Visitors increasingly expect a personalized experience from the website they interact with. This webinar explores personalization opportunities to help elevate your brand experience, increase key conversions, and provide specific content to your different audience segments. We’ll take a practical approach to planning for web personalization and identify the important prerequisites for getting it right. What You Will Learn • The connections between web personalization, content strategy, information architecture, and analytics. • The benefits, opportunities, challenges, and risks of web personalization for education institutions. • The technical infrastructure necessary to support web personalization. • How to begin planning for web personalization on your website.

1. Personalization on
Higher Ed Websites
March 7, 2017
The New Competitive Advantage
+

2. • 50 minute webinar + 15 minutes for questions and answers
• Ask questions through the Zoom Control Panel
• Tweet during the webinar with #mStonerNow
• Please fill out the post-webinar evaluation
• Check your inbox later this week for the webinar recording and slide deck
The Plan

3. Piero Tintori
CEOandFounder,
TERMINALFOUR
@pierotintori
Greg Zguta
TechnicalLead,mStoner
@gzguta

4. Personalization…
for
an Amazon voucher
please.

5. The Question:
What percentage of
Amazon.com’s revenue is generated
by its recommendation engine?

6. The Answer:
35% of revenue generated by
personalized recommendations.
Source: http://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/how-retailers-can-keep-up-with-consumers

7. Agenda
1. Personalization Overview
2. Examples for Higher Ed
3. Prerequisites
4. Planning Steps
5. Questions

8. Overview

9. Web personalization results in the delivery of relevant
and tailored content and navigation to meet the unique
needs of specific individuals or audience segments
based on their demographics, behaviors, and actions.
PERSONALIZATION

10. Vincent O’Malley, TERMINALFOUR
“What do I do to stop my rage,
when everyone wants to be on the homepage?
There’s a solution I use; maybe you do as well?
It’s the wonderfully accommodating carousel.”
https://www.terminalfour.com/blog/posts/-the-web-content-merry-go-round-.html

11. The Goal
Wewantyoutounderstandhowpersonalizationconnectswith
yourcontentstrategyandtechnologysoyourinstitutioncan
positionitselftostartusingwebsitepersonalization.

12. Business Case
• Undergraduateandpostgraduatestudentrecruitment
• Alumnifundraising
• Studentandstaffengagement

13. 13
78%
–
ofhighschool
studentsreport
websitesshape
theirperceptionof
aninstitution
15%
–
ofprospective
studentsapplyon
theirfirstvisit
> 54%
–
ofeventual
applicantsvisit
institutionwebsites
fivetimesormore
beforeapplying
42%
–
increasein
Personalizedcalls
toaction
conversions
From the Marketo Campus Technology Whitepaper “2016 Trends in Higher Education Marketing, Enrollment, and Technology”

14. Examples for Higher
Ed

15. 15
Personalization Examples
• Personasegmentationfeatures
• Topicofcontenttargeting
• Geobasedtargeting
• BehavioralTargeting
• Sourceorreferraltargeting(social,mobile,etc.)
• A/BTestingforoptimizingUX

16. In Browser Examples

17. Overview
Browser Location
From a server variable
Browser location
Value:
“New Zealand” or “Australia”
Segment
Browser location
Value: “Fiji”
Course search cookie
Value: “Undergraduate”
“Undergraduates,
Fiji, OZ & NZ”
Persona
Course Search
From a cookie

18. Our Terminology
Visitor:
A user visiting the site
Indicator:
Single type of data collected on
the visitor to base the segment on
Segment:
A named subset of the indicator
data
Persona:
A named collection of segments
used to describe a possible visitor
Personalized content:
Content that is written / produced
for a particular persona

19. Voltaire Santos Miran, CEO,mStoner
“With great power comes
great responsibility.”

20. 20
Summary
Withgreatpowercomesgreatresponsibility:
• Personalizationoffersterrificpotentialtohelpachievegoals
• Greatcomplexityisapotentialpitfall
• Appropriatereadinessiskey

21. Personalization ….
for
two books,
please.

22. The Question:
WhatpercentageofcontentwatchedonNetflixisdriven
bytheirpersonalizationengine?

23. The Answer:
Source: http://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/how-retailers-can-keep-up-with-consumers
75%ofNetflixwatchedcontentcomes
frompersonalizedrecommendations.

