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Enrollment Opportunity Ahead

It’s May 2022 and higher education is still recovering from the impact of COVID-19. If recent headlines and old patterns hold true, though, there’s an enrollment opportunity ahead. Here’s why, what, and how to prepare.

Recent Headlines

Today’s news reports an economy in turmoil. Whether an economic recession ultimately occurs or not, the media’s impact is enough to alter consumer awareness and behavior—and therein lies the opportunity.

Old Patterns

History (and data) reveal a pattern: When the economy falters, enrollment rises. By the end of the 2007-2009 recession, for example, more than 1 million new students (ages 15-34) enrolled in college. Likewise, the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center showed a 6.9% increase in undergraduate enrollment over the course of the recession.

New Opportunity

This is a unique group of prospective students: a blend of traditional aged undergraduates, adult learners, part- and full-time students, who are not looking for “the full college experience.” Rather, they’re seeking security in an unstable job market. The right programs and the right marketing approach can bolster your enrollment, while serving their needs.

How the Right Programs and Right Approach Build Enrollment

What are they looking for? Streamlined programs that lead to jobs.

Start with your two-year associate degrees. Make them accessible (online and/or hybrid) and promote industry partnerships, career outcomes (including earnings), degree affordability, and any other strengths.

Example: The University of Saint Francis streamlined five Healthcare Associate degrees and tied them to the partner organizations for clinicals and careers. Calculate built a digital recruitment campaign promoted via Search (Google), Social (Facebook, YouTube), and Programmatic/Online Display (on apps and websites).

Messaging included student and alumni voices centered on the themes of career success (hiring and earnings), quality (faculty, clinicals) affordability, and support. The campaign launched March 14, 2022.

Results

As of May 4 (8 weeks), the campaign has generated:

356 direct leads (“Learn More” forms and phone calls to Admissions)—44 per week!

3,486 indirect leads (actions taken by user that indicate a high level of interest such as Apply Now clicks, website clicks, driving directions/location)

Last Word

Building these programs and opportunities will serve your institution immediately and over time. Most schools have successful two-year associate degrees, but they’re rarely marketed and promoted. The higher education landscape has changed, though, and a growing segment of the population want a streamlined and career-focused degree.

We need to listen.

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Enrollment Success During COVID

I want to share this particular digital recruitment campaign for two reasons: its success in delivering leads and what it says about messaging. First, an overview:

The University of Saint Francis has its main campus in Fort Wayne, along with a regional site in Crown Point, IN. The latter, USF Crown Point, offers the following associate-level health care degrees: nursing, surgical technology, radiologic technology, and medical laboratory technician.

In September 2020, USF Crown Point broke ground on a new building project. The university was expanding its facility and programs for the 2021-2022 academic year. Calculate was hired to develop a lead-generating campaign that would:

Target and reach traditional-aged students, their parents, and adult learners

Showcase institutional and personal success

Deliver leads to the admissions team

To write the campaign, I focused on 5 themes: the expanded facility and the 4 academic programs; each theme incorporated sub themes of affordability, career success and earnings. I also interviewed 7 current or former students for storytelling content.

The campaign launched in November and is still running. Tactics include SMM (Facebook, Instagram), SEM (Google), Data targeting/geofencing, impression retargeting, and website retargeting.

Results to Date

(11 weeks: November 17-March 5, minus the month of January)

1.3 million impressions

221 direct conversions (completed forms & phone calls)

Average of 2-3 new quality leads per day

Every day, two or three direct leads hit the admissions inbox: these are forms completed by prospective students in response to the campaign. The indirect conversions are plentiful, but difficult to track because platforms have recently imposed restrictions on the information available to marketers).

Indirect conversions are actions users take after they get to the landing page and include: clicks to the apply page, the homepage, and driving directions/location details. For context: a similar size campaign we did for USF before the restrictions were put in place included 1,189 indirect conversions.

Messaging

The right message at the right time makes a difference. Just as USF Crown Point was expanding, COVID-19 hit. We knew the country was headed for a difficult time and considered the impact on students. The economic challenges could be a motivating factor, so we focused the messaging on:

Timing (a 2-year program will get you in the workforce sooner)

Earning potentials in the region

Quality and success of programs (high employment and pass rates)

Personal testimonials for authenticity

Here’s a look at 3 pieces:

This top performing ad for adult prospects, targets LPNs. Salary potential and the 3-semester duration are a draw.

This ad targets traditional aged students for careers in radiologic technology; it highlights support (via storytelling) and affordability.

The accompanying landing page contains more from the student’s perspective, along with messages of institutional success (100% employment and pass rate).

Contact us to learn more or to help with your school’s recruitment marketing.

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Recruitment During COVID: Evolving Strategies

Although the nation’s top institutions are experiencing a surge in applications, most of the colleges I know are facing COVID-related enrollment shortages. There’s no doubt the virus has placed intense strain upon an already-stressed system.

