reimagining your website: what are prospective students looking for and how are they finding it?

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Dave Olsen, Prof. TechnologistUniversity Relations - Digital Servicesdmolsen@mail.wvu.edu

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REIMAGINING YOUR WEBSITE: WHAT ARE PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS LOOKING FOR AND HOW ARE THEY FINDING IT?

Mike Esposito, Exec. Creative DirectorUniversity Relationsmiesposito@mail.wvu.edu

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• The Research• The How• The End

THE TALK / AN OUTLINE

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THE RESEARCH

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Ruffalo Noel Levitz

1All material in this presentation, including text and images, is the property of Ruffalo Noel Levitz. Permission is required to reproduce information.

E-Expectations 2016: What Do College-Bound High School Students Expect From Your Website and Digital Communications?Stephanie Geyer, Ruffalo Noel LevitzLance Merker, OmniUpdateClint Chapman, NRCCUASumant Mauskar, President of CollegeWeekLive

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Ruffalo Noel Levitz

71

It takes a collection of resources to support recruitment; your website is the hub

71%

55%50%

42%37% 36%

69%

57%

45% 48%39% 41%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Collegewebsite

Email fromschool

Phone callsfrom

admissions

Print Magazinerankings

Collegeplanning site

entries

Co16 Srs Spr 16Co17 Jrs Spr 16

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72

Your website is their first stop to answer questionsDoes it drive users on in their exploration and facilitate engagement?

47%

25%

12%

3% 2%6%

63%

19%

5% 3% 3% 3%0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Use the websiteto find the

answer myself

Email theadmissions

office

Call theadmissions

office

Complete anonline form to

get moreinformation

Chat online witha school

representative

Call myadmissions

counselor atthat school

Co16 Srs Sp 16 Co17 Jrs Spr 16

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74

Their experience with your site is connected to their perceptions of your college or university

74%

26%

48%55%

75%

25%

43%

52%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

College websitesmake a difference in

my perceptions of theschool

My perceptions of aschool have no

relation to its website

Schools with betterwebsites probablyoffer higher quality

educationalexperiences

The quality of theschool has no

relationship to itswebsite

Co16 Srs Spr 16 Co17 Jrs Spr 16

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Ruffalo Noel Levitz

10

How can I attract more prospective students to my website?

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Ruffalo Noel Levitz

11

Make your site attractive to search engines

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Search engine

I know the url

Link from e-mail

URL in print

Bookmarked

College planning site

YouTube search

88%

41%

39%

16%

15%

11%

8%

86%

27%

44%

16%

10%

26%

7%

Co17 Jrs Spr 16Co16 Srs Spr 16

Q: How do you find a college website?

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Ruffalo Noel Levitz

12

Optimizing program pages and highlighting your location will make a difference in search engine rankings

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Name of school

School and program

Program name

Desired location

Program and location

88%

50%

33%

29%

20%

84%

58%

45%

40%

27%

Co17 Jrs Spr 16

Co16 Srs Spr 16

Q: Which of these options reflects the ways you would use a search engine to find college websites? (Select all that apply).

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Ruffalo Noel Levitz

13

30%of juniors and 24%

of seniors were familiar with the

college advertised

GoogleIs the leading channel for prospective

students to find these ads

C l i ck/Read?The highest rated activity

after their click was simply to read more

online.33% seniors39% juniors

47%of juniors and 39% of seniors

have clicked on paid ads for colleges and

universities.

Search Engine Marketing

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Ruffalo Noel Levitz

17

How can I attract more users to my website?

� Include links within your site in your e-mail campaigns� Make your site attractive to search engines

� Mobile/responsive sites are receiving higher search engine rankings� On- and off-page search engine optimization strategies can make a significant

difference in site traffic� Build out site links. (Here’s a great article about how to do that:

http://www.brightedge.com/glossary/building-quality-backlinks)

� Paid interactive marketing campaigns can bring more users to your site who are ready to engage

� Coordinate efforts with leading college planning sites

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Ruffalo Noel Levitz

18

What content resources add the most value to their experiences?

