new insights for higher education marketing

Tips for today’s higher education marketer

Be HEARD. Be SEEN.

STAND OUT.

Introduction

Get Your Digital House in Order

Knock Knock. Who’s There? Generation Z.

Building Your Brand in Higher Education

Building Higher Education Brand Strength with a Brand Hierarchy

A Good Communications Strategy Starts with Knowing Your Audience

Table of contents

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6

11

16

21

1

Higher education has always been a complex industry. But in recent years it’s emerged as one of the country’s most competitive industries

too. Add seismic shi!s in media use, and the coming-of-age of the first generation

of true digital natives, and you start to understand what keeps higher ed marketers

awake at night.

The challenges are immense, and constant change spawns new challenges almost

daily, so it’s no surprise that decision makers are searching for answers. The good

news is that success stories are cropping up, and some “best practices” can finally

be gleaned. It’s becoming clear that there are smart steps an institution can take to

stay competitive and even thrive.

We at Risdall Marketing Group are fortunate to have worked with many outstanding

higher ed institutions over the years on projects of all scopes and sizes. Now we

want you to benefit from our experience. We hope a read-through of this eBook—

tailored specifically to higher education marketers—will provide some comfort and

clarity amidst the big challenges you face day-to-day in marketing your institution.

Introduction

What if you could set up a way to know how many guests you had, what each of them

thought of your new place, how they moved through the house as they showed

themselves around, and what they’re saying about your new place, both to you and

behind your back?

In the online world you can. With today’s digital marketing tools the potential is there to

access all this information about guests visiting your “digital” house—your website. And

with so much of the college search now taking place online, your website is your “front

door” and, more than ever, your one chance to make a great first impression.

Imagine you’re having a housewarming party. You want people to show up, be comfortable

and enjoy themselves, right? And you want to make a good impression too. So, how can you

be sure it all goes as planned?

Get Your Digital House in Order

2Tips for today’s higher

education marketer:

GET YOUR DIGITAL

HOUSE IN ORDER

Before any digital marketing efforts kick in, it’s critical that

you have your house (website) in sound working order first,

or you could be throwing money away. A lackluster or hard-

to-navigate site can stop even the most well planned

campaign from working. Sometimes before it’s even

launched.

Imagine you bought your new home a week ago and you can’t

wait to show it off, so you go ahead with that housewarming

party. Your place is a nice, standard, single-family house like

those you’d see on a remodeling TV show. The structure is

sound, the utilities work, but the design and appliances are

outdated, and it’s clear the house has been empty for a while.

Your friends walk in and, as they’re taking off their shoes,

they’re faced with having to say something nice about a living

room that’s half pink and half wood paneling. It’s also clear

that the carpet needs replacing, there’s dust everywhere and

the walls are crying out for fresh paint. The potential for an

awesome house is there, but there’s plenty of work to do first.

While true-blue friends aren’t likely to flee your new place

based on the décor, your website visitors will. Recent

research says that judgments around website credibility are

75%-based on a site’s overall aesthetics. And 88% of online

visitors are less likely to return to a site a"er a bad

experience.

Unfortunately—even with stats like these floating around—

fixer-upper websites are being used for many digital

campaigns. With no second chance to make a great first

impression, it’s critical that you have your house in order, so

to speak, before you invite guests in.

And these days, it’s not just digital marketing initiatives that

drive traffic to your site. Many traditional campaigns do too.

People will also find your website on their own and show up

to learn about you, whether you’ve invited them or not. So

first-things-first, get your website gussied up and running

smoothly before you do anything else.

CREATE A GREAT WEBSITE EXPERIENCE FIRST


education marketer:

GET YOUR DIGITAL

HOUSE IN ORDER

OPTIMIZE YOUR WEBSITE, IT AFFECTS EVERYTHING

It’s well known that today’s prospective students are the ones

that initiate the college search. Once they begin their research,

you want to be easily found, stand out from the crowd and

answer their questions to their liking. Optimizing your site’s

content for specific keywords is not only important for your

organic search rankings, but it also influences how well your

paid search ads perform and how much you pay-per-click for

various keywords you’re targeting.