The data, though well known, is alarming:

In September 2020, 67% of prospective students were reconsidering higher education and looking at other options

Enrollment fell 2.5% in fall 2020, almost twice the rate of the previous year

Even worse, first-year student enrollment declined more than 13%

Dire circumstances, yes, but not impossible to overcome. Within the chaos, a few opportunities have presented themselves. Here’s what I recommend:

Put more into your digital recruitment marketing, a lot more. COVID has pushed our culture forward in time in terms of online comfort and usage, and there’s no going back. Research prior to COVID has shown the growing importance of online marketing with more and more prospective students responding to online ads. In 2019, 64% of high school juniors clicked on a Pay-Per-Click (PPC) ad, up 29% from the previous year. Build a series of digital campaigns that promote your school’s various value points: success, community, affordability, and other distinguishing factors. Because digital campaigns are targeted and affordable, they’re an ideal way of moving students through the admissions funnel and filling pockets of enrollment potential. Here are some recent campaigns we developed to reach specific audiences: Close to Home commuter recruitment Catholic student recruitment Hispanic student recruitment Adult learners for 2-year healthcare programs Academic program campaigns Transfer students Scholarship campaigns Virtual visits and online recruitment events

Keep accepting applications throughout the summer. Ultimately most schools will, so jump on it and market the message. One of the reasons students are not applying is that they’re waiting to see what happens. Acknowledge their uncertainty and remind them that you understand. And remember this: The rise in applications at elite schools means there will also be a number of rejected applicants. Stay open to them.

Make your school memorable by marketing its unique success story. Success marketing works on multiple levels, but mostly because it inspires action (guiding prospects to Apply, Visit, Learn More, etc.) via authentic and engaging success stories. We build success into all our campaigns — it distinguishes an institution for its true value.

Many of us are living the same reality, one with high competition and lowering prospects. As we work through COVID (and whatever comes next!) I’d love to hear from you: your thoughts, ideas, and concerns.

Contact us for a conversation or to partner on enrollment.

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Your School’s Distinctive Success Story: Why & How to Market It

With thousands of colleges and universities in the U.S., students have plenty of options – so how can you get them to consider your institution? By identifying and marketing your school’s distinctive success story.

Doing so will:

Make your institution memorable

Set it apart from its competitors

Attract right-fit students (those whose goals match your school’s success)

Keep students engaged throughout the long admissions process

What It Is

A school’s success story reflects its true purpose: to educate and empower; to transform individuals and enhance communities.

It is built on research and (mostly) interviews with successful alumni, students, and faculty. It features personal stories and institutional highlights in a variety of forms. Most importantly, it should be featured in all marketing materials and in every phase of the admissions funnel.

How to Build It

To cultivate the story, start by asking:

What does my school do particularly well?

What distinguishes it from other institutions?

What are its key value (or sales) points?

This will help you frame a brief narrative, 2-3 sentences that reflect the institution’s core. Next come the interviews, which are the heart of the success story. I will typically interview 50 people per institution, including:

Successful alumni from a variety of academic programs

Current students who are: active on campus, ethically, culturally, and academically diverse

Faculty experts and directors of key programs

Staff who oversee critical areas (Career Services, e.g.)

This will give me a body of marketing content (testimonials, statistics, profiles, social media posts, ad text, video, etc.) that will be used on the website and in all recruitment communications and materials.

What it Looks Like

Here are 3 samples of how success storytelling can work for recruitment.

Transfer publication for CCSU: This brochure features a transfer student’s success story which was introduced on page 1 and continued throughout.

Digital recruitment campaign for Wells College: As part of a comprehensive campaign, this ad showcases affordability through a students’ perspective.

Yield email sent by University of Saint Francis: Designed to secure the student’s deposit, this email shows the success of a recent graduate.

Why it works

Success marketing works because:

It is authentic, peer-to-peer marketing

As humans, we naturally respond to inspirational stories

Want to do it but don’t have the time? Contact us for help.

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Inspiring Students throughout the Recruitment Process

I’ve been interviewing college students for more that 20 years and one question I always ask is, “What made you choose this particular institution?” The most consistent response (by far) goes something like this: “Once I visited campus I just knew. It felt right.”

When questioned further the student will inevitably reveal the deeper truth: it’s the people. Somewhere along the line, the student felt not only welcomed, but inspired by community members.

As one student recently told me, “The people I met on campus seemed real and that made me think I could succeed there.”

“Real, how?” I asked. “In what sense?”

“They were like me and people I know,” he said, “but they were doing all these interesting things.”

What the student is referring to here is inspiration. He was inspired by the possibilities the university offered and he could see himself achieving his goals there — that’s the “sweet spot” recruitment marketers want and need!

The challenge is how to inspire students throughout the long recruitment process (especially when COVID has eliminated on-campus visits). Luckily, higher education is perfectly positioned to do so by identifying and promoting its unique success story

Every institution has its own success story, which offers a treasure trove of human-inspired material for recruitment marketing. I think of it as a school’s “Big Story,” reflecting its core strengths and the impact it has had on the lives of its constituents.

A school’s success story is cultivated from institutional research and interviews with successful students, alumni, and faculty. The content is adaptable to various forms (viewbook, web text, emails, texts, video, social media, etc.); it should be featured in all marketing materials and in every phase of the admissions funnel.

This storytelling approach succeeds on multiple levels because it is:

Authentic, peer-to-peer marketing (what today’s students trust)

Unique to each institution

Psychologically & emotionally engaging

Want to tell your school’s success story? We can help. Contact us to learn more.

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Part 2: Students Say Your Website Can Make or Break Their Enrollment Decision

The beauty of inbound marketing is that it gives us the capacity to attract right-fit students to your institution. Rather than putting up a billboard and hoping they drive by, see it and respond, we can draw them in.

How? By knowing what information students seek and how they search; by creating authentic and engaging website content that matches their search terminology and inspires them to take the next step.

For example, most students will start their college search by googling a specific major. They typically include superlatives in their search terms (“best nursing program” or “top business administration degree.”) Adding these superlatives to website copy will increase traffic.

