Jason Lipschutz, Insights Analyst for higher education at LinkedIn, shares data on higher education trends and keys to success for education marketers on LinkedIn.

1. Jason Lipschutz
Insights Analyst, LinkedIn
Higher Education
on LinkedIn –
Annual Audit and
Trends Report

2. What makes marketers
successful on LinkedIn?
The answer has a lot in
common with NYC itself...

3. Capitalize
on network
effects
1
Diversity
breeds
resiliency
2
Make smart
investments to
rise to the top
3
Top 3 pillars of EDU marketer success
on LinkedIn

4. NYC is a success
story built on
network effects...

5. 575M >2 new
Members Members
Per Second
Monthly Unique
Visitors
158M
LinkedIn has had a record year
Source: LinkedIn Internal Data

6. LinkedIn’s student coverage is
growing along with it
Nearly 90% of 2017 US
graduates are on LinkedIn
Source: LinkedIn Internal Data and the NCES

7. And these students are active on LinkedIn
before enrolling
Source: LinkedIn Internal Data
8% more connections
31% more shares
17% more group pageviews
Graduate students in the year prior to enrollment vs. average US member
38% more mobile pageviews
12% more companies followed
23% more likely to network
with other professionals

8. EDU marketers are responding
with increased advertising
Source: LinkedIn Internal Data
0%
500%
1000%
1500%
2000%
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 (Projected)
LinkedIn EDU # of campaigns vs. 2013

9. And prospects are
receiving the message…
more EDU prospects projected to
submit lead forms in ‘18 vs. ‘17
Source: LinkedIn Internal Data
250%

10. …and enrolling
Source: LinkedIn Internal Data
increase in enrollments after
exposure to paid ads (‘18 v. ’17)
220%

11. Diversity makes
NYC resilient
and innovative

12. New pockets of industry depth have
emerged on LinkedIn
US LinkedIn Members:
2 Million RNs
70% of all Registered
Nurses
3 Million Teachers
96% of all Teachers
Source: https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes291141.htm
https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=372

13. And these professions
are some of LinkedIn's
fastest growing
Source: LinkedIn Internal Data
Nursing and Teaching degrees
are growing 1.9xand 1.8x
faster than Business degrees

14. LinkedIn members are
rapidly enrolling in
online degrees
LinkedIn members added nearly
Source: LinkedIn Internal Data
500Knew degrees from the
top 20 online schools last year

15. And are increasingly
starting more Bachelor’s
degrees
Source: LinkedIn Internal Data
50%of these online starters
are Bachelor’s students
70%of these BAs had LinkedIn
profiles before enrolling

16. Members are using degrees to
pivot into new fields
% of US members entering Master’s degree from non-related industry:
25%
Education
35%
Computer Science
20%
Business
Source: LinkedIn Internal Data

17. But just like in NYC,
it’s tricky to stand out
from the crowd

18. Prospects are doing
their research
of prospects develop a list
of schools before filling out
a lead form
Source: Connecting with Today’s Prospective Student, LinkedIn – 8/2015
72%

19. And many leads are enrolling at other schools
Source: LinkedIn Internal Data
Blinded Case Study
7 out of 10in-market leads
from all sources enroll elsewhere
when not effectively nurtured.
LinkedIn research shows that
Leads Submitted to School
25K
In-Market Prospects
2K
Enrolled at School
100

20. NYC has made
smart investments
to rise to the top

21. Target broadly to discover
your real audience
Source: LinkedIn Internal Data
Blinded Case Study
45% better cost-per-enrollment for broad targeting in A/B test
vs.
BROAD AUDIENCE TARGET NARROW AUDIENCE TARGET

22. Stay top of mind with
high-frequency messaging…
Source: LinkedIn Internal Data
Blinded Case Study
R E A C HI M P R E S S I O N
V O L U M E
786K + INDIVIDUALS (Audience Size 100M+)
I M P R E S S I O N S
E N G A G E M E N T S
C O N V E R S I O N S
463K
(60%)
63K
(8%)
3K
(20%)
5K
(33%)
462
(16%)
1304
(50%)
1 - 2
3 - 9
1 0 +
of conversions
driven by
8% of reach
50%
( W I T H F R E Q U E N C Y O F 1 0 + )

23. Like the city that never sleeps, be always-on
Lead volume is
relatively stable
month-to-month
across EDU, with
Oct-Dec
averaging the
most leads per
campaign
Source: LinkedIn Internal Data
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
120%
140%
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
Leads Generated Per Campaign by Month [Indexed Against Avg.]

24. 0%
50%
100%
150%
200%
250%
0%
80%
160%
240%
320%
400%
Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun
CostPerLead(Vs.1st
Month)
Spend(vs.1st
Month)
Spend vs. Initial Month Cost Per Lead vs. Initial Month
And capitalize on the efficiencies
CPL declines over time
with increased brand
awareness, campaign
optimizations, and
improved ad relevance
scores generating
cheaper bids
Source: LinkedIn Internal Data
Blinded Case Study
CPL vs. Spend Over Time

25. Mix brand with DR to get the best ROI
2x Lift in Lead
Submission Rate
1,335 Leads604 Leads
At 0.2% submission rate
of exposed audience
SINGLE DR CREATIVE MULTIPLE DR + BRAND CREATIVES
At 0.4% submission rate
of exposed audience
DISPLAY ADS
DYNAMIC ADS
SPONSORED INMAIL
SPONSORED CONTENT
DISPLAY ADS
Source: Blinded Case Study

26. Leverage all the tools in your toolkit
24x
Source: LinkedIn Internal Data
Increase in enrollment
rate when running
Sponsored Content +
Text Ads + InMail vs.
only Text Ads
Native ads that appear
in the LinkedIn feed
Sponsored Content Sponsored InMail Text Ads
Personalized, targeted
LinkedIn messages
Simple PPC or CPM
desktop ads

27. Nurture your leads
to seal the deal
increase in enrollment rate
for leads messaged 3+ times
after lead submission
30%

28. EDU is thriving on LinkedIn
1. Massive network has made it a key platform for
both students and schools
2. Diverse audience is perfect for promoting different
degrees and programs
3. Higher Ed is competitive, and you need to make
smart investments to stand out and thrive
4. Maximize performance on LinkedIn by…
q Targeting broadly to discover your real audience
q Staying top of mind with high-frequency messaging
q Being always-on to maintain a steady flow of leads
q Varying your messaging and ad products to ensure you’re heard
q Nurturing your leads to seal the deal