Once your site is keyword-optimized, make sure it’s visitor-

optimized too. Make the navigation clear so people can find

what they’re looking for easily. And without interesting content

that answers prospect’s questions and holds their interest,

they’ll leave, sending cues to Google and other search engines

that your site may not be relevant to the query that brought

them there.

Other things, like freshness of content and signals from social

media platforms also factor into your website’s relevance and

authority around particular topics and keywords.


education marketer:

GET YOUR DIGITAL

HOUSE IN ORDER

It’s not only important to optimize for search engines and

visitors, you must also consider what types of devices

people are using to do their research and engage with

potential colleges.

If you do not have a responsive website yet, one that’s

optimized for mobile, tablet and desktop experiences, you

may already be turning prospects away. Stop and focus

your attention there before you attempt anything else from

a digital perspective.

Across the board, mobile and tablet traffic continue to

increase in usage. Even if the final conversion takes place

on a desktop or laptop, in many instances much of the

research leading up to a decision occurs on a mobile phone

or tablet.

Because of this ongoing shi" to mobile, Google updated its

algorithm earlier in 2015 to decrease the likelihood that a

non-mobile friendly site will show up in mobile or tablet

searches. Subsequently, we’ve seen mobile and tablet

traffic drop significantly on sites that are not mobile-

friendly.

So take a good look at your website. Make sure it looks

beautiful, represents you well and that it’s easy to move

around and find things. And be sure it provides a great

experience no matter what device your users have. That’s

the first step to making a great first impression on

prospective students and other visitors whether you invited

them or they’ve dropped by on their own.

ACCOMMODATE MOBILE PHONES AND OTHER

DEVICES WITH RESPONSIVE DESIGN


education marketer:

GET YOUR DIGITAL

HOUSE IN ORDER

Knock Knock. Who’s There? Generation Z.

Just as marketers get the hang of courting Millennials, along comes

Generation Z. Opinions differ on their exact age range, but it’s generally safe

to consider Gen Zers as anyone born a"er 1994.

Many brands will focus on Millenials for at least another decade, as they

maintain earning and spending supremacy. That gives brands time get to

know Gen Z, but higher education marketers don’t have that luxury.

Generation Z is your target now.6

Tips for today’s higher

education marketer:

KNOCK KNOCK. WHO’S

THERE? GENERATION Z?

What Makes Generation Z Tick

And What Do They Want?

“Generation Z grew up digital,” said Rebecca Shin,

(@rebeccashin41), a Boston-based marketer with

expertise in Millennials and Generation Z. “They are

the first true digital natives and are quick to embrace

and adapt to new technologies. They do a lot of online

research and understand the power of being able to

check facts and teach themselves new skills.”

And they’re not passive observers of the online world,

they consider themselves part of the action. They

believe strongly in their own capacity to drive change

and influence others.

Members of Generation Z are more idealistic than their

millennial predecessors. They care about improving

the world and want to have a positive impact on

people and the planet.

They have an appetite for content that meets a need,

but also a finely tuned sense of when they’re being

“sold to.” They can be brand loyal, but are just as likely

to align with a small startup as they are with a large,

established company.

As Generation Z’s Numbers Grow,

So Do The Marketing Challenges

Gen Z is on the cusp of out numbering Millennials.

According to the Boston Globe, Millennials hold the

lead at 83 million, but Gen Zers are 82 million strong

and counting.

For marketers, reaching Gen Z means pinpoint

targeting and custom messaging, as they’re even more

accustomed to a fragmented media landscape than

Millennials.

“Social media has made it extremely easy to share

opinions, perceptions, experiences and facts,” said Ms.

Shin. “To resonate with Generation Z, marketers need

to embrace this dialogue and engage in two-way

conversations. Co-creation and personalization are key

elements.”