According to Ruffalo Noel Levitz’ 2019 E-Expectations Report, students search via:

Academic programs (44%)

Quality & ranking (21%)

Location (15%)

Student life & athletics (11%)

Name of school (10%)

Students often view the homepage as a jumping off point, a table of contents that directs them to the information they’re seeking. At the University of Saint Francis, we created a homepage that serves this function: the primary feature is a search box, along with success messaging and calls-to-action. In its first quarter, the top action on the homepage was clicks on the Apply button.

The Importance of Academic Program Pages

Because most students search for a particular major, they enter the site via an academic program page. Catching their interest here is essential in moving them through the funnel. Successful program pages include:

Overview of program with a link to the academic plan (this cannot read like the course catalogue)

A success testimonial from current student or alumni

Real-world experience (internships, clinicals, fieldwork, etc.)

Conversion form

Data on career potential and earnings

Special opportunities (e.g., research, travel, labs/facilities)

The point is: every academic program page needs the capacity to convert the student into an inquiry or applicant; every program page must sell the program’s personal and professional value — which brings us to the topic of content.

Nothing can replace good content. If your web copy is stale, boring, out-of-date, uninspiring or too long, there’s no dressing it up. (Number 1 higher education website mistake: redesigning the site with the same copy and navigation). Yes, redoing the entire website with new content is daunting, but it doesn’t have to be done all at once and you can start with high traffic admissions pages.

So, what now? Contact us for a conversation. Start with:

An evaluation of your current website’s enrollment-generating capacity, along with a

Plan to implement new strategies, content, architecture, and design that can be done in website sections or throughout the site.

Higher education websites are literally our business. It’s what we know.

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Part 1: Students Say Your Website Can Make or Break Their Enrollment Decision

There’s ample research showing how high school students search for (and evaluate) colleges.

This data offers insight that is useful to enrollment professionals. By knowing what students search for and how, you can:

Deliver the information they’re seeking in the time allotted

Inspire them to take the next step in the enrollment cycle

Capture their contact information

It Starts Online. High school students today spend an average of 9 hours a day online. They are savvy digital users and expect to find the information they’re seeking within 8 seconds. While they take a multi-channel approach to college search, students cite a school’s website as the top influencer.

Your Website’s “Make-It-or-Break-It” Capacity

Students say a school’s website is the most influential source of information, often determining whether or not they will make an official inquiry. If students can’t find what they’re looking for or are uninspired by what they see, they’re gone.

Luckily, students tell us exactly what they want from a website at this stage. They’re looking for:

An easy-to-access list of majors; Check to see: Does your website have one complete list of majors in the top-level navigation?

A feel for the school and their ability to fit in; Check to see: Does your site feature stories and images of real students, their challenges and triumphs? Does it show an inclusive community in a variety of forms?

Detailed information about each major; Check to see: Do your academic program pages include up-to-date information on career potential? Do they highlight student success, along with each major’s special attributes e.g. labs/facilities, experiential opportunities, industry connections?

Information on tuition, scholarships/ financial aid, location, and how to apply; Check to see: Is this information easy to access from whatever point a student enters the site? Does it inspire the student to take the next step? Is that next step readily available?

How Students Make Contact

If a student is interested, they have a preferred way of connecting: 76% will complete a Learn More form on the website, but 40% will stop filling it out if it asks for too much information. Check to see: Are your forms are easily accessible with no more than 4 fields?

Fewer prospects will connect by: listing the school on the ACT/ SAT forms (54%); emailing for more information (46%); registering for a campus visit (40%); or responding to a mailing (39%).

Tip: Web forms are essential conversion tools. At one institution where we built an enrollment-generating website, 37% of all applicants came through the site’s conversion forms, making the website the school’s top recruiter.

Websites can seem overwhelming so consider implementing changes in stages. Below is a recap of the essential information which can serve as a starting point. Part 2 will address how students search (including terms used), the importance of academic program pages and inspiring content.

Takeaways

At the top of their search process, a prospective student will judge your institution by the content and function of its website

They want essential information (list of majors, tuition costs, etc.) that is easy to find

If you want them to take the next step (e.g., Apply, Visit) you need to inspire them to do so and make that next step readily available

Web forms (brief and strategically placed) have enormous conversion potential.

Next Step

Contact us to learn more about our enrollment-generating website services.

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The #1 Thing You Can Do for Enrollment

The most effective thing you can do for enrollment is to update your website with enrollment-generating strategies. This will give it the ability to capture high-quality leads and move prospective students through the admissions funnel.

This process typically consists of:

Creating new web-friendly content that tells your school’s unique success story, while enhancing its overall SEO organically

Adding conversion opportunities in strategic locations

Refining the site’s architecture to help the user (e.g., prospective students) find information quickly in order to move to the next step of the admissions process

The good news is, this doesn’t have to be a complete overhaul, so costs can be contained. You can, for example, focus on the Admissions section of your site. Every site has its own strengths and challenges, so it’s best to start with an evaluation and map out a plan.

Even better, these strategies are long lasting and, if maintained, will continue to deliver not only high-quality leads, but students in seats. Here are 2 examples of how it can work:

1. At the University of Saint Joseph (where we worked prior to forming Calculate), we did a complete overhaul of the website with new content, architecture, conversion opportunities, and design.

In its first full recruitment cycle, the site functioned as the university’s top recruiter. It delivered 5,600 new leads via “learn more” conversion forms submitted by prospective students. Additionally, 48% of applicants who filled out a website form either enrolled, deposited, were admitted, or accepted.

In total:

37% of all applicants came through the website’s conversion forms

36% of enrolled graduate students cited the website conversion forms as their primary source of access to the university

First-year enrollment increased by 42%

2. At the University of Saint Francis, we enhanced the website in 2 stages. First, we focused on the admissions and financial aid sections, creating new content, adding conversion opportunities, building a success page, and promoting new scholarships. This facilitated the admissions process by eliminating competing subdomains and clearly guiding prospective students through the enrollment steps.

