You have to know why you're blogging

         

           Determining the success of your blog depends on the ‘why’ and ‘what for’ of your blog. Metrics can provide a sense of what’s working, where readers are coming from, and what keywords are driving traffic to your blog, but you need to have a sense of what you’re trying to accomplish with your blog. You need to define your KPI’s. Learning not only how to understand the metrics but also how to apply the results will put you in a clear advantage. If you’re blogging for content, goals and metrics should be focused on areas that reflect traffic and SEO results. If you’re blogging for commerce, metrics should be focused around conversion and success of a call to action button to send traffic to register or purchase on another site. When you’re blogging to increase a community, metrics should be focused around readership and interaction.

            Many programs and colleges within higher ed. have blogs that are used for recruitment and community purposes. Bloggers may be students, faculty, staff, and/or administration. Metrics that reveal more information about readership and interaction center around repeat visitors, RSS subscribers, comments, referrers, and shares.  Kaushik suggests “Six Recommendations For Measuring Your Success” and I’ll add a few more to the list.

            Initially, author contribution should be considered as in: the number of posts divided by the number of months you have been blogging and number of words in the post divided by the number of posts.  Do you have enough content to get noticed? Regardless of what your audience desires, consistency is the key. Expectations should be defined and communicated particularly when different contributors are representing the community blog.

            Next, you should track visits and returning visitors. The latter is a great metric to watch because it gives you an idea of the kind of loyalty that's developing within your audience. Similarly, you may want to watch your RSS/Feed subscribers as a measure of your audience growth.  Subscribers are the ultimate goal as they are visitors who have given you the permission to push content to them. They want to be part of your community. “This segment allows you to “expand the top of your funnel,” and draw people back to your website consistently.” (Liubarets, 2013)

            To determine how people found your site, review the ‘keywords’ and ‘referrers’ reports. You can then use these keywords within your blog text or titles to gain even more traffic. Referrers can greatly increase your organic search, so you want to determine if they found your blog as a result of a Google keyword search or from another site. Thinking about other related programs/ departments within the university that could link to your blog should not be overlooked as it could develop into a mutually beneficial relationship.

            I also like to track conversation rates after setting up goals in my analytics. This is a calculation of the number of visitor comments divided by the number of posts. For me, this is the ROI of the blog. Getting visitors engaged enough to actually comment puts meaning into the term social media. Comments with more than a few sentences are of course most rewarding, but just the fact that you are engaging the audience into conversation is rewarding.

            ‘Page Views’ is another report that provides clues as to popular content ideas. A visitor may come to your blog and see a new post about GMAT prep tips. If they then look in your blog index for additional test tip articles, you know that this is a topic of particular interest. Which blog posts are getting shared? In contrast, a visitor may click on the most recent post and then click to four other unrelated posts before leaving the blog which may indicate a need to spend time creating more quality content that your target audience will find value in. Over time, you can also get a sense of timing for different topics. Is there a correlation to trending topics relative to application deadlines? This report can be reviewed along with ‘visitor flow’ to get a clear picture of how and why people are exploring your blog site.

            Perhaps most importantly, look at ROI. Is your blog referring visitors to your website or to your ‘request for information’ form? Goals can be established and measured under conversions. There is also the unquantifiable value. Giving the students a voice, getting free content, having an opportunity to listen to your constituents concerns and viewpoints is difficult to put a dollar value on but is invaluable from a marketer’s perspective. Never before have we had such an opportunity to hear what our customers actually want and think.