To do this successfully companies will likely put more

dollars toward visual content that entertains, helps

solve problems, and is worthy of sharing with friends,

family and other people in their networks.


education marketer:



DON’T JUDGE GENERATION Z JUST BECAUSE

THEY’RE DIFFERENT

Some negative perceptions about Gen Z erode with

further understanding. They’ve been called out for having

short attention spans, but recent reports suggest they’re

simply fast and highly adept at assessing message value.

“Generation Z has experienced an information overload

since birth,” Ms. Shin points out. “Developing a way to

filter through the clutter and pull out what matters is a

way of coping.” They’ve always had unlimited access to

information but not a lot of time.

Gen Zers also get eye-rolls for “never putting down their

phones,” but research suggests they have higher “phone

etiquette” standards than Millennials. Gen Zers also know

the bad rap Millennials got for being antisocial, entitled,

etc., and they work hard to avoid those judgments about

themselves.


education marketer:



HIGHER ED IS IMPORTANT TO GEN Z. BUT HOW

AND WHERE YOU REACH THEM MATTERS TOO.

Most Gen Zers say they want to go to a traditional college

and that college is critical to a bright future. However,

marketers still need to reach them on their terms, be

where they are, and help them solve their problems.

Facebook is still important but many younger users are

abandoning it for sites like Instagram, Snapchat, Vine and

Tumblr. Lesser-known apps like Kik and Yik Yak are also

gaining favor with Gen Z.

But “what was hot today can quickly become old-school

tomorrow,” says Ms. Shin, “and it’s important for colleges

and universities to have a hand on the pulse of these

shi!s.”

Marketers should develop a smart and fast process for

assessing new and emerging apps and social platforms.

Consider relevance and scale—is your audience there? Are

there enough of them to justify your presence?

And with smartphone use rapidly eclipsing other devices,

a compelling and easy-to-use mobile experience is also a

must-have.

But despite the huge shi! to digital, don’t forget that

some traditional recruitment tools still work well.

Research reveals that live events and campus tours are

highly important to Gen Z. This is a plus for marketers

because face-to-face events are a great opportunity to

provide a fun, memorable experience for prospects and

their families.

Just be sure to use consistent branding across all

channels and touch points. Consistency over time helps

boost your reputation, build your brand and forge deeper

connections. (Read more on branding in the next

chapter.)


education marketer:



OFFER SOLUTIONS, TOOLS AND GUIDANCE.

SHOW THEM YOU CARE.

What matters most to Gen Zers will change as they age,

but two-thirds now say they have concerns about how to

pay for college. And according to Fortune, while they want

to “do good” in the world, they also expect decent

compensation.

Address issues and concerns like these in your messaging.

Put helpful, share-worthy content in the right places.

Show them how you’ll help solve these problems and

they’ll likely listen.


education marketer:



Building Your Brand in Higher Education

These are big questions, but answer them and you’ll have the basic

foundation of your organization’s brand. Much more than just a logo and a

tagline, your brand is the perception consumers have about your

organization on an emotional level. It’s how they feel about you.

When your audience trusts you and believes in what you stand for, a loyal

relationship develops. Then, it’s in your hands to maintain that

relationship.

What does your organization stand for? What is the

reputation you currently hold in the eyes of your different

audiences and customers?


education marketer:

BUILDING YOUR BRAND

IN HIGER EDUCATION

Your brand should also set you apart—or differentiate you—from

competitors. Differentiation in higher ed is more critical than ever as

competition intensifies and more schools jockey for attention.

Today’s undergrad prospects are flooded with marketing messages

from higher educational institutions. Unfortunately, most tend to tout

similar features making it hard for prospects to see clear differences

from school to school. A solid brand strategy helps your institution

articulate what makes you unique and distinguish you from the pack.

A well-managed brand is also valuable asset. But because it’s rooted

in people’s perceptions, it’s the people you serve who ultimately

determine that value. According to SEMWorks, your brand “is worth

only what students and parents are willing to pay for it, donors are

willing to support and faculty are willing to contribute to make it real.”

Higher education institutions today face unique challenges to creating

that brand value. Your main audience—those Generation Z prospects—

is likely to already have perceptions based on your organization’s

reputation. On top of that, the true impact of an institution’s benefit

to a consumer can sometimes be difficult to measure.

