Marketing in the Digital Age

Transcription

1 March 2010, Barcelona, Spain Chris Price, International Director- MJD Consultancy

2 Today s Presentation Lesson 1. What's the big deal?-understand how your prospective student customer communicates- The digital native Lesson 2. Internet marketing-improve your organisation website(s) Lesson 3. The social web is as important as the formal web Lesson 4. Be innovative and understand those who are traffic dominant Lesson 5. Know what the future holds Lesson 6. Adopt some key recommendations

3 The internet has changed the way we do things forever- it s the ultimate marketing machine Your target audience use it daily Available 24 / 7 / 365 Global reach with localized content Easy updating of marketing messages Cheap means of reproduction & replication and communication Faster delivery of promotional materials Highly measurable platform (ROI/metrics/feedback) Offers innovative partnering models eg CPM, PPC, CPA, affiliate programs Interactivity/multimedia = a more compelling medium Builds global networks & communities Offers automation of many processes Saves time on product familiarisation

4 How important are the following? Sorted by Institution importance 1: Very unimportant 4: Very important Copyright IGI Services 2009

5 Students say websites are key for research % 90.00% 80.00% 70.00% 61.50% Methods of information gathering used 78.90% 60.00% 50.00% 40.00% 30.00% 20.00% 44.10% 17.00% 22.30% 30.40% 10.90% 10.00% 0.00% General education and study abroad websites University or college website Sending an to the university or college requesting information Making a phone call to the university or college Speaking to an agent Meeting a representative from the university or college Others Source: Hotcourses Survey 1000 international students Nov 2008

6 Lesson 1. What s the big deal? Because students live a wired existence which, in many ways, is becoming increasingly remote from our own

7 Need I say more???... But we must engage them in a way that is meaningful! And increase our digital efforts and output so yes I think so : )

8 Our prospective students are; Y Generation/ igen/ Millennials? -never known the world without the internet, -are more than any previous generation; Online Opinionated and informed Networked and socially active Early adopters of new technology Brand promiscuous and less trusting Expect instant responses

9 A mobile phone A laptop/pc + Internet connection at home An ipod/mp3 player Their own website/web space A group of friends with whom they communicate and share information electronically (Social Networking) They operate a 40 Hour day These students communicate by;

10 They are different to us. Digital Immigrant Remembers calling round to a friends house to see if he was in Has lent a friend a record and not had it returned Has got home late and missed something they wanted to see on TV Has read a book a friend recommended Considers their profile to appear if they stand sideways Has used a printed directory to look for a service and a map to find it Has used a travel site to book a flight or holiday Watches and reads hundreds of irrelevant advertisements a day Digital Native Finds it hard to understand how we met with friends without the aid a mobile phone Has uploaded his entire collection and his friends have done the same Has no use for a TV schedule as they watch content on demand Has compared the recommendations of hundreds of others Considers their profile to be an online extension of their offline persona Google on their mobile (now with GPRS) Types their exact criteria into software that trawls the web to find the best result Expects brands to take the time to understand and only send relevant messages

11 We have to talk to them in a new way Online communities Podcasts No longer just about information but interaction Social networking Blogs RSS news feeds Need to interact online with individuals & communities People are generating their own web content, based on their personal experiences Sources of information and opinion are global and personal

12 Lesson 2. Improve your website or make a good website better But first understand people treat websites -and the information they contain -differently to any other media. Some simple facts: -Most people decide whether they want to stay on a webpage in less than10 seconds. You have to win a visitors interest & lead them further into the site and even if they do they need to get to what they want in 3 clicks or less -Over 75% of people don't read webpages, they scan them -picking out individual words and sentences - -Most websites lose 60% of their traffic off the home page & 80%within three clicks of the home page - -Understand where your front door is and to know your own site. Alexa.com, Google Analytics, Compete.com So you only get one chance to make a first impression!

13 Back to basics- ask them what they think of your website - University Student Survey 2009 Prospective students-what they wanted INFORMATION In-depth info on courses and content (87%). To find out about the institution and what it was like to study there. Fees and funding (79%). Entry requirements was frequently cited as an area where info was usually lacking. Prospective students-what they wanted DESIRABLE DEVELOPMENTS Ease of use-make it easy/simple to get quickly to what they want. More interactivity. Virtual open days/web chat options/interactive maps/filmsvideo. Careers guidance. Nationals find it easier to fully achieve i.e. get all they want from the website than internationals by significant margins (80% vrs 60%)

14 Basic ideas to Improve your website or what makes a good website Go from Web 1.0 (static) to Web 2.0 (communicate!) Add film, podcasts, enquiry forms, auto responders anything that makes them participate /take action Optimize your site in terms of links, search and rankings as best you can Nearly all studies conducted indicate the need to improve the level of detail, type of content and information provided n the international section of education institutions websites Content is KING (understand this they need entertaining and engaging Have you thought about commercialising your site (sponsoring links, institutions of the month per market, tickertape advertising, sponsored e.zines etc)

15 So successful sites usually have all (or most) of the following: - Brevity of content on main pages - Usefulness & relevancy of information - Highly SE optimized content - Frequently updated content - Multilingual (some) content - Ease of navigation & product information flow - Ability to quickly & easily enquire, apply online - High level of interactivity (including calls to action) - Integration into back office databases (CRM) - Links to related (student) social networks - Multimedia features (podcasts, films, blogs etc) Best practice?

