LIVE Q&A: HOLIDAY DIGITAL ADVERTISING

STRATEGIESTips to prepare your digital

campaigns for the holiday season

QUESTION #1:IT’S THE HOLIDAYS… HOW DO WE MAKE OUR CAMPAIGNS

SPARKLE?

TIP #1:SAVE $. DON’T LEAVE ALL THE LIGHTS ON.

Digital advertising during the holiday season is competitive (and pricey). Think strategically about costs and audience recall before bidding.

QUESTION #2:OKAY, BUT WHAT CAN WE DO NOW TO GEAR

UP FOR LIFE AFTER WINTER BREAK?

TIP #2:GET ORGANIZED AND OPTIMIZE.

We all know that things move at hyper-speed when you get back after the break. Your team works hard—you deserve to enjoy the time out of office.

Take some time to set your January bids before you head out and do a last round of optimizations to get things ready to rock when you return.

QUESTION #3:HOW DO THE

HOLIDAYS IMPACT MY BUDGET

ALLOCATION?

TIP #3:ADJUST SPEND BASED ON YOUR ADMISSIONS CYCLE.

Still have seats to fill in the spring? Get aggressive with higher-intent strategies and messaging focused on filling those final spots.

Heading into a new admissions cycle? Focus on channels that build awareness and strategies that complement your upcoming events.

Demographic TargetingWebsite Placement TargetingContextual TargetingLocation TargetingPurchased List TargetingPublication TargetingBehavioral Targeting

Awareness & interest

Consideration & intent

Inquire/engage

Application/enrollment

Display Advertising | Video Advertising | Social Media Advertising

Search Engine Advertising Display, Search, Social Retargeting

Landing Pages | Website

CRM

Keyword TargetingWebsite and Landing PageVisitor TargetingProspect List Targeting

Forms & CTAsContent Offers, Events, Webinars, Text, Chat

Communications WorkflowEmails, Phone Calls, Events

QUESTION #4:SHOULD WE JAZZ UP OUR MESSAGING FOR

THE HOLIDAYS?

TIP #4:SPREAD SOME HOLIDAY CHEER WITH MESSAGING FOR THE SEASON.

Personalize your campaigns with seasonal messaging. Get creative (and thoughtful) with the content you’re posting up to and following the holiday season.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison does a great job of tugging at the heartstrings of its students, alumni and community at large.

QUESTION #5:SHOULD WE TARGET OTHERS WITH OUR

HOLIDAY SPIRIT WHILE STUDENTS ARE AWAY?

TIP #5:TRY NEW AUDIENCE TARGETING TACTICS.

You spend a good portion of your marketing efforts focused on recruitment. The holidays provide an interesting opportunity to test messaging for other audiences while prospects might be less engaged.

QUESTION #6:IS IT THE MOST

WONDERFUL TIME OF YEAR TO EXPLORE

NEW AD CHANNELS?

TIP #6:OUR MOTTO? IT’S ALWAYS A GOOD TIME TO EXPLORE NEW CHANNELS.

Spotify. Snapchat. Reddit. The social media landscape is constantly evolving and changing. New opportunities present themselves everyday. There are tons of unchartered (at least by EDU) channels to explore if you’ve got room in your budget in the new year.

American University

1B users each month6B hours of video

$0.10-$0.30 average cost per view

88% of 19-29 yr. oldsPhoto, video, carousel

$1/day impressions$5/day engagement

90% users <35 yrs. oldPhoto, video, carousel

$1/day impressions$5/day engagement

61% are 30-64 yrs. oldSponsored content, In-

mail, lead gen, video$10/day minimum

85M monthly usersLink, text, display

$0.10-$0.30 average cost per view

LEAD GENERATION BRAND AWARENESS

315,000 impressions in first run

QUESTION #7:WE’VE GOT EVENTS COMING UP AFTER

BREAK. HOW DO WE PROMOTE THEM?

TIP #7:FOCUS ON CONNECTING WITH QUALIFIED PROSPECTS.

Open houses and info sessions are abundant in the new year. Align your digital campaigns with recruitment events by implementing strategies to engage higher-intent prospects in person.

https://youtu.be/VFE7aGF7x3s

American University

QUESTION #8:WE HAVE THE

LEADS, BUT WHAT HAPPENS AFTER A

CONVERSION?

TIP #8:CONNECT THE DOTS AND CONTINUE NURTURING.

A prospect inquired or started an application. Now what? Communication workflows and call tracking are your friend. A little organization and a set lead nurturing strategy makes it easy for prospects to further engage with you and enroll in your programs.

25 emails for one pre-inquiry campaign

25% CTRUp 12.27% compared to previous 100 days

50.87% Open rateUp 9.9% compared to previous 100 days

QUESTION #9:WHAT ARE SOME SIMPLE WAYS TO

SPICE UP OUR CREATIVE?

TIP #9:CREATE FUN (AND USEFUL) CONTENT. VIDS. GIFS. E-CARDS.

There are many ways to incorporate motion into your holiday messaging, from fancy camerawork to simply animating text or graphics.

Increase engagement by encouraging student participation in holiday videos. But keep it short and sweet!

American University

https://youtu.be/lm6Bxmp-H9s

QUESTION #10:HOW DO WE STAND OUT

WHEN EVERYONE IS FOCUSED ON THE SEASON

AT THE SAME TIME?

TIP #10:GET AHEAD OF THE CURVE IN 2018.NEW YEAR, NEW YOU.

Time seems to fly by during the holiday season. It’s finals week for some of us and that means winter break is just around the corner.

We’ve created a resource to help get your team organized for the new year.

WHAT QUESTIONS DO YOU HAVE FOR US?

Happy holidaysFrom our team

to yoursFree digital resource!We’ll send a link in the webinar recap email.