In the next cycle, we gave the rest of the site new architecture, updated content, and a new design. The academic program pages were rewritten to feature program highlights, job prospects/salary potential, student testimonials and success stats. Conversion forms were also added to each program page.

In the first quarter after the revamped website was launched, the site experienced:

152% increase in the number of leads generated

67% increase in the Visit forms

Top action on homepage: Clicks on the Apply button

In the two years since the full site launched, the university’s enrollment has grown steadily, reaching “record-breaking enrollment” with the Fall 2021 class.

There is no limit to what an intuitive and strategic website can do. Contact us to learn more about your website’s enrollment capacity.

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Digital Marketing for Enrollment: The Right Way

When it comes to digital marketing for higher education enrollment, technology can be a dangerous thing. I’m not referring to the dark web, viruses, ransomware, etc. I’m referring to how technology is often seen as the “solution” to problems when, in most cases, it’s really the tool that facilitates the processes that solve the problem.

What makes this so dangerous is that the end users (schools) often feel a sense of complacency as well as a false sense of security and comfort simply in owning and using the technology. At the end of the day, the technology is only as effective as the processes that went before and after it as well as the expertise of the users/staff in operating the technology and executing the project.

Take content management systems (CMS) for example. How many schools are spending thousands upon thousands of precious marketing dollars on CMS software because they feel it’s necessary in order for them to have a better website? Without naming names and getting into the particulars, I’d say there are quite a few.

However, I would argue that a website without a CMS can be just as good, if not better, than one with a CMS because the presence of a CMS has virtually no impact on the criteria that make a website great. A website is great because you spent the time to strategically plan out the user experience, your content was professionally written, and your design looks great. Your CMS didn’t “do” any of that. It simply facilitated the architectural build and addition of content.

The same can be said for digital marketing campaigns – the technology in this case. A digital marketing campaign is only as good as the processes that go before and after it as well as the expertise of the users/staff in operating the technology and executing the project. Having a presence in the digital realm isn’t enough to guarantee success. A successful campaign requires thoughtful planning, execution, optimization, and monitoring. However, there are plenty of campaigns running at this very moment that fall well short of that standard of excellence. And the most unfortunate part is that some of these campaigns weren’t produced in-house but rather by “expert” vendors. I know because I was once a customer working with these vendors and I felt woefully underserved time and time again.

Technology is s complex matter so it’s easy for the average customer to trust the experts’ recommendations and authority on the best practices and processes required to pull off a successful digital marketing campaign. This is the danger area of technology because the customer simply doesn’t know any better. They’re complacent because they’re utilizing the latest tools to market their schools. They’re on Facebook, Instagram, Google Ads, and they even have a geofencing campaign targeting their feeder high schools. They report the latest impression and click counts at their weekly team meetings and everyone feels good knowing they have an omnichannel approach to enrollment marketing.

That “sounds” great, but unless the campaigns are executed to achieve maximum ROI, they’re really a glorified waste of money. Here’s an example I’ve seen countless times and it’s truly a head-scratcher.

A school decides to prospect for students digitally so they hire a firm for their expertise. The firm puts together a comprehensive media plan that includes:

Facebook & Instagram

Google Ads

Spotify

Geofencing

Ad Sequencing

Website Retargeting

The school likes the plan and the next step is for them to supply the ad creative and links to the pages on their website where they want to drive traffic from the ads. This is where it all goes wrong. The school, either not knowing any better or not having the resources to execute this part of the project correctly, gives the firm URLs to existing public pages on their website or (much, much worse) the link to their home page and the firm accepts this. They don’t push back and talk about best practices – they just accept what’s given to them.

The lack of dedicated landing pages in a digital marketing campaign is a major, yet common, mistake. Dedicated landing pages help maintain information scent, focus the user on the goals of the campaign, and allow for proper and adequate campaign tracking. Yet, I am constantly seeing campaigns that omit this very important step. It’s as if they think that the ads themselves are “the campaign” and that couldn’t be further from the truth. The campaign is a combination of:

Strategic planning

Key Performance Indicator determination

Research and interviews

Storeytelling copywriting

Enticing ad and landing page design

Landing page development

Buildout

Monitoring and adjustments

Reporting

When done correctly, digital marketing campaigns are a lot of work but are worth every penny. When not done correctly, they are a giant waste of money.

At Calculate, we pride ourselves in providing the “soup to nuts” package that ensures all of our campaigns are working as efficiently and effectively as possible. At the end of the day, your success is our success so cutting corners is just as harmful to us as it is to you.

Here’s a peek into our process:

Strategy & Research

We’ll work with you to define the project scope, the intended audiences/programs to target, the key performance indicators (KPIs), etc., etc. We'll then do all of the necessary research to develop key selling points and marketing messaging.

Storytelling

We are experts in helping our clients tell their unique story in a very authentic way because that is what today’s students want. We’ll interview your star students, alumni, and faculty to gather the necessary information to be used in the campaign.

Creative Development

Once we’ve done all of the upfront legwork, we’ll then utilize that information to craft all of the ad & landing page copy, design all of your ads, and even design & host your landing pages if necessary. In a recent 9-month campaign for Marist College, we wrote copy for and designed 387 ads!

Audience Development

We’ll help you decide on the right mix of audiences to target and the proper budget to allocate towards each. Whether it’s your own in-house list, a purchased list, geographic, demographic, or psychographic targeting, we’ll ensure your ads are being seen by the right people.

