Marketing Strategy Archetypes

Once you know who your target audience is, you can set goals as part of a clear and actionable marketing strategy. We like to use the 20 Brand Archetypes developed by Forty Agency (now https://crowdfavorite.com/), and inspired by Margaret Mark and Carol Pearson in the book The Hero and the Outlaw, to determine who you are in relation to your target audience. The following are the 20 Brand Archetypes as presented by Forty Agency (now Crowd Favorite). 

MAVERICK (Rebel, Outlaw, Rogue)

Brands: Harley Davidson, Virgin, MTV, Rimmel, Steve Madden, Urban Outfitters, Orbit

People: Henry David Thoreau, Sid Vicious, George Washington

Goal/method: To achieve freedom from the establishment through defiance, disobedience, and nonconformity.

EVERYMAN (Good Old Boy, Girl Next Door, Average Joe)

Brands: Miller High Life, Sonic, Walmart, Lowe’s, Walgreens, Southwest, Visa, Covergirl, Hollister

People: Jack Black, Homer Simpson, Tom Hanks, Princess Diana

Goal/method: To bond with others by being humble, hard-working, and friendly

INNOCENT (Saint, Goody-Two-Shoes, Angel)

Brands: IKEA, Google, Apple, Dove, Lysol, Master Card, Aveda

People: Mr. Rogers, Gandhi, Boy Scouts, Oprah

Goal/method: To achieve a simple, pure life by always doing the right thing

ENTERTAINER (Clown, Jester, Performer)

Brands: Budweiser, Fanta, Jack in the Box, Hulu, Woot.com, Taco Bell, Doritos

People: Robin Williams, Bob Hope, Jeff Foxworthy

Goal/method: To make friends (and avoid making enemies) through humor and fun

VILLAIN (Bad Guy, Monster, Vampire)

Brands: Megadeth, Hot Topic, LA Ink

People: Marilyn Manson, Darth Vader, Dr. Horrible

Goal/method: To satisfy internal drives or passions through whatever means necessary

INTELLECTUAL (Sage, Genius, Expert)

Brands: Ask.com, CNN, Gallup, MIT, Harvard, CIA, Bloomberg

People: Stephen Hawking, Marie Curie, Ken Jennings

Goal/method: To find the truth through research, objectivity, and diligence

SENSUALIST (Hedonist, Pleasure Seeker)

Brands: Victoria’s Secret, BMW, Godiva, Versace, Food Network, Nivea, Sephora

People: Madonna, Paula Deen, Dracula

Goal/method: To pursue perfect enjoyment through physical experiences

SERVANT (Martyr, Slave, Monk)

Brands: Red Cross, Amnesty International, Peace Corps, Humane Society, Police Department

People: Mother Theresa, Pat Tillman

Goal/method: To lose yourself through service to others

TRADITIONALIST (Conservative, Old School, Miser)

Brands: Old Spice, Wendy’s, Procter & Gamble, Wells Fargo, Folger’s, GAP

People: Norman Rockwell, Ronald Reagan

Goal/method: To restore the world through a return to old-fashioned values

NURTURER (Mom, Mother Earth, Healer)

Brands: Campbell’s, Pampers, Volvo, Johnson & Johnson, Loreal, Allstate

People: June Cleaver, Paula Deen

Goal/method: To help others feel loved by providing for their needs and wants

CONNECTOR (Networker, Politician, Talker)

Brands: AT&T, Verizon, Facebook, Linkedin

People: Oprah, Donald Trump

Goal/method: To make things happen by knowing the right people

ARTIST (Creative, Creator, Craftsman)

Brands: hp, Adobe, Lego, Home Depot, Michael’s, Black and Decker, HGTV

People: Beethoven, Salvador Dali, William Shakespeare, Bob Villa

Goal/method: To create something of enduring beauty and value

PHILOSOPHER (Sage, Prophet, Guru)

Brands: Scientology, Calvin Klein, Nikon

People: Plato, Deepak Chopra, Paulo Coelho

Goal/method: To help people understand the world by seeing things from a different perspective.

DREAMER (Magician, Sorcerer, Wizard)

Brands: Disney, Axe, Rock Band

People: Tim Burton, Carlos Castaneda, Steven Spielberg, Harry Potter

Goal/method: To help people achieve supernatural experiences by promoting faith and wonder (transformation).