DETERMINE WHAT MAKES YOU DIFFERENT


education marketer:

BUILDING YOUR BRAND

IN HIGER EDUCATION

Your institution has likely been around for years

and already has a solid reputation. That

reputation is what currently impacts how people

feel about you and is the foundation on which to

build your brand. Think of your brand as the

consumer-facing version of your reputation.

Take some time to assess and understand how

people currently feel about you. Also gain a solid

understanding of the various needs of your core

constituencies. What issues and problems do

prospective students as well as alumni, faculty,

staff, donors, etc., face, and how are you helping

solve them?

The assessment can take many forms, but the

desired outcome is to gain insights into your

existing reputation and people’s perceptions. It’s

a “right-this-moment” snapshot of where you

are today.

UNDERSTAND YOUR SCHOOL’S REPUTATION FIRST


education marketer:

BUILDING YOUR BRAND

IN HIGER EDUCATION

Central to your organization

Functional, usefulTimeless Emotional

Single-minded, short and focused Relevant to the consumer

Unique in the market

Compelling

Believable, credible Logo and tagline

Color palette and fonts

Consistent graphic style

Copy tone and voice

With an understanding of your reputation, you can start to build your brand. At Risdall we recommend doing a self-

assessment of your institution in the four areas below.

This is your core identity. It defines your organization and should remain largely unchanged over time.

This is your differentiator. It’s a concise, focused statement that communicates your unique,

competitive advantage.

This is a quantified statement on the benefits that consumers can expect your brand to deliver.

This is the creative expression of your brand. Your essence, value proposition and positioning all influence your brand’s visual presentation. Creative consistency is

crucial to building brand trust and loyalty.

Build On The Foundation through Self-Assessment

Brand Essence

Brand Positioning

Brand Value Proposition

Brand Presentation


education marketer:

BUILDING YOUR BRAND

IN HIGER EDUCATION

Once your brand is defined, it’s time to implement it.

You’ll need a brand strategy. Your strategy is a

marketing plan that dictates how the newly defined

brand will be rolled out.

The plan should include what media outlets will be used

to deliver key messages to targeted groups. This may

include, TV, radio, printed materials, outdoor, digital

marketing, social media, email and a website re-launch.

It also defines design and copy guidelines to be applied

across all media to ensure clarity and consistency.

Don’t forget to provide brand guidelines to your internal

audiences too. Here you have an opportunity to

empower staff, faculty, administration, etc., to serve as

brand ambassadors. Maintain consistency at every

communication touch point, and your brand becomes

strengthened and ready to stand the test of time.

IMPLEMENTATION OF YOUR BRAND STRATEGY


education marketer:

BUILDING YOUR BRAND

IN HIGER EDUCATION

Building Higher Education Brand Strength with a Brand Hierarchy

The last chapter addressed how today’s perfect

marketing storm of stiff competition and information

overload has more colleges and universities

recognizing the need for branding. Those who’ve

already done the hard work of developing a strong,

core-brand are ahead of the game. But they still have

work to do.


education marketer:

BUILDING HIGHER EDUCATION

BRAND STRENGTH WITH

A BRAND HIERARCHY

CREATING A BRAND HIERARCHY: ARE YOU A

HOUSE OF BRANDS OR A BRANDED HOUSE?

Most higher education institutions, by necessity, serve many diverse and distinct communities and

interests. That means a lot of communication is pouring out, and when multiple departments, programs,

schools, sports teams and offices try to reach nuanced audiences through the same brand bullhorn, it can

get murky fast.

Problems crop up when messages are confusing, too frequent or contradictory, and you’ll end up eroding

brand loyalty instead of building it.

The key to maintaining that strong identity—while also empowering teams across the institution to reach

their audiences effectively—is to create a brand hierarchy, or brand architecture. We’ll use “hierarchy”

here but what you call it is less important than taking it seriously and taking some steps to put it into

practice.