Tactical Selection

We believe an omni-channel approach to enrollment marketing is ideal and we’ll help you decide what tactics will work best to help achieve your goals. From social media marketing, search engine marketing, & geofencing, all the way through Connected TV & Out-of-Home, we have you covered.

Campaign Monitoring & Reporting

Once your campaign launches, our work is far from done. We constantly monitor and adjust campaigns to optimize them for peak efficiency. We also provide detailed reporting that goes well beyond the impression numbers you may be used to.

The End Result

When working with Calculate, you can rest assured that your campaign will be executed the right way. We don’t cut corners and we adhere to all of the best practices when it comes to digital/inbound marketing.

Why?

Because we want to win just as bad as you do.

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A Happy Enrollment Story in Unprecedented TimesBy: Laura Sheehan

May 1 came and went quietly, reiterating the fact that nothing is typical about the current admissions cycle. The impact of Covid-19 remains to be seen and there have been few positive enrollment reports — so, here’s one we’re happy to share and happy to have been part of.

When Salem College (a small women’s college in NC) started the academic year, it had 2 major problems: it was on financial probation and, like many private institutions, it was struggling with enrollment.

Today, Salem is in an entirely different position. Probation was lifted in December, due in part to a substantial increase in admissions applications. As of May 1, undergraduate enrollment was up 16% and the discount rate was down by 11%.

How did Salem College overcome such extreme circumstances? Teamwork. Under the leadership of President Sandra Doran, Interim Vice President for Enrollment Management Joel Wincowski (both appointed via The Registry), and Audrey Phillips, assistant vice president of admissions, the College hired Bret Stern Productions (for video content and graphic design) and Calculate (we wrote content for the recruitment publications and oversaw several digital recruitment campaigns).

The team assembled in 2018 to launch a new brand, Salem Today. Messaging centered on student/alumnae success, along with the Salem Promise scholarship program. Enrollment grew steadily and in 2019, Salem increased net revenue for first-time undergraduate enrollment by 100%. This year’s enrollment increase (16%) was up 39% over the prior year.

There are many factors that contributed to this success, but the underlying element is Joel Wincowski. As a Registry consultant, Wincowski went 4 for 4 this year, raising enrollment at each institution he worked for (University of Alabama, Christian Brothers University, and East Tennessee State University).

Here’s a closer look at 2 digital recruitment campaigns we did with Salem College — one ran for 10 weeks in the summer of 2019 and the other for 10 weeks in the winter/spring of 2020. Both campaigns featured storytelling content (based on interviews with students and alumnae), along with dedicated landing pages.

Platforms included

Social: Facebook & Instagram

Search: Google Ads

Programmatic (Fall campaign only): Banner ads on thousands of websites, apps, etc.

Results

Conversions: 207 completed forms; 98 phone calls

Clicks: 14,658 targeted prospects were inspired to click on an ad

Reach: 355,482 unique Facebook & Instagram users

Impressions: 2,700,586

Cost per click: $1.83

These are unprecedented times for sure and colleges and universities throughout the country are feeling the impact the pandemic, lockdowns, and uncertainties are having on their enrollment goals. However, with the right mix of messaging, targeting, and expertise in place, there is opportunity to rise above your competition and reach (or even exceed) those expectations.

Contact us to learn more.

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Higher Education has the notorious distinction of being stuck in the past when it comes to enrollment marketing. Yup, nothing screams “cutting-edge” quite like a dining room table full of viewbooks, postcards, and unopened letters from “leading” colleges and universities throughout the country. I know this not only because I work exclusively with colleges and universities on marketing campaigns utilizing the latest in digital strategies, but I also happen to be a parent of a high school senior. What I can tell you from personal experience is this: you’re wasting a lot of paper!

The good news is that it’s 2020 so the “past” is somewhat more digital than it has ever been. The bad news, however, is that the implementation of these digital strategies is still far from ideal. For example:

Your website isn’t optimized for enrollment. You spend so much time, energy, and effort sending prospects to your website but it’s simply not equipped to handle the task of converting prospects into your admissions funnel. You may look at your website and think “ours looks great” but looks aren’t everything. It’s functionality and strategic intention are far more important.

You don’t use proper landing pages in your digital marketing campaigns. I click on just about every digital ad I see for a college and university and the vast majority DO NOT use landing pages. If you’re not using landing pages, you’re wasting your marketing dollars at an alarming rate. Creating an ad and driving traffic to a web page is one thing, but producing a digital marketing campaign that employs best practices and is executed to ensure maximum ROI is marketing on a “whole other level.”

You use impressions or clicks as your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Or worse, you let your well-known and expensive vendor highlight the number of impressions and clicks they’ve been able to deliver. I’ve seen this in person so I know it happens. Impressions and clicks are what you pay for. They aren’t results that should be touted! Are you tracking actual student enrollment as a result of your campaigns? How about form conversions? Dig deep to make sure you’re marketing dollars are being spent wisely.

Our Current Predicament

So here we are, still in 2020, and on top of being dated in their use of digital tactics and strategies, colleges and universities now have to deal with a pandemic that’s wreaking havoc on enrollment management teams all throughout the country. For some schools, meeting enrollment goals has never been an issue and probably won’t be this year regardless of the current state of affairs. For others, the struggle is real and the number of schools that fall into this category is soon going to balloon – if it hasn’t already.

So what to do?

Let’s make a couple of assumptions first:

The current state of affairs has forced many schools to focus on short-term issues: Campus closures, distance learning, loss of revenue, staff furloughs, etc., etc.

