STEP ONE – Website Course Pages Analysis
The first step of my enrollment growth system is to analyse the website with a focus on the course pages. The content and structure of the course pages massively impacts the conversion rate from all other marketing and growth activities. I also look for barriers to entry, value adds we can use, analyse competitors course pages and add key missing content needed for better conversions. Course pages also need to have content and messaging linked to the ads and communications we use when nurturing new leads for them to be the most effective.
STEP TWO – Google Ads Strategy
The second step of my enrollment growth system is to look at the Google ads strategy for the university which is one of the main acquisition channels. Universities need to have the right Google ads strategy showing for relevant search terms they target through both Google ads and SEO. Additionally they need a strong remarketing strategy in place targeting website visitors and leads that didn’t convert. This also involves a focus on creatives and the types of content being shown to students to get them to convert. Conversion tracking is also a critical element and what conversions we are trying to get from the ads. A common missed step here is a focus on the ads but not having linked content and messaging between the ads and the landing pages and a strong nurturing sequence for any leads and applications generated from the ads.
STEP THREE – Social Media Ads Strategy
The third step of my enrollment growth system is to examine the social media ads strategy being used by the university. Are we targeting the right demographics and interests? What is the budget per campaign and how many campaigns are we running? What platforms are we advertising on? What kinds of creatives are we using in the ad for each platform? Are we utilising our lecturing team? How are we using student content? Is UGC a central part of our social media ads strategy? These and other questions need to be asked and look at what we are trying to achieve from the ads. Many universities look for low cost leads instead of focusing on better quality conversions and having a strong nurturing sequence behind the leads we get through the ads.
STEP FOUR – Lead Nurturing
The fourth step of my enrollment growth system is to examine the lead nurturing of prospective students. This is the most common overlooked area of universities but also can be the most impactful. Most universities naturally have a high volume of leads due to location, brand, history, courses they offer etc. but they don’t value and nurture the leads they have enough. Lead nurturing involves the universities response times, frequency of emails/messages, the method of communication, use of automation and deliverability of communications sent to prospective students. Many universities have a new lead over a lead nurturing focus which causes poor conversion rates, high marketing costs and a waste of many of the leads.
STEP FIVE – Organic Rankings & SEO
The fifth step of my enrollment growth system is to look at the organic rankings for key search terms for the university. It is crucial in particular to examine the rankings for search terms related to course names and related variations of course names. For example “Degree in Psychology, Psychology Degree, Online Psychology Degree” etc. These rankings in particular are of crucial importance as it shows the universities courses to students at the point of purchase. Most universities are aware of these but not always every variation and related search terms which can be even more important. Additional search terms and their variations need to be targeted also “Why do a degree in psychology?”, “Jobs from degrees in psychology?”, “Are Psychology degrees affordable?” etc. These search terms and their variations for all courses often number in the thousands and requires a very in-depth SEO strategy to rank highly for all of them.
STEP SIX – Output of Student Focused Content
The sixth and final step of my enrollment growth system is to look at the content being created by the university. The use of video and graphics, the frequency of content, the types of content used on each platform and on the website and the system for creating content. The content created by the university is crucial and is part of the research process the student undertakes in their decision making process for what university they should choose.
