Stop Pushing & Start Pulling: Inbound Marketing for Higher Education
Inbound Marketing: Overview for Higher Education
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Transcript of Inbound Marketing: Overview for Higher Education
Inbound Marketing: Overview For
Higher EducationAndrea J. Simon, Ph.D.
President and CEOAndrew L. Simon, MBA
Inbound Marketing Partner
Inbound Marketing
The Times They AreA-Changin’An Anthem for the Times
For any college…• Key questions are:
– Does our online content answer someone’s question about…?– Does our website come up on the first page on Google? As the
response to which keywords?– Does it keep the right people coming back for more? Do we “fit”
their needs and do they “fit” ours?– Do we nourish them? Delight them afterwards?– Are we the authority on the topic that we want to “own?”– Can we attract the right students more cost effectively?
From Push It Out To Pull Them
We Know that Marketing is Going Through a Major Transformation
LET ME INTRODUCE HUBSPOTWhy We Love the Platform
• HubSpot was founded in 2006 as a result of a simple observation: people have transformed how they live, work, shop, and buy, but businesses have not adapted.
• HubSpot is on a mission to make the world more inbound, one business transformation after another.
• SAMC is HubSpot certified.
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Funded Sequoia Capital, Google Ventures & Salesforce
Founded by MIT Sloan Graduates
13,000customersworldwide
HubSpotgrowth rate of 6015%
AverageHubSpotcustomer
lead growth: 32%
Over three years
ALL-IN-ONE
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Social MediaContent
Creation
Email &Lead
Nurturing
SEO
MarketingAnalytics
MarketingAutomation
LandingPages
HubSpot simplifies your marketing by pulling
together everything you need to grow your
business
BEGIN WITH COLLEGE STORIESSome Illustrative Case Studies
Does It Work?• Before HubSpot:
• Had trouble identifying who was actually visiting their website
• Extremely long forms limited their ability to convert prospective students to applicants
With HubSpot
• HubSpot Landing Pages made it easy to create short, simple forms that resulted in a big boost in leads and prospects.
• HubSpot Analytics enabled Florida Institute of Technology to see how their website was performing overall, which marketing activities were generating the most traffic and leads, and where to increase or cut marketing investments.
• HubSpot Lead Management helped the marketing team at Florida Institute of Technology more effectively nurture prospective student leads, and boost their conversion rate.
Their Assessment
Who Is Thunderbird?• Thunderbird School of Management has
more than 65 years of experience in developing leaders and they are regarded as the world's leading institution in the education of global managers.
• Thunderbird Online is a professional development division of Thunderbird School of Global Management.
• They provide online courses and executive certificates to busy professionals seeking to continue learning throughout their professional career.
• Thunderbird Online was having trouble driving traffic to their site, and even worse, converting that traffic.
• If they wanted to publish or edit existing landing pages, they had to outsource work to an outside firm. They needed a reliable, in-house system.
The Problem They Were Facing?
442%increase in lead conversion
252%increase in organic traffic
50%decrease in conversion cycle
After they became HubSpot users…
TIME TO THINK INBOUND!!For Any Organization…
1WHAT IS INBOUND MARKETING?
2THE PHILOSOPHY: WHY INBOUND WORKS
3THE METHODOLOGY: HOW INBOUND WORKS
4THE TOOLS: A PLAYBOOK THAT WORKS
Short Overview
WHAT IS INBOUND MARKETING?1
Instead of buying ads, buying email lists or
cold calling, inbound marketing focuses on
creating educational content that
pulls people toward your website where
they can learn more about what you sell on
their own accord.
WHAT IS INBOUND MARKETING?
INBOUND IS AN APPROACH TO MARKETING THAT REACHES TODAY’S CONSUMER.
Understand what content pulls your buyers through the sales funnel, and use that context to personalize your marketing at scale.
Get found by qualified leads online with content (website pages, blog articles, social messages) optimized for search and social media.
Marketing with a magnet, not a sledgehammer.
THE PHILOSOPHY: WHY INBOUND WORKS.2
Inbound marketing is a philosophy
based on the truth that consumers buy
differently today than they did 10 years
ago.
Inbound as a Philosophy
Recognize that people go through
different stages as they interact with
your company, and each stage requires
different marketing actions.
Life Cycle Marketing
As you learn more about your
leads over time, you can better
personalize your messages to
their specific needs.
PERSONALIZATION & CONTEXT.
Inbound marketing is multi-
channel by nature because it
approaches people where they
are, in the channel where they
want to interact with you.
Many Channels, Omni-Channels
Your publishing and analytics tools all
work together like a well-oiled machine,
allowing you to focus on publishing the
right content in the right place
at the right time.
Integrated and Integrative Process
• Building trust, not skepticism among
your prospects.
• Being loved, not ignored by your
customers.
