For Leaders in Executive, Management and Professional Education:

Need for Engaging and Detailed Program Information Online

Consistently in the last ten years program attendees cite a university web site as a single most important place where they access information about your programs. With shifting media consumption to the Internet prospects are searching for programs from computers and mobile devices. Today’s customers expect a high level of engagement and detailed information when they shop for educational services online.  Program marketers respond to this trend by focusing their attention on optimizing web presence and attracting relevant visitors to their web site properties.

What is a Micro Site

A micro site is a collection of pages focusing on different aspects of one product or service. They are visually organized usually by a horizontal navigation bar. Thus the term “Micro Site”. Multi-page approach allows keeping all important information above the fold. The navigation bar serves as a menu of options for visitors to learn more about particular aspect they are interested at the time.

When to Use Micro Sites
Micro sites are most successful when your offering is complex. Visitors need different information to make their own decision, and you are asking for a substantial commitment of time and money from them. Professional Education programs that run for several days or have multiple sections and require significant financial commitment fit this description perfectly.

Differences of Consortium Micro Site Approach Versus Landing Pages Used by Some For-Profit Schools

Many for-profit universities are attracting online traffic with online campaigns and drive visitors to their landing pages. With limited information on the landing page a visitor does not have a choice but to give their contact information, even though the program information is fully available elsewhere on-line. Then the school representatives follow up with a strong sales pitch.

Advanced Program Micro Sites and Lead Generation/Conversion Process

Consortium members provide a wealth of engaging information within their micro sites. It is usually enough for a visitor to make a decision and register. If the visitor still wants to be contacted by you, they supply their contact information in a short form on the same page. As a result, the Consortium members follow up with a much warmer consultative sales call and/or email. This builds trust and a long lasting relationship.

This Advanced solution helps you in gaining the following major improvements while retaining all the benefits of existing traffic sources:

• Improve web presence with program micro site(s)
• Double qualified traffic with paid campaigns
• Increase the number of conversion/lead generation web events
• Change lead follow up from hours or days to minutes with advanced event notification delivered directly to the Program Manager
• Increase likelihood of registration and highly qualified lead identification by adding “Begin Registration” stage and Interactive Registration form.

Match with Campaign Messaging

One size and unified message does not fit all visitors. Micro site’s flexibility allows for tailoring your copy to a particular campaign or ad group message. In essence, you can create a different version of a micro site for an individual traffic source and modify each version for a better fit. Visitors see the web copy matching the message they came from and continue their conversion process at a higher rate.

Search Engine Optimization

Even the most optimized web sites need to attract enough qualified visitors to generate conversions you need. Micro sites you receive as a Consortium member will be search engine optimized. When you provide links to them, their relevance with search engines will increase. On average, this effort will generate about 15% organic traffic in addition to about 40% of existing direct and organic traffic

Paid Campaigns

A vital part of the program package provided by the Consortium is proven Google and LinkedIn campaigns that drive qualified traffic to your micro sites based on your advertising budget. They nicely complement your direct and organic traffic. On average a solid paid campaign generates (45%) of your traffic and generally delivers highly qualified visitors who are seeking programs you offer. Without paid campaigns those visitors would not get to your micro site because they use different search terms. This traffic stream exists whether you advertise or not. In the absence of your paid ads, most visitors go to your competitors.

Campaign set up and normalization

In addition to extensive keywords, campaigns provided by the Consortium have an optimized ad group structure, bid strategy, and experience-based negative keyword list. This approach minimizes so-called “normalization cost” or part of your ad spend that is wasteful. Becoming a consortium member means “You” are acquiring mature campaigns. There is a famous saying about advertising: “I know half of my advertising dollars are wasteful but I do not know which half.” Campaigns with sub-optimal structure and a high level of irrelevant keywords could unnecessarily eat into your advertising cost for the lifetime of the campaign. For example, a list of 600 negative keywords can reduce your campaign waste by at least $1800.00 at $3/click.

Use of other channels

Micro site flexibility and ease of use will allow you to experiment with other advertising channels after you become comfortable with the proven ones.

With your per program membership you enjoy predictable flat price for campaign set up and web experience development. Campaigns and web environment is based on long-term experience in this niche market, high relevance between visitor intent and landing experience.

Rapid Implementation

Implementation time of this solution tailored to your programs is significantly faster compared to a custom engagement with a consultant or an agency because of its multi-layer architecture. Average implementation time from approving look and feel to receiving traffic is under three weeks. Our expert team has developed and implemented marketing packages for over twenty five different business education programs ranging from project management to general business. We will guide you through the process, discuss requirements with your internal stakeholders, and provide you with all necessary support to ensure your solution is up and running on time.

Existing IT and Web infrastructure

Your IT folks will thank you because you will remove a burden of page updates from their shoulders. You will be able to modify page content on the fly yet staying within the brand boundaries of a flexible template with 65 different layouts including mobile and social media pages. When you develop a video, obtain a testimonial or get instructor’s tweet, you will be able to integrate them on your own without university involvement.

Implementation and Integration Steps

Web Address Initiation:

Establish a sub domain for program micro sites (example prog.University.edu) and point to provided IP address

Look and Feel of Your Micro Sites:

You provide us with your brand guidelines
You review and approve wire frames
You provide brand logos and other elements if necessary
You review and approve final design

Micro Site copy development:

Together we review existing program micro sites developed for other members (as available)
You provide existing program description including testimonials, pictures, videos and other materials
With our optimization specialist you review suggested web experience and make changes
You review and approve final version (main version and message-specific campaign versions)
Give you training on making copy changes

Lead Generation, Management, and Conversions

Discuss Lead Generation and Conversion web events
Review and approve lead generation and registration forms and integration with existing systems
Establish procedures for inquiry and registration follow-up
Give you training on leads follow up

Campaign Budgeting and Approvals:

Set up Google Adwords and LinkedIn Direct Ads accounts or grant access if accounts already exist
Determine monthly advertising budget based on the number of annual offerings of a program, program pricing and its advertising budget
Review and Approve Paid Campaigns tailored to your program (Google search and LinkedIn)
On a monthly basis review campaign performance and provide adjustments

Your individual implementation time will depend on the availability of program copy, speed of approvals and the number of changes.