MOTIVATOR (Mentor, Preacher, Promoter)

Brands: Truth, (RED), Electronic Frontier Foundation, MoveOn.org

People: Tony Robbins, Barack Obama, Richard Simmons

Goal/method: To achieve amazing goals by getting people excited about a cause

RULER (King, Leader, Father)

Brands: Microsoft, Rolex, Gillette, The New York Times, Jack Daniel’s

People: Steve Jobs, Franklin Roosevelt, Moses

Goal/method: To lead people to a common destination through confidence, determination, and influence

EXPLORER (Seeker, Wanderer)

Brands: North Face, Pier One, Jeep, Greyhound, Subaru, Starbucks

People: Christopher Columbus, Jacques Cousteau, Steve Irwin

Goal/method: To learn what’s constant in life by always changing your environment

DEFENDER (Knight, Superhero, Warrior)

Brands: U.S. Army, Greenpeace, Marlboro, Dial, Band aid

People: Batman, George S. Patton, John Wayne

Goal/method: To protect others from harm through bravery and service

THRILL-SEEKER (Gambler, Swashbuckler, Adventurer)

Brands: X Games, Mountain Dew, Chrysler Crossfire, Carnival Cruise Ships, New Zealand, Camelback

People: Richard Branson, Ben Saunders, Errol Flynn

Goal/method: To achieve great rewards through great risks

ACHIEVER (Athlete, Hot Shot, Strongman)

Brands: Nike, Ford, Home Depot, Adidas, Under Armor

People: Lance Armstrong, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods

Goal/method: To prove yourself through amazing physical acts

The post Marketing Strategy Archetypes appeared first on Verified Studios.

Durham-based agency and pre-eminent research university will share results of strategic program-level enrollment marketing project

Durham, NC (Thursday, September 8) — Verified Studios today announced that it will share the results of its two-year partnership with NC State University’s Distance Education Learning Technologies Applications (DELTA) office during the November USC Aiken National Distance Learning Week (NDLW) Virtual Conference.

Over the last two years, the Durham-based digital marketing agency has guided deployment of a scalable, low-cost, high ROI program-level marketing system across 18 NC State online and distance education programs. At the Distance Learning Administration (DLA) Conference in June 2016, CEO of Verified Studios Adam Schultz joined Kay Zimmerman, Associate Vice Provost DELTA-Marketing & Partnership Development Marketing and Partnership Development, to share the results of this partnership and the resulting paper, “Winning One Program at a Time: A Systemic Approach,” won the Conference’s Best Paper Award.

“The results of the partnership between NC State and Verified Studios are a perfect fit for this year’s conference as our theme is Practical Applications towards Building Quality Online Courses,” said Dr. Veronica Outlaw, coordinator of the 2016 USC Aiken NDLW Virtual Conference and Director of Distance Learning at the University of South Carolina Aiken. “The only way to continue to offer quality courses is to have the enrollment numbers that prove return on investment in distance learning.”

“At Verified, we’re focused on not only helping our individual partners leverage digital marketing to meet their strategic goals but also on establishing best practices that can guide the higher education industry as a whole,” adds Adam Schultz. “We appreciate the opportunity to share the results of our program-level strategic marketing project with an extended audience.”

Verified Studios has worked with many institutions of higher education, including Duke University and Appalachian State University, among others. Learn more about how the Durham-based agency helps its partners leverage digital marketing to meet their strategic goals at http://verifiedstudios.com.

About National Distance Learning Week

The United States Distance Learning Association dedicates one week each year to provide an opportunity to celebrate growths and accomplishments in distance learning and for faculty and/or students to showcase excellence in teaching, technology, and/or research.  National Distance Learning Week (NDLW) is an opportunity to disseminate the amazing innovations being used to help provide quality and robust online education for our faculty and learners.  The USC Aiken’s Office of Distance Learning is proud to host their third annual NDLW Virtual Conference on the USC Aiken campus during November 7-11, 2016. Visit the USCA NDLW Virtual Conference webpage and follow the link to register for the conference, examine the scheduled presentations, and review the presenters.