Your Fall ’20 prospects are afraid to commit by May 1 and need more time to make a decision. They are also feeling the economic pain caused by the national shutdown.

Because of #2, the traditional May 1 deadline needs to be extended.

This Summer is going to be a very busy time as schools scramble to meet their enrollment goals. The primary issue here is that it’s going to be a crowded and competitive market as more schools than ever will be in the hunt for students.

The Solution

With so many schools focused on the short-term, the way to gain a competitive advantage over them is to start planning for the Summer frenzy now. That way, you’ll ensure your campaign is well written, beautifully designed, utilizes proper landing pages, and tracks useful KPIs. In other words, you’ll ensure that your campaign is executed properly to maximize ROI. It won’t be thrown together at the last minute, or worse, a rehash of an old campaign.

We’ve seen reports indicating that students may feel more comfortable staying close to home this year due to the uncertainties caused by the coronavirus pandemic. You can draw two conclusions from these reports:

Your marketing efforts should focus on a local audience this Summer

You should be prepared to lose some students who decide to transfer closer to home

For an enrollment campaign this Summer, your ideal audiences to target should include:

Your existing lists of inquiries, applicants, and accepts

Traditional-aged first-year prospects who live close to campus

Transfer prospects from other schools who live close to campus

Adult learners who live close to campus

One benefit of the current quarantine, as it relates to enrollment marketing, is that there may never be a better time to reach these audiences in a single shot – they’re all home!

With Data Targeting and Impression Retargeting, you can reach these prospects on their cell phones, tablets, laptops/desktops, and Connected TV devices with timely and appropriate messaging. Banner ads work great and if you’re fortunate enough to have video assets, the effectiveness of your campaign will see a boost.

Add in Social Media Marketing with Facebook and Instagram as well as a Search Engine Marketing campaign with Google Ads and you’ll have all the makings of a thoughtful, strategic, and purposeful campaign.

The key is, you have to start now! So what are you waiting for, get to it!

[calculateedu]

3 Ideas for Recruiting during Coronavirus

In the midst of the uncertainty brought on by the coronavirus, certain truths remain:

This, too, shall pass, and 

You still need your Fall class!

It’s possible to generate leads and drive yield during this time of social distancing, but it won’t be “business as usual.” We can no longer rely on the traditional face-to-face events like admitted student receptions, open houses, and college fairs.

Instead, we need to shift our focus and resources to online strategies. Here are some recommendations and ideas:

1. Generate new leads (yes, they’re out there!) with a Spring-to-Summer online campaign that

Sells your institution’s specific success

Utilizes the words of students and alumni (authentic peer-to-peer marketing)

Reaches students and parents on social (Facebook, Instagram, e.g.), search (Google Ads), and programmatic (geofencing and data targeting) platforms

We’ve seen strong activity this year with Spring campaigns. At Wells College in upstate New York, our campaign has generated 86 direct leads (via 71 forms and 15 phone calls) in 7 weeks. It continues to produce an average of 12 direct leads per week, along with hundreds of indirect leads, including 230 clicks to the website and 6 requests for location details.

Get ahead of the competition. With the uncertainty of coronavirus, it’s likely that most colleges will be recruiting through the summer.

2. Drive up Yield with a campaign that reaches your accepted students directly on their mobile devises. Ads that feature personal messages of success (from students and alumni) inspire engagement.

Supplement the campaign with a series of 3-5 yield emails. Again, these should feature the worlds and experiences of students and alumni. They should also center on key institutional selling points (career/life success, affordability, community, e.g.).

3. Launch a Close to Home campaign for spring-summer that sells the value of your school to this particular community. The campaign can be designed to reach traditional-aged and adult learners. It should be comprehensive in scope (social, search, and programmatic), but limited in its geographic reach.

If you’re interested in pursuing any of the above, let us know. I’d love to hear your ideas, too!

[calculateedu]

Looking for Transfers? Here’s How to Stand Apart in a Crowded Field

It’s transfer season, the time of year when 1/3 of the nation’s college students look to switch schools. Studies like the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center’s Signature Report estimate that 1.3 million students transfer each year.

One point three million. That’s a big piece of the recruitment market. It’s no wonder so many institutions have amped up their transfer recruitment efforts. But has it paid off?

It can and it should — provided you can rise above the marketing fray. With so many colleges pursuing the same pool, how can yours stand apart from the competition? More importantly, can a transfer campaign reach those “right-fit” students, the type who will succeed there?

Again, it can and it should. A smart, effective, and affordable transfer campaign is possible. By utilizing digital platforms, you can target right-fit transfer students, engage them with authentic “storytelling” messages, and deliver high-quality conversions to your admissions team. Here’s how:

1. Start with what really defines your institution, its Success Story.

This is a body of marketing content that celebrates the school’s distinctive success (or “selling”) points. These points are identified through institutional research and, most importantly, interviews with students, alumni, faculty, and administrators.

If you know Calculate, you know storytelling is our thing. It lies at the core of all our work (enrollment-generating websites, recruitment campaigns & publications). Storytelling showcases institutional success through a human framework: the words and experiences of those whose lives have been transformed. On a psychological level, it reveals the deep connections between the school and the students who thrive there. It is authentic, peer-to-peer marketing and it works.

For a transfer campaign, I typically interview 2 current transfer students and 1 recent transfer graduate. Excerpts from their stories, combined with other success points, comprise the campaign’s content: text for ads, landing pages, thank you responses, follow up emails, etc.

2. Use the Success Story to build a Social Media Campaign.

In the research and interview phase, 2-3 topics usually present as being particularly meaningful to transfer students. These become the campaign themes; from them the messaging is built, authenticated by student voices.

