Social media advertising offers a world of opportunity for higher ed institutions to reach their desired audience with targeted messaging. Often marketing departments believe that a significant investment in advertising is required to make an impact. The opposite is true: schools can see significant results by spending a small amount of money on boosted content or through a variety of advertising methods. Using client success stories and research, we will demonstrate how colleges and universities can leverage social media advertising on a small budget and see a significant return on investment.

1. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
SOCIAL MEDIA ADVERTISING:
TURNING SMALL BUDGETS INTO BIG RESULTS
EDUWEB DIGITAL SUMMIT
AUGUST 2016

2. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
SPEAKER
SPEAKER
DIANE CHARNO
DIRECTOR, CLIENT & MARKET STRATEGY
@ASCEDIA | dcharno@ascedia.com
@CHARNO | #EDUWEB16
I’ll be sharing a PDF of the slides.

3. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
QUICK POLL
WHERE ARE YOU
ADVERTISNG ONLINE
TODAY?

4. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
WHY PAID SOCIAL ADS?

5. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
FIRST, THE BAD NEWS.
It’s tougher than ever to
get your content
noticed.

6. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
SOCIAL
ORGANIC
REACH IS
PRETTY
MUCH
DEAD

7. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
SOCIAL
ORGANIC
REACH IS
PRETTY
MUCH
DEAD
ALGORITHMS DON’T FAVOR
BRANDS
½ ALL CONTENT -> 0 SHARES
> 0.1% SHARED +1,000x
> 1% CONVERSION RATE
Source: SearchEngineWatch

8. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
SOCIAL IS
WHERE
THE COOL
KIDS ARE
28%
ONLINE TIME
SPENT ON
SOCIAL

9. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
WHY PAID
SOCIAL
ADS?

10. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
INSERT
OVERVIEW
OF
PLATFORMS
HERE
Source: Statista

11. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO

12. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
SEARCH
ADS ARE
GREAT,
BUT NOT
CHEAP
Source: WordStream
GOOGLE ADWORDS AVG CPC $1-$2
GOOGLE DISPLAY NETWORK AVG
CPC < $1
COMPETITIVE KEYWORDS AVG $50
CPC

13. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
HIGHER ED KEYWORDS ARE EXPENSIVE
$40+ COST PER CLICK?!?
Source: WordStream

14. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
NOW, THE GOOD NEWS!

15. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
SOCIAL AD
SPEND IS
INCREASING
EXTEND SOCIAL
REACH
BOOST ENGAGEMENT
DRIVE LEADS &
CONVERSIONS

16. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
7 TIPS TO GET
THE MOST OUT
OF A SMALL
SOCIAL MEDIA
AD BUDGET

17. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
1. RUN GOAL-BASED
CAMPAIGNS

18. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
GOAL-BASED
CAMPAIGNS
ALLOWS YOU TO OPTIMIZE ADS BASED
ON CAMPAIGN OBJECTIVE
FOCUS YOUR MESSAGE WITH END
GOAL IN MIND
WHAT’S THE CALL TO ACTION?
• Expand audience by attracting new
likes or followers
• Increase engagement
• Drive traffic to your website
DEFINE HOW YOU’LL MEASURE
RESULTS

19. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
FACEBOOK
MAKES IT
EASY

20. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
AMP UP YOUR
TRACKING
SOCIAL INSIGHTS &
AD MANAGER ANALYTICS
GOOGLE TRACKING URLs
GOOGLE GOAL TRACKING
SOCIAL TRACKING PIXELS

21. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
PROMOTE A SPECIFIC SET OF
ACADEMIC PROGRAMS
DRIVE EVENT ATTENDANCE AND
ENROLLMENT
INCREASE OVERALL BRAND
AWARENESS IN THE REGION

22. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
ENROLLMENT
CAMPAIGN SPECIFIC AD
SET
SHOWCASING VARIETY
OF PROGRAMS
CTA: LEARN MORE
LEAD FORM LANDING
PAGE CONVERSIONS
GOALS TRACKED IN GA

23. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
USE GOOGLE URL
BUILDER TO TRACK
RESULTS BY
CAMPAIGN &
PLATFORM IN
GOOGLE ANALYTICS

24. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
2. NARROW YOUR TARGETING TO BOOST
ENGAGEMENT & REDUCE COSTS

25. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
TARGET
YOUR BEST
PROSPECTS
DON’T BOOST TO
EVERYONE
DON’T TRY TO BE
EVERYWHERE
GO WHERE THEY ARE
MOST ENGAGED

26. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO

27. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
LOCATION DEMOGRAPHICS INTERESTS
BEHAVIORS CONNECTIONS
EACH
PLATFORM
LETS YOU
GET SUPER
TARGETED CUSTOM
AUDIENCES

28. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO

29. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
3. USE CUSTOM AUDIENCES TO REACH
PEOPLE ON YOUR LISTS OR LOOKALIKES

30. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
CUSTOM &
LOOKALIKE
AUDIENCES
UPLOAD YOUR EMAIL & PHONE
NUMBER LISTS
TARGET LOOKALIKES

31. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
COLLEGE OF MUSIC
FACEBOOK AD CAMPAIGN
CUSTOM & LOOKALIKE
AUDIENCES TO DRIVE
APPLICATIONS

32. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
4. USE
REMARKETING
TO RE-ENGAGE
THOSE WHO
HAVE SHOWN
INTEREST

33. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
REMARKETING

34. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
REMARKET
RETARGET
RE-ENGAGE
CONNECT WITH THOSE WHO HAVE
ALREADY SHOW INTEREST
DOUBLES REACH
3X ENGAGEMENT RATES
2X CONVERSION RATES
CUT COSTS BY 33%
Source: WordStream

35. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
SET FREQUENCY CAPS TO 5-7
IMPRESSIONS
SEGMENT AUDIENCES BASED ON
FUNNEL STAGES
COVER ALL THE SIZE AND
FORMAT OPTIONSBE EFFECTIVE,
NOT CREEPY

36. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
FACEBOOK BOOSTED POST
10.4%
CTR
598
Post
Likes
+29K
Clicks
 Boosted Posts
 Remarketing
 $500 budget

37. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
5. ALWAYS BE TESTING

38. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
ALWAYS BE
TESTING &
EXPERIMENTING
DIFFERENT COPY
DIFFERENT IMAGES
CALLS-TO-ACTION
NEW TARGET AUDIENCE
SMALL BUDGET STARTER TEST
PLATFORMS
AD FORMATS

39. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
EXPERIMENT
WITH
PLATFORMS
FALL CAMPAIGN
TACTIC/METRIC
GOOGLE
DISPLAY
NETWORK
VISITS 2,400 1,100
CONVERSIONS 15 114
CONVERSION
RATE
<1% 10%
TIME ON SITE
40
SECONDS
1
MINUTE

40. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
EXPERIMENT
WITH
PLATFORMS
SPRING
TACTIC/METRIC
VISITS 2,593 254
CPC $0.61 $2.75
CONVERSIONS 105 24
CONVERSION
RATE
4% 9.5%

41. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
EXPERIMENT
WITH AD
FORMATS 10X
LINK CTR

42. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
ARTICLES
AWARENESS
ENGAGEMENT
EXPERIMENT
WITH AD
FORMATS

43. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
VIDEO AD
1.8% CTR
SLIDESHOW AD
2.07% CTR
CAROUSEL AD
3.73% CTRFACEBOOK AD
CAMPAIGN
OLD WORLD
CHRISTMAS MARKET
• MONTH LONG CAMPAIGN

44. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
6. IMPROVE
THOSE QUALITY
SCORES TO
IMPROVE
RESULTS &
SAVE MONEY

45. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
IMPROVE
QUALITY
SCORES
GOOGLE
QUALITY
SCORE
FACEBOOK
RELEVANCY
SCORE
TWITTER
QUALITY
ADJUSTED
BID
HOW? INCREASE YOUR POST
ENGAGEMENT RATE
PROMOTE YOUR BEST CONTENT
LOWER
CPA
HIGHER
SHARE
HIGHER
SCORES

46. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO

47. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
IMAGES INCREASE
ENGAGEMENT
& LIKES
120% INCREASE IN ENGAGEMENT
53% INCREASE IN LIKES

48. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
INSTAGRAM AD CAMPAIGN

49. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
INSTAGRAM VS. FACEBOOK
Facebook
+3,750 likes
+70 comments
Instagram
+35,000 likes
+350 comments

50. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
7. OPTIMIZE
YOUR LANDING
PAGES

51. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
DESIGN CAMPAIGN SPECIFIC LANDING PAGES
ONE GOAL
FOR BETTER RESULTS
OPTIMIZE WITH TESTING

52. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
SOCIAL IS
MOBILE
89% OF STUDENTS ACCESS SOCIAL
FROM A MOBILE DEVICE

53. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
HOW
MUCH IS
THIS
REALLY
GOING TO
COST?

54. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
Facebook starts at
$5/day?!?
Better to allocate at
least $25/day or
$150/week for each
platform campaign.
Aim for a $1,000+ per
quarter depending on
your goals and strategy.

55. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
BUDGET EXAMPLES
CAMPAIGN
GOOGLE
DISPLAY
NETWORK
SOCIAL MEDIA
SEMESTERS (3) $6,000 $13,000
TOP OF MIND (3) $5,000 $9,000
EVENTS
(VARIOUS) $4,200 $4,750

56. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
7 TIPS TO GET
THE MOST OUT
OF A SMALL
SOCIAL MEDIA
AD BUDGET
1. RUN GOAL-BASED CAMPAIGNS
2. NARROW YOUR TARGETS
3. USE CUSTOM AUDIENCES
4. REMARKET TO RE-ENGAGE
5. ABT - ALWAYS BE TESTING
6. IMPROVE QUALITY SCORES
7. OPTIMIZE YOUR LANDING PAGES

57. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
THANK YOU!
DIANE CHARNO
DIRECTOR, CLIENT & MARKET STRATEGY
dcharno@ascedia.com
@CHARNO

58. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
I WANT MORE RESULTS!

59. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
THERE’S MORE.
The following slides include some additional information on social media
ad platforms, examples, and more. Enjoy.

60. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
KING, EVEN THOUGH GROWTH IS
SLOWING
CONNECT THE WORLD & SHARE
MOBILE USERS DOMINATE
AFFORDABLE AD OPTIONS
EASY AD MANAGER
1.6 BILLION
MONTHLY ACTIVES

61. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
FACEBOOK
BOOSTED
POST
EASY. AFFORDABLE.
ARTICLES
AWARENESS
ENGAGEMENT

62. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM
AD CAMPAIGNS
OPEN HOUSES

63. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
FACEBOOK
CAROUSEL
ADS
Highlight up to five images with unique links.
10X
LINK CTR

64. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
HIRE RATES
FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM
AD CAMPAIGNS

65. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
EXPERIMENT
WITH AD
FORMATS

66. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
EXPERIMENT
WITH AD
FORMATS
FALL SEMESTER
SINGLE IMAGE AD
POST
0.84% CTR
10% CONVERSION
RATE
$1,600
SPRING SEMESTER
CAROUSEL AD
1.38% CTR
4% CONVERSION
RATE
$2,500
SUMMER
SEMESTER
CAROUSEL AD
1.44% CTR
2% CONVERSION
RATE
$1,000

67. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
FACEBOOK
VIDEO ADS
GRAB THEIR ATTENTION WITHOUT SOUND
(AUTOPLAY): MORE BRAND AWARENESS
CHOOSE AN INTERESTING STILL IMAGE
(NON-AUTOPLAY)
15-30 SECONDS IS THE OPTIMAL LENGTH
STRONG CALL TO ACTION
LOWEST CPC

68. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
FACEBOOK
SLIDESHOW
ADS
COST LESS
FASTER & EASIER TO CREATE THAN
VIDEOS
UPLOAD 3-7 PHOTOS
CHOOSE THE LENGTH OF YOUR AD,
UP TO 15 SECONDS
GREAT FOR LOW BANDWIDTH
CONNECTIONS

69. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
FACEBOOK
CANVAS
ADS
STORYTELLING
COME TO LIFE

70. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
CPC HIGHER
ENGAGEMENT RATE HIGHER
CONVERSION RATE HIGHER
AUDIENCE SKEWS YOUNGER
MANAGE THROUGH FACEBOOK
IMAGES & VIDEO OPTIONS
CAROUSEL ADS ARE TRICKY
500 MILLION
MONTHLY ACTIVES

71. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
INSTAGRAM
ADS
NOW EVEN
EASIER WITH
FACEBOOK

72. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
INSTAGRAM AD CAMPAIGN
• Drive event registrations
• Carousel ads: FB & Instagram
• Lookalike audiences of previous
attendees

73. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO

74. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
GIVE EVERYONE THE POWER TO CREATE
AND SHARE IDEAS AND INFORMATION
INSTANTLY, WITHOUT BARRIERS.
310 MILLION
MONTHLY ACTIVES

75. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
• Gain leads and increase student
applications
• Targeted upcoming college students and
potential mature students in the UK
TWITTER AD CAMPAIGN

76. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
SUCCESS POWERED BY RELATIONSHIPS
WORLD’S LARGEST PROFESSIONAL NETWORK
2 NEW MEMBERS PER SECOND
MORE THAN 40 MILLION STUDENTS & RECENT
COLLEGE GRADUATES
GREAT FOR B2B
WE’VE FOUND SPONSORED POSTS TO BE MORE
EFFECTIVE
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ARE NOT HERE
MBA RECRUITEMENT & ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT
100 MILLION
MONTHLY ACTIVES

77. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
LINKEDIN SPONSORED
CONTENT • 300% increase in traffic
• 60% increase in webinar attendance
• 450 leads for Executive M.B.A. program

78. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
LINKEDIN AD CAMPAIGN
• Boost enrollment for online
degree programs
• Sponsored InMail and Content
• 4 applications in less than 2
weeks from 1 InMail
• 1.8% engagement rate on
sponsored content
• 2x open rate 2x benchmarks

79. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
LINKEDIN SPONSORED INMAILS
• Identify qualified prospects in target global
regions including India, Russia and Latin
America
• Educate prospects on program’s unique value
proposition
• Encourage email signups to request more
information
• 68% open rate
• Cost per lead 10% less than other channels
• 400% increase in conversions
• Sales pipeline closure speed up 300%

80. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
1+ BILLION USERS
REACHES MORE 18-34 YEAR-OLDS
THAN ANY CABLE NETWORK
WATCH TIME UP 50% EACH YEAR
MORE THAN HALF VIEWS ARE
MOBILE
1 BILLION USERS

81. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
YOUTUBE
VIDEO ADS
• Google AdWords
interface
• Affordable and easily
managed
• Pay-per-click format
• Other larger media
buys are possible

82. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
YOUTUBE
TRUEVIEW
IN-STREAM
ADS
• Pre-roll
• YouTube, Google Display Network
videos, games and apps
• CPV 30 secs or CPC

83. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
YOUTUBE TRUEVIEW
DISCOVERY ADS
• Show in YouTube
search results
• Watch page on
right sidebar
• Home page
(when no
masthead)
• Mobile apps
home page
• Mobile Web
search & watch
pages
• Google Display
Network

84. #EDUWEB16 @CHARNO
STILL EARLY, BUT GROWING FAST
SKEWS VERY YOUNG
ADS STILL EXPENSIVE
ON-DEMAND GEO FILTERS CAN BE
GREAT EXPERIMENTS
EST. 150-200 MILLION
MONTHLY ACTIVES