The document discusses challenges in lead generation and student retention for career colleges and schools, highlighting a significant decline in student enrollment and the misuse of outdated methodologies. It emphasizes the importance of leveraging data, adopting omnichannel strategies, and creating dynamic student engagement strategies to better attract and retain students. Effective strategies include using targeted communications, campus visits, online engagement, and continuous testing of messaging to improve enrollment yields.

1. CREATIVE LEAD-GEN FOR CAREER COLLEGES & SCHOOLS
JULY 27, 2017
PREPARED BY: FOR:
GREG IPPOLITO PAPSA 2017 ANNUAL CONFERENCE
PRESIDENT + CREATIVE DIRECTOR, IMA
GREG@IMA314.COM
215-421-3034
Level: Public ©2017, IMA

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@IMA_SpeakSoftly
@PAPSA_ORG

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“It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue”
Leave your stepping stones behind, something calls for you,
Forget the dead you’ve left, they will not follow you.
The vagabond who’s rapping at your door
Is standing in the clothes that you once wore.
Strike another match, go start anew,
‘Cause it’s all over now, Baby Blue.

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“[The lyrics read] like the wincing, helpless
lament of a bystander to someone else’s
breakdown or self-immolation.”
- Time magazine

6. Search Marketing
SEO, AdWords, Display + remarketing
Content Marketing
Articles, infographics, videos, interactive
Social Media Marketing
Strategy + execution (paid + organic)
Digital Branding
Brand ID, positioning, campaigns
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“I strongly recommend IMA
to anyone who is looking to
move beyond transactional
messaging and seeks to build
meaningful relationships with
their audience.”
- ANDREW B. PALUMBO
DEAN OF ADMISSIONS & FINANCIAL AID
PLYMOUTH STATE UNIVERSITY

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▪ In 2017, 81,000 fewer high school
graduates nationwide are heading to
post-secondary education (that’s
down 9 percent from last year)
▪ 2.4 million fewer post-secondary
students are enrolled now vs. 2011
▪ No upswing is expected until 2023, and
“even then the recovery will be slow”

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▪ Too few new students coming in
▪ Too many current students going out
(retention/completion)
▪ Institutional inertia

10. CLIENTS
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AWARDS
PUBLICATIONS

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▪ Higher-ed is woefully behind other industries
when it comes to leveraging omnichannel
strategies for lead-gen and retention
▪ “The customer experience isn’t defined by
brands anymore. It’s defined by the customer.”
–Kathy Hickey, executive director, marketing,
Comcast

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▪ Identifying “best fit” students
▪ Lead nurturing & scoring
▪ Blending art & science (creativity & testing)

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14. 1. Institutional inertia
2. Misuse of newer methodologies (i.e., digital tech)
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15. 1. Institutional inertia
o inadequate or nonexistent guidance counseling in high schools
o a lack of advertising by “specialty” colleges and state agencies
o reliance on traditional methodologies*
*Do you keep showing up at high-school college fairs, only to watch the majority of kids walk up to other tables?
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16. 2. Misuse of newer methodologies (i.e., digital tech)
o “Common App”
o “Reply-to-apply” email gimmick
o In both cases, applications go up … but yield drops*
* The University of Colorado Boulder has seen an increase in applications, but its yield rate is down to roughly 20 percent.
At Drexel University, tech drove a similar rise in applications, yet the school’s yield rate dropped to as low as 8 percent.
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17. STUDENTS AFTER YEAR ONE:
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28%
did not return
to any school
39%
did not return
to the same school
National Student Clearinghouse Research Center (2015)

18. ▪ The audiences your engage actually want what you have to offer
▪ You’ll work less to educate/“sell” the benefits of career/technical ed
▪ Yield goes up … as does retention (because they want to be there)
▪ You can compete within category, instead of against “the world”
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77%of all global search
6.58Bsearches per day, worldwide
$167Bnet worth

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98+data points (minimum)*
1.23Bdaily active users, worldwide
$64.9Bnet worth
*Including (beyond demographics): whether you have
kid(s)/pet(s), your favorite restaurants, which OTC
medications you buy, how long you’ve lived in your house,
how much you’re likely to spend on your next car, if you
have a gaming console, how your investments are
allocated, and what kinds of credit cards you have.

21. 1. Leverage data
2. Split test
... and do both like you mean it.
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> The data is out there. But you need to use it correctly.

23. > The data is out there. But you need to use it correctly.
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A very crowded
marketplace …

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> The data is out there. But you need to use it correctly.

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A keyword that
hasn’t been
leveraged …
> The data is out there. But you need to use it correctly.