Creating a brand hierarchy means ranking and

organizing “brands” and then dra"ing rules or

guidelines that each rank or group must follow when

communicating. It’s generally accepted that most

companies or organizations fall into one of two

categories—a house of brands or a branded house.


education marketer:


BRAND STRENGTH WITH

A BRAND HIERARCHY

Proctor & Gamble is a good example of a house of

brands. Each product or product line has its own

consumer-facing brand identity that lives

independently of the core or master brand.

We can also look to Procter & Gamble to understand

the large investment it takes to create and maintain

multiple brands. The company is currently in the

process of shedding almost half of the 200-or-so

brands in its portfolio, a decision largely due to the

ongoing costs of sustaining many under-performing

brands.

Most higher education institutions fall into the

branded house category. This means that there is

one master, core or umbrella brand with other sub-

brands beneath it. The sub-brands will likely use the

umbrella brand’s name and logo.


education marketer:


BRAND STRENGTH WITH

A BRAND HIERARCHY

FedEx is a branded house, and a glance at their logos

show how the FedEx name and logo are present in

each sub-brand’s mark.

York University in Ontario, Canada, follows the same

branded house approach that FedEx does. As the

graphic below shows, York University is the core

brand so their logo is included with the logos of

professional schools (called sub-brands below) and

faculties.

Both brand ranks identify themselves in lockup with

the main logo. However, the professional schools can

include their own unique logo, while faculties use a

standardized text treatment.


education marketer:


BRAND STRENGTH WITH

A BRAND HIERARCHY

FOR A GREAT BRAND HIERARCHY, LOGO TREATMENTS

ARE JUST THE BEGINNING

As great as logo examples are for showing how brands can be organized, it’s important to know

that a winning strategy is much more than that.

Each school or department needs to communicate with a unique audience, and the trick is to

speak that audience’s language while also honoring the core brand’s voice. So a complete

brand hierarchy can have rules around logo use, color palette, copy tone and voice, what types

of imagery can be used and more.

Some schools are already far down the road to having hard-working brand hierarchy guidelines

in place.

The University of Texas at San Antonio, for example, has a comprehensive and detailed Brand

Identity Guide that includes information about the core brand, a visual style guide, editorial

guidelines, social media guidelines, and even a gallery of pre-approved photography.

How deep you go depends on your school and your individual communications needs. But the

sooner you get a brand hierarchy defined and guidelines in place, the more miscues you’ll

prevent. And the more empowered your teams will be to reach their audiences while honoring

the core brand and building on that investment.


education marketer:


BRAND STRENGTH WITH

A BRAND HIERARCHY

A Good Communications Strategy Starts with Knowing Your Audience

It’s easy to get caught up in the daily surge of emails, social posts,

meetings and, oh yeah, what about lunch? But despite looming

deadlines and never ending to-do lists, it’s critical that

communications professionals push pause and take the time

required to really get to know the people they’re trying to reach.21Tips for today’s higher

education marketer:

A GOOD COMMUNICATIONS

STRATEGY STARTS WITH

KNOWING YOUR AUDIENCE

IDENTIFYING YOUR AUDIENCE(S)

Without a deep understanding of the people

you’re talking to, you can’t be sure your

messaging addresses what matters to them.

Identify who they are, and get to know what they

care about and what challenges they face.

In higher education, the most common audience

is prospective students. But as noted in the last

chapter on brand hierarchies, there are o!en

many audiences that should be “talked to” in

different ways. Focus on the audience your team

or department is entrusted to reach, and gain as

deep an understanding of them as possible.

Monitor social accounts, follow relevant blogs,

do surveys, mix and mingle any way you can.

More insights lead to more opportunities for

meaningful and relevant messaging. You’ll

want to be able to show that you know what

they’re going through, that you care, and that

you have answers and solutions for them.

Identify your audience(s)

Build audience personas

Reach your audience exactly where they are

Our experience has taught us a few simple things that can help you do this. And

investing the time upfront will make your communications much more effective going

forward. Here they are:


education marketer:




Building Marketing Personas

As you learn more and more about your audience

you’re getting closer to being able to cra! a

persona, or personas. According to HubSpot, a

persona is a “semi-fictional representation of

your ideal customer based on market research

and real data.”

