Higher education continues to grapple with digital transformation. Without understanding how your digital marketing translates to increased enrollment, acquiring the budget for high-quality marketing tools can be challenging.  

Eye-catching ads or an attractive website are critical in marketing, but they don't necessarily drive conversions. Your marketing team must first know exactly who you want to target with your message by building target personas. Only then can they begin building a relationship with prospective students through content that speaks to the interests of those personas, such as day-in-the-life blog posts, student and alumni success stories, or valuable services like internships or job placement assistance.  

Even with high-conversion content, the challenge remains: how to clearly illustrate the attribution of revenue to particular campaigns, ads, emails, or other marketing content. The bottom line is that higher ed marketers need to show positive ROI for their digital campaigns. The key is to gather the right data and use it to tell the story of what drives conversion and what doesn't.  

However, there is a way that higher ed marketing teams can overcome the hurdles to demonstrate a positive marketing ROI. You don't have to have a math major to figure it out. All you need is the right digital marketing partner.  

Why Engage a Higher Education Marketing Partner 

Choosing a digital marketing partner is a cost-effective solution. Consider the investment to build an in-house team with the qualities and expertise already in place in an agency. It will take time, effort, and a healthy budget to recruit and retain the top marketing and technology talent required. Then you'll need to invest in a comprehensive, scalable digital marketing technology solution, including a CRM, that fits your current and future needs.  

When you recognize the tremendous outlay of funds and HR effort to build your own team, it makes much more sense to leverage a team already in place and accustomed to working together on higher ed campaigns. Partnering with a digital agency that has a proven track record with higher ed offers numerous benefits, such as: 

• A new perspective – You've no doubt heard the adage that talks about doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different outcome. When you engage with a marketing partner, they understand that you need a new approach. With objectivity comes insight, which can open the door for innovation and transformation. 
• A comprehensive marketing strategy - Your digital presence is vital for marketing. However, it is much more than an attractive, accessible, and informational website. It requires a 360° approach, building or reinforcing your brand, targeting your audience, SEO, and conversion-driving content consisting of display and search ads, social media, blog posts, emails, and videos.  
• Data analysis - All the data in the world won't help you make an informed decision if you don't understand the story it is telling you. Your marketing partner knows how to collect the right data, use it to guide your strategy, and illustrate the attribution, so you know exactly what is driving results.  
• Collaboration - Communication is at the heart of the best experiences. When you have the freedom and opportunity to trade ideas and perspectives, you'll create a strong partnership that can produce extraordinary results. After all, no one knows your institution like your team, nor does anyone know digital marketing for higher ed like an experienced digital marketing partner with that specific expertise.  

Achieve Your Goals by Working With a Marketing Partner  

Digital marketing for higher ed must cover a broad spectrum of interests while still focusing on increasing high-quality leads and raising enrollment. There are many moving parts, and it requires the right expertise. You already know that proper data attribution and analysis are crucial to proving the ROI of your marketing efforts, but does your marketing department have the tools, technology, techniques, and experience to drive specific results and prove their efficacy?   

It could take years to build the capabilities you get from day one with an agency. The right marketing partner can guide you to the ideal strategy for your goals while allowing you to be engaged and informed. Not only is it a cost-effective solution, but with the attribution tools they offer, you can clearly show the ROI of your partnership.