Mike McHugh: The first thing our higher education marketing firm is going to look at is implementing the first 10% of that million dollars in funding creative and asset development… whether that’s TV commercials, brochures, collateral, the website. You have to have solid digital assets and/or tangible assets to be able to use for marketing.
After that, we’re looking at using 20-30% of our dollars for top-of-the-funnel brand awareness and demand creation, whether that’s television, online display, online video and radio. So the Hulu, YouTube - channels like that - are really growing. That will get more people looking for the institution.
The balance of the dollars then we’re primarily spending on pay-per-click marketing, search engine optimization and social media. We’ve now got people looking for education or maybe even looking for us. How do we make sure they find us and we capture that marketplace and ultimately move them to the matriculation process and turn them into students.
Higher education consulting expert, Michael Clifford: How important is television, radio, direct mail and brochures for a university compared to SEO and social media?
Mike McHugh: Our higher education marketing firm would really put SEO and social media as the first, most critical component of your marketing, because that is when a prospective student reaches the university. Again, this is kind of your digital storefront—it’s how they reach the university. They have to have a great experience and interaction there. The difference is that television, radio, print–they are all avenues to get them to come to that storefront in the first place.
If you don’t have a high degree of brand recognition, or you are trying to extend into a new market–you’ve got new degree offerings or programs you’re trying to get out there–that’s when you really want to look at these broad-reaching, mass mediums in order to bring people to your storefront.
So a lot of it depends on what your brand recognition is… the amount of demand for your marketplace, or how you want to use those. It’s not that they are the right channels, the wrong channels or necessarily the order. It depends on what your current marketing mix is and how you are performing for where you need to go. Social media, SEO, digital, your website… all absolutely critical and number 1.
Higher education consulting expert, Michael Clifford: How important are curriculum, textbooks, in other words - the actual academic product?
Mike McHugh: That’s in many ways, the core. That is the university. That is the product that we are bringing to the market to further consumers. It’s so critical. It has to be up-to-date and contemporary. It has to be something that meets the needs of the marketplace, so it has to help students gain knowledge that is relevant for them right now: help them achieve what their goals and career objectives are.
So it is important that curriculum be reviewed and updated, whether it’s the programs themselves or just how it’s being taught. E-books, virtual interaction: there is a whole concept around the gamification of education, to really fit with a lot of what is going on with today’s youth. All those things our higher education marketing firm finds to be really important to be innovative and cutting edge.
Stay Tuned for Part 5
To continue reading Mike McHugh’s fascinating insights into higher education marketing practices for Christian colleges and universities, stay tuned for the fifth installment of this six-part article series, coming next week.
Contact Significant Systems
To learn more about our education management consulting firm Significant Systems, check out our website. If you have any interest in pursuing our new model of education for your institution, Contact Us.
Remember, our goal is simple:
• Provide Broader Access
• Lower Tuition and Fees
• Leave your Institution with Less Debt and More Graduates
• Facilitate Education with a Purpose
Looking forward to our possible conversation!
Dr. Michael K. Clifford
Chairman
760.801.5021(My personal cell)
mkc@mclifford.com
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