This document provides an overview of inbound marketing for higher education. It discusses how inbound focuses on creating educational content to attract potential students to a website where they can learn more. It outlines the inbound methodology of attracting visitors, converting them to leads, closing leads as customers, and delighting customers. Case studies describe how Florida Institute of Technology and Thunderbird School of Management improved lead generation and conversions using HubSpot tools like landing pages, analytics, and lead management. The document concludes by discussing how the company works with clients through education, audits, webinars, and serving as an agency or coach.

1. Inbound Marketing:
Overview For
Higher Education
Andrea J. Simon, Ph.D.
President and CEO
Andrew L. Simon, MBA
Inbound Marketing Partner
Inbound Marketing

2. The Times
They Are
A-Changin’
An Anthem for
the Times

3. For any college…
• Key questions are:
– Does our online content answer someone’s question about…?
– Does our website come up on the first page on Google? As the
response to which keywords?
– Does it keep the right people coming back for more? Do we “fit”
their needs and do they “fit” ours?
– Do we nourish them? Delight them afterwards?
– Are we the authority on the topic that we want to “own?”
– Can we attract the right students more cost effectively?

4. From Push It Out To Pull Them
We Know that Marketing is Going Through
a Major Transformation

5. LET ME INTRODUCE HUBSPOT
Why We Love the Platform

6. • HubSpot was founded in 2006 as a result of a simple
observation: people have transformed how they live,
work, shop, and buy, but businesses have not adapted.
• HubSpot is on a mission to make the world more
inbound, one business transformation after another.
• SAMC is HubSpot certified.

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goes
here
Funded Sequoia Capital,
Google Ventures &
Salesforce
Founded by MIT Sloan Graduates
13,000
customers
worldwide
HubSpot
growth rate
of 6015%
Average
HubSpot
customer
lead growth:
32%
Over three years

8. ALL-IN-
ONE
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here
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goes
here
Social
MediaContent
Creation
Email &
Lead
Nurturing
SEO
Marketing
Analytics
Marketing
Automation
Landing
Pages
HubSpot simplifies your
marketing by pulling
together everything you
need to grow your
business

9. BEGIN WITH COLLEGE STORIES
Some Illustrative Case Studies

11. Does It Work?
• Before HubSpot:
• Had trouble identifying who was actually
visiting their website
• Extremely long forms limited their ability
to convert prospective students to
applicants

12. With HubSpot

13. • HubSpot Landing Pages made it easy to create short, simple forms that
resulted in a big boost in leads and prospects.
• HubSpot Analytics enabled Florida Institute of Technology to see how their
website was performing overall, which marketing activities were generating
the most traffic and leads, and where to increase or cut marketing
investments.
• HubSpot Lead Management helped the marketing team at Florida Institute
of Technology more effectively nurture prospective student leads, and boost
their conversion rate.
Their Assessment

15. Who Is Thunderbird?
• Thunderbird School of Management has
more than 65 years of experience in
developing leaders and they are regarded as
the world's leading institution in the education
of global managers.

16. • Thunderbird Online is a professional development
division of Thunderbird School of Global
Management.
• They provide online courses and executive
certificates to busy professionals seeking to
continue learning throughout their professional
career.

17. • Thunderbird Online was having trouble driving traffic
to their site, and even worse, converting that traffic.
• If they wanted to publish or edit existing landing
pages, they had to outsource work to an outside
firm. They needed a reliable, in-house system.
The Problem They Were Facing?

18. 442%
increase in lead conversion
252%
increase in organic traffic
50%
decrease in conversion cycle
After they became HubSpot users…

19. TIME TO THINK INBOUND!!
For Any Organization…

20. 1 WHAT IS INBOUND MARKETING?
2 THE PHILOSOPHY: WHY INBOUND WORKS
3 THE METHODOLOGY: HOW INBOUND WORKS
4 THE TOOLS: A PLAYBOOK THAT WORKS
Short Overview

21. WHAT IS INBOUND
MARKETING?1

22. Instead of buying ads, buying email lists or
cold calling, inbound marketing focuses on
creating educational content that
pulls people toward your website where
they can learn more about what you sell on
their own accord.
WHAT IS INBOUND MARKETING?

23. INBOUND IS AN APPROACH TO MARKETING
THAT REACHES TODAY’S CONSUMER.
Understand what
content pulls your
buyers through the
sales funnel, and use
that context to
personalize your
marketing at scale.
Get found by qualified
leads online with
content (website
pages, blog articles,
social messages)
optimized for search
and social media.

24. Marketing with a magnet,
not a sledgehammer.

25. THE PHILOSOPHY:
WHY INBOUND WORKS.2

26. Inbound marketing is a philosophy
based on the truth that consumers buy
differently today than they did 10 years
ago.
Inbound as a Philosophy

27. Recognize that people go through
different stages as they interact with your
company, and each stage requires
different marketing actions.
Life Cycle Marketing

28. As you learn more about your
leads over time, you can better
personalize your messages to
their specific needs.
PERSONALIZATION & CONTEXT.

