Missouri State has nearly 4,300 graduate students, but we are operating with a small graduate staff and a limited budget. The personalized recruitment approach that we have implemented at the graduate level would not be possible without Liaison’s comprehensive Enrollment Marketing Platform (EMP) and excellent, built-in customer support.
Julie Masterson, Associate Provost & Dean of the Graduate College, Missouri State University
The Challenge
Missouri State University – a public university in Springfield, Missouri – was looking to grow graduate-level enrollment with a more expansive and strategic recruitment process. In need of additional support and resources for a high-level marketing strategy, the school turned to Enrollment Marketing by Liaison to achieve its goals.
“The undergraduate admissions approach, which includes traveling to school fairs and events, doesn’t work for prospects pursuing graduate study. I had previously worked with Liaison and knew their software and service capabilities would allow us to represent each individual graduate program through customized outreach,” explained Julie Masterson, Associate Provost & Dean of the Graduate College at Missouri State.
Since partnering with Liaison, Missouri State was able to implement a wide range of program- specific recruitment campaigns across the graduate admissions cycle. These campaigns, ranging from emails to specialized digital ads, have contributed both to Missouri State’s record-breaking enrollment successes and rapid growth within the international market over the past seven years.
Big Impact
In addition to client success experts and a designated account manager, Missouri State benefits from Liaison’s team of digital advertising specialists who help to maximize engagement with prospective graduate students. After developing and launching their first digital campaign on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, the school was pleased to see immediate results.
“When our pilot campaign launched in the spring, it was very obvious when the ads started hitting an international market. Our social media engagement skyrocketed, and we received tons of messages, emails, and special inquiries. This showed us that the work we’re doing with Liaison is working – it’s getting into the hands of the people who we’re actively targeting while also helping us market for an area we want to grow in,” said Carrisa Hoelscher, Associate Dean of Missouri State’s Graduate College.
Missouri State’s digital communications, thoughtfully crafted and designed by Liaison’s award-winning creatives, were split between a two-part digital campaign. In just a three-month timeframe, the initial campaign generated more than 160 digital leads.
Currently running, the second round of Missouri State ads highlight seven targeted areas of graduate study: Agriculture, Arts, Technology, Healthcare, Business, Education, and Policy. Masterson noted that she appreciates working closely with Liaison to continually review digital analytics and improve digital strategy.
Due to limited graduate staffing, Masterson and her team also value the expertise Liaison provides to market their graduate offerings effectively and strategically. The school particularly likes having the ability to create customized content on behalf of Graduate Program Directors (GPDs).
Hoelscher shared, “There is no other product that would have allowed us to get our campaigns off the ground – in a way that is specified per program – with our team size and without requiring help from our in-house tech staff. The best detail of all is that we can, as a unit, showcase how valuable this solution is to our GPDs.”
“As full-time faculty members, our GPDs juggle teaching, research, and service requirements. Anything that we can do to support them and make their job more feasible is really important,” Masterson added.
Missouri State, a user of Liaison’s Centralized Application Service (CASTM) for graduate schools and programs as well, plans to continue building out a personalized, tailored, and omni-channel recruitment process through this collaborative and creative partnership.
Results
- Record-breaking enrollment for 7 consecutive years
- 160+ digital leads within 3 months
- Enhanced nurture, digital, and yield strategy
- Reduced in-house workload
ABOUT MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY
Founded in 1905 as the Fourth District Normal School, Missouri State University is a public university offering 200+ undergraduate programs and 175+ graduate programs. Missouri State has been working with Enrollment Marketing by Liaison since 2018.
Email: marketingservices@liaisonedu.com | Phone: (845) 473-4400
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