Welcome
Welcome to the fourth issue of Enrollment Marketing Minute, a newsletter created specifically to enhance the performance and satisfaction of our current clients. We invite you to take a minute to get to know the people who are committed to your enrollment success, to learn how your fellow clients are maximizing their Liaison systems, and to explore new options and ideas for achieving your goals today. Enjoy!
Summer Engagement Events Proven to Work
Around the World Open House
Showcase the wide range of majors your college has to offer with a fun twist on an Academic Open House. Invite faculty and current students to man an info table about their program. Encourage students to stop by as many booths as possible with a passport system – the more stamps, the more chances to win prizes.
Engagement item:
Mail a personalized “ticket to ride” invitation on behalf of the faculty in their area of interest.
Summer Carnival
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Host a family-friendly event with carnival games, snow cones, cotton candy, popcorn and more. Low-tech games are fun for everyone! Invite students, faculty and staff to share their talents (as jugglers, balloon artists, face painters) or ask clubs or departments to man the games.
Engagement item:
Send advance carnival tickets that promote must-see areas of interest, like Greek life or study abroad.
Traditions Tailgate
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You don’t need an actual game to have a great tailgate event. Instead invite coaches and players, your marching band, cheer team, and your mascot too. This is your opportunity to introduce students and families to your traditions and talk about school pride and history. Go team!
Engagement item:
Provide both students and families with personalized athletics schedules for the coming year.
Taste of the Town
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Proud of your friendly small-town vibe? Show it off! Invite local vendors to bring bite-size samples to a food fair to showcase their businesses. Popular small businesses could offer coupons or promo items. This is a great way to celebrate the unique flavor of life in your hometown while promoting town-and-gown relations.
Engagement item:
Create a personalized local map showcasing the participating businesses to check out after the event.
Let’s talk about Montana Technological University
Located in Butte, Montana
20+ graduate offerings
50+ undergraduate programs
+8.5% enrollment increase (net 80 students)
Leslie Dickerson, Executive Director of Admissions & Enrollment at Montana Technological University, shares how a creative partnership with Enrollment Marketing by Liaison led to a unique and cutting-edge change in Montana Tech’s traditional marketing communications.
What kind of recruitment challenges was Montana Tech facing before partnering with Liaison?
Since Montana Tech is a small school, our staff wear many different hats. We were looking for a team that could specifically focus on enrollment marketing and support our communication campaign goals, both through a personalized communication plan and professional writing.
Can you give an example of how you worked with the Liaison team to achieve some of those communication goals?
Montana Tech went through some branding changes, which included an edgier shift in our voice. Liaison did a great job of helping us with that transition through humorous copy and even memes in our email campaigns.
How did you go about implementing creative changes successfully?
Our dedicated Liaison copywriter really understood what we were trying to do, which was so great, because you can’t exactly fake a style rebrand. We had conversations about how we wanted the messaging to come across, and then this writer came back with copy that just nailed our new voice.
What impact has your enrollment marketing improvements had on Montana Tech’s recruitment process?
Montana Tech saw an 8.5% enrollment increase in 2021, and I think our enhanced communication plan definitely contributed to our success. The support we’ve received from Liaison in developing personalized communication campaigns
has been really valuable.
To learn more about Montana Tech’s modernized communication transformation, check out the full case study featuring Leslie Dickerson.
Meet the expert: Jess Lanning, Director of Digital Strategy
“What draws me to digital is the power to squeeze a lot of return out of every budget dollar. I’m excited about the depth of solutions we offer at Liaison. We can take your digital audiences all the way from first point of contact to yield.”
Liaison’s new Director of Digital Strategy for Enrollment Management, Jess Lanning, has been where you are.
“I’ve held nearly every enrollment job there is. I started as a student tour guide at Gardner-Webb University. Then I was hired as an admission counselor. I’ve been on the road. I’ve met with students and families. I’ve done the day-to-day work. Over time, I was promoted to Director of Enrollment Marketing and began teaching as an adjunct marketing instructor,” says Jess, who later took her skills to senior positions at Clark Higher Ed and Archer Education where she focused her work primarily in the digital marketing space.”
