marketing to the niche
DESCRIPTION
With increasing competition, many universities are creating niche programs to differentiate themselves. However, niche programs have smaller and geographically spread-out target audiences, making many forms of traditional mass marketing expensive and ineffective. Reaching nice audiences requires a nuanced approach. In this session, we will discuss ways to leverage multi-channel marketing for nice programs.TRANSCRIPT
Marketing to the Niche
Jon Horn &
Nicole Foerschler Horn
JMH Consulting
Higher Education firm
Online marketing
Recruitment & Retention
Non-credit certificates
Our Clients (Brag Page)
What is niche marketing?
• Small, highly specialized groups of prospects
• Combines geographic, demographic, and psychographic targeting
Why is it important
• More degrees and certificate programs
• More competition
• Limited marketing budget
• Greater opportunities for online marketing
Awareness
Interest
Engagement
Conversion
“Old Think” – The Marketing Funnel
The Old Way…
The New Way…
Program Differentiation
The End Game with Niche Marketing
• Fewer leads• Higher quality• More likely to self-select• Each prospect is important
Build infrastructure before launch
• Web site• Landing pages • Inquiry form• CRM• Dedicated
phone number
JMH’s strategy creation process
Understand your program
Understand your
audience(s)
Map audience(s) onto
each platform
Allocate budget
Design campaig
ns
Understand Your Program
What will I learn?
How can I apply it?
Why is this important?
Understand your audience(s)
Demographics• Age
• Gender
• Location
• Income Level
• Education Level
• Marital or family status
• Occupation/Sector
• Ethnic background
• Experience Level
Psychographics• Personality Traits
• Values
• Interests/Hobbies
• Lifestyles
• Behaviors
Age
Location
Occupation
Education Level
Interests
The Niche!
Understand your audience(s)
72% female, 22-45 years old
within 25 miles of Atlanta with an undergraduate
degree in education and
interest in math or science
Paid Search
Digital Display
Social Media
Print Radio/TVDirect Mail
TARGETING
Demographic
Behavioral/Affinity
Keyword/Content
REACH
National
Local/Regional
COST
Cost Per Click
Cost Per Thousand
Cost of Entry Low Low Low High High Depends
FLEXIBILITY
Lead times 1-2 weeks* 1-5 days 1 day 1-2 months2-4+
weeks2-3 weeks
TRACKABILITY
Easily trackable
Example: Executive Masters in
Healthcare
Strategic Media Mix
PrintDigital DisplaySocial Media adsRadio
EventsPRSocial Media Pages
Search MarketingSocial Media ads
Email Marketing
Direct MailLaw
yers
Life
Scie
nces
Insu
ran
ce
Pu
blic
Health
Nu
rses
Patie
nt
Ad
vocate
s
Docto
rs/
Clin
icia
ns
Govern
men
t
Health
care
IT
General Awareness
Niche Marketing
It ALL works, and it all works TOGETHER
Niche Targeting with 4 Key Channels
Paid Search
Digital Display
Facebook Ads
LinkedIn Ads
Simple campaign
Standard campaign
Niche targeted campaign
Targeting with paid search
Original campaign
Google campaign JMH campaign
# of AdGroups 1 10 14
Sample keyword
Sample ad
Click through
rate
Cost per inquiry
Original campaign
Google campaign JMH campaign
# of AdGroups 1 10 14
Sample keyword
careers in healthcare
+masters +healthcare
“executive masters in healthcare”
Sample ad
Healthcare LeadershipFocus on Healthcare for 16 months instead of an MBA or MPHwww.university.edu/exec
University MPH16-Month Executive Masters Program, Healthcare Leadership. Learn more!www.university.edu/public-Health
University – Executive MastersExecutive Masters in Healthcare. University Name. Learn more!University.edu/exec/healthcare
Click through
rate
Cost per inquiry
Original campaign
Google campaign JMH campaign
# of AdGroups 1 10 14
Sample keyword
careers in healthcare
+masters +healthcare
“executive masters in healthcare”
Sample ad
Healthcare LeadershipFocus on Healthcare for 16 months instead of an MBA or MPHwww.university.edu/exec
University MPH16-Month Executive Masters Program, Healthcare Leadership. Learn more!www.university.edu/public-Health
University – Executive MastersExecutive Masters in Healthcare. University Name. Learn more!University.edu/exec/healthcare
Click through
rate.17% .68% 1.48%
Cost per inquiry Baseline 87% higher 23% lower
Several months to reach optimization
Typical “Non-Niche” Mistakes in Paid Search
• Brand focused keywords
• Broad match keywords
• Internally focused language
• Too few ads
• Forgetting the competition
Paid Social & Display Marketing
Google Display Facebook LinkedIn
Location Age Gender Income level Education level Marital status Parental status Occupation/Industry
Seniority Job Title Interests Websites visited Groups/Affiliations
Skills
Targeting with Google Display
Targeting with Google
Display
37
Targeting with Facebook
38
Targeting with LinkedIn
Healthcare Execs
Healthcare Professionals
Insurance Professionals
Health Insurance Professionals
Location North America North America North America North America
Industry Hospital & Health Care
Medical Practice, Hospital and Health Care, Mental Health Care, Medical Devices, Biotechnology, Pharmaceuticals
Insurance Insurance
Job Function Healthcare Services
Healthcare Services
Seniority CXO, Director, Manager, Partner, VP
CXO, Director, Manager, Partner, Senior, VP
CXO, Director, Manager, Partner, VP
CXO, Director, Manager, Owner, Senior, VP
Skills Healthcare, Healthcare Consulting
Typical “Non-Niche” Mistakes in Paid Social
• Internally focused language
• Not exploring interest areas
• Non-customized ads
• Not “refreshing ads”
Capture Your Leads
Image courtesy of Unbounce
Conversion Landing Page
• Stand-alone page
• Can’t access from main website
• Guides visitors to your goal
Why do I need a landing page?
• Clarify the next step• Focus on prospect’s
needs• Control the
conversation• Capture important
information
Landing Page 101
• Define your offer
• Craft a call-to-action
• Short inquiry form
• Compelling Headline
• Persuasive Copy
• Clear branding
• Trust marks
Niche Marketing & Landing Pages
• Speak to
different
audiences
• Include different
CTAs
• Increase ROI on
marketing
dollars
Different Audiences
• Healthcare attorneys • Nursing executive
• Healthcare Practitioners • Hospital Administrators
Tracking & Results
Tracking Media Performance
Use tracking URLs to identify where inquiries originate
Tracking Media Performance
3. Compare inquiry generation and cost per inquiry across channels to aid in determining effectives.
Clicks
CTRInquiri
esConv Rate
CPC CostCost-per-Inquiry
Bing Paid Search
2252 0.82% 1044.62
%$3.1
8$7,153.41 $68.78
Facebook 1465 0.02% 120.82
%$1.1
0$1,606.68 $133.89
Google Display
6364 0.10% 711.12
%$1.0
3$6,525.75 $91.91
Google Paid Search
4516 3.56% 3858.53
%$4.1
8$18,892.8
3$49.07
LinkedIn 1664 0.04% 1448.65
%$2.0
7$3,443.83 $23.92
Grand Total 16261
0.09% 8155.01
%$2.3
1$37,622.5
0$46.16
JMH’s strategy creation process
Understand your program
Understand your
audience(s)
Map audience(s) onto
each platform
Allocate budget
Design campaig
ns
Questions?