Calculate’s social media transfer campaigns include

3 messaging threads (or themes), such as:

3 platforms, eg: Facebook, Instagram, Google AdWords

2 Audience Pools: The campaign is directed towards transfer students and their parents. We target via:

Ease of transfer process/support

Financial aid/transfer scholarship

Outcomes/Success

Demographic & psychographic strategies

Institutional lists (purchased names, PTK, etc.)

3. Using the same content, build a Programmatic Advertising/Geofence Campaign with the following components

Geofencing to deliver ads to users within a geographic area (typically, 10 community colleges or a specified region)

A multi-layered Impression Retargeting Campaign that delivers ads to users after they leave the fenced area. (Our ads follow the user once they leave the fence, so we can continue to serve ads to them at home on their tablet or laptop)

Data analysis to build additional audiences based on users’ behaviors and traits, allowing you to hone in on your ideal prospect

If video is available, you can also run ads on Connected TV

The Good News is …

When put together, these 3 elements succeed by

Reaching the right students (through precise targeting & placement on popular platforms)

Engaging their interests (with relevant, heartfelt success stories)

Inspiring them to take the next step in the transfer process (completing the conversion form)

Additionally, you can repurpose your school’s success story a variety of ways: as website content, for recruitment publications, follow-up emails, text messages, postcards, etc.

And it’s affordable. If you have the in-house talent to write, design, and build the campaign, the only cost is the media buy. If not, contact us. We can provide all 3 services for a 2-month transfer campaign for $20,000*, which includes the media purchase. See what we did with a 30-day transfer campaign.

*Recommended amount; adjustable to smaller budgets

[calculateedu]

Finding a “Pocket of Potential” in Summer Enrollment

Part 2 of How Small & Specific Digital Enrollment Campaigns Yield Timely Results

In our last post (“Maximizing Deposits After May 1”), we demonstrated how digital marketing campaigns can yield significant enrollment results — especially at key points of the recruitment cycle. As shared there, Calculate worked with Wells College to increase deposits after the May 1 deadline. We created an Admit-to-Deposit campaign that ran 39 days on two social media platforms, yielding nearly 62% of the College’s deposited class. This success shows the power and potential of strategic online marketing.

Summer Enrollment Campaign

In another example, we worked with the University of North Carolina, Wilmington (UNCW) to grow summer enrollment for transfer and late-to-enroll first-year students.

Steps Taken

We interviewed several undergraduate students, including one transfer, to develop storytelling-based ads

Created 30 Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter Ads with original copy and design, using UNCW photography

Targeted prospective first-year students, their parents, transfer students, and their parents with demographic and psychographic targeting and via lists of purchased names

Worked with UNCW staff to build specific landing pages on their website

Because it was late May, we knew that most (but not all) college-bound first-year students would be set with their plans. Knowing we were “playing a long shot,” we went for it, delivering tailored messages to students (and parents) who might still be weighing their options.

Campaign Success!

The campaign ran from June 6-July 7 with a $3,000 pay-per-click budget. Results were determined by the number of applications and deposits secured over the course of the campaign, which were compared to the number of applications and deposits secured last year during the same time period.

Results

Applications & Deposits

First-year students: 13 applications (up from 0 the previous year); 3 deposits

Transfer students: 123 applications (up from 9 the previous year); 30 deposits

In addition to yielding 136 applications and 33 deposits, the campaign:

Reached 114,370 unique users

Delivered 413,793 impressions

Engaged 5,028 users who clicked to landing page

Timing Matters

A great deal of the success is due to the UNCW staff, especially Marcio Moreno, director of admissions, and Cynthia Lauren Scott, associate director of admissions, who oversaw the partnership. In a campaign of this nature, timing is everything. The UNCW team was highly responsive to our needs and kept things moving quickly. I am convinced that any delays would have resulted in fewer applications and deposits.

[calculateedu]

How Small & Specific Digital Enrollment Campaigns Yield Timely Results

Part 1: Maximizing Deposits After May 1

The best enrollment manager I know taught me this: great enrollment rarely comes from one big idea or change in approach. Rather, it grows in bits and pieces, from identifying small pockets of potential that lead to recruiting “10 more students here and 20 more here” until it adds up to a significant increase.

We recently adapted this “pockets of potential” philosophy to Calculate’s digital services by piloting small and specific enrollment campaigns designed to:

Address a problem, need, or opportunity in the enrollment cycle

Target and reach a particular group of prospective students

Convert prospects to the next step in the enrollment cycle via tailored messages and strong Calls to Action (CTAs)

Yield real enrollment results (inquiry data, visit registrations, applications, deposits)

Decision Day Campaign: From Admit-to-Deposit

The first campaign happened as we approached Decision Day, May 1. Remembering the pressure from our own days in higher ed, we reached out to institutions with a simple message: If you need more deposits after May 1, Calculate can reach the right students with a strategic Admit-to-Deposit campaign.

Steps & Tips

In late April, we started working with Wells College, a beautiful and truly original liberal arts college in Aurora, New York. Here’s what we did to start:

Interviewed 2 undergraduate students to develop storytelling ads based on their words and experiences Tip: Gen Zers trust authentic peer-to-peer marketing far more than institutional jargon 

Wrote and designed 19 Facebook & Instagram ads, utilizing original content and Wells College photography Tip: Facebook is the top social media platform used by students in their college search

Worked with Wells staff to create a landing page on their web site, featuring clear instructions, authentic messages from current students, and resources for assistance. Tip: Landing pages should be specifically created with strong and specific CTAs. Too often, campaign ads deliver users to the institution’s homepage with no further instruction or conversion opportunity.

