Mobile Marketing & Student Recruitment: What's Hot & What's Not in 2011

Mobile Marketing & Student Recruitment: What’s Hot & What’s Not in 2011 ©Robert E. Johnson, Ph.D. 2011 ACT Enrollment Planners Conference July 20-22 , 2011 Chicago, IL Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

Part I: Overview for 2011… and onward Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

Key Strategy Issue:
Why should I put scarce resources into mobile marketing?
Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

Peril & potential in the answer…
Website experience shapes brand perception…

Growing expectation…
A “mobile friendly” web presence

Major reason people go to any website…
Complete a task

Top task challenges for recruitment…
Find academic program list
Get net cost information
Register for a campus visit
Inquire about enrollment
Check application status
Get to campus
Apply online?

Mobile App vs. Mobile Website
Mobile App
Different apps for different devices
How will people find your app?
Not easy to update
Higher performance possible/Easier use
Mobile Website
Access from any mobile device
Can find using “search”
Easy to update
Will perform as well as you build it/Not great right now

If you’re thinking about an app… Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

Main mobile challenges… Jakob Nielsen at http://bit.ly/iqAv8
4 major problems
Small screens
Awkward input
Slow downloads
Poor design for mobile
Impact on task completion
80% success on regular websites from a PC
59% success from a mobile phone

Meet challenges and success grows…
Task success was higher at sites designed for mobile access…
64% task completion at “sites for mobile”
53% task completion at regular websites
Larger screen = more success
Regular cell phones… 38% success
Regular smartphones… 55% success
Touch screen phones… 75% success ◄

Pew Internet on smartphones in 2011… http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Smartphones.aspx
35% of people 18+ have smartphones
25% of smartphone owners go online “mostly” with the phone
Highest smartphone ownership…
Higher income (59% if $75+ family income)
More educated (48% with college degree)
Non-whites (44%)
Under age 45 (58% between 25 – 34 years)

Part II: Designing for mobile… Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

The Golden Rule remains…
5 seconds to connect

3 approaches to a mobile site… http://bit.ly/nMPJSk
Tweak your present website
Automatic basic adjustments through a CSS
Adaptive layout
Changes your images and layout on your “traditional” site to fit a mobile screen
Works best if designed from the start to adapt
Dedicated mobile website
Most expensive solution
Best experience for visitors

Build a new site version for mobile?
“ Mobilize, don’t miniaturize”… anon. ◄
“ Generally speaking the mobile context is so different from the desktop one it deserves direct consideration vs. just mangling down a full-size site.”
Drew Stevenson, University of Minnesota, 2010
Mobile web best practices from W3C
http://www.w3.org/TR/mobile-bp/

Basic design rule for mobile…
Keep things simple…

Beware the iPhone trap…
iPhone can display your traditional web pages
But in a size that nobody can read without finger flicking
Goal: no finger flicking

Keep graphics small & relevant…
No room (or need) on mobile pages for graphics not directly related to the content
Make sure key content areas are immediately visible

Long links = easier mobile navigation…
3 to 5 word links are easier to touch
Avoid one word links
And especially a series of one word links one after another

The NY Times goal for mobile… “ The Internet should work like it does on PC screens.” Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

Can we meet this challenge?
“ As you go to site XYZ it will automatically create a single-column, mobile-friendly view that has navigation scaled to produce videos or slideshows so users won’t have to pinch or scan or scroll or download an app for everything.”
Robert Z. Samuels, director of mobile product development, New York Times

The NY Times on mobile… Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

Part III: Mobile Marketing in Higher Education Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

1. Direct marketing focus… Inquiries from mobile at Kettering University Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

The first image… while it loads Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

At the site… who fits at Kettering Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

Very simple enrollment inquiry… Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

Immediate email response… Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

Email links to admissions entry page… http://www.kettering.edu/futurestudents/ Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

2. Task oriented home page design… Focus on internal & external users is a special challenge… Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

A task-oriented home page… Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

No “finger flicking” here… Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

Easy to scan academic majors… Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

Clean, simple program page… Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

3. Text messaging option Find high interest inquiries early in the recruitment cycle…… St. Mary’s University, TX Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

High interest students: 2010…
% of inquiries opting for text updates…
3.9% (1,416 of 35,606)
% of applicants opting for text updates…
30.6% (1,140 of 3,720)
% of deposits opting for text updates…
46.5% (269 of 578)

High interest students: 2011…
% of inquiries opting for text updates…
4.8% (1,923 of 40,246)
% of applicants opting for text updates…
13.5% (593 of 4,387)
% of deposits opting for text updates…
55.6% (385 of 692)

Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC Percent who deposited Overall inquiries Inquiries who opted-in for text updates Yield: Inquiry to Deposit, 2010

Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC Percent who deposited Overall inquiries Inquiries who opted-in for text updates Yield: Inquiry to Deposit, 2011

Ongoing contact to increase conversion… Text messaging each month as the recruitment cycle unfolds… Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

Key: Build internal opt-in database… http://www.stmarytx.edu/admission/?go=mobileupdates Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

Not yet applied for admission…
“ Be early, catch the worm. Submit ur admission application by Jan 15 for priority consideration. Get info at www.stmarytx.edu/admission.”

