How to convince HE stakeholders that content marketing is the way to go
1/ Start with the problem you are trying to solve.
Include:
*An outline of the issue
*The segment that’s affected
*How it impacts university objectives
EX: “The enrolment rate for postgraduate marketing students we acquire via paid media is down 7% YOY. This has impacted the no. of enrolled students and (if left unchecked) could result in the loss of accreditation.”
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2/ Position content marketing as the solution.
Include:
*Your target audience
*The benefit of having an audience
*What an audience can do for the university
EX: “By building an audience of early career marketers, deepening university brand awareness and reputation, we could generate high-quality leads via a first-party subscriber list.”
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3/ Share how the audience's needs are currently underserved.
Include:
*Brands already providing content
*Why it doesn’t meet the needs of the audience
*The gap you are addressing and how it adds value to the audience.
EX: “At present, there are three Schools that provide ad hoc events for marketers, but none focus on early career marketers or provide content consistently. Given time, our aim is to build an audience of early career marketers who view us as the “natural choice” for their education.
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4/ Suggest content medium and cadence
Include:
*What format your content will take
*How often you will publish, where and when
*The leading indicators that will be used to measure success.
EX: “Based on past experience and audience needs, we suggest using a combination of LinkedIn, a regular newsletter and virtual events. We will publish using the School’s LinkedIn account daily and share a fortnightly newsletter. Events will be monthly. Our initial goal will be 1000 email subscribers within three months.”
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5/ State timeframe for ROI
*How you plan to hit your goal
*The time it will take you to get there
*The impact for the university as a result of doing so
EX: “By engaging our existing database, local partners and alumni network, we expect to achieve 2500 subscribers within 6 months. With the typical postgraduate buyer journey taking a minimum of 6 months, we expect to see campaign conversions show between the 12 and 18-month mark of the programme.
Our key metrics for success: Increase the average enrolment rate by 12%, plus lower our cost per lead by 33%. Based on the existing budget, we calculate a 4x ROI within 18 months of the programme.”
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Of course, this is only designed as an executive summary for buy-in.
You’ll still need to create a content plan considering your:
*POV
*Topics of expertise
*How to align both with your audience’s needs
But with stakeholders on your side - It’ll be 10x easier.