollment

44%WITHIN 24 HOURS

31%WITHIN 2 DAYS

15%WITHIN A WEEK 7%

WITHIN 4 HOURS

2%OVER A

WEEK LATER

75%EXPECT A RESPONSE TO A VOICEMAIL OR E-MAIL

WITHIN 24-48 HOURS

Students judge you by how quickly you answer the phone or how easy you make it to apply. And because they are applying to more than one school so you could be loosing students to competitors simply because you aren’t more proactive

*Source: Blackboard research study completed in collaboration with UPCEA, March 2017. SURVEY QUESTION FIELDED TO 1,000 PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS ACROSS ALL AGES*: If you left a voicemail for or sent an email to a college or university, how quickly would you expect to receive a response?

Following up with leads is REALLY important

Accountability & Tracking

Growing Enrollment in Higher Ed isn’t just about good marketing

Flexible formatsfor busy adults

Clear & unique value proposition

Ease of startingand applying

Industry partners & job outcomes

Programsstudents are seeking

Competitive pricing with clear ROI

Competitive, measureable marketing

Aggressive enrollment management

Investment in marketing that is competitive

Thank youLearn more:

https://www.blackboard.com/services/recruitment-services

Marketing

Performance Marketing

Reaching More Prospective Students

Enrollment

EnrollmentCoaching

Enroll More Students

One Stop

Removing Barriers to Graduation

Help Desk

Cost Savings

Growing Enrollment Improving Retention

Student Support

Technology Support

18

Retention

RetentionCoaching

Retain More Students

Results That We Are

(Truly) Proud of

+11% application conversion

5X return on investment

+140% Increase in prospects

+159% Increase in applications

+110% Increase in enrollments

9x Estimated return on investment

+17% Increase in applications

+25% Increase in enrollment

+12,000 students in just one year

19

5.6x Increase in organic leads

58% App to enroll rate on paid media

35% growth for online, YoY

20x Estimated return on investment

+311% Increase in external registrations

+49% increase in revenue

Growing executive education revenue and registrations in new markets