With the rising costs of Facebook ads, you may be looking for a lower-cost alternative that will still yield the results you need. Luckily for us, marketing expert Dennis Yu has shared his dollar-a-day strategy. This strategy is so successful, HubSpot Academy offers a free course on it (which I encourage you to check out).

What is the Facebook ads dollar-a-day strategy?

The strategy is one that was created by Dennis Yu and allows you to serve the right content to the right audience at the right time. With this strategy, you will create and run ads that will run simultaneously, all with a daily ad spend of just $1.

Much like a marketing mix, these ads should be developed with a mix of goals: awareness, engagement and conversion. Setting up your ads this way will help you to move customers more easily through the funnel.

How does this strategy work?

Imagine you’ve set up a campaign with 9 ads: 3 awareness ads, 3 engagement ads and 3 conversion ads.

Let’s also imagine you’re setting up this campaign for your university. When setting it up, you would tweak the targeting details. For instance, you could set it up so your audience receives only awareness ads until they’ve watched at least 10 seconds of one of them.

From there, we can dictate that once they’ve watched at least 10 seconds of an awareness ad, they’d be served an engagement ad, and so on, and so on…

The main idea here is that hitting your audience with several (as Dennis call is) “light touches” at different stages in the funnel is more effective than trying to do everything in one ad.

Have you ever used this strategy? What was your experience with it? Was it worth taking the time to create multiple pieces of content for one strategy? Let us know in the comments!

Before you go, please remember to sign up for our newsletter to be reminded of when we upload new content to help take your college/university to the next level. Feel free to also check out our previous posts for more content that can help you take your campaigns to the next level. Finally, remember to connect with me on LinkedIn. Thanks for visiting and we look forward to seeing you again next week!

This week, I’m very excited to be presenting something different.

I have begun a series of interviews called Marketer Chats where, you guessed it, I speak to a different marketer every episode and touch on both personal and professional aspects of their experience in the field.

For my first episode, I’m very excited to share my conversation with Jamie Giller. Jamie is currently the director of communications and marketing for the University of Central Florida’s Downtown Campus. Check out the interview below and let me know what you think in the comments!

For the next eight weeks we’ll be discussing topics related to brand management and marketing analytics. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out our previous posts for more insights and tips on marketing in higher education.

In today’s post we’ll briefly discuss what a sale is and why it’s important to have an accurate definition.

What is a sale?

The average person may think of a sale as a transaction where a company sells an item to a consumer. In reality, a sale can be much more complicated. This definition may not consider B2B (business to business) transactions, among other things. Most goods actually go through a longer pathway before reaching the final consumer.

The image below illustrates a more realistic sales pathway. Sales can begin at the manufacturers, who sell to wholesalers, who sell to distributors, who then sell to retailers. The retailers are the ones who usually sell directly to consumers.

Let’s use Florida International University (FIU) merchandise as an example. The average consumer who’s shopping in the on-campus bookstore may assume that there are only two stages in the sales pathway. For them, Barnes & Noble is selling the shirt, and they (the consumers) are buying it.

In reality, Barnes & Noble is the retailer, who is purchasing from a distributor, who purchases from a wholesaler, who purchases from a manufacturer. This long pathway may explain the high prices for merchandise in the on-campus bookstore, but that’s a conversation for another time.

Why is defining a sale important?

Now that we’ve seen the many possible steps in a sales pathway, it’s easier to understand why it’s important to have a clear definition of a sale before we begin to analyze data.

As marketers, we need to be sure we’re interpreting and analyzing the data that corresponds to the matter at hand so we can provide accurate insights. You wouldn’t want to interpret sales data at the retail level when what you actually need is data at the manufacturer level.

Have you ever run into a situation where data was not clearly defined? How has that affected your work process? How have you approached the situation? Do you have any tips for ensuring clearly defined sales data that has helped you overcome this obstacle? Let us know in the comments!

