2012 E-Expectations Slides for the High Ed Web Arkansas Conference

1. E-Expectations 2012
Jeremy Rex
Sales Director
OmniUpdate
July 27, 2012
2:15 PM
RBUS 102

2. E-Expectations Research
Finding answers since 2005
Visit any partner site to find the latest studies,
including the 2012 E-Expectations of Juniors
and Seniors white paper and trend reports for
our recent Mobile and Communication
Preferences studies.

3. Agenda and Study Goals
Overview Websites Social Media E-Communications
Goals How do they find What are they Is email still a
Methodology and use our sites? using? viable tool to
Demographics Using mobile? Do they connect reach them?
Other sources What tools? these resources Is it OK to send
Content-focused with their college them text
engagement search? messages?

4. Methodology
Telephone survey of 2,000 high school students
 Facilitated in March and April 2012
 List source: National Research Center for
College and University Admissions (NRCCUA)
 95% confidence interval
 +/- 3% margin of error

5. Opportunity to Compare Their
Preferences with Our Practices
Look for this logo to signal data points from the E-Recruitment
Practices study of 256 U.S. colleges and universities facilitated
by Noel-Levitz via web survey in April 2012.

6. Prospects 48%
Inquiries 42%
Applicants 5%
At least one decision 6%
JUNIORS in the
enrollment process

7. Prospects 12%
Inquiries 13%
Applicants 15%
At least one decision 60%
SENIORS in the
enrollment process

8. Looking at Your Site: When? How?
Websites
How do they find
and use our sites?
Using mobile?
What tools?
Content-focused
engagement

9. Seniors Are Looking at College Sites
More Frequently than Juniors
60% When was the last time you visited
a college/university website?
51%
50%
40%
40%
35%
30%
23% Juniors
20% 15% Seniors
18%
10% 7%
12%
0%
Earlier today
Within past 7
days Within past
month Within past
three months

10. Goals for Site Use
Juniors: Seniors:
1. Gather info about 1. Gather info about
school, programs, school, programs,
and culture (58%) and culture (47%)
2. Take next steps in 2. Take next steps in
enrollment (34%) enrollment (45%)
3. Find ways to connect 3. Find ways to connect
with staff (8%) with staff (7%)

11. Form over Function

12. Facts vs. Feelings

13. Photos or Words?

14. Role of the Web in College Search
Similar for Juniors and Seniors
Senors
14% Juniors
Extremely important role
16%
37%
Significant role
37%
36%
Some role
39%
8%
Very small role
7%
3%
Little or no role
2%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%

15. How Will They Respond to a
Bad Website Experience?
Schools that are recommended fare worst
Three scenarios:
1. Highly interested
2. Somewhat interested
3. Recommended by someone

16. If They Struggle with Your Site, Their Opinion
of Your School Will Be Diminished
100%
90%
35% 30%
80%
53%
70%
60% No Change
50%
Diminish Opinion
47%
45% Severe Harm
40%
30% 41%
20%
20% 23%
10%
6%
0%
High interest Some interest Recommended

17. 55% couldn’t find what they
wanted because of challenges
with the site navigation
Juniors were much more likely to have
challenges finding academic and cost
content than seniors
What challenges did they experience
on the last college site they visited?

18. People, Print, and Web Resources
Help Them Build Their List of Schools
People Resources
 Guidance Counselors (74%)  Brochures/print mail from schools (72%)
 Friends (68%)  Google, Bing, or Yahoo search (67%)
 Teachers (66%)  Emails I get from schools (62%)
 Family (66%)  The College Board (51%)
 Coaches (38%)  MyCollegeOptions (40%)
 CollegeWeekLive (30%)
 Cappex (12%)
 Zinch (8%)
 Peterson’s (5%)

19. More About the PEOPLE Helping Students
Formulate Their Lists of Schools
 Guidance Counselors (74%)
o African-American (82%) compared to Caucasian (71%)
o Web plays extremely important role (77%) compared to web plays no role (58%)
 Friends (68%)
o Have access to a mobile device (72%) compared to those who don’t (60%)
 Teachers (66%)
 Family (66%)
o Caucasian (69%) compared to Asian (59%) and Hispanic (58%)
o Parent attended college (70%) compared to parent didn’t attend (56%)
o Have mobile phone (69%) compared to those without (59%)
 Coaches (38%)
o Male (43%) compared to female (33%)
o African-American (43%) compared to Asian (31%) and Hispanic (35%)
o Inquiries (41%) compared to applied (30%)

