6 tips to jumpstart your digital recruiting in...

6 Tips to Jumpstart Your Digital Recruiting in 2017By Dr. Andy Beedle, Chief Digital Strategist, Norton|Norris, Inc.

2221 South Webster Ave, Suite A #255 • Green Bay, WI 54301 • 920-264-0199 [email protected] • CareerEducationReview.net

Published by: Career Education Review © 2017 Career Education Review

CareerEducationReview.net

The first couple months of the year have come and gone. The elation of January’s massive influx of traffic has been replaced by February’s “time to clean up after the party” blues. But don’t despair – the digital outlook for 2017 looks brighter than ever, and we are here to give you some solid (and easy-to-execute) tactics that will improve your results. To give you a well-rounded toolkit, we’ll be giving you some pay-per-click tips by covering three features of AdWords that can change the game for you. Then we’ll dive into social media and show you two killer tactics that can yield significant g a i n s i n engagement with your profile page. F i n a l l y, w e ’ l l address SEO by talking a little bit about Goog le a l g o r i t h m u p d a t e s a n d what to do about them.

A d W o r d s f e a t u r e s y o u didn’t know you loved

Not only is Google’s AdWords platform the best source of high-quality paid traffic on the Internet, but it is also a treasure trove of tools and features that can help you broaden your reach, fine-tune your campaigns, and grow your prospect pool.

The ad label trick As little as two years ago, it was much easier to differentiate paid content from organic search results (see Figure 1). This format soon gave way to one tiny badge at the top left of the headline that said “Ad.” Last

6 Tips to Jumpstart Your Digital Recruiting in 2017By Dr. Andy Beedle, Chief Digital Strategist, Norton|Norris, Inc.

Advertising and Marketing

Figure 1 - Old Google Ads

year, this badge went from being the same blue as the ad’s headline to being the same green color that Google uses to display the links in search results. While the “Ad” label was a great way to distinguish paid content from natural search results, this change meant that the label sort of blended in with the link itself. This made ads look just a little bit more like organic search results than they had previously. Well, Google just changed the label again. This time, it is merely a green outline around green text that reads

“Ad” (see Figure 2). In short, it’s harder than ever to scan a page and see the difference between an ad and organic search results (see Figure 3).

So, how does this influence your ad campaigns? Our research shows that

Career Education Review • April 201724

D R . A N D Y B E E D L E , Chief Digital Strategist at Nor ton|Norris , has b e e n d e v e l o p i n g a n d m a n a g i n g s u c c e s s f u l on l ine campa igns for colleges since 1998. During his academic career, he published research in the Journal for Neuroscience Research, The American Philosophical Quarterly,

and the Journal of Philosophical Psychology (among others). He also delivered conference papers and various invited lectures. He has contributed to the marketing field with presentations at national conferences ranging from NACAC to the National Small College Enrollment Conference as well as industry sponsored symposia and engagements

with individual Colleges and Universities. In addition to speaking and writing on enrollment management and the growth of the Internet, he has been interviewed by numerous publications including the Atlantic Monthly, Inside Higher Ed, the Lawlor Review, the Admissions Marketing Report, and U.S. News and World Report. An avid foodie, if he's not working with Nn's digital team, he is likely at a restaurant or in the kitchen whipping up a meal for friends and family.

Contact Information:Dr. Andrew BeedleChief Digital StrategistNorton|NorrisPhone: 540-520-3221Email: [email protected]: http://nortonnorris.com

Figure 2 - New Ad Label

Figure 3 - Ad vs. Organic Search Result (Mobile)

second position ads are generating fewer clicks with “intent” (i.e., users knew they were clicking an ad) than those in the top position. The Norton|Norris digital team has always strongly advocated for high ad placement positions. Now we work to not only dominate the top slot, but also bid to intentional ly put competitors’ ads in position #2 while keeping our clients out of that position. The Tip: Making sure your average position eliminates as many “#2” positioned ads as possible will be an ever more important strategy in generating quality clicks from users who are interested in your programs and know that they are engaging with an ad (see Figure 4).