About Verified Studios

Verified Studios partners with institutions of higher education and corporations to provide digital learning program management — from course development to course marketing — as well as websites and online marketing services. We’re an e-learning partner that creates approachable, effective and customized content through a collaborative approach, ensuring your goals and objectives remain top priority. Learn more at http://verifiedstudios.com.

Media Contact

Verified Studios
919-451-8983
adam@verifiedstudios.com

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Partnership between digital marketing agency and research university recognized by distance learning administrators

Durham, NC (August 24, 2016) — In June 2016, “Winning One Program at a Time: A Systemic Approach,” the paper co-written by Verified Studios CEO Adam Schultz and Kay Zimmerman, NC State Associate Vice Provost DELTA-Marketing and Partnership Development, won the Distance Learning Administration Conference Best Paper Award.

Over the last two years, the Durham-based digital marketing agency has guided deployment of a scalable, low-cost, high ROI program-level marketing system across 18 NC State online and distance education programs. The paper shares the results of the program-level marketing strategy, highlighting ways for other universities to deploy a similar system.

“I’m excited to be recognized by my distance learning colleagues and to have this opportunity to share best practices that could change the enrollment marketing landscape,” said Zimmerman.

“Many universities are missing an opportunity to focus online and distance education student recruitment marketing efforts and budget at the program level. When you consider that this can offer lower priced advertising opportunities with higher conversion rates than traditional university level marketing initiatives, universities can’t afford not to try this strategy,” adds Schultz. “I look forward to continuing our work with NC State and to opportunities to help other leading universities see the same positive results.”

Learn more about the affordable marketing support that Verified offers to help higher education institutions meet their strategic goals at http://verifiedstudios.com.

About NC State

As a research-extensive land-grant university, North Carolina State University is dedicated to excellent teaching, the creation and application of knowledge, and engagement with public and private partners. By uniting strength in science and technology with a commitment to excellence in a comprehensive range of disciplines, NC State promotes an integrated approach to problem solving that transforms lives and provides leadership for social, economic and technological development across North Carolina and around the world.

About Verified Studios

Verified Studios partners with institutions of higher education and corporations to provide digital learning program management — from course development to course marketing — as well as websites and online marketing services. We’re an e-learning partner that creates approachable, effective and customized content through a collaborative approach, ensuring your goals and objectives remain top priority. Learn more at http://verifiedstudios.com.

Media Contact

Verified Studios
919-451-8983
adam@verifiedstudios.com

The post Verified Studios and NC State University Win Distance Learning Administration Best Paper Award appeared first on Verified Studios.

As you can imagine, every single one of your competitors also wants to be on that first page of Google. That means you are competing with every other program (distance education, grad school, college of engineering – whatever your program specialty is) for those ten to fifteen search engine result slots. Those coveted slots are constantly shifting as your competitors pour money, time and effort into mastering the SEO game. Some of them also hire unscrupulous SEO marketing companies that use practices that are considered unethical. These sites get slapped down by Google and other search engines (Yahoo, Bing), while sites that use what are considered ethical SEO practices rise in the rankings.

SEO is simultaneously complicated and not complicated. If your site is configured properly and contains the right content, you can consistently rank in the top few pages for multiple keyword phrases. No SEO marketer can promise exact results, but a good SEO expert will know how to protect you from bad practices and set you up with best practices that get results.

You can learn more about SEO by watching this free video about the top five SEO mistakes webmasters make. Since SEO requires both strategy and responsive monitoring, a little expert help goes a long way. Fortunately for you, you know an SEO expert: Contact Verified Studios for a free SEO site analysis to find out how you’re doing in this area.

The Second Piece of the Puzzle: Pay-Per-Click Advertising

You can only control so much when it comes to SEO, but PPC (Pay Per Click) advertising is something you can control. Basically, PPC ads are those top three listings and the ads on the right hand side bar on the Google, Yahoo or Bing search engine pages (the ones with the tiny word “Ad” next to them). Those ads show up because college program directors like you paid for them to appear there.

This is how PPC works: you register with Google, you fund the account with a credit card, and then you pay everytime someone clicks on an ad that shows up for a relevant search term. For example, if you are offering a distance learning art history class, you might bid on the search term “virtual art history class”. Then you’d pay every time someone clicks on your ad and is directed to your site.