20. Web search just trailing print
 Brochures/print mail from schools (72%)
o Will give an email address (74%) compared to those who wouldn’t (57%)
 Google, Bing, or Yahoo search (67%)
o Asian (77%), African-American (74%) and Hispanic (72%) compared to
Caucasian (63%)
 Emails I get from schools (62%)
 The College Board (51%)
 MyCollegeOptions (40%)
 CollegeWeekLive (30%)
 Cappex (12%)
 Zinch (8%) Using SEO strategies?
 Peterson’s (5%) 42% of 4-yr privates
34% of 4-yr publics
21% of 2-yr schools

21. Tours, Websites, and Conversations with
Students and Staff Are Most Influential
5
4.54 4.59
4.5 4.16 4.12 4.09 4 4.04
4 3.84 3.85
3.7 3.75
3.53 3.59
3.5 3.38
3
2.47
2.5 2.29
Seniors
2 Juniors
1.5
1
0.5
0
Tour Website Talk with a Talk with College Guidance Brochures College's
student admissions search sites counselor Facebook
rep page
Source: 2012 E-Expectations Trend Report: The Communication
Expectations of College-Bound High School Students

22. More Than Two-Thirds (67%) Have Regular
Access to a Mobile Device
 20% are using tablets
 52% of college-bound
students have looked at
a college website using
a mobile device
Site optimized for mobile?
35% of 4-yr privates
39% of 4-yr publics
7% of 2-yr schools

23. Exposure to QR Codes at Odds with Use
17% of juniors and 13% of
seniors have used a QR code Are we overdoing it?
related to a college or university
84% said it was a worthwhile
experience
Using QR codes?
67% of 4-yr privates
61% of 4-yr publics
44% of 2-yr schools

24. Seniors More Likely Than Juniors to Have Viewed
a Calendar on a College or University Website
56% Seniors; 45% Juniors
90% say this was a rewarding
experience
Looking for:
 Admissions events (28%)
 Admissions deadlines (25%)
 Campus tour/visit events (15%)
 Student activities (8%)
 Athletic events (7%)

25. Webcam Use Higher Among
Some Students of Color
75% of students would talk to an
admission rep or current student via
webcam
 81% of juniors
 69% of seniors
Underrepresented students are more
likely to use webcams for personal use
 45% overall
 Asian (62%)
 African-American (52%)
 Hispanic (46%)
 Caucasian (39%)

26. Students Say They Would Participate
in Live Chat Sessions…
69% of all students would
participate in a live chat
event with faculty about a
specific program
72% would do so to learn
more about cost, aid, and
scholarships

27. If only we would ASK them to participate
in live chat!
While 75% of
students would chat
with college reps via
webcam...
only 4% have
actually had these
online conversations

28. Have content priorities shifted?
Does the method of engagement change
their content goals?
Are juniors looking for different content
than seniors?

29. Content Priorities

30. Most Effective Way to Learn About a School’s
ACADEMIC PROGRAM OPTIONS
71%
Descriptions on a website 68%
68%
Printed brochures 74%
61%
Presentations from… 58%
55%
Email from program faculty 56%
Web search 50% Seniors
53%
Juniors
48%
Independent online sites 50%
43%
Videos of faculty/current students 43%
38%
Social media 38%
31%
Blog posts 30%
24%
Live chats/webcasts 29%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

31. Preferred Way to Find List of Programs
Which of these options does your site offer?
41% Browse through an alphabetically-ordered list
33% Use a search box
26% Look through a college or departmental page for
all of the programs within that area

32. Most Effective Way to Learn About
COST, AID, AND SCHOLARSHIPS
Details on a website 49%
49%
Printed brochures 29%
34%
Email from financial aid staff 28%
28%
Presentations from financial aid 21%
staff 21%
Videos explaining how to apply for 16%
Seniors
aid/scholarships 19%
Juniors
Independent online sites 16%
20%
Calculators 15%
16%
Search 15%
18%
Live Chats/Webcasts 10%
12%
Social media pages 9%
11%
Blog posts 8%
9%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

33. Calculator Use Decreased
23% of all students have used one,
down from 36% in 2011
31% of seniors had done so, compared to
15% of juniors
Why haven’t they used a calculator yet?
74% haven’t found one, up from 50% in 2011
No significant difference between juniors or seniors
Got a net price calculator?
90% of 4-yr privates
77% of 4-yr publics
59% of 2-yr schools