24. Prerequisites
1
Conversions MeasurementContent Management
2 3
24

25. 25
Content Management
• Contentmanagementsystem
• Governance
• Contentstrategy

26.
–
• Single content management
system
• Has a flexible set of defined
templates
• Content re-use strategy
implemented
• Structure for media file
management
• Structure for media file
management
• Defined taxonomies for
content re-use
• Naming conventions for
content
–
• Established authority for
who owns top level website
content
• Senior leadership are
committed to the plan
• Resources are in place
dedicated to creating
content and managing the
website
• Processes and workflow to
manage content are in
place
• Wild west has been (mostly)
tamed
–
• Content policies, processes,
and guidelines are in place.
• Information architecture
planning and
implementation takes place.
• Editorial calendars are in
place to keep content
updated
• Content creators have
training in key aspects of
content creation
Content Strategy: Governance:Content Management:

27. 27
Transactions/Conversions
• Thirdpartysystemintegration
• Abilitytomeasure
• Callstoaction

28. Conversions
–
• Request information forms
• Campus visit scheduling
• Contact a counselor
• Engagement with academic
programs
• Applications
• Explore a particular
degree offering

29. 29
Measurement
• GoogleAnalyticstracking
• Eventtracking
• Goals/conversions
• Campaigns
• A/BTesting

30. 30
Why Measurement is so Important
• Personalizationishigheffort
• Musthaveawaytoassesssuccess
• Needtoensureeffortsproduce
goodandavoidharm
• Refiningandevolvinga
personalizationapproach
requiresfeedback

31. Planning for
Personalization

32. 32
Segment
POSSIBLE SEGMENTS
Geographic
Device or browser
Frequency and recency
Visitors to key areas
(landing pages, programs)
Demographic
• Audiences
• Narrowfocus
• Highestvalue
• ValidatewithGoogleAnalytics

33. 33
Identify Conversions
Foranyaudiencesegmentyouwanttopersonalize:
• Whatconversionsshouldthevisitorcomplete?
• Aretheconversionsalreadybeingtracked?
• Doesbaselinedataexisttocomparebefore/afterefforts?
• Whatresultdoyoudesirefromvisitorsseeingpersonalizedcontent?
Ensureyouhavemeasurableconversionstoevaluateyourefforts.

34. 34
Choose a Personalization
Tool or Technology
Therighttooldependsonyoursituation.Generally:
• CMS-basedtoolsintegratewithcontent
• Third-partytoolsplugintoyourexistingwebsite
• Theabilitytostartsmallandgrowiskey
• Noonesizefitsall
• Skillsandresourcesofyourteammatter

35. 35
Create Personas
• Startwithpriorityaudiencesegments
• Craftrealworldusecases
• Startsmall
• Craftcontentforpersonas PROSPECTIVE
UNDERGRADUATE
ALUMNI ACCEPTED
UNDERGRADUATE
INTERESTED IN
NURSING
STUDENT
ATHLETE
INTERESTED IN
ARTS
FREQUENT
VISITOR

36. 36
Design Personalization Experience
• Definecallstoactionandconversions
• Createanddesignthecontentandpresentation
• Testtheexperienceandverifyitworks
• Deploythepersonalizationexperienceandmeasureperformance
• Reviseandrefinetheexperiencebasedonresults

37. 37
Final Thoughts
Remember the prerequisites:
• Contentmanagement
• Transactions/conversions
• Measurement
Start small
• Lightweightsegmentingandpersonas
Measure, test, refine
• Neverskipmeasurement

38. Piero Tintori
CEOandFounder
TERMINALFOUR
@pierotintori
piero.tintori@terminalfour.com
Mallory Wood
DirectorofMarketing
mStoner
@mallorywood
802.457.9234
mallory.wood@mstoner.com
Resources
• Check out more resources
from TERMINAL FOUR:
https://www.terminalfour.com/
resources/
• Download Mythbusting
Websites: On-Demand
Presentation and White
Paper
http://mstnr.me/
MythbustingWebsites
• Ready to improve your .edu?
http://mstnr.me/SiteCheckup2017
Greg Zguta
TechnicalLead
mStoner
@gzguta
314.884.1803
greg.zguta@mstoner.com

39. Questions & Answers

40. m storytellers, experience crafters, brand builders