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> Don’t assume you know what your audience wants. Find out.
Facebook (2017)

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> Don’t assume you know what your audience wants. Find out.
Two critical items to test:
▪ Ads (e.g., Google text ads, display/ “banner” ads, Facebook posts)
▪ Landing Pages
So you can determine:
▪ What ads are driving optimal traffic to your website
▪ What LP content is enabling the best conversion

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> Don’t assume you know what your audience wants. Find out.
VWO (2017)

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> Don’t assume you know what your audience wants. Find out.
Using this example, if you run
four A/B split tests,* and beat
your “control” by the same
margin, you’ll increase your
inbound applicants by 209%.
*Which can be done in a matter of mere months.

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▪ Two big issues affecting quality applications are (1) institutional
inertia, and (2) misuse of new technologies.
▪ Online data is massive, specific and accessible.
Use it to target your “best-fit students.”
▪ By finding your “best-fit students,” the quality and number of
applications go up — boosting both new enrollment and retention.
▪ When it comes to online recruitment strategy, avoid the obvious.
Digital media allows smart marketers to be nimble and super-
efficient; use that to your advantage.
▪ To refine the effectiveness of your online messaging: test, test, test!

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“College and
university
enrollment is
down for a fifth
straight year.”
- Hechinger Report
Dec 2016

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▪ Application/acceptance is only the first step
▪ Yield/enrollment is the critical second step
▪ “The fish aren’t worth anything until they’re in the boat.”

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▪ Cost (or other financial constraints)
▪ Rigors of academic work
▪ Competing demands of study, family and job
▪ Underwhelming experience at the institution
Harvard University Study (2011)

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▪ Get them excited — really excited! — about the prospect of starting classes
▪ Put more into your campus tour
“The campus tour is the
most influential element in
students’ application and
enrollment decisions.”
- Ruffalo Noel Levitz
2015

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▪ In addition to the usual information sessions and
walk-arounds …
▪ Happy hour – where incoming students enjoy drinks
& hors d’oeuvres, and mingle with successful alumni
▪ Get their pulse up – Texas A&M jets students around
their campus on ATVs
▪ Overnights – Plymouth State University invites visiting
students to stay in the dorms overnight*
▪ Cookies! – Students visiting Brandeis smell fresh-
baked cookies upon arrival**
“Ugh. They’re all the same.”
- Two prospective students on tour,
Boston Globe (2015)
*The worst-kept secret on campus is that many
students sneak out.
**One study calculated that the most asked
question of touring students is: “Does your
cafeteria have soft-serve ice cream?”

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▪ Virtual tours
▪ Online Q&A*
@Ask_PSU
* For Plymouth State University, we ran a live,
two-hour online event called “Ask PSU,” where
prospective students could ask anything they
wanted of current students. It was the most
successful singular event of the recruiting season.

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▪ One of the most-effective tools for increasing yield is a responsive, dynamic
Student Engagement Strategy (SES)
▪ This requires a variety of communication channels:
o Email
o Social media
o Text messaging
o “Traditional” (e.g., direct mail)
▪ Such a strategy must do two things:
o Adapt to the student’s wants/needs
o Help the student overcome critical obstacles

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Y
N
VIEWED
INFOGRAPHIC?
2B
2A
ACCEPTED CAMPUS
TOUR INVITATION?
Y
N
VIEWED ALUMNI
SUCCESS STORY?
Y
N
ADMISSIONS TO REACH OUT AND
SCHEDULE ONE-ON-ONE INTEVIEW
AFTER CAMPUS TOUR.
Y
N
3A
Y
N
Y
N
3B
3C
DOWNLOADED FAQs? …
DOWNLOADED FAQs? …
ACCEPTED
EXCLUSIVE OFFER? …
…

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▪ Each “Yes” response is associated with a boost in Lead Score
▪ Once a Lead Score reaches a certain number — e.g., 70 out
of 100 — you’ll know, with statistical confidence, that student is
highly likely to enroll
▪ This gives you a North Star to move toward with your SES

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▪ Cost (or other financial constraints)
▪ Rigors of academic work
▪ Competing demands of study, family and job
▪ Underwhelming experience at the institution
Harvard University Study (2011)
Leverage your SES to address,
and overcome, these obstacles.

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▪ Not all audiences are the same
▪ Across-the-board findings from our work:
o Parents tend to prefer email
o Students tend to prefer a combination of email, text
messages, and private social media forums
▪ One pilot program’s results:
o 8 text messages sent to students over the summer, reminding them of
impending deadlines, resulted in a 9% increase in enrollment (White
House Social and Behavioral Science Team, 2016)
▪ Our own case study:
o A recent SES, also employed to reduce “summer melt,” netted our
client 24 additional students (YoY), with an estimated value of $1.7M

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▪ Getting quality applications is only half the battle. You need to
transform interest into enrollment (yield).
▪ It’s critical that you shape perception to build excitement around
your school experience (focus more on the abstract, and less on
the specific); on-campus tours/events should be a key part of this.
▪ For students who can’t visit your campus, engage them online —
via virtual tours and/or online events.
▪ Engineer a responsive & dynamic Student Engagement Strategy
(SES), replete with automated message delivery and lead scoring.
▪ To refine the effectiveness of your SES: test, test, test!

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