The document discusses how social media and online conversations are changing how private schools market and recruit students. It notes that markets are now conversations that are constantly changing, and that search engine optimization and inbound marketing techniques can help schools engage in these online conversations and expose themselves to more potential students through the "long tail" of search terms. The goal is for schools to present themselves authentically in networked conversations rather than through traditional broadcast marketing.

1. Social is Sexy
Courting Admissions’ Target Market in Today’s
Ever-changing Online Social Scene
Brendan Schneider, SEWICKLEY ACADEMY
Travis Warren, W H I P P L E H I L L , I N C.
Friday, October 5
10:30 - 11:30

2. What is Sexy?

6. Full-Pay,
Mission-Appropriate
Students

7. Social is Sexy but...

8. there is more to it.

9. Markets are now
conversations.
Conversations that are
changing all the time...

10. Markets are now
conversations.
Conversations that are
changing all the time...

11. FLICKR / STUCKINCUSTOMS

13. That said.

14. Markets were Markets FLICKR/MARCP_DMOZ

15. Market-leaders FLICKR/ROOTOLOGY

16. Industrial Interruption FLICKR/LAWRENCE_EVIL

17. Power swung so
decisively to the
supply side that
market became a
verb: something you do to customers.
WHIPPLEHILL

18. “One problem: there is no demand for
messages. The customer doesn’t want to hear
from business, ... The message that gets
broadcast to you, me, and the rest of the earth’s
population has nothing to do with me in
particular. It’s worse than noise. It’s an
interruption. It’s the Anti-Conversation.

19. That’s the awful truth about marketing. It
broadcasts messages to people who don’t want
to listen. Every advertisement, press release,
publicity stunt, and giveaway engineered by a
Marketing department is colored by the fact
that it’s going to a public that doesn’t ask to
hear it.”

20. New revolution in
Marketing enabled
by the Internet.
Networked Markets

21. IN
6. “The Internet is enabling
A
R
T
E
U
L
conversations among human
C
beings that were simply not
possible in the era of mass media”.

26. IN
A
R
15. “the sound of mission
T
E
U
L
C
statements and brochures—
will seem as contrived and
artificial as the language of
the 18th century French
court”
(c) gapingvoid.com

27. W elcome to Blank School. It is my hope that by exploring our web site,
you will discover the countless opportunities available at Blank to young
men who are in pursuit of academic excellence, sound character
development, and athletic and artistic training at the highest levels.
Since our founding in 1900, Blank has been a leader in the education of
boys. Our traditional approach to education provides our talented and
diverse student body with the tools necessary to be successful leaders,
thinkers and innovators in today’s world. While we are proud to send our
students to the finest universities and colleges, our focus remains on the
development of the whole boy. At Blank, our goal is to prepare our
students to be good men as much as it is to prepare them to be exemplary
scholars.

28. IN
U
E
T 94. “networked conversations may
R
A
appear confused, may sound
L
C
confusing. But, they are organized
and have better tools, more new ideas,
no rules to slow them down”

29. 1
E
L
P
M
A
X
E
29

30. FLICKR / MARCP_DMOZ Markets were Markets

31. Markets are now
conversations.
Conversations that are
changing all the time...

32. Social is Sexy but...

33. Search Engine Optimization

34. 5,000
4,000
3,000
2,000
Boarding School Review Google

41. Search Engine Optimization
(SEO)

43. Pittsburgh Private Schools
Relevance
Authority
Social Signals

44. Inbound Marketing

45. Personas
Keywords
SEO
On-Page
Off-Page
Content

47. Personas
Keywords
SEO
On-Page
Off-Page
Content

48. Referrals.
How many of your website’s
visits came from a
search engine last month?

49. How many people visited our site?
12,000
Total
9,000
6,000
Unique
3,000
0
1
1
r1
1
1
l1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
b
ar
ay
n
g
p
ct
v
c
n
b
Ju
Ap
No
De
Ju
Ja
Au
Fe
Se
Fe
O
M
M
Source: Eagle Hill School (August 2007 - February 2008) OMNITURE

50. Eagle Hill
Visits from Google
Proctor
Fountain Valley
3,000
2,250
1,500
750
0
1
1
r1
1
1
l1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
b
ar
ay
n
g
pt
ct
v
c
n
b
Ju
Ap
No
De
Ju
Ja
Au
Fe
Fe
O
M
Se
M

51. Web Inquiries
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb
2006/07 2007/08

52. OMNITURE

53. The Long Tail
head long tail
So, if this was google what would it look like?

54. private
schools
private
school
boarding
schools
head
independent
schools
private
christian
school
prep
schools
best
private
schools
private
catholic
schools
boston
private
schools
california
private
schools
chicago
private
schools
colorado
private
schools
long tail
private
girls
school
private
boys
school
private
catholic
school
private
school
hockey
private
school
swimming
private
school
learning
disability
private
school
troubled
teens
The Long Tail

55. With SEO we exposed the long tail to Google.

56. Facebook

57. Google

58. Web Inquiries
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb
2006/07 2007/08