PPC ads involve strategy similar to SEO strategy. Successful PPC advertising rests heavily on the following:

• Proper keyword usage in the ads
• Compelling copywriting
• Smart, competitive pricing of ads (you have to decide how much you will pay for every ad click you get – this determines how often and in what place your ad is presented on search engine pages)

PPC can be highly effective, especially if you speak with someone who is knowledgeable and learn how to setup your account so that it has spending limits.

That’s it. Now you know all you need to know about SEO and PPC. Okay, not quite but I’m Verified Studios is here to help. Contact us for a free consultation to determine what we can do to help optimize your content.

The post SEO Demystified appeared first on Verified Studios.

In the last dozen years, I’ve seen my fair share of college websites: some good, some bad, some ugly.

I’ve spent time reviewing these universities’ sites—examining their goals, their previous website creation process, their current analytics and their current website. As I went through this investigative process over and over, I came up with a checklist of five questions that help me figure out what needs to stay and what needs to go.

In this post, I’ll share five questions to ask to design an effective college website with you. Once you’ve given your site this simple interview, you’ll know what you’re doing right and what you need to change to attract new students and increase enrollment numbers.

Question #1: Are you attracting who you’re trying to attract?

The majority of people who click on a website spend fewer than 15 seconds actively on the page. It’s true, the research says so. Here’s the good news: You don’t need to keep the attention of 100% of the people who click through to your page. You just need to attract those who help you meet your goal. With that in mind, that statistic should make you think twice about what’s featured prominently on your homepage: a welcome letter from the college president or the exact information that your ideal audience is seeking.

A followup question: What do your visitors think of you?

Do you know how many people are visiting your site? Are you getting registrations for your newsletter from prospective students?

This is a very common problem for college program directors tasked with redesigning their programs’ sites. They realize that they need to assess what’s working, and they know the reports from their IT departments are probably communicating useful data, but they need guidance with the analysis. I can help.

Understanding Why You Need to Measure and Respond
Here’s what you need to know to figure out what your site visitors are thinking:

• Number of visitors to your site
• Visitor bounce rate
• Visitor engagement rate (and type)
• Which aspects of your site are most engaging? Least engaging?
• Where is site traffic coming from? Google searches? Yahoo? PPC ads?
• Which calls to action are working? Which are not?
• Which keywords are getting you on that first page of search results?

This information will not only help you make marketing and site content decisions, but it will also show key stakeholders return on investment, justifying the expenses required to keep up a college site that works.

Getting the Right Tools in Place
Have limited IT department support or budget? You can overcome these roadblocks by using a website with built-in analytic tools that combine all the individual tools into one useful, simple toolkit. Ideally, your site analytic tools will:

• Work together
• Provide useful, easy-to-interpret reports
• Measure everything that matters
• Offer clear advice as to how respond to the information you gather

Using a variety of tools to get that same information is an option, but I’ve found that a lot of those tools are difficult to use and combine. Take, for instance, Google Analytics, a very valuable tool. You can check out this free introductory Google Analytics video to understand how it works. On its own, it only gives you a slice of the information you need to make wise decisions for your site, whereas working with a website with a built-in analytic toolkit will produce usable reports and information you can act upon.

Question #2: How much patience does it take to request more information from you?

Today’s internet users, and specifically students, don’t have the patience—see aforementioned statistic about their generous 15 seconds—to search all over your website to figure out how to get more information or find out if your course offering will satisfy their requirements for graduation. They expect this information to be readily available and clearly marked.

Here are two ways that I’ve seen web designers do right by these goal-focused yet impatient students:

• Make content structure and presentation user friendly.
• Have calls to action that are clear and strategically planned.

Question #3: Do you follow the rules of good design?

A few followup questions for this one:

• Does your site have broken links?
• Is your site design clunky?
• Do your web pages take more than two seconds to load?

You might not believe it, but 47% of people will bounce off a webpage if it takes more than two seconds to load. That might sound ridiculous, but it’s true. Websites with slow-loading pages give the impression that the site is:

• Antiquated
• Unreliable
• Subpar

Question #4: Do you play well with others? Mobile devices? Google?

According to a 2013 survey by Higher Education marketing firm Noel Levitz, 43% of the prospective students visiting your website will be visiting via their tablets and mobile devices. That means you can wow students on the go, but also gives you more responsibility in that a desktop-focused website just won’t do.