• Outsmarting, not outspending your
competitors.
INBOUND MARKETING IS ABOUT ...
THE METHODOLOGY: HOW INBOUND WORKS.3
The inbound philosophy is backed by a
methodology that helps brands attract,
convert, close and delight visitors, leads
and customers through a variety of
channels such as social media, blogging,
SEO, landing pages, forms and email.
The Methodology: A System
The methodology facilitates the buyer journey through the sales funnel – from strangers to promoters of your brand.
BlogSocial Media
KeywordsPages
Calls-to-ActionLanding Pages
FormsContacts
EmailWorkflows
Lead ScoringCRM
Integrations
Social MediaSmart-Calls-to-
ActionEmail
Workflows
Attract Convert Close Delight
Strangers Visitors Leads Customers Promoters
LET’S GO THROUGH THE METHODOLOGY STEP-BY-STEP
BlogSocial Media
KeywordsPages
Calls-to-ActionLanding Pages
FormsContacts
EmailWorkflows
Lead ScoringCRM
Integrations
Social MediaSmart-Calls-to-
ActionEmail
Workflows
Attract Convert Close Delight
Strangers Visitors Leads Customers Promoters
STEP 1: ATTRACT STRANGERS AND TURN THEM INTO WEBSITE VISITORS.
• You want to attract people who will potentially become
leads.
• Attract your ideal customer or buyer persona by creating
content that’s valuable and easy for them to find.
• This means that you want your website and all
of your postings to be written for both the
“searcher” and the search engine.
STEP 1: ATTRACT STRANGERS AND TURN THEM INTO WEBSITE VISITORS.
BlogSocial Media
KeywordsPages
Calls-to-ActionLanding Pages
FormsContacts
EmailWorkflows
Lead ScoringCRM
Integrations
Social MediaSmart-Calls-to-
ActionEmail
Workflows
Attract Convert Close Delight
Strangers Visitors Leads Customers Promoters
STEP 2: CONVERT WEBSITE VISITORS INTO LEADS.
• Once you’ve got visitors to your site, the next
step is to convert those visitors into leads by
gathering their contact information.
• In order to get this valuable information,
you need to offer something up in return
(ex: white paper or an e-book).
STEP 2: CONVERT WEBSITE VISITORS INTO LEADS.
BlogSocial Media
KeywordsPages
Calls-to-ActionLanding Pages
FormsContacts
EmailWorkflows
Lead ScoringCRM
Integrations
Social MediaSmart-Calls-to-
ActionEmail
Workflows
Attract Convert Close Delight
Strangers Visitors Leads Customers Promoters
STEP 3: CLOSE LEADS INTO CUSTOMERS THROUGH LEAD NURTURING.
• Ok, so you’ve attracted the right visitors and
converted the right leads. Now what?• You need to transform those leads into
customers with targeted, automated email
nurturing and social media interaction.
STEP 3: CLOSE LEADS INTO CUSTOMERS THROUGH LEAD NURTURING.
BlogSocial Media
KeywordsPages
Calls-to-ActionLanding Pages
FormsContacts
EmailWorkflows
Lead ScoringCRM
Integrations
Social MediaSmart-Calls-to-
ActionEmail
Workflows
Attract Convert Close Delight
Strangers Visitors Leads Customers Promoters
STEP 4: DELIGHT CUSTOMERS TO TURN THEM INTO PROMOTERS OF YOUR BRAND.
• Using context and personalization to deliver tailored
messages, you need to continue to engage with,
delight them into happy promoters of your college.
• Very important: You don’t stop when you have that
customer, or even that student. You keep engaging
with them.
STEP 4: DELIGHT CUSTOMERS TO TURN THEM INTO PROMOTERS OF YOUR BRAND.
Now that we’ve covered the methodology, we’re ready to dig deeper into the tools you need to get visitors (traffic), leads and customers.
THE TOOLS: A PLAYBOOK THAT WORKS.
4
Tools to attract strangers to your
site include:
• Blogging
• Social Media
• Keyword Optimization
• Site Pages
ATTRACT STRANGERS AND TURN THEM INTO WEBSITE VISITORS.
BlogSocial Media
KeywordsPages
Attract
Strangers Visitors
I want to pause here to emphasize the importance of blogging because it’s that important...
Companies blog because it’s one of the most effective ways to attract potential customers to your site.
The average company that blogs
generates:
• 55% more website visitors.
• 97% more inbound links.
• 434% more indexed pages.
• But they blog—not once in awhile
but every week.
SERIOUSLY, BLOGGING WORKS.
COMPANIES THAT BLOG GENERATE 126% MORE LEADS THAN THOSE THAT DON’T.
BLOGGING IS REGULARLY LINKED TO HIGHER ROI.
Blogging isn’t the only tool that effectively attracts customers to you, though.