Expanded text ads Google rolled out a new text ad format to all accounts late last year. The new “Expanded” text ads change the length of your headline (making it longer by adding an extra line). They also give you a longer area for your ad’s descriptive text (see Figure 5).

These changes, in addition to the judicious and thorough use of ad extensions, mean that your ads get more screen real estate when served. What’s not to love? While the initial roll out showed that the o ld -s ty le text ads were outperforming the new expanded text ads, as mobile traffic continued to grow at the end of the year, the expanded ads showed superior click-thru and conversion rates. The Tip: Google announced that as

of Jan. 31 of this year, accounts would no longer b e a b l e t o c r e a t e additional old style text ads and all new ads would have to b e i n t h e expanded text ad format. If y o u h a v e n ’ t done so already, it’s time to start i n t r o d u c i n g expanded text ads to your account and phasing out the old style ads over the next c o u p l e o f

months. You’ll be glad you did!

The chat extension AdWords allows advertisers to create ‘extensions’ that expand the functionality of their ads. Typical extensions include addresses for local campuses, phone numbers to enable

Career Education Review • April 2017 25

Figure 4 - Position 2 Ad

Figure 5 - Expanded Text Ad

click-to-call, and sitelinks that allow users to interact with particular topics on the advertiser’s website. After a large scale Beta last year, Google has introduced click-to-message extensions to most accounts nationwide (see Figure 6).

Tapping on the texting option launches a user’s SMS app with a pre-written message tailored to the product or service they’re interested in. For example, if you’re a travel advertiser and someone messages you after searching for New York City hotels, they can send or edit your pre-written message text, “I’m interested in a reservation. Please text me back with more information.” The Tip: If you have a robust chat system in place in your admissions department, then you can imagine how powerful this extension can be for event RSVPs, tour scheduling, and appointment setting. Go nuts!

Two Facebook tricks to drive engagement Social media is such a tough channel for the education sector. Here are two things you can do to expand your reach into the newsfeed of those who have “liked” your page.

Invite people to the party! Whenever you post on Facebook, the system keeps track of how many people have “liked” the content you’ve shared. Many times, those people have already followed your page. However, any time you have content that is shared, it is highly likely that those additional likes are from people who have never interacted with your social media presence before. When someone has liked your content, but does not “follow” your page, they are MUCH less likely to ever see your additional content in their newsfeed. If a user likes your content and then subsequently follows your page, Facebook sees this

as a major sign of interest and engagement, pushing your content into their newsfeed at a MUCH higher rate. Wouldn’t it be great to turn those “likes” into page followers? The Tip: Whenever you post content, wait a few days and pull up the list of “likes” for that post. You can do this by clicking on the number next to the little blue “thumbs up” icon. When you do this, you’ll get a


Figure 6 - Setup for Adwords Chat Extension

If a user likes your content and then subsequently follows your page, Facebook sees this as a major sign of interest and engagement, pushing your content into their newsfeed at a MUCH higher rate.

list of people who liked that post (see Figure 7). Those who don’t already follow your page have an “invite” button next to them … You know what to do next.

Pay for the privilege You see less than 3 percent of what is posted by your Facebook friends. Think about that for a moment. If you have, say 150 friends on Facebook (a relatively small number), you are seeing only the smallest fraction of the content those people post. Ditto the pages you follow. Over time, the situation gets “worse” in that you will be shown MORE of the content that is similar to what you interact with (read, listen to, click on, etc.). This means that more and more individual sources will drop out of your newsfeed and you will interact with fewer posters. But … Facebook is in the business of making money. And Facebook ads are relatively cheap. You can “pay to play” and get your content in front of far more people by posting targeted

ads rather than relying on your main page. The Tip: Start a Facebook ad campaign and use your best content there. BUT DO NOT “BOOST” POSTS

(see Figure 8). Boosted posts are the least effective and least targeted types of Facebook ads. Instead, create age/geo-targeted ads to appear inside the newsfeed and share your best content there. These ads generate likes and comments just like regular posts. Once your ad has been live for a while, you can refer to the previous tip and turn those likes into followers!

