1. Building Your Brand Online:Top Higher Education Website Examples Robert E. Johnson, Ph.D. 2010 eduWeb2010 July 27, 2010 Chicago, Illinois

2. 6 web tips to help your brand fly high

People are impatient

People are impatient

People are impatient

People are impatient

People are impatient

People are impatient

3. People visit websites to Complete a Task 4. Your brand will soar or crash with Experienceson your website 5. Experience more important than a brand claim

Attention to content and usability

• • Can people easily find what they want?

• • • Academic program list

• • Can they easily interact with you after they find it?

• • • Options: phone, email, text?

6. Frustration points kill your brand

Search engines that dont work

Broken links

Links that dont take people to what they expect

Out-of-date information

Content people cant scan in 5-seconds

7. Distance learning students 8. Parents & future students 9. The brand image you want http://bit.ly/aGHyOw

With my limited use of the Susquehanna University web-site I found many of the features quit appealing and I really have no complaints at all. I was able to find my information quickly and easily (with the use of the menus that are provided) and I'm able to get in contact with any of the professors that I might be learning from. The graphics are great, the information is up to date, I plan to visit even more in the future!

10. Easy task completion 11. Immediate brand impact http://www.devry.edu/ 12. Top tasks from the home page http://umanitoba.ca/ 13. Search and site map together http://www.stedwards.edu/siteindex.htm 14. Make online easy to find http://www.umassulearn.net/classes/fall-2010/online 15. Easy to scan academic page http://www.worldcampus.psu.edu/iMBA.shtml 16. Integrating web site & social media http://www.langara.bc.ca/ 17. Net cost calculator quick, easy http://www.utoledo.edu/admission/cost/dhs/ 18. NoPDFs & flip tech for publications https://apps.carleton.edu/giving/report/2009/ 19. Right for the web online viewbook http://www.risd.edu/undergraduate/Default.aspx 20. Blog format for online magazine http://alfredmagazine.alfred.edu/ 21. Simple forms to encourage inquries http://www.blueoxmailbox.com/Display/40/126/100/RequestMoreInfo.html 22. Another strong example https://www.devry2.com/landing6/default.aspx?vc=140432 23. Easy cost calculator http://adultlearner.njit.edu/costs/calc-tuition.php 24. A friendly registrars page http://registrar.missouri.edu/ 25. Welcome input from visitors http://webredesign.blogs.wesleyan.edu/ 26. Real stories validate your brand

Stories must have credibility

• Stories told by people in your programs build credibility better than anything else

• For ongoing engagement, blogs and social networks are the best way to tell those stories

Build on the strength of what you are

Be relevant to your customers

27. Coping with family, work challenges http://www.kenan-flagler.unc.edu/programs/emba/advance/balance.cfm 28. The proverbial summary 29. Summing up points to boost the brand

Find and eliminate things that dont work on your website

Make tasks easy to do

• Read your web pages

• Find academic programs and courses

• Contact people on your campus

• Complete an inquiry form

• Calculate costs

30. Thank You! Bob Johnson, Ph.D. President Bob Johnson Consulting, LLC Marshall, MI 49068248.766.6425[email_address] Customer Carewords Research for Online Marketing Success:http://www.bobjohnsonconsulting.com