You must share remarkable content
and valuable information on the social
web, engage with your prospects, and
put a human face on your brand.
YOU NEED TO BE ACTIVE ON SOCIAL MEDIA SITES, TOO.
You need to carefully and analytically
pick keywords, optimize your pages,
create content and build links around
the terms your ideal buyers are
searching for.
YOU SHOULD CREATE CONTENT AROUND TARGETED KEYWORDS AS WELL.
Search engines and users like
frequently updated websites, so you
need to transform your site into a
beacon of helpful, fresh and optimized
pages to appeal to your ideal buyers
without having to rely on IT.
KEEP YOUR WEBSITE FRESH WITH EASY-TO-DEPLOY SITE PAGES.
So what tools do you use to turn traffic into leads?
Tools to convert visitors into leads
include:
• Calls-to-Action
• Landing Pages
• Forms
• Contacts Database
CONVERT WEBSITE VISITORS INTO LEADS.
Calls-to-ActionLanding Pages
FormsContacts
Convert
Visitors Leads
Calls-to-action (CTAs) are buttons or links
that encourage your visitors to take action,
like “Download a Whitepaper” or “Attend a
Webinar.” If you don’t have CTAs, or if they
aren’t enticing enough, you won’t generate
leads.
ENTICE YOUR VISITORS TO CLAIM AN OFFER WITH CALLS-TO-ACTION.
When a website visitor clicks on a CTA,
they should then be sent to a landing page
where the offer in the call-to-action is
fulfilled, and where the prospect submits
information that your team can use to begin
a conversation with them.
DRIVE VISITORS TO LANDING PAGES WHERE THEY CAN BECOME LEADS.
In order for visitors to become leads,
they must fill out a form and submit
their contact information. Optimize
your form to make this step of the
conversion process as easy as
possible.
USE FORMS TO GET THE INFORMATION YOU NEED ABOUT YOUR PROSPECTS.
Keep track of the leads you're
converting in a centralized marketing
database so you can make sense out
of every interaction you’ve had with
your contacts—whether through
email, a landing page or social media.
HOUSE ALL YOUR CONTACTS IN ONE PLACE.
What tools do you use to turn leads into customers?
Tools to close leads into customers
include:
• Marketing Automation
• CRM Integration
CLOSE LEADS INTO CUSTOMERS THROUGH LEAD NURTURING.
EmailWorkflows
Lead ScoringCRM
Integrations
Close
Leads Customers
What if a visitor clicks on your CTA and fills
out a form on a landing page to download
a whitepaper, but still isn’t ready to
become a customer? Nurture them with a
series of emails focused on useful,
relevant content until they’re ready.
SEND TARGETED EMAILS TO LEADS TO PULL THEM THROUGH THE SALES FUNNEL.
Know which marketing efforts are
bringing in the best leads and whether
your sales team is focused on the most
qualified leads by integrating with your
Customer Relationship Management
(CRM) system.
CLOSE THE LOOP BY INTEGRATING YOUR MARKETING TOOLS WITH YOUR CRM.
What tools do you use to turn customers into repeat, happy customers?
Tools to delight your customers
include:
• Smart Calls-to-Action
• Social Media
• Email and Marketing
Automation
DELIGHT CUSTOMERS TO TURN THEM INTO PROMOTERS OF YOUR BRAND.
Social MediaSmart-Calls-to-
ActionEmail
Workflows
Delight
Customers Promoters
Here’s how the inbound methodology and tools all come together.
1) ATTRACT: GET TRAFFIC
2) CONVERT: GET LEADS
3) CLOSE: GET CUSTOMERS
4) DELIGHT: ANALYZE & OPTIMIZE
Create blog content, search engine optimize (SEO)
that content, and promote it on social media sites.
Place calls-to-action throughout your website, blog, social
accounts, and email to drive visitors to landing pages with
forms.
Send leads targeted, automated emails to drive them through your
buying cycle. Provide your Team with lead intelligence for more
effective calls.
Analyze the success of your marketing campaigns, and determine which
areas need further optimization or personalization for future success.
You have seen the results. Ready to learn more?
How We Work With Clients• Education is a good starting point: We host an online or in-person
seminar/webinar about the key trends in Inbound Marketing for Higher Education.
• We offer a consultative audit reviewing their current online experience.
• Often clients need to educate a wider audience so we conduct a series of webinars.
• We the serve as an agency. Or if you prefer, as a trainer and coach educating and guiding your own staff.
Andrea J. Simon PhD, President and CEOAndrew L. Simon, MBA, PartnerSimon Associates Management Consultants
914-261-1631 [email protected]@simonassociates.netwww.simonassociats.netwww.simonassociates.net@andisamc@als_simonwww.simonassociates.net
72Inbound Marketing
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