Before you go, please remember to sign up for our newsletter to reminded of when we upload new content to help take your college/university to the next level. Thanks for visiting and we look forward to seeing you again next week!

Welcome back and we hope you had a great holiday season! Our brief posting hiatus has come to an end and we are very happy you’ve joined us in 2022. For the next eight weeks we will cover various aspects of branding as it relates to higher education. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out our previous posts for more insights and tips on marketing in higher education.

What makes a brand?

This week, we’ll be looking at the components that go into building a brand’s identity. We’ll discuss six pillars essential to the construction of an effective brand, regardless of the industry. We’ll also briefly discuss how to approach each component to ensure your brand is built on a strong foundation.

The pillars we are going to cover are: physique, relationship, noble purpose, personality, culture and self-image. Each pillar will require some deep reflection to ensure its stability. Luckily, there are a few simple questions that we, as marketers, can utilize to build strong pillars.

Constructing the pillars

A brand’s physique is what a brand does best. What does your university/college do best? Is it a high graduation or retention rate? Is it post-education workforce placement? Is your institution the only one to do something (or the best at doing something) in the region/state?

Relationship refers to something your brand will never compromise. Is there something your institution has decided to hold to steadfast? Will an advisor always be available to meet with students? Are there any other services you will always offer students? For a university/college, this may be a good pillar to build in what is unique about the college experience you offer.

Your brand’s noble purpose is how it makes customers lives better. When it comes to an institution of higher education, the answer may seem simple but you should dig deeper. Every college/university will educate its students, but what about your organization’s experience is unique? While most individuals may think the product a university/college sells is an education, it’s also the experience it offers to its students.

Every brand should have a unique personality, or voice. Is your organization’s voice more traditional? Is the focus of its voice quality-centric? While tone and messaging will differ depending on which audience you speak to (parents vs. high school students), there should be one consistent overall tone/voice.

When it comes to culture, you’ll want to ask what your brand has in common with its customers. What is that common link you can leverage to help your customer base relate with you? We learned in previous posts that being relatable helps make your brand more approachable.

Finally, you’ll need to develop your brand’s self-image. This is what customers want their use of the brand to say about them. This, ultimately, comes down to the reputation you want to build for your organization. We know ivy league schools have a reputation for being great springboards for above-average post-education opportunities like employment. Does your organization want to be known for social mobility? Maybe for its prominent alumni? There are endless possibilities.

Putting it all together

Constructing these pillars may be a daunting task. However, strong pillars will make for a strong brand. Although the process outlined above may seem overwhelming, the benefits will highly outweigh the effort. A strong brand is key to long-term success, which is also key to the long-term success of your college/university.

It may be a good exercise to look at already established brands and try to decipher their pillars. This short video on the history of brands showcases some of the strongest brands in the world. Interbrand also publishes yearly lists of the world’s strongest brands. Working backwards can sometimes provide guidance for your own work and help you better understand the process.

Have you ever conducted an exercise like these? What has your experience been? Is there a pillar you’d add, remove, or change? Let us know it the comments! We’d love to hear from you.

Before you go, please remember to sign up for our newsletter to reminded of when we upload new content to help take your college/university to the next level. Thanks for visiting and we look forward to seeing you again next week!

Analytics continue to become more popular as technology and other resources continue to advance. Increasingly, more and more information is becoming available to help marketers be more effective.

This week, we’ll cover the three types of analytics and how you can leverage them to help your university/college’s marketing efforts more effective.

Descriptive Analytics

These types of analytics are great for showcasing information that’s already been collected to get a good understanding of where you are now. Unfortunately, these analytics pretty much stop there. They won’t provide the qualitative data you may be searching, and they won’t help you plan for the future.

A great example of descriptive analytics is a dashboard. Below is a screenshot of an example of a dashboard for Florida International University’s College of Business.

If you’re struggling to see the information above, you can click the image to see a larger version of it.

Predictive Analytics

These analytics can be more useful that descriptive analytics. Predictive analytics uses past data to attempt to predict future outcomes. These analytics could provide useful insights on how customers may respond to marketing promotions or how sales could be affected.

