Brand StorytellingFor SEO
Joshua Dodson
@JoshuaDDodson
Bentley UniversityDirector of Digital Marketing
Joshua Dodson
Higher Ed ExpertsCourse Instructor
@JoshuaDDodson
#AMABrandStoryUse this:
And be entered to win a scholarship to one of my Higher Ed Experts courses.
Content StrategyBrand-based
Through SEO research and data
182 collegesclosed between 2011 and 2015, affecting more than 43,000 students
Content MarketingIt’s effective and it’s not going away
Schools that thrive in the coming years
Schools that thrive in the coming years
Will reach their audience through their brand story
Why do stories
matter?
FitBrand
Market Demand
Who is shapingthe narrative?
Answer audience questions
Degree in ________Why get a
Degree in ________Why get a
At [my university]
TargetingEach stage of the funnel
Awareness
Information
Decision
Action
Answer audience questionsGoogle Keyword Planner
Ubersuggest
The Long Tail = ~70%
Average Content Length of Top 10 Results
0
10000
20000
30000
40000
50000
60000
70000
SNHU
Non-branded online program page search performance (BrightEdge Data Cube Score)
Change
0
10000
20000
30000
40000
50000
60000
70000
SNHU Liberty PSU DeVry Ashford Capella ASU Phoenix
Non-branded online program page search performance (BrightEdge Data Cube Score)
Lift67%
Lift67%
Tone
Length
Frequency
Examples
Southern New Hampshire University
Bentley University
MemorialUniversity
VanderbiltUniversity
Babson University
Tell the brand storyIn an optimized way
What did we discuss?1 Storytelling must be authentic and
brand-consistent
2 Long-form articles are necessary for SEO
3 Use research to inform the articles
Rock Star
YouThank @JoshuaDDodson