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19

Content targets: It’s still about academics and cost!� Juniors are focused on program listings and

details; seniors want to know more about cost and affordability

� Both juniors and seniors value the following details in program content:� Job placement statistics� Program rankings� Graduate school placement statistics� Testimonials and quotes from current students or alumni

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20

Demonstrate value through outcomes

63%

47%51% 52%

28%22% 21%

61%

50% 49% 46%

26%

18%13%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Co16 Srs Spr 16 Co17 Jrs Spr 16

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ACADEMICS / THE RESEARCH• 72% of our admits ranked academic reputation

as “very important” when selecting a school.1• While 75% of enrolling students rated us as

“very good” or “excellent” for academic reputation only 43% of non-enrolling did.1

• Eduventures said only 24% of non-enrolling students described WVU as having a good academic reputation.2

1 - 2013 Admitted Student Questionnaire Plus Highlights Report from The College Board2 - 2013 Survey of Admitted Students from Eduventures

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ACADEMICS / THE RESEARCH• Over 50% of both enrolling and non-enrolling

wanted undergrad research opportunities.1• In addition to “academic reputation” WVU rated

lower in categories like “reputation with employers” and “quality of faculty and facilities.” Both rated as very important to making a decision.2

• Statistics that highlighted the quality of the institution resonated with prospects.3

1 - 2013 Survey of Admitted Students from Eduventures 2 - 2013 Admitted Student Questionnaire Plus Highlights Report from The College Board3 - Understanding WVU’s Brand from the Inside from Widmeyer Communications

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COST / THE RESEARCH

• 82% of our admits ranked cost as “very important” when selecting a school.1

• 68% of our enrolling students said aid or cost was significant when they chose WVU. 75% for those who received aid.1

1 - 2013 Admitted Student Questionnaire Plus Highlights Report from The College Board

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MESSAGING / NOTE

Reflecting the audience’s preferences, messaging is most convincing when it exists in an academic context, an economic context, or, ideally, both.

“Understanding WVU’s Brand from the Inside” from Widmeyer Communications

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MESSAGING / PROOF

86% of prospects ranked “provides high-quality education at an affordable price” as “very important” versus 74% ranking “cost” on its own as “very important.”

“Understanding WVU’s Brand from the Inside” from Widmeyer Communications

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MESSAGING / VALUE FORMULA

Academics / Cost = Value

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LIFE / THE RESEARCH• Enrolling and non-enrolling students share the same

perceptions about life on campus. 89% and 82% respectively agree it’s “fun.” 82% and 74% feel it’s a “‘spirit’ school.”

• 73% of enrollees were positively impacted by the campus “social environment” but only 30% of non-enrollees shared their sentiments.

• These large differences in perception extend to “diversity.” 58% to 32% respectively.1 - 2013 Admitted Student Questionnaire Plus Highlights Report from The College Board2 - 2013 Survey of Admitted Students from Eduventures

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24

What content resources add the most value to their experiences?� Answer their top questions early and with compelling evidence:

� Program listings, details, outcomes data and testimonials� Cost, scholarship, aid and overall value� Process, deadlines, events� Location, sense of place� Personal fit

� Engagement and multi-media play a role, but can’t carry your value proposition and fit messages on their own.

� Looking for more adult students? They may be more comfortable (and perhaps appreciative of) live chat resources.

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How can you use E-Expectations to get more support from your leadership?� Your digital recruitment marketing assets play an important role in

their exploration of your campus, influence perceptions and support engagement.

� Their preference for optimized/responsive experiences is increasing.� They are using mobile devices to not only access your site, read e-

mails, engage with social channels and text. Resources should perform seamlessly on mobile as well as desktop/laptop views.

� Data strongly suggests forms to support enrollment must also be responsive.

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25

What images will be most appealing to prospective students?

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How can you use E-Expectations to get more support from your leadership?� Your digital recruitment marketing assets play an important role in

their exploration of your campus, influence perceptions and support engagement.

� Their preference for optimized/responsive experiences is increasing.� They are using mobile devices to not only access your site, read e-

mails, engage with social channels and text. Resources should perform seamlessly on mobile as well as desktop/laptop views.

� Data strongly suggests forms to support enrollment must also be responsive.