Join our online community…
“ Cre8 a profile on the St Marys online community at www.BeARattler.com by Feb 1 to be entered to get ur $200 enrollment deposit waived!”

FAFSA priority deadline…
“ This is last weekend 2 finish priority FAFSA. Go 2 www.fafsa.ed.gov to submit b4 Mon Feb 15 to make sure we get results in time. StMary code is 003623”

Merit scholarship award…
“ Bob, UR hard work has paid off! Congrats on getting a merit scholarship! Learn more about financial aid at www.stmarytx.edu/finaid.”

Register for Orientation…
“ Bob, R u ready 4 Orientation? Sign-up is now open. Go to https://gateway.stmarytx.edu. We R lookin 4ward to seeing u on campus!”

Other message samples…
“ Come visit during ur holiday break! Weekday tours and visits available through Dec 22. Call 800-367-7868 or email uadm@stmarytx.edu 2 schedule.”
“ Happy 2010! May U have 12 months of happiness, 52 wks of fun, 365 days of laughter, 8760 hrs of luck, 525600 mins of joy, 31536000 seconds of success.”

4. QR Codes Using in print advertising… A place in view books, printed recruitment pieces, college fair exhibits Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

QR code caveats…
Most people do not have QR code readers on their smartphones
Give them a URL to download a reader
http://bako.do/
Don’t use them where people can’t use their phones
Subways
Airplane magazines?

How people use QR codes… http://bit.ly/lpcggL
In February, 2011…
Get coupons…………… 53%
Access more information… 52%
Sign up for more info……. 26%
Access video….. 24%
Access social media site… 23%

If you use QR codes… Essential to create a mobile friendly landing page for quick scan… 2 Sky magazine May 2011 examples Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

Not-so-good landing page… Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

Mobile friendly landing page… Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

Get started here… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_cod e Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

Experiment at places like this… http://www.qrstuff.com/ Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

Part IV: Future Mobile Marketing Perils Legal & Technical Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

Continuing provider challenges…
Multiple providers build “walled gardens”…
Apple
Google
Blackberry
Microsoft
Multiple standards for ads, apps, displays
More cost to implement mobile program

Legal challenges…
Must have consent for SMS messages
Even if someone has already signed for email
Visible “small print” cost disclosures
Verizon agreed to 12 pt. font settlement
Likely: easy to find, understand “stop sending” option

Technical challenges…
Usability…
Visitor experience will determine success
NY Times is right… “easy as access from a PC” is the goal
We are not there yet
But we are moving in that direction
Nielsen smartphone research is encouraging

Management challenges…
Content…
Content is added to websites, seldom removed
Most web content is irrelevant to most people
Silly to make all “traditional” website content “mobile friendly”… no resources for that
But what content to leave behind?
Will that decision hinder mobile-friendly websites?

Video challenges…
Might be an important element, but…
Data plane expense might limit use past “early adopters”
Video done for regular websites may not play well on smartphones
Video users will demand rapid play

Part IV: Sources of Information to Follow Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

Mobile Marketing Association… http://mmaglobal.com/policies Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

Mobile Marketer… http://www.mobilemarketer.com/ Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

Jakob Nielsen Usability Report… http://www.nngroup.com/reports/mobile/ Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

Bob Johnson’s marketing blog… http://www.bobjohnsonblog.com/mobile-marketing/ Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

Mongoose Research… http://www.mongooseresearch.com/ Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

Mobile in Higher Ed blog… http://www.dmolsen.com/mobile-in-higher-ed/ Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

MIT Open Source code for mobile… http://sourceforge.net/projects/mitmobileweb/ Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

Thank You! Bob Johnson, Ph.D. President Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC Marshall, MI 49068 248.766.6425 [email_address] Customer Carewords Website Research www.bobjohnsonconsulting.com Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC

Mobile Marketing & Student Recruitment: What's Hot & What's Not in 2011

by Bob Johnson on Jul 20, 2011

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Mobile Marketing & Student Recruitment: What’s Hot & What’s Not in 2011 Presentation Transcript