In a university/college setting, predictive analytics can help predict a customer’s journey through graduation to identify revenue generating opportunities. In the example below, we know that students once students finish their final semester and after graduating, many of them will be traveling (the exact amount depends on your individual institution). Since we know XX amount will be traveling, it’s an opportunity to market merchandise in bundles identified as essentials for travel.  

Prescriptive Analytics

These are analytics that leverage optimization techniques to advise marketing teams on what would work best for their target audience and the organization’s end goal. A great example of this would be something we’ve discussed in the past: A/B testing.

Conducting optimization experiments, like A/B testing, provide marketers with a statistical analysis to help them determine the best way to market.

Imagine you’re crafting an e-mail encouraging students to participate in a survey. Here, after conducting an A/B test with, let’s say, different subject lines, prescriptive analytics can help you gauge which tactic is most effective.

In the example below, it appears that Version A of our A/B test garnered the better results. You should still run test to determine statistical significance.

Do you currently implement all three of these types of analytics? Have a fun story to share about how these analytics have supported your marketing recommendations? Let me know why in the comments!

Also remember to check out last week’s post and sign up for our newsletter before you go!

Working with influencers is one of the more popular means of advertising in today’s social-media heavy world. Brands can partner with influencers of varying degrees to achieve a wide array of marketing goals. One goal that influencer marketing can help achieve is related to awareness.

Below, I’ve outlined three steps to building an effective influencer relationship.

First, you’ll need to do some research and identify the influencer that will work best for your campaign. Some of the variables you should consider with researching influencers are: industry niche and influencer level.

Let’s say you were working with Florida International University and wanted to partner with an influencer to help increase the amount of students attending in-person on-campus events. An influencer that we can reach out to here is Hannah Kossof (Links to an external site.).

Hannah’s following isn’t as large as we’d like, but, in doing our research, we learned that she has the larger following of FIU influencers. She has multiple videos about her FIU experience and may be able to help us get the word out. Below is one of Hannah’s videos.

Now that we’ve identified our influencers, it’s time to contact her. Influencers likely get many messages so it’s important to be as detailed as possible. Your email should let Hannah know that you’ve researched her content, the details of the partnership, and how success will be measured. Below is a sample communication that could work when reaching out to her.

Good morning/afternoon, Hannah,

My name is XX and my agency XX is working with Florida International University to increase the amount of students attending in-person on-campus events.

I’ve noticed that you have multiple videos on YouTube about your FIU experience and I think you could help FIU achieve their desired goals. We’d like to organize an Instagram takeover with you where you document your experience at the upcoming homecoming events.

If this is something you’re interested, please respond as soon as possible so we can further discuss.

Thank you,

XX

In the email above, you’re letting Hannah know that you’ve done your research, the challenge FIU is facing and the specificities of the partnership Identify the Influencer.

I know what you’re thinking. What about payment? This comes in our next step, finalizing the partnership details.

When Hannah responds, you should be ready to discuss payment. With influencers with smaller followings like Hannah, you’re likely able to execute a partnership at no financial impact. Hannah will likely agree to the partnership just for the exposure among the FIU social media follower base. This exposure could help her grow her own personal following.

However, you should be ready to discuss a financial commitment. The amount you pay should never exceed the expected benefit. It’s important to consider her following and the possible impact the partnership could have.

If you’re promoting a product, an influencer will likely be open to revenue sharing. This is where they get a cut of the revenue of the product they’re featuring. You’ve likely seen this in the form of special discount codes that can be entered at the time of purchase.

Partnering with influencers is a great way to get the word out about your brand, if done correctly. Do you have a unique story about partnering with an influencer? Are there any tips you’d like to add to the ones I’d mention? Let me know in the comments!

There was a small lag in blog updates due to unforeseen circumstances but we’re now back to our regular. If you haven’t, please remember to check out our last post (Links to an external site.) and sign up for our newsletter.