            All of these metrics are interesting, but without defined goals to measure against, the metrics aren’t nearly as useful as they could be. Probably the main goal for blogs in higher ed. is to get individuals to ‘request further information’ by completing contact information into a form. Google analytics is a bit limited when it comes to metrics for content. Plug-ins can be added to supplement information. Google Page Value is useful in this scenario as the decision to return to school can take a year or two which may equate to many page visits before the actual call to action. What Page Value does it attribute a value to each page visited on the site during the course of a user converting. Between the content report and the Page Value, one can determine which content is driving conversions. (Norris, 2013)

          “If you create consistently good content, and promote it vigorously, your blog should eventually succeed. But, to ensure you aren’t disheartened in the meantime, select success metrics that are appropriate for your goals.”  (Baer, n.d.). Evaluate metrics in relation to other metrics as if they were each just one piece of the puzzle to get the best analysis.

References:

 

Baer, J. (n.d.). How to Match 10 Key Success Metrics to Your Blogging Strategy. Retrieved November 23, 2013, from Convince & Convert: http://www.convinceandconvert.com/web-site-analytics-and-metrics/how-to-match-10-key-success-metrics-to-your-blogging-strategy/

Gunelius, S. (n.d.). 10 Blog Metrics Bloggers Should Track Through Web Analytics Tools. Retrieved November 23, 2013, from About.com: http://weblogs.about.com/od/addonsandplugins/tp/10-Blog-Metrics-Bloggers-Should-Track-Through-Web-Analytics-Tools.htm

Kaushik, A. (2007, November 19). Blog Metrics: Six Recommendations For Measuring Your Success. Retrieved November 23, 2013, from Occam's Razor: http://www.kaushik.net/avinash/blog-metrics-six-recommendations-for-measuring-your-success/

Liubarets, T. (2013, July 23). Blogging Metrics: How to Find and Apply Actionable Intelligence. Retrieved November 24, 2013, from Writtent.com: http://writtent.com/blog/blogging-metrics-how-to-find-and-apply-actionable-intelligence/

Norris, D. (2013, March 18). Using Google Analytics to determine if your content is generating leads. Retrieved November 24, 2013, from wp curve: http://wpcurve.com/content-marketing-for-lead-generation/

 

AdWords vs. Facebook Ads

        

             When choosing between Google AdWords or Facebook advertising for your higher ed marketing, referring to your clearly defined advertising goals will make your selection easier. Are you trying to increase awareness of your program or school or sell a specific product or service? Secondly, knowing your target market will also make your selection easier. Recent findings with regards to Google vs. Facebook indicate that on a global scale, Google dominates, but if your target market is just domestic, Facebook Ads are actually a better choice. Facebook is considered to be a more social platform and hence visitors spend more time on the site looking around and chatting with friends which may be preferred for building brand awareness. Facebook also offers a more targeted advertising approach as a result of the immense psychographic data collected on the site. Data concerning favorite movies, books, and tv shows can benefit advertisers as they hone in on their specific target. “Facebook also allows advertisers some unique targeting options such as creating a `message specifically crafted for college alumni groups for example.” (unknown, n.d.) Facebook ads essentially target groups of people whereas Google AdWords target users as they are looking for a product.  So for example, if a recruiter wanted to attract prospects to an information session, they could target females in the geographic region, with a bachelor’s degree who are over a certain age with a Facebook ad. On the other hand, after the school rankings are released in the beginning of the year, Google AdWords may be the best choice as visitors will be seeking an EMBA program by a specific name. When an ad appears for that school, they will be more likely to click on it.

            Facebook’s extra psychographic data may not be an advantage for much longer though as Google+  now allows Google to collect more data as well from users who stay logged in as they surf the web and check email. Visitors on Google typically have a specific intent in mind which makes it an ideal platform for driving clicks and conversions for specific products. Google actually has an average click through rate of 2% on its ads, whereas Facebook struggles at .05% which indicates that Google may be a better choice for selling a specific product or service. (Sarah, 2013)

             Both Google and Facebook have massive audiences, but it’s important to know of course where your market spends its time. Both platforms have paid options as well as free online marketing tools like Facebook Fan Pages and Google+ Business Pages which will probably suffice if your goal is to increase brand awareness or develop messages for specific markets. Google does offer more when it comes to advertising specifically when it comes to remarketing. This feature allows advertisers to display ads based on what the users past web activity was on the site. AdWords also offers geo-targeting which is invaluable when it comes to mobile marketing. All kinds of metrics are available from Google to gather information about the effective ness of a campaign which is another reason to work with Google to some extent when designing a social media plan. Besides, Google goes to great lengths to ensure that ads shown are relevant to the users. Adwords unlike Facebook Ads will increase a site’s SEO. (unknown, n.d.)