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Photos are the top-rated types of social posts

76%

48% 50%

38%

79%

53% 49%

39%

78%

52%

48%42%

75%

51%47%

37%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

Photos Videos Newsstories/features

Event invitations

Co16 Jrs Spr 16Co16 Srs Fall 15Co16 Srs Spr 16Co17 Jrs Spr 16

63-64% of juniors and seniors using

Instagram daily

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Ruffalo Noel Levitz

66

They’re looking for a sense of campus now: Feature current students and campus views in your posts

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80% Co16 Srs Spr 16

Co17 Jrs Spr 16

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28

Interest in specific images (top two boxes)

22%

21%

47%

48%

55%

62%

62%

63%

65%

67%

76%

17%

20%

45%

48%

56%

57%

58%

61%

62%

67%

75%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Staged photos showing happystudents

Photos with just one or twostudents

Photos of specific buildings withoutstudents

Photos of students representingdifferent age groups and ethnicities

Photos of buildings with students

Campus view of buildings withstudents

Overview of the campus setting likean aerial show without students

Photos of faculty teaching orengaging with students

Images of students working in labs,using equipment

Candid photos (not staged)

Photos of student life or non-academic activities

Co17 Jrs Co16 Srs

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40

What images will be most appealing? (Images ranked by percent of all students as most interesting)

59% 51% 41% 36%

30% 30% 27% 26% 25%

20% 17% 17% 15% 12%

11% 9% 8%

54%

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81

How can you use E-Expectations to get more support from your leadership?� Your digital recruitment marketing assets play an important role in

their exploration of your campus, influence perceptions and support engagement.

� Their preference for optimized/responsive experiences is increasing.� They are using mobile devices to not only access your site, read e-

mails, engage with social channels and text. Resources should perform seamlessly on mobile as well as desktop/laptop views.

� Data strongly suggests forms to support enrollment must also be responsive.

Ruffalo Noel Levitz

81

How can you use E-Expectations to get more support from your leadership?� Your digital recruitment marketing assets play an important role in

their exploration of your campus, influence perceptions and support engagement.

� Their preference for optimized/responsive experiences is increasing.� They are using mobile devices to not only access your site, read e-

mails, engage with social channels and text. Resources should perform seamlessly on mobile as well as desktop/laptop views.

� Data strongly suggests forms to support enrollment must also be responsive.

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THE HOW

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AKA

STEPS FOR BUILDING A

USER-FOCUSED UNIVERSITY

WEBSITE

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Documents are at:

go.wvu.edu/reimagine-web

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STEP #1: DOCUMENT USER

NEEDS

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We must begin digital projects by exploring and pinpointing the needs of the people who will use the service or website, and the ways the service or website will fit into their lives.

- US Digital Services

“

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STEP #2: USE DATA TO REVISE

USER NEEDS

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RESEARCH / GOOGLE ANALYTICS

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RESEARCH / GOOGLE SEARCH CONSOLE

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RESEARCH / SITE IMPROVE

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RESEARCH / MOZ

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Competitive AnalysisWhat are our peer institutions

doing? How do they compare to the research?

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STEP #3: CONTENT INVENTORY

& AUDIT

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AKA

STEP #3: DOES OUR CONTENT ANSWER THE NEEDS?

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A content inventory is a decidedly human task. In fact, we find that the process can often be as valuable as the final spreadsheet. If you invest the time in scouring your Web site and deconstructing every page (or at least a good selection of pages), you will end up as the uncontested expert in how it all goes together. And that’s invaluable knowledge to possess when redesigning your site.

- Jeffrey Veen

“

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INVENTORY / GUIDE

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INVENTORY / WORKSHEET

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http://content-insight.com http://urlprofiler.com

INVENTORY / TOOLS

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STEP #4: IDENTIFY CONTENT

GAPS

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STEP #5: DEVELOP AN

INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE

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IA / WORKSHEET

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STEP #6: CREATIVE BRIEF

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CREATIVE BRIEF / WORKSHEET

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STEP #7: WIREFRAMES

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STEP #8: CONTENT

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STEP #9: WEBSITE DESIGN

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Yes, we wait until step #9 before we talk

about graphic design.

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DESIGN / PATTERNS

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STEP #10: LAUNCH!

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STEP #11: MONITOR & REFINE

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SUMMING UP

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THANK YOU & QUESTIONS

Dave Olsen, Prof. TechnologistUniversity Relations - Digital Servicesdmolsen@mail.wvu.edu

Mike Esposito, Exec. Creative DirectorUniversity Relationsmiesposito@mail.wvu.edu