34. Most Effective Way to Learn About a School’s
CAMPUS LOCATION AND COMMUNITY
Website details 68%
69%
Campus visits 72%
69%
Printed brochures 58%
62%
Email messages 50%
52%
46%
Search 44%
Videos 47%
44%
Independent sites 41%
42%
Seniors
Social media 34%
36% Juniors
Blog posts 30%
30%
Live chats/webcasts 25%
29%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

35. 43% of All Students Viewed a
Virtual Tour or Interactive Campus Map
32% to see how big/small the
campus is
26% to learn more about the
area around campus
24% to get a sense of the
buildings and architectural style
11% to see the insides of the
residence halls
4% to see what the people look
like

36. Did it change the way you feel about the school?
51% no change
Virtual Tour: 33% yes, for the better
40% of 4-yr privates
52% of 4-yr publics
38% of 2-yr schools 12% some better, some worse
Interactive Map:
35% of 4-yr privates 3% yes, for the worse
44% of 4-yr publics
10% of 2-yr schools

37. 4 out of 5 Seniors Visited a College Campus
Plans to visit: Groups with significantly higher results:
 54% will visit top schools  High ability
 23% will visit all schools  High income
 5% won’t visit ANY  Private college interest
schools because of cost
 Using website frequently
or distance
 Planning to visit all schools
 1% have no interest in
visiting  Further in enrollment process, especially those
with at least one decision or apps submitted
Formal visit?
59% Juniors
74% Seniors

38. 80% of seniors and 70% of
juniors expect to “re-visit”
schools they’ve already seen

39. Can they find your inquiry form easily?
When they find the content they need on your
site, they’re going to look for a way to connect
and engage!
1. Inquiry form
2. Visit options
3. Faculty email links
4. Admissions email links
5. Catalog detail
Inquiry form online?
88% of 4-yr privates
77% of 4-yr publics
62% of 2-yr schools

40. Have you “pinned” anything yet?
Social Media
What are they
using?
Do they connect
these resources
with their college
search?

41. Facebook Use Remains Steady at 79%
Visited a school page? 69% have “liked” a school’s page
46% have—up from 27% in 2011 What do they expect in return?
 All ethnic groups higher than Hispanic 36% Info about admissions deadlines and events
 Visiting college sites frequently 34% Info about academic programs
 Visited at least one school 30% Updates through the news feed
 Have received at least one decision 30% The name of the school to appear in their “likes”
26% Special info they can’t get elsewhere
26% Interaction with page admins
26% Contact from school about admission
25% Photos and videos
21% Interaction with other people who like the page
How often do you 20%
18%
Posts to share
Specific info tailored to user profile
expect updates?

42. 70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
Student Expectations
20% 4-yr Private
4-yr Public
10% 2-yr School
0%
More than 1x/day Every 2x/week 1x/week 2x/month 1x/month Never Other
1/x day other day
98% of 4-year privates have a Facebook page (70% have a separate admissions page)
97% of 4-year publics have a Facebook page (74% have a separate admissions page)
93% of 2-year schools have a Facebook page (21% have a separate admissions page)

43. Twitter Use Increased to 27% — Up from 9%
25% follow a school feed—up from 19%
How often do you look at/update Twitter?
Using Twitter?
60%
4-yr private: 37%
50% 4-yr public: 44%
2-yr school: 14%
40%
30%
Student Use
20% 4-yr Private
4-yr Public
2-yr School
10%
0%
Many 1x/day Every other 2x/week 1x/week 2x/month Never Other
times/day day

44. 19% Use Google+; 10% Include Schools
How often do you look at/update Google+?
80%
Using Google+?
70%
4-yr private: 7%
60% 4-yr public: 10%
2-yr school: 0%
50%
40%
Student Use
30% 4-yr Private
4-yr Public
20%
10%
0%
Many 1x/day Every other 2x/week 1x/week 2x/month 1x/month Never Other
times/day day

45. 6% Use Pinterest; 5% Pin School Posts
How often do you look at/update Pinterest?
100% Using Pinterest?
90% 4-yr private: 4%
80% 4-yr public: 11%
70%
2-yr school: 3%
60%
50%
40% Student Use
4-yr Private
30%
4-yr Public
20% 2-yr School
10%
0%
Many 1x/day Every other 2x/week 1x/week 2x/month 1x/month Never Other
times/day day

46. Other Social Media Resources Used by Students
YouTube 62%
Tumblr 9%
StumbleUpon 7%
Storify 1%
SCVNGR 1%
FourSquare 1%
None 7%

47. More Than a Third (35%) Will “Check In”
While Visiting Your Campus
35% will check in
12% might
53% would not
(This question asked of any student indicating
use of Facebook, FourSquare, Gowalla,
SCVNGR or other location-based resources.)