             Google AdWords and Facebook Ads each have a place in your marketing plan and should be used to produce different results. How do you use each of these platforms for advertising your school?

References:

Sarah. (2013, May 9). Google AdWords or Facebook Ads? Some Interesting Insights [INFOGRAPHIC]. Retrieved November 10, 2013, from Pagemodo: http://www.pagemodo.com/blog/google-adwords-facebook-ads-interesting-insights-infographic

unknown. (n.d.). Facebook vs Google. Retrieved November 10, 2013, from Wordstream: http://www.wordstream.com/facebook-vs-google

 

Content vs. Conversation

             What better place to learn how to use social media than in a learning environment such as higher ed.  Although I am travelling two different paths currently, that of an IMC professional and that of an Executive MBA recruiter, the paths thus far have been nicely parallel. As I plod through the Audience Insights course, I survey my students to determine their motivations for returning to school and the resources used in selecting a graduate program. As I develop my skills with Direct Marketing, I plan a direct mailing for a ‘Friends refer Friends’ campaign. The same is true while learning social media use from a business perspective. I have experimented with new platforms for student recruitment and retention.

            The following is an important lesson that I am discovering. ‘Content alone does not guarantee success.’ There is much written about the importance of good content and the frequency and consistency of content posting, but there is little emphasis on the actual implementation of the content plan. How do we get an audience engaged naturally in a conversation about the information we are providing? My current informal research is with the EMBA program’s closed LinkedIn Group.  After gaining membership through direct invitations, my next step was to actually provide content for the students to engage through.  About once every couple weeks, I posted something about the program’s success; new rankings, new donation, etc. As you might expect, there were no comments, shares, or anything else. Content seemed to be falling on deaf ears. Just as no one likes the supposed friend who is always bragging about themselves and steering the conversation towards them. I then ran across a statistic that indicated only 1 in 10 posts should be about us or in my case about the EMBA program. Entirely askew, I changed content to be primarily about topics I thought the students would be interested in; negotiations, leadership, ROI, etc. I now began to see a few comments here and there. The most engaging post to date; however, was initiated by a student about a controversial issue. There were real conversations as opposed to polished politically correct posts. Some were short, some long, few cited references, and most revealed emotion.

            I now believe that in addition to consistently posting good content, I need to act as if I am speaking with students face to face. “Perhaps people also liked to hear something that wasn't polished, edited and produced – a raw form of communication.” (Rose, n.d.) I returned a few days ago from a student residency whereby our online students gathered together for experiential learning. I was filled with rich conversations about pregnancies, and weddings being planned as well as job losses, class struggles, and career promotions. We commiserated about deadlines and expectations and laughed so hard, we cried. Yet, as each of us returns to our designated role of student and administrator, the conversation diminishes. Friendships resolve to professional relations. 

            My plight as administrator and marketer is to keep those same ‘conversations’ going. And I’m referring to those face to face conversations with emotion and interest. Those conversations that talk about how the Negotiations class helped them purchase a new car, or how they had 15 of their classroom peers at their wedding because they had become so close over the course of the program. Those conversations that exude excitement over their success in the business plan competition or their personal struggles with juggling work, life, and now school. Those are the rich conversations that will provide the community support needed by an online student. These are the conversations where the EMBA program surrenders a bit of control, but the conversation is more earnest. The student begins to shape the experience with the brand to some degree to fulfill their personal needs. (Schaffer)

 

            We’ve all seen the blogs that end with a question, “What do you think?” Do they compel you to answer or were you compelled by the previous paragraph that you related to in some way. Did the content make you frustrated enough, proud enough, or make you laugh out loud to the point that you wanted to post a common story or share it with a friend?  These are the real conversation starters that engage your audience. “Our world is shaped by the relationships and conversations we have with other people – by the emotions we feel as well as the information we receive.” (Novak, 2010)

What propels you to comment on a post as opposed to just quickly clicking the “Like” button?