“I personally understand the pressure every admissions officer is under to reach enrollment goals.“
“What draws me to digital is how you can squeeze a lot out of every budget dollar,” she continues. “We can learn so much about our audience and their responses then iterate on that to build a stronger campaign.”
“We can check results and make changes immediately. I like the instant gratification of the digital space.”
“What I like about Liaison is the depth of our solution. We can take digital audiences all the way from first point of contact to yield. We can apply a full suite of tools to maximize campaign return.”
Jess has already begun meeting with Liaison clients who are interested in digital marketing services and looks forward to meeting more of them in the next few months.”
“I’m excited to work with our amazing Enrollment Marketing clients on paid media management. I look forward to hearing their challenges and responding with the right suite of digital solutions that will create efficiencies for them. It’s a challenging time for higher ed – but with so many new opportunities in the digital space, it is an exciting one too.”
Why expanding our digital team is critical to your success
Enrollment Marketing has expanded and strengthened its digital offerings as part of its omni-channel marketing services and commitment to being your full-service enrollment marketing partner.
A newly created position of Director of Digital Strategy will focus on paid media management and a full suite of digital solutions that will create efficiencies across channels for our clients, explains Scott Mallen, President, Enrollment Marketing division. Scott also announced that additional positions in Digital Strategy will be coming soon as the team continues to expand to meet client demand and provide new digital services.
“Priority one is working with existing clients to shore up their digital strategies and make their lives easier. Understanding their needs and building out a full suite of comprehensive innovative and trackable solutions is a high priority for the role,” he says.
“I believe strongly in a hyper-personalized enrollment marketing solution – I know it works – and highly targeted digital is critical to that.
“With a dedicated digital expert on our team, we will be well positioned to capitalize on trends, analyze results and pivot strategies, integrate with other aspects of our Enrollment Marketing services, and provide clients with the attention and consulting they need to thrive in this highly competitive and ever-changing space,” Scott says.
Recently the Enrollment Marketing division added a Senior Search Strategist (October 2022 newsletter), and expanded the Creative Services team (July 2022 newsletter). Says Scott, “With the expansion of our Enrollment Marketing expert team, we look forward to a strong 2023… 2024… and beyond for all of our clients.”
Three Myths about Higher Education Digital Marketing
1. Digital advertising costs more than we can afford.
Not true! The right firm can deliver an impactful ROI even if you have a modest budget. Products like Othot help you understand where likely-to-enroll students come from, so you can better segment your audiences and develop messaging that resonates. Further, digital allows you to test responses in real-time; you can optimize images, messaging, and targeting strategies quickly.
2. Digital advertising only works for online programs.
Not true! Because audience targeting technology leverages information ranging from demographics to internet behavior to pertinent searches, you can zero in on where traditional undergraduate students and their families are likely to be and what they are likely looking for. For example, you can geofence a popular feeder high school or target popular search terms or behavior-based interests. The right digital strategist can help you determine the best way to target your audience and generate new leads for your team.
3. Digital advertising will solve all my problems.
The flip side of ignoring digital advertising is thinking digital is all you need to be successful. Enrollment marketing is about building a lifelong relationship with prospects – and that is going to take search, inquiry and nurture strategies across the entire life cycle of your prospect engagement. Integrating your marketing from lead generation to final enrollment is critical and, as reported in the last issue of Enrollment Marketing Minute, mail continues to be a popular engagement channel. A comprehensive strategy brings it all together.
55%
of Gen-Z uses their
smartphones daily for
5+ hours
Learn more. Our digital team is looking forward to meeting with clients to build new strategies for the coming year. Let your CSM team know you’re interested in hearing more!
Email: marketingservices@liaisonedu.com | Phone: (845) 473-4400
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