16 Lesson 3. The Social web - this is how students communicate & so should you The social web is nearly as important as the formal web due to its increasing traffic dominance. People are spending less time navigating the Internet on their own and are now navigating the Internet based on their friends recommendations. This friend-casting of information has helped propel social media, in particular, Facebook into a major force in directing traffic around the Web.They are becoming the new search engines Create communities in these web spaces (30% spend more than an hour+ a day doing this) Contribute and network in the BIG 5 (Facebook, YouTube, Linkedin, Wikipedia, MySpace)* Use you current students to advocate for you, e.g. Kingdom/Coventry-University/ * But note this is highly dependent on the markets you are operating in.. so what s hot in your countries and/or target markets?

17 Back to basics-ask them what they think of your institutional social networking sites- University Student Survey 2009 Prospective students-what they wanted from institutional social networking sites Meet people. Networking with current students (71%) to meet other already there and find out about their experiences. Add friends. Find other students with the same interests as themselves. Information on the institution (similar to that found on the corporate website!) Course related updates (83%) To read and post comments.

18 Where should we be? * The main reason its so important for marketing people! * Highly dependent on country, culture and popularity Source: The Economist- Special Report on Social Networking Jan 2010

19 What s hot and what s not.. Facebook overtook Yahoo as the number two site on the Web with million unique visitors (UVs) in January By contrast, Yahoo drew million UVs, and Google held the number one slot from which the site first dethroned Yahoo in February 2008 with million monthly visitors.

20 Lesson 4. Do something innovative Get into Social media, networking and blogging Use the mobile internet (SMS, Ensure site is.php) Think Apps Use IM and chat

21 Do something even more innovative Do films and go viral Digitise your print output i Tunes U They want/need to be entertained.bi NSM

22 Traffic dominant sites and there importance: You can t beat those who are traffic dominant so join them -List on the key aggregator sites or in country specialist alternatives Web education portals are still very rare Several best practice global websites that have recently come onto the market some are specialist and some are generic The easiest and most likely way to get quick results- buy traffic/list/profile with the new breed of aggregator site. These sites are the Amazons and MyTripAdvisors of the education sector MoneyScience Financial Intelligence for the Business World There are also plenty of in country options albeit usually with less traffic but sometimes more specific

23 They use search engines for nearly everything so you should bear this in mind. Case Study: Using key word search to drive traffic and enquires to institutional landing page (in country visit)

24 The results? A very happy institution Month Search engine Impressions Clicks CTR Avg CPC Cost Avg Position Google India - Search 6, % All time Google India - Content 2,345, % Yahoo India 22, % Totals and Overall Averages: 2,374,130 1, % Total costs of campaign including set up costs/ management fees (research of SE s, key words set up, interventions, reporting, CPC etc) Therefore; Cost per Click to landing page (prospect lead generated) c. students interviewed over the visit attributed to search engine campaign. Therefore; Cost per acquisition (interview in this case) 1.66 c.

25 Case Study of success In Holland UAS- targeted on line positioning/ branding with good creative/design Campaigns running in; India, China, Germany, Russia, Poland & on key global aggregators. Results (first quarter); 18m Page impressions and >21,000 leads generated. Mainly driven to specific landing pages for key agents

26 And if anyone still has any doubts about the winning potential of a good web based campaign The internet (and particulaly Social media) changed the paradigm of politics for the most powerful elected position in the world YouTube- ubiquitious in the election for getting a message across (didn t exist in last election) Facebook- criticial in Obama campaign was only invented a few months before the 2004 election) 3,059,423 supporters

27 Lesson 5. Understand what's around the corner... So what does the future hold?

28 Does anyone know what this is?

29 The future is here, now! itunesu- 100M downloads The virtual internet(?)-learning online / education exhibitions. Increasing On line counselling/mini seminars for sure Mobile internet-more on mobile than on fixed platforms From push to pull marketing Chat /instant communications inc. webinars, on line counselling by clients (less travelling?) The increasing dominance of the social web Web 3.0 aggregators- the kings of the jungle Education marketing is becoming big business on the internet i Pad/Kindle will kill printed materials over time

30 Lesson 6. Key recommendations 1) Increase the visibility, design & functionalityof your website in target markets 2) Create on line community(ies) or get into one that represents your key demographic(s) 3) Galvanise your organisational e.communications 4) Give emarketing a central role in your marketing endeavour 5) Understand and use key trends (mobile internet usage, social networks and blogging, aggregator sites, APPs) 7) Take up the digital marketing challenge and take ownership (centrally and by faculty)!

31 9 on line marketing trends for 2010 Increasing customer retention efforts (High School to Bachelors,Bachelors to Masters, Masters to PhD). As it going to be harder and more expensive to get them in the first place. And then retain them.. Increasingly need for attractive ( killer ) content (esp. film). More targeted and relevant communications across a variety of devices ( , smart phones, SMS, instant messaging) Social, Social, Social- better leveraging of social media communities (peer group approval and search). Social as the next generation of search engines. Increasing analytic sophistication to drive business decisions. Including enhanced CRM for segmentation and efficiency. Enhanced search marketing advertising and use of the aggregators. Behavioural marketing; from push to pull, Geo-Google (IP specific), keyword search etc. Continue to integrate distribution channels and emphasis on on line with less off line -but understand you target markets mix You are going to have to do more with less (clients will have anincreasingly resource constrained environment) Therefore a more competitive multi channel market place with an increasingly expense constrained environment.

32 Thank you! - Comments/ Questions?