When analyzing data, you’ll need to analyze any possible relationships among variables. Let’s say our research topic was about students who live on campus and their on-campus dining habits.

The first component you’ll need to identify is whether or not a relationship exists 🤷‍♂️. Is there a relation between students who live on campus and their on-campus dining habits? This is referred to as the presence.

To do that, you’ll need to look at the p value. We know from prior analysis that .05 is the p value that will help us determine a statistical significance. Here, though, a p value of .05 or less means that there is a relationship between the two variables. If you’re p value is higher than .05, there is not a relationship between the variables. Alternatively, we can say that there is (or isn’t) a presence or that a relationship does (or doesn’t) exist.

The next factor to determine is the direction or pattern of the relationship. Relationships can be positive or negative 📈 📉. If the relationship is positive, both increase together. If the relationship is negative, one increases as the other decreases.

The last factor is the strength of the relationship between the variables 💪. This will further help our analysis because if there is a positive or negative relationship, it’s helpful to know how strong that relationship is. If it’s a weak relationship, the variables at-hand don’t strongly influence the other. If there’s a strong relationship, the variables do strongly influence each other.

These three factors are critical when analyzing data and they can futher support your results. Remember, a lot of work goes into conducting marketing research, so it’s important that we conclude as much as possible from our data set to provide the client with the strongest feedback/recommendation.

Do you already conduct this type of analysis when you’re conducting marketing research? If not, let me know why in the comments. If you do, let me know how this process has helped solidify your findings and final recommendations.

There was a small lag in blog updates due to unforeseen circumstances but we’re now back to our regular schedule. If you haven’t, please remember to check out our last post (Links to an external site.) and sign up for our newsletter.

Ever since Facebook changed their name to Meta and announced plans for the metaverse, digital marketers everywhere are eager to learn more. Although little is known about the metaverse and how it will work, few can argue that it will provide new opportunities for marketing. I imagine this is how traditional marketers felt when social media took off, and I am eager to be able to be a part of the metaverse’s early stages.

For more insight on what the metaverse could bring (both pros and cons), I contacted multiple industry experts for their take on the subject.

“The metaverse represents a possible next step in the evolution of digital communication. As such, it will open up a new realm of opportunities and problems. Having to split our lives between the physical and virtual will not be an easy pill to swallow for many of us. The older generations, as expected, will resist while the younger will dive right into it. On the other hand, the metaverse represents a new dimension of business opportunities.

“As social media has already surpassed puberty and is now nearing adulthood, some feel that is staring to become stagnant. The metaverse will breathe new life and evolve these channels and provide deeper integration with our life. Will the government step in and break up these companies? Will these be regulated? Companies are running while the government is barely able to keep up with regulations. I am personally on the fence about the Metaverse. Yes for innovation and evolution but very worried over the repercussions”. – Joel Villarini, Director of Social Media at Florida International University

“The idea of the metaverse is exciting. As someone who works in social media, this is an area I am looking forward to. I expect it to be rough and to be met with hesitation as social media was when it first came around, but I think that people will come around. However, I do see room for problems to develop. Even now, it can be difficult to pull meaningful analytics from different social media platforms. Will everything on the metaverse revolve around one metric reporting style or will it add to the disorganization? I also think that Meta’s association with the platform could do more harm than good. Meta, previously known as Facebook, is already known for trust and privacy issues. How can we guarantee this same activity won’t continue? Even though the metaverse is riddled with unknowns, the excitement of this new platform and its undefined possibilities is exciting”. – Hasan Mangal, Founder of 8O8 Visuals (a social media marketing agency).

