Marketing your college or university is extremely competitive now that students have multiple options to choose from and use a vast array of digital methods to communicate with institutions and with other students. The key to increasing enrollments from today’s savvy students is having an online presence in the top places prospective students are performing research, like search engines, your website, social media pages, review sites, and more. Ensuring students can find you online and engage with you is important now more than ever. Research shows that:
33% of prospective students visit up to five websites during their decision process.
18% of prospective students view 10-14 websites before making a decision
So how can you make sure prospective students find your institution, and once they do, what can you do to help them choose you? ReachLocal recently held a webinar, 25 Ways to Increase Enrollment, that shares tips on how to identify leaks in your education marketing. Consider these current online and education marketing stats and the best practices we recommend to help you enroll more students.
1.) 43% of Search Traffic is Organic, Not Paid
One of the easiest and most inexpensive ways to increase your organic search traffic is to claim and optimize your school’s business listings and review sites where prospects may find your institution. These can include Google+ Local, Yahoo Local, and Yelp. There are also some education-specific sites you will want to claim and update as well, such as College Grader, CollegeProwler, The University Review, School Digger, and Unigo. Don’t forget that many of these databases power third-party sites as well, so you want to ensure your listings are accurate and consistent.
2.) 35% of Searchers Use Bing and Yahoo!
Sometimes, organic listings don’t always get you the traffic you want and you need that extra effort to boost your Web presence. Advertising on all the major search engines is a great way to get in front of prospective students. Although Google may be the primary search engine for many consumers, Bing and Yahoo! are popular and represent close to a third of all search volume.
3.) 25% Of Students Won’t Consider a School After a Poor Site Experience
If a consumer visits your website and sees an unprofessional or outdated design, they may leave without even learning if your institution is right for them. They make an immediate judgment based on the look and feel of your website. In fact, 92% of prospective students said that they would be disappointed with a school or remove it entirely from their lists if they didn’t find the information they needed on the school’s website. Your goal is to build credibility and trust with visitors in a user-friendly manner so they’ll learn more about why you are a fit for them. We recommend the following website best practices:
Use a design that engages visitors and have them convert into contacts.
Include a strong call to action, a clear value proposition, and a list of degrees, programs and services in plain sight so visitors can find the information they need.
Have conversion paths on every page (i.e., phone number, contact form, email).
Set up a monthly review to check all phone numbers, Web forms, and email addresses to ensure they are active and working correctly.
Make sure that your website is mobile-friendly to make it easy for contacts to call you from your mobile site.
4.) 68% of Students Have Looked Up a College Website on a Mobile Device
More than two-thirds of prospective college students use a mobile device for college research, which means you need to optimize your website for a mobile-friendly experience. Otherwise, you risk losing prospects if they cannot navigate your site on their mobile device. This will reflect poorly on your institution’s ability to be innovative, relevant, and ready to address prospects’ academic growth in the process.
Set out to make a mobile experience that connects with prospective students with the first click. Make sure prospects can navigate easily and provide access to phone numbers so a visitor can click-to-call you. For those who want a touch-and-go experience, ensure you have an easy Web form for them to fill out to receive more information about your institution or specific program.
5.) 45% of Form & Email Inquiries Do Not Receive a Response Within 10 Business Days
It is crucial for your staff to respond to inquiries quickly when a student expresses interest in your institution or program. Leverage their momentum by deepening their commitment to attend your institution. If you wait too long, they may just forget about you or feel that your school isn’t the right fit for their educational needs. Follow these best practices to ensure you can move that prospective student toward making the decision to choose your school:
Reply to Web forms and emails within an hour!
Answer the phone! If you don’t have a way to answer your phones at any given time, make sure you call back new contacts within the hour.
Send a few follow-up emails about why they should choose your institution and the benefits from attending by showing video or written testimonials from alumni and current students.
Follow-up with special offers or reminders of important dates to help them take the next step.
These are just a few education marketing stats to help you understand where your institution could be leaking leads. Since the student’s journey is a complex one, take the time to fix these leaks with the proactive measures outlined above. Doing so will keep you top of mind with interested prospects and help you increase enrollment.
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About the Author
Paul Herrera is a marketing professional who helps equip both small- to medium-size businesses and B2C brands with information about local online advertising, social media, and content marketing as a writer for the ReachLocal blog. Connect with him on Twitter.
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