29. Inbound marketing is multi-
channel by nature because it
approaches people where they
are, in the channel where they
want to interact with you.
Many Channels, Omni-Channels

30. Your publishing and analytics tools all
work together like a well-oiled machine,
allowing you to focus on publishing the
right content in the right place
at the right time.
Integrated and Integrative Process

31. • Building trust, not skepticism among
your prospects.
• Being loved, not ignored by your
customers.
• Outsmarting, not outspending your
competitors.
INBOUND MARKETING IS ABOUT ...

32. THE METHODOLOGY:
HOW INBOUND WORKS.3

33. The inbound philosophy is backed by a
methodology that helps brands attract,
convert, close and delight visitors, leads
and customers through a variety of
channels such as social media, blogging,
SEO, landing pages, forms and email.
The Methodology: A System

34. The methodology
facilitates the buyer
journey through the
sales funnel – from
strangers to promoters
of your brand.

35. Blog
Social Media
Keywords
Pages
Calls-to-Action
Landing Pages
Forms
Contacts
Email
Workflows
Lead Scoring
CRM Integrations
Social Media
Smart-Calls-to-
Action
Email
Workflows
Attract Convert Close Delight
Strangers Visitors Leads Customers Promoters
LET’S GO THROUGH THE METHODOLOGY
STEP-BY-STEP

36. Blog
Social Media
Keywords
Pages
Calls-to-Action
Landing Pages
Forms
Contacts
Email
Workflows
Lead Scoring
CRM Integrations
Social Media
Smart-Calls-to-
Action
Email
Workflows
Attract Convert Close Delight
Strangers Visitors Leads Customers Promoters
STEP 1: ATTRACT STRANGERS AND TURN
THEM INTO WEBSITE VISITORS.

37. • You want to attract people who will potentially become
leads.
• Attract your ideal customer or buyer persona by creating
content that’s valuable and easy for them to find.
• This means that you want your website and all
of your postings to be written for both the
“searcher” and the search engine.
STEP 1: ATTRACT STRANGERS AND TURN
THEM INTO WEBSITE VISITORS.

38. Blog
Social Media
Keywords
Pages
Calls-to-Action
Landing Pages
Forms
Contacts
Email
Workflows
Lead Scoring
CRM Integrations
Social Media
Smart-Calls-to-
Action
Email
Workflows
Attract Convert Close Delight
Strangers Visitors Leads Customers Promoters
STEP 2: CONVERT WEBSITE VISITORS INTO
LEADS.

39. • Once you’ve got visitors to your site, the next
step is to convert those visitors into leads by
gathering their contact information.
• In order to get this valuable information,
you need to offer something up in return
(ex: white paper or an e-book).
STEP 2: CONVERT WEBSITE VISITORS INTO
LEADS.

40. Blog
Social Media
Keywords
Pages
Calls-to-Action
Landing Pages
Forms
Contacts
Email
Workflows
Lead Scoring
CRM Integrations
Social Media
Smart-Calls-to-
Action
Email
Workflows
Attract Convert Close Delight
Strangers Visitors Leads Customers Promoters
STEP 3: CLOSE LEADS INTO CUSTOMERS
THROUGH LEAD NURTURING.

41. • Ok, so you’ve attracted the right visitors and
converted the right leads. Now what?
• You need to transform those leads into
customers with targeted, automated email
nurturing and social media interaction.
STEP 3: CLOSE LEADS INTO CUSTOMERS
THROUGH LEAD NURTURING.

42. Blog
Social Media
Keywords
Pages
Calls-to-Action
Landing Pages
Forms
Contacts
Email
Workflows
Lead Scoring
CRM Integrations
Social Media
Smart-Calls-to-
Action
Email
Workflows
Attract Convert Close Delight
Strangers Visitors Leads Customers Promoters
STEP 4: DELIGHT CUSTOMERS TO TURN
THEM INTO PROMOTERS OF YOUR BRAND.

43. • Using context and personalization to deliver tailored
messages, you need to continue to engage with,
delight them into happy promoters of your college.
• Very important: You don’t stop when you have that
customer, or even that student. You keep engaging
with them.
STEP 4: DELIGHT CUSTOMERS TO TURN
THEM INTO PROMOTERS OF YOUR BRAND.

44. Now that we’ve covered
the methodology, we’re
ready to dig deeper into
the tools you need to get
visitors (traffic), leads and
customers.

45. THE TOOLS:
A PLAYBOOK THAT
WORKS.
4

46. Tools to attract strangers to your
site include:
• Blogging
• Social Media
• Keyword Optimization
• Site Pages
ATTRACT STRANGERS AND TURN THEM INTO
WEBSITE VISITORS.
Blog
Social Media
Keywords
Pages
Attract
Strangers Visitors

47. I want to pause here to
emphasize the
importance of blogging
because it’s that
important...

48. Companies blog
because it’s one of the
most effective ways to
attract potential
customers to your site.

49. The average company that blogs
generates:
• 55% more website visitors.
• 97% more inbound links.
• 434% more indexed pages.
• But they blog—not once in awhile
but every week.
SERIOUSLY, BLOGGING WORKS.

