Increase Applications and Reduce Marketing Costs Through Inbound Marketing

Leigh Fitzgerald

Inbound Marketing Specialist

HubSpot

Tweet out key session learnings using hashtag #GMAC2015AC

Today’s Agenda

• What is Inbound Marketing?

• Inbound Marketing & Educational Institutionso Attract

o Convert

o Nurture

o Close

• Create your own inbound plan

A Little About Me…

Where does your marketing budget go?

How do you prove your marketing campaigns worked?

Graduate schools need a more affordable, targeted and measurable

solution.

What Is Inbound Marketing?

Tweet out key session learnings using hashtag #GMAC2015AC

THEN Companies were in control. Buyers were constantly

bombarded with billboards, commercials…

NOW The buyers are in control. They are tuning out loud, interruptive advertising and consuming information online

44% of direct mail is never opened

86% skip TV ads

200Mon the

Do Not Call list

91% unsubscribe from email

The Old Marketing Playbook is Broken

Inbound is about building organic

relationships with your audience by providing

them with value.

In order to attract students, institutions have to provide them

with something they will love.

Inbound Marketing Funnel

WebTraffic

Blog Keywords/SEOSocial Media

Calls to Action Forms Landing Pages

Segmenting Email Nurturing

Marketing Autom.

Attract

Convert

Nurture

Close

Prospective Students

Inquiry

Application

AttractHelping the right students find your

graduate school and program

Tweet out key session learnings using hashtag #GMAC2015AC

….How to Attract Traffic

1 Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

2 Content Creation Blogging, Site Pages, Landing Pages

3 SocialFacebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.

Your prospective students are asking Google

questions on a regular and predictable basis.

It’s your job to be their answer.

Would you rather own or rent your space in Search Engines?

Rent (PPC)

• Immediate depreciation

• Rates can change; go up with

competition (bidding)

• No budget? No traffic

• No residual benefit. Once spent, it’s

gone.

• Long-term assets keep generating

traffic over time

• Increases institution’s overall value

with a predictable traffic generation

• 70%-80% of users ignore paid ads

Own (Organic)

Oh, And Also…

• SEO Leads have a 14.6% close rate, while outbound leads (direct mail,

print) have a 1.7% close rate.

• 2x as many marketers say inbound delivers below average cost per lead

than outbound methods. (2014 State of Inbound Marketing, HubSpot)

• Companies save $20K per year on average by investing more in

inbound marketing vs. outbound. (2014 State of Inbound Marketing, HubSpot)

• Content marketing generates 3x as many leads as traditional

outbound marketing, but costs 62% less. (Demand Metric)

Valid Use Cases for PPC

• PR/event, short-term promotion

• Extremely competitive keywords

• Cover the page

• Test new landing pages, keywords, and variations

SEO – Where to Start?

• More the merrier

• Long tail keywords

‘Preparing for the GMAT’

‘How to study for GMAT test’

‘How to become a sales manager’

‘Sales management training course’

‘What to read before taking the GMAT’

*Moz

SEO – Where to Start?

• Ask Admissions

• Ask current students

• Create target personas

• Let Google give you suggestions

Student Personas

• Negative Personas

• What is their background? • Years of experience• Undergrad experience

• Demographics? • Gender• Age• City or rural

• Identifiers? • Calm demeanor• Career motivated

• Goals? • Where do they want to be in 5

years

• Objections?• Worried about…

Full-Time MBA Kyle

Demographics: - 25-29 years old - Male - Lives with roommates in Boston Area

Background: - Attended UMass Amherst- Has been working full time for 3+ years- Salary - $30k - $50k – working in insurance sales (not

intended career)

Goals: - Thinking about changing careers – not using undergrad

degree- Career motivated – wants to be financial stable

Objections: - Worried about the transition to going back to school full time- School/Live balance

Sample Persona

CONTENT(High-quality)

Blogging – Why?

1. Your best SEO weapon

2. New blog = New page

3. Your have authority already

4. Inbound links

5. Become a thought leader

6. Social media food

The Content Process

1. Plan 2. Create 3. Distribute 4. Analyze (Repeat)

Blogging – How?

Need Some Inspiration?

• Speak to your target personas

• Start with keyword/topic

• Recruit Students

• Faculty content

• Program spotlights

• Admissions FAQs

Social Media

• Distribution on social media is free

• Another channel to push out content and attract visitors

• Fish where the fish are

• 18-29 year olds remain the most active user group

across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn (Pew

Research Center, Social Media Update 2014)

• Social media has a 100% higher lead-to-close rate than

outbound marketing (State of Inbound Marketing, 2012)

“What if my school already has enough traffic?”