What about Google?

Most people who search online do not search past the first page of search results. That means your website needs to be on that first page of results.

How can you make sure that it is? By figuring out the following:

• What keywords your target audience is plugging into Google and other sites when searching
• How to rank on the first page of Google search results for as many of those keywords as possible

This is called SEO, or search engine optimization, and it makes all the difference between a successful website and one that struggles to be seen. Be sure to read my SEO Demystified post to learn more about this complicated but necessary marketing practice.

Question #5: Can I like, follow, tweet, pin and subscribe to you?

Let’s say you have a distance education program that offers online coursework, and your end goal is to increase student enrollment. A prospective student who is looking to enroll in an online degree program finds your site, looks around for a while, and is excited about what he finds.

However, for one reason or another, the prospective student has to leave your site. He has to get to work, and he shuts down the page. Later, when he wants to return to your site, he can’t remember what your program name is. How can you make sure that this potential student will be reunited with your program?

Implementing Follow Up Strategies That Work
Your end goal is student enrollment in an academic program and the smaller, more achievable goals that you have in place are what will help you attain that goal. A little secret from effective marketing strategists: Get your visitor to take some sort of action, even if it is a very small movement. Inaction is the true enemy.

Social Media is Trending for Good Reason
Today’s students expect to see your presence on social media platforms and smart college programs are giving them what they want by:

• Creating fun, exciting content to put out on social media platforms, just to get attention
• Interacting with current students online so the current students will repost material, spreading their brand and interest in their programs
• Posting about campus events, job opportunities, career fairs and outcomes (like how many graduates from their program got awesome jobs in their fields of choice) on social media channels

Here’s what the social media savvy programs avoid:

• Publishing any old information. Stay away from dry, lame posts that nobody actually cares about. Keep it fresh, useful, interesting, or entertaining.
• Radio silence. Once you’ve established a presence, continue to feed these sites with information about your college program. This is a great venue for answering commonly asked questions, removing obstacles to enrollment and generating interest in your program. Then link social media platforms to long term engagement and follow up plans, like autoresponder emails, monthly newsletters, and direct mail campaigns.

Post-Interview: Now What?

So you’ve asked all the questions and have all of your answers. Are you feeling more confident about what your website is doing right and better prepared to update what needs updating? As a next step, you might want to take a look at 10 Things The Best College Websites Do, my follow-up post that builds on what we started discussing in this piece.

These posts are not all of the help that I have to offer you. My company, Verified Studios, has been designing higher education websites for the last nine years. We’ve meticulously analyzed site performance, recording what efforts deliver the best results.

If you’re interested in discussing practical applications of the points mentioned in this post, contact us for a conversation about your website. We can also provide you with a simple analysis, no strings attached evaluation of your site. I truly hope these resources prove useful to you, and I wish you great success with your college program website.

The post 5 Questions to Help You Design an Effective College Website appeared first on Verified Studios.

You didn’t think I’d leave you wondering what the last five things your college website should do are for too long, did you? Read on for your last five checklist items (plus a few more because we like you). If you missed the first five, here they are.

6. They ensure a flawless tablet and mobile experience.

Because 46% of prospective students rely solely on mobile devices to search for college information, almost half of prospective students only see how the site looks via their phone or tablet, avoiding the desktop version altogether.

The best sites are built with responsive design, meaning they automatically detect what type of device the viewer is using – a laptop, desktop, tablet, or mobile phone – and format the site and its content to fit the device, from an iPad mini to an Android smartphone to a two-in-one tablet.

Your action: Test your site on your mobile device or tablet. Are you seeing the same stellar site that you see when you access it on a desktop computer or laptop? If so, check this off.

7. They dominate search engine results.

Bear with me, this is going to be a long, but interesting, one.

90% of the time, people who search online will not venture beyond the first page of their Google search results. This is why companies pour so much money and effort into search engine optimization (SEO) every year: to compete for the 10 to 15 coveted spots on this first page of results.