50. COMPANIES THAT BLOG GENERATE 126%
MORE LEADS THAN THOSE THAT DON’T.

51. BLOGGING IS REGULARLY LINKED TO
HIGHER ROI.

52. Blogging isn’t the only
tool that effectively
attracts customers to
you, though.

53. You must share remarkable content
and valuable information on the social
web, engage with your prospects, and
put a human face on your brand.
YOU NEED TO BE ACTIVE ON SOCIAL MEDIA
SITES, TOO.

54. You need to carefully and analytically
pick keywords, optimize your pages,
create content and build links around
the terms your ideal buyers are
searching for.
YOU SHOULD CREATE CONTENT AROUND
TARGETED KEYWORDS AS WELL.

55. Search engines and users like
frequently updated websites, so you
need to transform your site into a
beacon of helpful, fresh and optimized
pages to appeal to your ideal buyers
without having to rely on IT.
KEEP YOUR WEBSITE FRESH WITH EASY-TO-
DEPLOY SITE PAGES.

56. So what tools do you
use to turn traffic into
leads?

57. Tools to convert visitors into leads
include:
• Calls-to-Action
• Landing Pages
• Forms
• Contacts Database
CONVERT WEBSITE VISITORS INTO LEADS.
Calls-to-Action
Landing Pages
Forms
Contacts
Convert
Visitors Leads

58. Calls-to-action (CTAs) are buttons or links
that encourage your visitors to take action,
like “Download a Whitepaper” or “Attend a
Webinar.” If you don’t have CTAs, or if they
aren’t enticing enough, you won’t generate
leads.
ENTICE YOUR VISITORS TO CLAIM AN OFFER
WITH CALLS-TO-ACTION.

59. When a website visitor clicks on a CTA,
they should then be sent to a landing page
where the offer in the call-to-action is
fulfilled, and where the prospect submits
information that your team can use to begin
a conversation with them.
DRIVE VISITORS TO LANDING PAGES WHERE
THEY CAN BECOME LEADS.

60. In order for visitors to become leads,
they must fill out a form and submit
their contact information. Optimize
your form to make this step of the
conversion process as easy as
possible.
USE FORMS TO GET THE INFORMATION YOU
NEED ABOUT YOUR PROSPECTS.

61. Keep track of the leads you're
converting in a centralized marketing
database so you can make sense out
of every interaction you’ve had with
your contacts—whether through email,
a landing page or social media.
HOUSE ALL YOUR CONTACTS IN ONE PLACE.

62. What tools do you use
to turn leads into
customers?

63. Tools to close leads into customers
include:
• Email
• Marketing Automation
• CRM Integration
CLOSE LEADS INTO CUSTOMERS THROUGH
LEAD NURTURING.
Email
Workflows
Lead Scoring
CRM Integrations
Close
Leads Customers

64. What if a visitor clicks on your CTA and fills
out a form on a landing page to download
a whitepaper, but still isn’t ready to
become a customer? Nurture them with a
series of emails focused on useful,
relevant content until they’re ready.
SEND TARGETED EMAILS TO LEADS TO PULL
THEM THROUGH THE SALES FUNNEL.

65. Know which marketing efforts are
bringing in the best leads and whether
your sales team is focused on the most
qualified leads by integrating with your
Customer Relationship Management
(CRM) system.
CLOSE THE LOOP BY INTEGRATING YOUR
MARKETING TOOLS WITH YOUR CRM.

66. What tools do you use
to turn customers into
repeat, happy
customers?

67. Tools to delight your customers
include:
• Smart Calls-to-Action
• Social Media
• Email and Marketing
Automation
DELIGHT CUSTOMERS TO TURN THEM INTO
PROMOTERS OF YOUR BRAND.
Social Media
Smart-Calls-to-
Action
Email
Workflows
Delight
Customers Promoters

68. Here’s how the
inbound methodology
and tools all come
together.

69. 1) ATTRACT: GET TRAFFIC
2) CONVERT: GET LEADS
3) CLOSE: GET CUSTOMERS
4) DELIGHT: ANALYZE & OPTIMIZE
Create blog content, search engine optimize (SEO)
that content, and promote it on social media sites.
Place calls-to-action throughout your website, blog, social
accounts, and email to drive visitors to landing pages with
forms.
Send leads targeted, automated emails to drive them through your
buying cycle. Provide your Team with lead intelligence for more
effective calls.
Analyze the success of your marketing campaigns, and determine which
areas need further optimization or personalization for future success.

70. You have seen
the results.
Ready to learn
more?

71. How We Work With Clients
• Education is a good starting point: We host an online or in-person
seminar/webinar about the key trends in Inbound Marketing for
Higher Education.
• We offer a consultative audit reviewing their current online
experience.
• Often clients need to educate a wider audience so we conduct a
series of webinars.
• We the serve as an agency. Or if you prefer, as a trainer and coach
educating and guiding your own staff.

72. Andrea J. Simon PhD, President and CEO
Andrew L. Simon, MBA, Partner
Simon Associates Management Consultants
914-261-1631 Cell
asimon@simonassociates.net
als@simonassociates.net
www.simonassociats.netwww.simonassociates.net
@andisamc
@als_simon
www.simonassociates.net
72Inbound Marketing
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