"At Scott Marketing, we've been looking at how social media can be used to target further and higher education colleges as well as universities".

A great deal of noise is heard about targeting sectors on Facebook, Twitter etc. So we carried out our own research and the closest we can get on Facebook is by Location, Interests: University, College, Further education, Higher education, Education or Student, Education Level: College grad, Parents with teenagers - 13-18 years as a group BUT no individual ages)”

Get in front of your audience

It’s a good start and indeed Melissa Rekos, executive vice president of digital services at higher education marketing firm Carnegie Global, says at the Asia Pacific Association of International Education conference in Singapore. “You can target these very specific parameters, so you can make sure you’re getting in front of the most targeted audience that you possibly can.” But pause. Step back a moment. Think about the wider and deeper capabilities of data list marketing.

Get in front, behind and at the side of your audience

Facebook only goes so far. We're able to target Parents of children of any individual age - not just 13-18 yrs  by lifestyle and interests:

Location

Gender – Male or Female

Children at Home

(can specify any age)

(Addressee would be the Parent/Guardian of anyone 18 or under)

Postcodes

  • To 5th digit (e.g. BS17 2)

Adult Age

  • (any age or age group can be specified)

Marital Status

  • Married, Not Married

Occupation

  • Professional − Senior Management
  • Manager in Business
  • Administrator − Clerical
  • Manual
  • Student
  • Retired
  • Self Employed/Business Owner
  • Housewife

Household Income

  • Under £5000
  • £15,000 − £25,000
  • £25,000 − £35,000
  • £35,000 +
  • £50,000 +
  • £70,000 +

See more examples of lifestyle interests

Now see the best that Facebook can do…

Social media spreads the word. Data marketing targets more accurately

We're not knocking the use of social media. Indeed we embrace it for our own campaigns to spread the word about our targeted direct marketing lists of parents that we provide to higher and further education establishments throughout the country. Because it's these data lists that give colleges and universities the direct access they need to the parents of the children they want to reach. 

So for thorough, accurate market penetration, direct marketing with targeted data still has the edge. Our advice is don't overlook social media. Just don't rely on it to reach the people that data can reach better. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn: https://thepienews.com/news/parents-overlooked-social-media-marketing/

Read the article: Parents overlooked in social marketing

Posted on Apr 10, 2018 by Anton Crace
Posted in News, Research, under Asia.

Educators and recruiters have been encouraged to diversify their social media marketing and tailor campaigns to the parents of prospective students during a session in the lead up to March’s Asia Pacific Association of International Education conference in Singapore.

Institutions should start tailoring their social media marketing messaging towards parents, according to Carnegie Global. Photo: The PIEInstitutions should start tailoring their social media marketing messaging towards parents, according to Carnegie Global.

The remarks, made by Melissa Rekos, executive vice president of digital services at higher education marketing firm Carnegie Global, were a timely reminder for providers to update their marketing practices to remain relevant.

In particular, she pointed to the increasing numbers of parents using Facebook to connect with their friends and children as an often underutilised platform for promoting an education institution.

“You can behaviourally target ads based on what you know about someone, you can load in where they work, you can load in where they go to school,” she told attendees.

“And you can target these very specific parameters, so you can make sure you’re getting in front of the most targetted audience that you possibly can.”

Facebook, which of late has come under fire after allegations political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica mined user data to produce highly targeted political advertising in the 2016 US election, allows users to identify their relationship, but Rekos told The PIE News it was also capable of filling data gaps based on their interactions.

“We do find that the types of messaging the resonate strongly with parents, fairly across the board, are messages related to outcomes”

Comments, likes and other interactions can be indicative of a particular type of relationship, even if it isn’t explicitly identified.

“If I enter in that I have [daughters] and they have Facebook profiles, and Facebook knows how old they are, now Facebook knows I’m a parent of a high-school aged student,” she said.

Rekos said Carnegie Global used this information to promote client institutions on social media, using three different messages and attracting over 150 parent enquires.

“We do find that the types of messaging the resonate strongly with parents, fairly across the board, are messages related to outcomes. Things like employment rates, the jobs they get, as well as tuition, financial aid,” she said.

While academic and employment outcomes tended to resonate with most parents, Rekos warned that relying solely on marketing those aspects of an institution might not be suitable for each country and region or even institution.

The 2018 APAIE conference attracted over 2,200 delegates from around the Asia-Pacific, as well as Europe and North America.