References:

Novak, C. (2010, July 27). Why Conversation, not Content, is King. Retrieved November 10, 2013, from Social Media Today: http://socialmediatoday.com/wordspring/152636/why-conversation-not-content-king

Rose, J. (n.d.). Content vs. Conversation. Retrieved November 10, 2013, from Traces: http://www.t-r-a-c-e-s.net/component/content/article/7-openzone/190-content-vs-conversation
 

Schaffer, M. (n.d.). Content vs. Conversation. Retrieved November 10, 2013, from The Buzz by Mike Schaffer: http://thebuzzbymikeschaffer.com/2010/11/15/content-vs-conversation/

 

Does Higher Ed need Web Analytics?

           Still relatively new to the world of academia, I continue to be amazed at my previous misconceptions. I guess I anticipated cutting edge philosophies, independent thinkers, experts in fields, and real inspiration and yet hindered by the pace of beaurocracy, ideas and inspiration seem to be old news compared to what is being produced in industry. This is particularly evident in a rapidly changing industry such as marketing.

            While universities are scrambling to move from ‘product centric’ marketing to ‘customer centric’ marketing, industry is already shifting to ‘human centric’ marketing.  The State of Online Analytics in Higher Ed confirms that higher ed. behaves no differently when it comes to using web analytics to make marketing decisions.  Slow to react and engage higher ed. currently uses “web conversions centered around admissions inquiries and applications. Although universities and colleges use their websites to interact with and provide services to their constituents, 35 percent of the survey respondents indicated they didn't track any conversions at all. This shows there is still a big gap between the possibilities offered by online analytics in terms of data-driven marketing decisions and the current practices in higher education.” (Joly, 2010)

            This is particularly alarming considering the growth of online programs. A recent study released in January of this year, reports that 6.7 million students are taking at least one class online.  Wouldn’t it make sense then to shift resources to digital marketing to reach the consumers?  Particularly in an era when marketers are being pushed to show bottom line results, web analytics solves a number of concerns. Metrics are readily available to help marketers justify their digital marketing spend and provide invaluable insights as to consumer behavior on the website. Web analytics are well understood in the business world, but in the world of academia, the process and purpose are still a bit fuzzy. 

            Essentially, web analytics is the process of analyzing prospective student behavior on your website. Metrics can reflect how prospects are finding your site whether it be from another program website on campus, a Google search, typing in your address directly, or other source. Metrics also reveal how much time prospects spend looking at different pages and in what order they look at these pages. How many times a visitor comes to your website before they convert and what path they take to your CRM template is also helpful information to extract. Which pages repeatedly result in visitors leaving your site may reveal areas for improvement. Learning more about the prospective student, what information he is seeking, and his intent can guide marketing decisions with regards to content and placement on the website so as to better guide the site visitor to the ‘call to action’.  In this case, it may be “Apply here” or “”Request further information”. The ultimate goal is to guide prospects to conversion not just drive web traffic and web analytics provides the information to determine which features of the website are actually returning results. In the case of higher ed., some sample key performance indicators are reflected below.

Source: SEO Moz

Web analytics clearly has a place in the realm of higher ed. in translating marketing efforts to the bottom line. Insights gained can guide marketing decisions which ultimately result in increased student applications.

 

References:

Joly, K. (2010, September). The State of Online Analytics in Higher Ed. Retrieved November 2, 2013, from University Business: http://www.universitybusiness.com/article/state-online-analytics-higher-ed