How does your site measure against this stiff competition? Prospective students may stumble upon your site by entering any combination of thousands of possible keywords, but this will give you an idea of how SEO-friendly your site is: Enter the keywords “Distance Education Program” (or “engineering program” or “grad school” or whatever is a non-brand-specific way to describe your program—don’t enter your brand name as you search as not all students aren’t going to search for your program by name) into Google.

What populates your first search results page? If your site’s on the list, you’re definitely doing something right. If not, try boosting it through a variety of SEO and online advertising tactics, including PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising.

Start another Google search for higher education programs and take a good look at the search results page. See those top three listings, the ones with the small yellow word “Ad” next to them? Those are not naturally ranked listings; they are paid ads. The ads in the right hand column (also under the yellow word “Ad”) are also paid.

These are pay-per-click ads, meaning the sponsor of the ad pays every time someone clicks on the ad. This is how PPC works: you register with Google, you fund the account with a credit card, and then you pay everytime someone clicks on a relevant term. For example, if you are offering a distance learning art history class, you might bid on the search term “virtual art history class”. Then you pay every time someone clicks on your ad and is directed to your site.

Pay per click (PPC) ad campaigns can be very effective – or very expensive – depending on how well you understand the marketing space. PPC is a guaranteed way to rank on a search engine, ensuring you will get your ad in front of people searching for those keywords.

Here’s a hint when it comes to PPC success: Whether you attract the right people, if they will click on the ad, and, once they click, if they will even be interested in your program depends greatly on the following:

• Choice of keywords
• Wording of the ad
• How much you are willing to pay
• Which search engine you choose
• If visitors find when they expect to find when they click through to your site

Your action: Because optimizing your site and targeting your advertising efforts will show you a much higher return on your marketing investments, reach out to an internet marketing expert to learn more about SEO and PPC advertising.

8. They track everything that matters.

Creators of the best sites know that if you want to get results, you need to measure how well your efforts are performing. Here are the types of questions these web administrators keep in mind:

• Who is visiting your site?
• How long do visitors stay on the site?
• Which site pages are engaging students?
• Which calls to action are working? Which aren’t?
• Which keywords are bringing in traffic?
• What actions do visitors take while on your site?
• Where is your site traffic coming from?

Your action: Do some research into analytic tools that measure site SEO, PPC campaigns, email campaigns, and page visits. Reach out to your IT support as you learn how to use these tools and figure out how to generate reports, interpret those reports and turn the numbers into marketing plans.

Something I’ve learned: You will save yourself a lot of time and money if you find analytic tools that work together rather than spend time and money on multiple tools that work independently of one another. Fortunately, there are now sites that have built in analytic tools that produce customizable reports. These tools can help you measure and manage your marketing efforts, maximizing your productivity.

Extra credit: Because you are an educational institution, your site also needs to be section 508/ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant. If you do not know what the standards are for being ADA compliant, let me help through a free ADA compliance analysis [LINK to analysis].

9. They follow up with EVERY prospect.

The best sites establish connections that enable follow up with every prospect, no matter where they are in the engagement process.

Prospective student interested in more information? These sites get them to sign up for an email list or to register to download a FAQ sheet.

First time visitor to the site? These sites get them enrolled in a retargeting marketing strategy.

Student registering for a campus visit? The sites schedule a follow up email or call.

Your action: You know you need to put your program in front of the student again and again, without annoying him or her, but did you know that your site can do this automatically, with little or no need for human hours? Look into autoresponder email campaigns to learn how to master this piece of the puzzle.

10. They engage prospects via social media.

These 100 colleges are great examples of institutions that have a social media component that prospective students find interesting, fun, and engaging rather than dry of salesy.

Is it worth the effort to get social? A resounding yes. Here’s proof:

Your action: Beyond just participating on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and the usual suspects, consider creating your own “insider” social media platform, an exclusive community that appeal to current and prospective students alike. Try setting it up so prospective students can only access certain parts of the platform, and insiders (registered students) can use all the features to meet other students, study online, share information, post pics, and ask questions.

We’re here to help make your site one of the best.

Now you know what the best sites are doing and what you’re already doing right. Want help implementing some of these best practices that you haven’t gotten around to yet? That’s exactly what my team of designers, developers, marketers and writers is here to offer.

Let me tell you a little about us: Verified Studios has been designing higher education sites since 2008. We’ve meticulously analyzed site performance, recording what efforts deliver results. We’ve used our experience to develop tools like Collegiate Suite to produce compelling higher education site templates that deliver exactly what students are looking for in a college program site.