ConvertHelping The Right Students Find Your

Graduate School

Tweet out key session learnings using hashtag #GMAC2015AC

Inbound Marketing Funnel

WebTraffic

Blog Keywords/SEOSocial Media

Calls to Action Forms Landing Pages

Segmenting Email Nurturing

Marketing Autom.

Attract

Convert

Nurture

Close

Prospective Students

Inquiry

Application

Choosing a grad program is one of the biggest choices a person makes

—and is likely to be the most expensive decisions students have

made to date.

Landing Pages – Why?

• Generate your own list, don’t buy it!

• Higher conversion rates on first click through

from ads

• Quantify long term ROI from PPC campaigns

(cookie tracking)

• Closed-loop reporting

Source: HubSpot, 2014 State of Inbound Marketing

Co

st p

er L

ead

1-25 51-200 1000+$0

$50

$100

$150

$200

$250

$102

$220

$45 $37

$70

$27

Outbound

Inbound

Company Size

Inbound Costs At Least 67% Less Per Lead Than Outbound Marketing

Offers - How?

Exchange

Valuable Content

for

Valuable Contact Information

• What content can we give prospective students?

• Call to Action -> Landing Page -> Thank You Page

Qualities of a Great Landing Page:

Write a clear, action-oriented header

Explain the offer and it’s value in 1-5 sentences

Use numbers, bullets and bolding in the copy

Include relevant image

Form fields relevant to the value of the offer

Place content above the fold

No menu navigations or links

NurtureContinue To Inform And Influence

Prospective Students

Tweet out key session learnings using hashtag #GMAC2015AC

Inbound Marketing Funnel

WebTraffic

Blog Keywords/SEOSocial Media

Calls to Action Forms Landing Pages

Segmenting Email Nurturing

Marketing Autom.

Attract

Convert

Nurture

Close

Prospective Students

Inquiry

Application

Remember Kyle?

Marketing Automation- How?

1. How are they going to get into a workflow?

2. How are they going to get out of a workflow?

3. What content are we going to send?

4. Measure, Rinse, Repeat

The Student Journey

The active research process a

student goes through leading up to

a enrolling.

The Student Journey

Kyle now clearly defined and given a

name to their problem or opportunity.

Kyle has now decided on his solution strategy, method, or approach.

Kyle is experiencing and expressing symptoms of

a problem or opportunity.

The Student Journey

• Do I want to go to grad school?

• Is grad school right for me?

• Do I need a grad school degree?

• What type of MBA do I want?

• Where?

• What size school?

• Am I going to work full time?

• Which institution do I want to apply to?

• Where should I enroll?

• How am I going to pay for this?

Segmentation = Personalization

• Age of applicant

• Graduation year

• Years of experience

• Persona:

Parent/grandparent/stude

nt

• Location

• GMAT Score

• Website behavior

• Current industry

• State

Brian HalliganHubSpot CEO

Dharmesh ShahHubSpot CTO

Use Personas to Personalize Your Content

Examples for Kyle’s Full Time MBA Journey

• Awareness (ebook) How to further your sales

career?

• Consideration (webinar) How to Select an

MBA Program

• Decision (guide) Your Business School

Program Overview

Questions?

Next StepsGetting Started With Inbound

Tweet out key session learnings using hashtag #GMAC2015AC

Build Your Own Inbound Strategy1 Develop your keyword lists

• Blog: A Beginners Guide to Keyword Research

• Blog: How to Brainstorm Blog Topics

2 Build your personas• Template: Build Your Student Personas

3 Create a content plan and execute• eBook: How to Use Blogging to Attract Students to Your School

4 Convert more traffic, build your own list!• eBook: How to Optimize Landing Pages for Conversion

• Blog: What Schools Should Ask for on Forms

5 Segment and Nurture• Blog: Want to Boost Enrollment? Segmenting Can Help.

• Blog: A Beginners Guide to Marketing Automation

• Marketing Automation Best Practices

Let’s chat more...

Personalized Inbound Marketing Assessment• Review your school’s current marketing plan and enrollment goals

• Set up inbound strategy

HubSpot 30 Day Free Trial• Use Keyword tool to develop SEO Strategy

• Analyze individual website pages for SEO best practices

• Create sample landing page to test offers

Leigh Fitzgerald

lfitzgerald@hubspot.com

857-829-5702

Join us for a Happy Hour

4:30pm at “The Corner Office” 1401 Curtis Street

&