Targeted admitted students via Wells’ list of Admitted Students Tip: Digital campaigns are a successful & cost-effective way of maximizing return on purchased lists of names and other recruitment activities

Overall, the campaign ran for 39 days on Facebook and Instagram. Phase 1 launched April 12 and ran through May 1. At that point, we made the following changes, which ran from May 1-May 20:

Revised the content to add an “incentive,” reminding students about priority housing and early registration (both open to all students)

Updated the target pool to include recently accepted students

Campaign Success

Results were determined by comparing two lists of student names: Admitted Students and Confirmed/Deposited Students (as of July 1). Both lists were supplied by Wells College.

Matches between the lists showed the percentage of Admitted Students who converted to Confirm/Deposit during course of the campaign.

Results

In total, the campaign helped convert 61.69% of the Confirmed Class from Admit-to-Deposit.

Additionally, the campaign:

Reached 848 unique users

Delivered 25,810 impressions

Engaged 128 users who clicked to the landing page

Converted 95 new deposited students, 61.69% of the confirmed class

Next week’s post will outline another problem-solving, enrollment-generating campaign: Building Transfer & Summer Enrollment.

[calculateedu]

Decision Day and Beyond: How Digital Marketing Can Reach Prospects at Critical Points in the Enrollment Cycle

The recruitment cycle is fraught with make-it-or-break-it deadlines, perhaps none more critical than May 1, Decision Day. As prospective students weigh their acceptance and financial aid offers, colleges ramp up communications in an attempt to secure deposits.

Phone calls, emails, and text messages are certainly effective, but only if the student is willing to engage. When they’re not, consider a mini digital marketing campaign that:

Targets accepted students

Delivers ads to their social media feeds

Uses peer-to-peer messaging to inspire action (in this case: deposit)

We recently launched a Decision Day campaign for Wells College, a gem of a school on the shore of Cayuga Lake in upstate New York. Our goal was to reach accepted students who, by April 7, had not yet deposited, and get them to do so.

Research shows that prospective students trust their peers more than the institution, so we interviewed current students and used their words to develop the ads. From the ad, the user went to a specifically developed landing page that guided them through a simple deposit process.

From April 7-May 1, we ran 11 ad variations on Facebook and Instagram which led to 7.4% of the accepted students clicking on one of them. Wells extended the campaign and added an incentive: priority housing and early registration. We re-wrote the ads to reflect the incentive and will run this second part of the campaign through May 20.

At this point it’s too early to determine the campaign’s impact on deposits (and it may be difficult to compare to previous year’s due to New York’s newly launched free tuition program), but the high response rate is encouraging.

Digital marketing gives us the tools to reach students with tailored messages at specific points of the enrollment cycle. For example:

Early in the cycle: In a fall campaign designed to generate inquiries for the University of Maine, we used demographic and psychographic targeting to create a customized audience that resulted in 20,000 clicks & 558 inquiries.

Late in the cycle: In a late-summer enrollment campaign for Three Rivers Community College, we reached recent high school graduates, their parents, and adult learners with targeted messages that helped close the college’s enrollment gap.

Between those two points, of course, exists the bulk of the recruitment cycle, rife with opportunity to reach and convert prospects.

[calculateedu]

Humor, Honesty, and a Helping Hand Stand Out in the Recruitment Process

I know very little about Swathmore College — I am not personally or professionally affiliated with the institution — but I love the way the admissions team speaks to potential recruits. Too often, colleges fail to consider who they are talking to and how best to ignite their interest. Swathmore appears to have taken this into account, writing to the undergraduate demographic with refreshing honesty and humor, while also lending a helping hand.

A friend of a friend’s son received an outreach letter, which caught his attention from the opening statement:

“Good day, Robert,” it began. “We have learned you recently suffered the indignity of squandering several hours answering dozens of irritating multiple-choice questions. But, as a result, a large standardized testing organization gave us your address, and so we are able to send you this cheerful letter.”

Not your typical recruitment letter, for sure! In addition to the obvious use of humor, this letter stands out for addressing the absurdity of the college search process. Instead of pretending to know who Robert really is (and how Swathmore will be the perfect choice), the letter readily admits to the anonymity of their relationship.

Robert’s response: “That’s different — because it’s true. I’ll look at this one” (implying that other recruitment communications are not read).

Next, the letter lists 3 strategic Swathmore highlights before asking to take the relationship “to the next level.” This brings us to the true goal of the correspondence: engagement. Here’s how the Swathmore team moves the prospect through their admissions funnel:

“Your job: Summon the courage to thwart your every instinct and actually type the following URL into your computer of phone. (We know it hurts.) Confirm your information. Press the ‘submit’ button. Exhale.”

And he did.

In recruitment, language matters — as does psychology. The college application process is overwhelming to students, if not outright annoying at times. Swathmore lets them know they understand this. Perhaps most importantly, they are willing to help the student fulfil his/her ultimate goal: enrolling in the right college, whether or not it’s Swathmore.

In their invitation to attend a Junior Visit Day, the Swathmore team acknowledges the stress that families endure, along with a means to alleviate it.

“May 13 is not a day where we try to knock you over the head with why you should apply,” they write. “Sure, we’ll show and share Swarthmore with you, but our Junior Visit Day is mostly about demystifying the general college admissions process. We’ll have workshops, talk about writing essays, and let you have a private meeting with a real-life, experienced financial aid professional.”

Simple? Yes, but refreshing in its humor and authenticity and, I would guess, effective in its ability to attract the interest of prospective students.