One last action: Contact us to discuss what changes, if any, would enhance your site. Many of our clients have benefited from a simple, no-strings-attached analysis of their sites and we’d love to offer the same to you

The post 10 Things the Best College Sites Do: Part 2 of 2 appeared first on Verified Studios.

As CEO of a company that’s been building and enhancing college websites since 2008, I’ve collaborated with many college program directors to develop sites that meet their specific program goals.

While helping college programs of all shapes and sizes, I’ve noticed that the best college sites are not only doing specific things right, but they’re doing the same things right. Because they share these commonalities, a review of these sites can show us best practices that you might consider applying the next time you update your program site.

To inspire you, I’d like to offer this checklist of what the best college sites do. Use it to not only identify what you’re already doing right—check those off as you go—but also to discover tried-and-true ideas that you might not have come across during your site creation process.

1. They accomplish not just any goal, but their specific goal.

The best sites use a tool like Google Analytics to answer questions like these and make data-driven decisions based on those answers:

• Is the site attracting students? If so, how many? What caliber of student is it attracting?
• Is the site increasing enrollment? At what rate?
• Is the site compelling alumni to contribute funds? If so, how much money?
• Is the site helping current students find the resources they need? Which resources are they finding, and which resources are difficult to locate? Is the site reducing the need for actual people answering phones and assisting students in person?

Your action: Determine your site’s goal. Is your current site meeting it? Figure out the answer through questions like those listed above. If yes, check this off.

2. They appeal to their most important visitors first.

What better way to explain this point than to show you an example? The creators of this Denver Seminary site recognize its target audience and know what information these visitors seek. You can tell because this site delivers this information and doesn’t make it difficult to find it.

Your action: To maximize site effectiveness, here are the steps that I suggest to clients:

1. Identify your target audience.
2. Determine what your target audience is looking for on your site.
3. Make sure that information appears front and center.

Done? Check this one off.

3. They pave a clear path for action.

Once prospective students show up, the best sites like this University of Texas Arlington one compel them to have a look around and take action.

Here are a few additional examples of calls to action designed to meet every possible type of prospect where they are in the process:

• Watch a Video
• Take a Virtual Tour
• Click Here for More Information
• Join Our Email Newsletter
• Apply for Admission
• Get Answers Here
• Register for Classes

Your action: This is a multi-step one. How many of the following have you already done? Check them off as you go.

1. Identify the key information that your prospective students seek.
2. Cut content down to the bare minimum.
3. Highlight key information so it can be found in the first five seconds of scanning the page.
4. Organize information on the page so it is easy to digest.
5. Provide obvious links to deeper information so prospective students know where to click.
6. Make sure pages load quickly so prospective students aren’t left hanging.

4. They convince prospective students that their program delivers results.

Polk State College touts economic success front and center on its homepage via slide show. These solid statistics show that their graduates are better off after attending their program, giving prospective students proof that their program is worth the financial investment.

Your action: Depends on your target audience. Is it prospective students? Ask yourself these questions:

• What percentage of your graduates found jobs in their desired field of employment in the first year following graduation?
• What salary range are your graduates are getting when they do find a job?
• What kind of ROI (return on investment) track record does your program have? Will the education pay off? Is this a wise investment?

More focused on existing students with the purpose of fundraising or seeking to engage them? Ask yourself these questions:

• Why should a student continue with your program? Will you meet this student’s needs quickly and effectively?
• Why should an alumnus contribute money? How are funds used? What emotional fulfillment will an alumnus get from contributing?

5. They make students fall in love with them.

Take just one look at Biola’s Undergraduate Program site and you know exactly what kind of feel the college offers: fun, accepting, and eclectic.

The best sites offer an appealing program brand that generates enthusiasm and anticipation, forging an emotional connection with the prospective student so he or she can’t wait to enroll.

Your action: Reach out to your Creative Services department. They’re a great resource for this because they too are focused on giving your prospective students a taste of the flavor of your program through colors, style, logos, pictures, and videos.

Number 5 is pretty powerful so I think we’ll leave it at that. Be sure to check out the last five checklist items in our continuation of this post here.

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