In a survey Everspring recently conducted of higher education marketing leaders, 70% of respondents reported lack of integration across the marketing and enrollment technologies they’re using. Similarly, according to Simpson Scarborough’s 2023-2024 Higher Ed CMO Study, 45% of colleges and universities lack regular marketing analytics reporting to leadership, and 20% don’t even have GA4 set up on their institution website. Additionally, 72% agreed or strongly agreed that their marketing efforts aren’t coordinated across campus, and 61% said they don’t have a reporting mechanism or consolidated dashboard for reporting marketing analytics.¹
This is a problem. Lack of systems integration and inability to measure marketing performance can hinder an institution’s ability to understand their target audience, optimize their campaigns for improved results, make informed strategic decisions, and know where to target marketing spend. It’s also expensive to pay for technology and tools that are siloed within certain offices or not being fully utilized to enable data tracking and reporting.
It's crucial for colleges and universities not just to have the right systems in place, but to integrate their systems across the marketing and enrollment lifecycle, enabling them to successfully leverage data to drive enrollment among their ideal student audiences.
The Role of Data in Higher Ed Marketing
Data plays a critical role in shaping digital marketing strategies, and this is just as true for higher education as it is for other industries. Higher level analytics like data on labor market trends, program enrollments across institutions, and student behaviors and preferences can help inform program planning, enrollment forecasting, ad spend amounts, marketing and enrollment strategies, campaign messaging, audience targeting, and more. Marketing analytics such as campaign performance metrics, website traffic, conversion rates, application rates, etc., can guide campaign planning and optimization for improved results.
By tracking and sharing data cross-functionally, regularly reporting on marketing metrics and enrollment results, and properly using data in their decision making, institutions can generate more qualified leads and reach their enrollment goals more effectively—whether their goal is to grow enrollment overall, to grow in specific programs, or to grow among key audiences.
Types of Data to Collect and Analyze
It’s important to consider both internal and external data sources to gain a more nuanced understanding of the factors influencing enrollment trends and student decision-making.
Internal data gives you insight into marketing performance and student behaviors within your own ecosystem. Internal can data include:
- Enrollment trends at your institution
- Applicant demographics
- Student engagement metrics
- Website metrics
- Marketing campaign metrics
External data illuminates industry trends, competitive positioning, and potential areas for differentiation. External data includes:
- Higher ed data from sources like IPEDs, National Student Clearinghouse, and others
- Labor market data
- Broader demographic data
- Competitive analyses
- Proprietary data from higher ed marketing providers like Everspring, gathered over years of supporting institutions across the U.S.
Implementing Data-Driven Enrollment Strategies
With integrated systems to enable the use of internal data, plus incorporating external data from reliable sources, colleges and universities can tailor their digital marketing efforts to effectively reach and engage prospective students. When data is compiled, managed, and shared on a consistent basis, it’s pivotal in shaping enrollment strategies, personalizing communication and outreach, optimizing campaigns, and utilizing predictive modeling for accurate enrollment forecasting. The following section takes a closer look at these three areas.
Tracking and analyzing enrollment trends: Monitoring enrollment trends over time is essential for gaining insights into shifting student demographics and preferences. By looking at historical enrollment data, universities can glean insights that inform future enrollment strategies. Understanding patterns and fluctuations in enrollment allows you to adapt proactively and tailor your marketing approaches to reach the right audiences.
Personalizing communication and outreach: Data empowers universities to tailor messaging to engage specific student audiences. By harnessing analytics on different prospective student cohorts, you can customize your marketing and enrollment outreach to address their unique needs and preferences. This not only leads to increased engagement, but also fosters a sense of connection with your university brand.
Optimizing enrollment marketing campaigns: By analyzing the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns and creative assets across various channels, you can adjust campaign tactics and refine messaging over time. Data-driven marketing optimization allows you to allocate spend efficiently and maximize the impact of your marketing efforts to attract, enroll, and retain more students.
Predictive modeling for enrollment forecasting: Incorporating predictive modeling into your enrollment forecasting enables you to make well-informed decisions based on anticipated future enrollment numbers. By utilizing historical data and relevant indicators, institutions can accurately project enrollments, allocate resources efficiently, and implement targeted initiatives. Predictive modeling not only aids in strategic planning but also mitigates the risks associated with uncertainties in the enrollment landscape.
Overcoming Data Challenges and Obstacles
As mentioned at the beginning of this blog, many colleges and universities struggle with a lack of integration across their systems and departments, they lack the resources needed to effectively manage data across their institution, or they don’t have the right mechanisms in place for data reporting. The following section addresses common challenges universities face that present an obstacle to leveraging data, as well as some solutions and best practices to navigate these obstacles.
Challenges in Leveraging Data:
Data silos: One of the primary challenges institutions encounter is the existence of data silos, where data is fragmented and dispersed across various departments or systems. This fragmentation impedes a holistic view of student information and hampers the ability to derive meaningful insights.
Data quality and accuracy: Ensuring the accuracy and quality of data is essential for effective decision-making. Inaccurate or incomplete data can lead to flawed analysis, resulting in misguided strategies and outcomes.
Lack of data expertise: Many institutions lack the necessary expertise or resources to analyze and interpret data effectively. Without a team of data experts, institutions may struggle to gain actionable insights from their data.
Solutions and Best Practices:
Integrated platform: Implementing a comprehensive platform that integrates systems and brings together data from across the marketing and admissions lifecycle breaks down siloes and enables cross-functional visibility. With all of your data accessible from a single platform, you can better access, interpret, and report on it to facilitate effective analysis and decision-making. Everspring’s new marketing platform was designed to integrate universities’ marketing and enrollment data into a single platform to provide timely insights, align your marketing and admissions teams, and empower data-driven decisions. In addition to enabling transparency into your internal data and marketing performance, it incorporates Everspring’s proprietary higher ed data for specialized insights and accurate predictive modeling.
Data governance policies: Establishing data governance policies and protocols to maintain data quality standards is essential. Regular data audits, data cleaning processes, and validation mechanisms can help ensure the accuracy and reliability of your data for informed decision-making.
Data training and development: Providing training and development opportunities to staff members on data analysis and interpretation can enhance data literacy across your institution. Investing in data skills development empowers marketing and admissions teams to leverage data effectively in their respective roles.
Data Privacy and Ethical Considerations
In using data to drive effective enrollment marketing, it’s imperative to prioritize data privacy and adhere to ethical guidelines for data collection. Safeguarding the privacy and confidentiality of student information is paramount, and adhering to ethical standards not only ensures compliance with regulations such as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA),² it also fosters trust and confidence among your stakeholders and students.
Harnessing Data to Reach Your Enrollment Goals
As higher education institutions navigate the future, leveraging data as a strategic asset will be instrumental in driving enrollment growth and achieving long-term success.
While most institutions are using marketing and enrollment technology, many of them lack the integration they need to connect their systems and data. This leads to inefficient operations, data silos, and uninformed decision-making. By ensuring systems and data are working together and visible across the marketing and enrollment lifecycle, colleges and universities can make smarter decisions, develop targeted campaigns and personalized outreach, allocate resources and spend efficiently, and achieve their enrollment goals more easily.
Learn more about Everspring’s marketing platform and how it can help you leverage data to improve your enrollment results.