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Mastering Content Marketing in Higher Education

Graeme OwensHigher Education Lead, Linkedin Marketing Solutions

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The Michelin Guide

L a u n c h e d i n 1 9 0 0

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The student journey has changed dramatically

TIMELINE

Source: Connecting with Today’s Prospective Student, LinkedIn – 8/2016

Top influencers on student decision making

PRESENTPAST

Institution website

Family/Friends/

Peers

Institution website

Family/Friends/Peers

Professional Networks

Personal Networks

Reaching students earlier in the decision journey is critical

Source: Connecting with Today’s Prospective Student, LinkedIn – 8/2016

develop their short list before reaching out to a

school representative

72%

make the prospects’ short list

ONLY 3 SCHOOLS

end up enrolling at a school from their

short list

93%

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Content marketing is the marketing and business process for creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract,

acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer

action.

C O N T E N T M A R K E T I N G I N S T I T U T E

Your goal might touch any part of the funnel…or beyond

Increase awareness and consideration

Brand

Monetize content directly

Profit Center

Generate quality applicants

Demand

Reduce churn and increase upsell

Retention

Learn about our audiences to improve

our offering

Insights

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Your goal might touch any part of the funnel…or beyond

Brand

2.5 million subscribers to Red

Bulletin, which runs at a profit

Profit CenterDemand Retention Insights

The Furrow has 2 million subscribers, 90%

of whom rely on it as their sole source of

industry information

SecurityIntelligence.combecame the #1 driver of

marketing-generated opportunities for the

security division

Customers who subscribe to thinkMoney Magazine

trade at a 4x higher velocity

4.5 million moms subscribe to

BabyCenter.com and generate countless

insights for marketing and product

How can you use content to win with your students and stakeholders?

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1. Embrace the entire student journey

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Most Higher Ed content is bottom-funnel

Examples:

• Applications

• Online brochures

• Program overview webinars

Map your content to the decision stage

AUDIENCE MINDSET JOURNEY STAGE CONTENT EXAMPLES

• She dreams of owning a home, but isn’t sure it’s the right time given other priorities and concerns

• She wants to buy a home, but doesn’t know what to look for in a mortgage or where to start

• She has a home in mind and is ready to buy a mortgage, but she’s unsure about specific features

• [Blog Post] “Top 10 Mistakes Newlyweds Make”

• [Infographic] “Should I Rent or Buy?”

• [Blog Post] “How to Tell a Good Mortgage from a Bad One”

• [Video] “15 vs. 30 Year Mortgage: What to Consider”

• Mortgage calculator• Online brochure w/consultation offer

Source: https://the-content-strategist-13.docs.contently.com/v/contently-content-methodology?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTkRFek1ESmtaakExT1RNNSIsInQiOiJhbVhlVzN2OHdSQ1NWMkZJZ0MwUGtjRjhPMDJhNEtHTVc0OGhhR2JPRjMybVU5M3VHNGVKeFF2U2x2cEVIamk1SHB6Zm1oeXlUZEZqVTF5QjZ0VmlXNnVsVWNCMXl6cVFMUm8raEl1VUNxbz0ifQ%3D%3D

Awareness(Ungated)

Discovery

Selection(Gated)

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What works with prospective students?

InspiringHelpful Entertaining

• Career Development• Leadership• Study tips

• Innovation• Student Stories / Alumni• Business Leaders

• Unique Stories• Humour /Creativity• Current Events

Top 30 Sponsored Content Posts in Past Year (EDU)

Who’s doing it well in Canada

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2. Put the audience first

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Your content sweet spot resides at the intersection

of 3 key questions

1. What does this audience

want?

3. Where is the untapped

opportunity?

2. What are we experts in?

Use these sources to find your sweet spot

1. What does this audience

want?

3. Where is the untapped

opportunity?

2. What are we experts in?

• Conversations with students and prospects• Conversations with admissions advisors• Inbound keyword research• Website analytics

• Your people• Your unique POV• Your history• Your curriculum

• Competitive content audits• Trending Content• Editorial brands• Keyword research

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Who’s doing it well

3. Repurpose and reformat

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Vox.com realized ‘the interview wasn’t the only story we had’

Longform Profile

Use the turkey slice approach to maximize your content

SlideSharePresentations

Webinars

Infographics

Videos

Blog Posts / Sponsored Content/

Whitepaper, Report, etc.

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How this works in practice

• Blog post 1

• Blog post 2

• SlideShare

• Social post 1• Social post 2

• Social post 3• Social post 4

• Social post 5• Social post 6

4. Don’t drop the ball on distribution

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“Content is king but distribution is the kingdom.”

D E R E K T H O M P S O N , A U T H O R , H I T M A K E R S

Packaging is a critical part of branding

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The same is true for content

Imagery is the biggest factor in engagement – so make sure yours is differentiated

Visuals are the new headlines

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There is very little visual content differentiation in higher ed

Who’s doing it well

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Outside your space, brands are going all-in

5. Be Scrappy

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Hack #1: Shoot your own photos

Hack #2: Use templates

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Hack #3: Use free or nearly-free tools

Canva.com

Always be optimizing

Version A: Image featuring device Version B: Image featuring person

160% Higher CTR

289% Higher CVR

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Always be optimizing

Version A: “Guide” Version B: “eBook”

95% Higher CTR

“This work comes out with the century. It will last as long.”

A N D R E M I C H E L I N , 1 9 0 0

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Thank You!

Content Resources:Executive Playbook for University LeadersContent Best Practices for Higher EducationConnected School Playbook

Getting Started Guides:Linkedin Insight TagMatched Audiences: Website RetargetingLinkedin Lead Gen Forms