That Creepy Feeling That Your Digital Campaign Is Underperforming

What Higher Ed Specialists Know That General Agencies Don’t

If you have a creepy feeling you’re not getting what you should from your digital media spend, you’re probably right.

Collegis has been getting questions from colleges about digital marketing. Specifically, we’re getting questions from colleges that have contracts with vendors unrelated to Collegis. The questions have come up, out of the blue, during meetings that were allocated for other topics. It’s happened a couple of times, with multiple colleges. So, we’ve decided to share a few insights into what to look for in a digital campaign partner.

First, the symptoms:

• You’re spending large amounts with a digital media partner and not seeing a return, or at least not the return you’d expected.
• Your agency has been successful with many industries, but has little experience with higher ed.
• You’re getting lots of traffic, but few conversions.

You’re getting frustrated and wonder if you should return to older forms of marketing that are all but outdated. You feel you should be doing something, anything, to move the needle or at least, slow the decrease in enrollments.

There is a saying in higher ed that colleges can’t be compared to businesses. If it’s true about any part of higher ed, we find it’s especially relevant to digital marketing. But, there’s a key difference between marketing a college degree and other consumer products. Mainly, it’s that the choice of a college is one of the largest investments a person can make. Because of this, marketing tactics that seem reliable for most other consumer goods will only go so far.

The factors that make a difference

Digital marketing is critical to higher ed enrollment growth, but college marketing requires extra steps. Think of it like adding chains to a car’s tires before heading onto a mountainous route. A car may run in top condition, and it may even have good tires, but seasoned mountain drivers know that adding chains to their tires will help them to their destination.

Here are some must-have features that colleges should require:

• Metrics should be tracked beyond the lead, inquiry and click. An agency that knows higher ed will look beyond the surface and seek insights into conversions, what type of information is most responded to, when – and what happens next. While not all marketing tools allow a college to track each enrollment back through its attributions, experienced higher ed marketers have an eye for recognizing useful data. Or, if data is unavailable, they will help a college connect their tools, such as a customer relationship management (CRM) system, with Google Analytics. This is critical to finding insights.
• Follow inquiries to applications to enrollment. Before a campaign is designed, efforts should be made to capture the right information at critical moments so that there will be an attribution path later.
• Know your acquisition cost metrics. Do you know your average cost-per-start? (The cost of each new enrollee?) A digital agency should be committed to helping you track this.
• Cross-pollinate with admissions. In higher ed, sending a beacon isn’t enough. Consider how airplane pilots have air traffic controllers to guide them in. Prospective students might see you and might be interested but, at some point, they’re going to need help from a live person who can have a real conversation with them about their hopes and fears. There is no “auto-pilot” in enrollment growth. So, it’s critical that the digital marketing team works closely with admissions. The challenge? Few agencies recognize the need for that, and even if they try to engage, they likely do not have the higher ed experience needed to execute on this tactic.

The makings of a high-value marketing partnership

Marketing has always been multi-layered but digital marketing is even more so. With thousands of data points available through Google Analytics to track audience demographics and behavior, it’s possible to tailor multiple versions of ads. By tracking the ads by channel and target audience, marketers soon learn what appeals to the many niche groups within – making each message stronger. Marketers can and should test their messaging in real time, then adjust to improve on a continual basis. Marketers also have the option to update a campaign on short notice, and campaign durations are flexible. Campaigns may run for a few days, weeks or months depending on a college’s priorities.

Since digital marketing is so fast-paced, colleges deserve to have line-of-sight into each campaign’s daily progress. The best college-agency partnerships are almost seamless, allowing for the free flow of information between the two. An agency with higher ed experience will be well versed in working with both marketing and admissions teams and will be able to start each internal conversation at an advanced level that demonstrates they understand the challenges faced by each role on the college side. They know what to look for. As a result they are able to be responsive, quickly allocate resources, and implement plans.

Additionally, the insight that comes from understanding competition among academic programs is invaluable. Being able to tailor marketing messaging and placement in order to go beyond the obvious is how we’ve seen colleges succeed against the odds. A general service agency simply won’t have the access or experience to harness these types of insights.

Don’t step back, get closer

Stepping back from digital marketing would be a mistake. Today’s prospective students live their lives online and if you want to reach them, that’s where you need to be. Rather than distance your efforts from digital marketing, we encourage colleges to get closer. Don’t just partner with a general digital agency but be selective and look for an agency with proven experience in higher ed. Be prepared to work in tandem with your digital media partner and make sure that both your college’s marketing and admissions teams are engaged with the partner on a daily basis.

Essentially, a digital media partner should be regarded as an extension of a college’s staff. An agency that is right for your college will want to know all the people who are involved on the college’s side. They’ll want to dive into the data and tools the college uses, and mesh them with the agency’s to generate the most informative data analytics possible.

Your end goal should be your agency’s end goal

Working in digital media shouldn’t make college marketing teams feel uneasy. A partner that’s a good fit will keep the college posted on all they are doing, and why, in order to reach your target audience. They’ll keep the end goal in mind. Whereas many general service agencies stop at clicks, an agency with a passion for higher ed knows that the true end goal is enrollment.