“Marketing in the metaverse can serve as a huge tool. It is almost as if traditional marketing is back but in a digital way. By offering users a hyper-real alternative world it will give marketers a new set of touch points in the customer journey map. Billboards, banners, digital screens, and other collateral will be distributed in a more direct way, without restrictions. This will also give companies the opportunities to leverage a new type of digital product. A great example is NFTs. This type of high-ticket item doesn’t mean much in the real world but in a virtual world is worth so much more. It is going to be interesting to see how the metaverse plays out and how it will be governed to make sure existing rules and regulations protecting consumers will be enforced.” – Nicole Valle, Brand Manager at Florida International University

It seems that even the experts are perplexed about the metaverse and what it could mean for the future of digital marketing. While most seem to be for it, they all have some concerns and, given Meta’s track record, rightfully so.

While the unknown can be scary, especially one run by a company that already has a not-so-great reputation in the realm, it’s inevitable. When we look at social media, it was also met with resistance early on. I expect the metaverse to take a very similar route. This time, rather than fighting it, I’m hopeful that more companies will jump on the bandwagon before getting left behind.

Overall, I’m very excited about the metaverse and all its possibilities. As digital marketers, the analytics and targeting options could be game-changing. How are you feeling about the metaverse? What pros and cons can you see in this early introductory phase? What do you think about what the experts had to say? Let me know in the comments!

It’s important to understand the hierarchy within Google Ads to be able to be effective when building campaigns. The graphic below breaks down the different levels and their purpose.

At the highest level, we have campaigns. Campaigns are unique to marketing goals, so you should have one for each goal. If you were trying to increase merchandise sales and increase enrollment rates, they’d each be their own campaign.

Next is networks. It’s here where you decided you want the campaigns to run. This could depend on the type of ad, but a video could run on YouTube, for example.

Ad groups is where the different ads for the campaigns would go. If each campaign has multiple videos, each version of each video would go here.

The last section, ads, is where you could house different versions of the ads mentioned in the previous section. Why would you even want different versions of the same ad? For AB testing!

This week’s overview is very high level, and we’ll get take a deeper dive in upcoming weeks. 

Remember to check out last week’s post (Links to an external site.) and sign up for our newsletter (Links to an external site.) before you go!

There are multiple factors to consider when considering your ability to influence a customer as a marketer. These four factors are: motivational, demographical, behavioral and attitudinal. 

To help break down these factors, let’s use an example relevant for us as marketers in higher education. Some of you may very well be tasked with increasing revenue from textbooks. Here’s how each of these factors can help us be more effective. 

Motivational

This factor focuses on the “why” behind the purchase. This is the easy one for us. We know that students are likely purchasing textbooks because they are required for their courses.

Taking this further, though, we should consider the value we can create in buying from a campus bookstore instead of a third party like Chegg or Amazon. It could be price, convenience or the guarantee that the student is in fact purchasing the right textbook and not an outdated version.     

Once the benefits of buying on campus are identified, they can be used to better inform your strategy. 

Demographical

This factor is pretty self explanatory. While it’s easy to assume that our students fit into one general demographic, it’s important to consider all students. Having this information is crucial to informing a strategy because an 18 year-old is not the same as someone in their mid-30s. 

Behavioral

Not all customers behave the same. Some students may be more likely to purchase optional textbooks than others. It could be that students in one discipline are more likely to purchase these resources than others. 

It’s information like this that will help you determine how much effort to spend in marketing those optional resources to the right students. 

It’s also important to consider how students are purchasing textbooks. Is this happening in person? Through a website? On an app? Are students more likely to rent than purchase? These are all behavioral factors worth identifying. 

Attitudinal

Attitudes are also an important factor. Some students may be more open to a shopping experience than others. We need to identify and segment these individuals to be as effective as possible when developing our strategy. 

Overall, this holistic approach to evaluating factors in our ability to influence will make us more able to effectively influence. There may be more than just these four factors, but as noted in The Platform Marketer, this is a good place to start. 

If you have the time, I strongly encourage you to pick up a copy of the book and check out the resources available on the authors’ website. 

Do you already employ these factors when considering your strategy’s ability to influence? I want to know how it has worked for you. Share your experience in the comments below. 

Also make sure to check out last week’s post , where we covered IMC, and don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter  before you go!