48. Agenda
E-Communications
Is email still a
viable tool to
reach them?
Is it OK to send
them text
messages?

49. Email Use Remains Steady
78% of juniors and 85% of seniors say they
still use email at least once per week
Significant differences (higher than others)
 Higher ability students (A and B averages)
 Asian students
 Further in process (at least one decision)
93% will give an email address to schools
Just 5% will give a family or parent account
When?
55% When they ask for it (Juniors 63%; Seniors 48%)
40% Application (Juniors 33%; Seniors 45%)
4% Post-acceptance
1% Never

50. But, will they open those messages?
97%
68%

51. It Might Be Time to Start Your Texting
Program, If You Haven’t Already
60% say it’s OK to send them texts
Especially…
 African-American and Hispanic
 Lower income
 Students from the South
 Mobile users
Why not?
 Don’t bother me! 58%
 Texting is for family/friends 27%
 No data plan 6%
 I’m not ready 3%
 Too expensive 3%
 Phone doesn’t text 3%

53. Recommendations

54. Improve Customer Service Experiences on Your Site
Segment content by class year and for
decision influencers
Invest in your information architecture
Using QR codes? Be sure the value-add is clear
Ready for even more mobile users?
Make admissions events and deadlines easy
to find on your calendar
Experiment with a variety of webcast/
webcam and live chat engagement
options

55. Content Experience Matters

56. Content Experience Ideas
1 SEO strategies should focus on academic programs
2 Don’t use your org chart to drive how users find
your majors
3 Make engagement options with staff, faculty, and
current students easy to find
4 Make sure that inquiry form and other engagement
options are easy to find and use

57. Stop hiding your calculator!

58.  Videos and interactive
maps help users get a
sense of place
 Highlight your visit
options—Do you have
anything specific for repeat
visitors in your web copy?
 What specific visit/event
options are available for
sophomores and juniors?
 Preset “check in” locations
through Facebook and
FourSquare or SCVNGR;
cue site users and visitors
that these resources are
available

59. Invest in the Right Social Media Assets

60. Facebook
 Post at least once to twice per week
 Facilitate dialogue with and between “likers”
 Give clear calls to action that integrate with
the website
 Remember to feature Facebook feeds and
specific resources with descriptions that
demonstrate value
 Set up measurement resources and
remember to check results

61. YouTube
 Carry on! Keep adding and categorizing
resources to make it easy for users to
find newest or by interest
 Integrate within your communication
flows and between other social media
channels
 Mix up the content focus, style, and
production values
 Measure!

62. Twitter
 Develop a specific
strategy for Twitter
related to your markets
and goals
 Don’t rely on Facebook
coupling to carry the day
with your content
 Engage current students
(leaders, ambassadors)
in tweet strategies

63. Google+
 Pull together your content
calendar and measurement
strategies
 Experiment with huddles

64. Pinterest
 Pull some of your best photos from other assets and
build some initial boards, then watch repins and other
engagement
 Consider board development by residence calls,
majors, athletics, clubs, and other naturally occurring
groups on your campus
 Think about “repinnability” of your pins and boards—
a little humor can get you a lot of attention
 Go beyond photos to add video assets to your boards

65. Email: Still NOT Dead
 Keep it in your overall
communications flow mix
 Integrate messages with your
social media editorial calendars
 Be sure that key message
themes from inquiry stage are
repeated in your yield flows
 Are you testing your messages?
 Do you have content-matched
landing pages to support
engagement and conversion?
 Are you measuring carefully and
remembering to check in on the
results on a regular basis?

66. Use the Communication Channels
Students Prefer
 The conversations students have with
campus representatives are impactful
 Students use live chat, webcams, and
text messaging frequently… and are
open to speaking with campus reps
through these channels
 Get a strategy in place to line up with
the rest of your communications flow
 Use texting for key upcoming deadlines
and use live chat or webcasts to make
personal connections
 Set up a measurement strategy and pay
attention to the results

67. Questions?

68. Thank You!
Jeremy Rex
Sales Director, OmniUpdate
jrex@omniupdate.com
@j_rex