Hayley Warack from Converge Consulting and Caitlin Way from the University of Missouri’s execMBA program gave an enlightening presentation on their successful digital advertising strategy at Converge 2015 in New Orleans.

To begin, the presenters shared a few important statistics:

• 53% of prospective students use search engines to look up schools
• 47% are using a smart phone to research where to get their education
• Total education queries grow 33% year over year
• 32% use search engines to compare schools

They then explained what it takes to create a quality lead-driving strategy:

Develop personas that contain key information about your target audience

It is important to develop personas that reflect individuals who are within your target audience. Personas make it easier to be able to more effectively target these individuals. Some key information that should be included in personas are: demographics, background, goals, behaviors and interests, challenges and pain points, and key factors/information.

Digital Advertising philosophy

The digital advertising philosophy in which Hayley and Caitlin utilized includes three phases: attract, convert and delight.

The attract phase is the digital advertising itself. Digital advertising includes SEM, display and social media advertising. A benefit of SEM is that users usually search by program and have more intent, making them a more qualified lead. A benefit of display and social media advertising is that advertisers are able to reach a larger target audience for a lower cost.

The convert phase is all about landing pages. It is important for institutions to have a landing page that follows best practices so that a large percentage of visitors to the landing page can be converted into leads. Here are some steps to creating a high-converting landing page:

• Step 1: Define your goals
• Step 2: Write persuasive copy
• Step 3: Incorporate compelling creative
• Step 4: Use actionable CTA’s and user-friendly forms
• Step 5: Create a conversion-centered design (make sure it is mobile responsive)
• Step 6: Direct users to a thank you page

The delight phase is the communication workflow that is used one the user has converted on the landing page. It is extremely important for institutions to have a strong communication workflow to ensure they turn as many leads into students as possible. A few simple steps to the communication workflow can be found below:

• Qualify the lead
• Lead them to the next step
• Make the sale

After explaining what it takes to create a quality lead-driving strategy, Hayley and Caitlin then shared the results. Their digital advertising efforts lead to a cohort with more students being more qualified and more diverse than the year before. More specifically they saw:

• 10% increase in students
• 12% increase in leadership experience
• 11% increase in states represented
• 7% increase in advanced degree holders
• 7% increase in average salary

Do you want more insight on how to be a successful digital advertiser in higher education? Sign up for Converge 2017 today for more new and next ideas.