Personas provide insights into the behavior

patterns, motivations, aspirations and concerns

of your audience members. They help you

humanize your audience so you can tailor

communications to better resonate and matter

to them.

To get started, define the four W’s: who, what,

where and when.

You may even find through research that you

need multiple personas per audience group to

ensure the right message will resonate. Once

your personas are defined, give each one a name

and personalize them. Use them to guide all

future communications.

Who is the type of person that best

represents your audience?

What do they value, what is their role, what

is their background/story, and what are

their pain points/challenges?

Where are they likely to be reached?

When is the best time to reach them? (This

may vary by tactic.)


education marketer:




Below are a couple examples of how your core-audience

persona descriptions might start:

Steve

Kimberly

NikkiSteve is a 46-year-old father who has an

administrative role within ABC Company. His

computer experience is limited outside of work.

Steve has traditional roots and is an engaged and

supportive parent. His daughter, who is just

beginning her college search, is heavily

influenced by Steve’s input… Etc.

Kimberly is a 34-year-old single parent working fulltime as an executive

assistant. To make ends meet, she works weekends at a retail garden store.

Limited career options at her day job have her considering going back to

school. She’s just starting to look into what online, evening and weekend

classes are out there… Etc.

Consider personas for other important audiences too. It’s no secret to higher ed

marketers that “non-traditional” students are a growing segment that may warrant

unique messaging and tactics. Here’s one more persona example:

Nikki is a 17-year-old who has been engaged in

the college search for about a year. She is very

proactive and wants to attend a prestigious

university and obtain an undergraduate degree in

electrical engineering. She is very technically

savvy and values her studies as well as extra-

curricular opportunities… Etc.


education marketer:




As research continues, you can make personas more detailed. In addition

to gaining the kinds of knowledge noted above, aim for some

understanding of how they search for solutions and what criteria are

important to them at each point in their decision-making process.

So what may be the best way to communicate

with Steve? It’s quite possible that using email

in combination with a great desktop website are

good starting points. But that may not work

with Nikki. To best reach her, you could boost

your presence on the social platforms she’s

using, and provide a great mobile web

experience since she’s more likely to research

by phone.

Consistent communications by audience, across

the relevant channels, with the right message,

will create a winning communications strategy.

REACHING YOUR AUDIENCES WHERE THEY

LIKE TO BE REACHED


education marketer:




TRY THINGS, MEASURE RESULTS AND ADJUST

ACCORDINGLYAs you develop personas and explore what channels to

use, you can build hypotheses based on your collected

data and test them a!er implementing your strategy.

Choosing the right measurement metrics during the

planning stage is important and this is where digital

marketing can play a large role.

There will be trial and error throughout the process of

targeting each audience, but identifying audiences,

building personas, and being where they are with your

communications will do a lot to ensure success.

The key is to honor your core brand with all

communications but tailor it—both the message and

selected channels—to best engage each distinct audience.

And don’t forget, somewhere along the way, to grab lunch.26

Tips for today’s higher

education marketer:




About Risdall

Risdall Marketing Group is an independently owned, full-service

advertising agency in New Brighton, Minnesota, a suburb

convenient to both Minneapolis and St. Paul. As one of the largest,

longest-lived independent agencies in the state, and the U.S., we

provide digital and traditional marketing communications to

clients of all sizes and types. We work happily and tirelessly with

varied budgets, brands and business strategies.

We Love Education

We have extensive experience in the education market, having

worked with public and private colleges and universities,

community colleges, educational non-profits, secondary schools,

statewide systems, and nationally commissioned organizations.

Some recent clients include the University of Minnesota, Crown

College, Carlos Albizu University, University of Texas at Tyler and

Mounds View Schools.

[email protected]

888.RISDALL

We’d Love to Hear from You

Let us get to know you, what you’re trying,

what’s working and what isn’t. Tell us what your

goals are and what obstacles you’re facing.

Whatever you want to talk about, feel free to

contact us today.

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