Career Education Review • April 2017 27

Figure 7 - Turn "Likes" to "Follows"

Figure 8 - Do NOT Boost Posts

Google updates and what to do about them I must confess our digital team is a collection of nerds – myself included. And very few things are nerdier than eagerly reading through online forums to sleuth out the latest developments in Google’s search algorithm. During the first week of February, those of us who watch these things obsessively noticed that several websites took huge rankings losses on terms and keywords with which they have previously done quite well. Even more puzzling was that these sites were not the typical offenders (affiliate marketers, linkbait content farms, and so forth). Instead, they were fairly reputable and well-presented sites that hadn’t done anything “wrong” in terms of trying to manipulate search results. When these sorts of mass ranking changes occur, those of us in the search engine optimization field know one thing: Google has pushed another update to its algorithm live. In this case, the update was unannounced and unacknowledged. What to do? Wait it out and see if the

rankings changes are “permanent” and if they are (which you can see after a couple of weeks), formulate a strategy based on the new search reality. If they are not permanent, no harm was done and go on as usual. The Tip : Someone in your organization needs to stay on top of Google’s search engine changes. Some changes are announced well in advance (like the privileging of mobile content and sites over desktop only) and some are introduced with no fanfare and even less public discussion. You need to know when changes occur and then watch to see if they are permanent or resolve themselves as Google fine-tunes their updates. And there you have it! Some simple tips and ideas to help get the rest of your digital marketing year moving. As always, our digital group is happy to talk about your school’s challenges and opportunities. Just give us a call or email [email protected] to set up an appointment.


CAREEREDUCATIONREVIEW.NET

GET INFORMATION THAT MATTERS


According to a survey of CER readers, 92% of subscribers use information from our articles in their organization.

Don’t Miss the Next IssueCall 920-264-0199 or go to CareerEducationReview.net/Subscribe to start your subscription today.

SUBSCRIBE Today!

Keep abreast of current admission trends

Get insight on how to help your school stay

relevant

Higher education legal and regulatory issues

Interviews with leaders in education

Best current practices

And so much more…

We publish articles written by top education experts, so that you can easily implement these ideas into your own organization.

Annual Subscription for Only $329 Includes:• Monthly print issues, plus ability to

read the current issue online• Access to online database of past

issues, searchable by category• Print and Online Supplier

Directory – a resource for contact information on companies that market products or services for career education institutions

• Complete library of online webinars on various subjects

We Have the Key to Your School’s Success

There has never been a more important time to stay informed, learn from sector experts and be involved

than right now. Career Education Review is there month in and month out for our entire leadership

team. Many articles are shared with staff and discussed in meetings. We find the variety of subjects

incredibly helpful in maintaining a sector wide perspective. Trend spotting becomes significantly more

efficient when CER does the work.

-Fred Freedman, President/CEO, Pima Medical Institute

“

”

Name: __________________________________________ Title: ___________________________________

School/Organization: ______________________________________________________________________

Shipping Address: _________________________________________________________________________

City: _____________________________________ State: ____________ Zip: _______________________

Phone: __________________________________ Email: ________________________________________

Method of Payment: _____Check ____Credit Card Total: ________________________

Charge to: _____Visa _____Mastercard _____American Express

Card Holder Name: ________________________________________________________________________

Card Number: ____________________________________________________________________________

Expiration Date: ___________________________ Security Code: _________________________________

Billing Address (if different than shipping): ___________________________________________________

Signature: ________________________________________________________________________________

YES!

Career Education Review2221 South Webster Avenue, Suite A #255

Green Bay, WI 54301Phone: 920-264-0199 | Fax: 920-659-7797

Email: [email protected] | Website: CareerEducationReview.net

Sign us up for an annual subscription to the Career Education Review at a cost of $329.00 Scan and email completed form to [email protected]. The form can also be faxed or mailed to the information below. Or subscribe online atCareerEducationReview.net/Subscribe

For 90 years Career Education Review has provided educators with information that will help their students succeed in the real world. We’ve covered every topic that would be relevant to our readers, and continue to keep abreast on important subjects.

We publish articles written by top education experts, so that you can easily implement these ideas into your own organization.

Our Informative Articles Can Develop into Your Next Big Plan

Career Education Review Subscription Form


6 tips to jumpstart your digital recruiting in...

Documents