Saving a Master’s Program With a Simple Paid Keyword Change

Full Transcript

Enrollify_TalkingTactics_Audio_Episode3_ShaneBaglini_Version1

[00:00:00] Day Kibilds: This is Talking Tactics, the podcast that celebrates enrollment success, one tactic at a time. The catch the tactic had to be done with limited resources, either by a single person, a small, at mighty team, limited time, or with a low budget. I'm your host. Diana Kibitz strategy director at gy, and I'll be interviewing the most creative and resourceful folks across higher ed to break down a single tactic from idea to results, so you can try them too.

[00:00:38] Are you ready? Let's talk tactics. Hi. Hi. Hi, friend. Stay here and welcome to Talking Tactics. My guest today is one of my favorite internet friends. The type you feel you know, but you haven't met in person yet. Shane Bini. Shane is the Senior Director of Marketing and Recruitment for the Division of Graduate and continuing [00:01:00] education at Muhlenberg College.

[00:01:01] Shane was a first generation college graduate. So he's really passionate about bringing the life-changing opportunities of education to students. Shane is here to talk to us about how he increased submitted. R F I forms for a grad program by 241%, and Blue passed their enrollment target by 50%. By using a very simple paid keyword change.

[00:01:27] Folks, let me tell you, Shane is so smart. Welcome to the show. 

[00:01:32] Shane Baglini: Hi day. Thanks so much for having me. I'm also a big fan of yours and it's, it's cool to kind of meet, quote unquote I r L. 

[00:01:39] We 

[00:01:39] Day Kibilds: are the I r L generation. Right. Alright, so tell us about this tactic. What, what was the issue you were trying to solve and where'd it come 

[00:01:48] Shane Baglini: from?

[00:01:49] Sure. So, um, Milberg College launched our graduate school in February of 2020. I. Awesome. Mm. What a great 

[00:01:58] Day Kibilds: year. The launch 

[00:01:59] Shane Baglini: thing, just when [00:02:00] people were making big life changing decisions, right? Basically everybody's problem of low enrollment, but also low interest in specifically one of our graduate programs, which was our master's in applied Analytics.

[00:02:14] So think of it as your typical business analytics major, and that would be the audience that you're thinking would, would be interested and, and all of the research that we had. Kind of back that up that there should be high interest in this program. Yeah. Um, so there was, there was something going on. Um, and so shortly after I got here in February of, of 22, my digital marketing specialist and I kind of sat down and, and sort of took a couple hours to brainstorm what, what is the problem here?

[00:02:42] Is it, you know, is it seo? Is it something we're doing? Is it budget? Um, and we quickly kind of realized just based on some really general keyword research, Honestly, that took us, you know, 30 minutes to complete that. People weren't searching for the actual name of the program. [00:03:00] Nobody was searching for a master's.

[00:03:01] Shocker, applied analytics. Everybody was searching for data analytics. Right. So the program was misnamed, but still was a fit for that audience. Like it was still a fit for somebody searching for that? 

[00:03:13] Day Kibilds: I mean, yeah, I, I would think anything analytics would be a very popular program. So not seeing the enrollments you thought you would see.

[00:03:22] Big red flag. So the idea was, okay, how are people searching for it? You figure it out. Oh yeah, no one's looking for apply analytics. What even is that? Data analytics is the word? How did you do the search? Is it, was it just quickly online through Google Search 

[00:03:36] Shane Baglini: Tools? We were partnered with the digital agency at the time, so we, we also used some of their, their tools that they had on hand to just kind of get some volume and some, you know, impression shared data.

[00:03:48] But yeah, mostly the, the tools that are available to. Pretty much anybody running Google Ads. It didn't take us long at all. And we sort of, you know, it was like that eureka moment where we're like, okay, we figured this out, but how are we gonna, how are we gonna tell [00:04:00] people that this is 

[00:04:00] Day Kibilds: the actual, how are we gonna tell people?

[00:04:02] Yeah. So, okay, you discovered this and now you're like, okay, like we gotta do something about it. So tell me what happened then. 

[00:04:10] Shane Baglini: So the, so the first step for us was, one, we needed to, we needed to tell people we needed to, like, here's our solution. You know, because we were, we were actually like, we were tasked with, figure this out, what's going on.

[00:04:23] Mm-hmm. Um, so we reported back to, you know, our dean and faculty and said, here, here's the issue. This, this program should be generating interest, but it's, it's not. And, and, you know, the lack of applications or enrollment was to be expected. It's a new program, but the lack of interest was the concerning thing.

[00:04:41] So that was step one. Step two was to sort of rebuild. All of our paid search ads and our keyword strategy, we pretty much ceased bidding on applied analytics as a search term. Mm-hmm. Which is the name of the program. So that being said, we, the third step was then SEO related. Right. So we had [00:05:00] to creatively mix in.

[00:05:03] Data analytics onto our, you know, onto our page, onto our landing pages, into our search ads, even though the program was called Applied Analytics. So we had to get really, we really had to get, you could 

[00:05:14] Day Kibilds: rename it, um, rename it to Master of Applied Analytics, a k a data 

[00:05:18] Shane Baglini: analytics. And that was actually, we pro, we proposed that to.

[00:05:23] To the faculty, but we haven't, we haven't gotten there yet. So step 

[00:05:27] Day Kibilds: by step, right? Yeah. You started talking to folks about how you could solve this issue. Started thinking about changing the keyword search. Um, The paid terms, SEO on the pages. Talk to me about the resources that you needed to change the ads to rewrite SEO copy.

[00:05:46] As you know, we're looking for low resource tactics, so tell me how you made it work. 

[00:05:52] Shane Baglini: Yeah, so we had no additional resources, actually. This is all coming team of two. This was all coming from existing budget. [00:06:00] Mm-hmm. What we did do, based on. You know, the cost of those search terms being, being much higher than what we were bidding on.

[00:06:07] We did adjust budgets across our, our portfolio of search. Okay. And display. W we, we shifted budget from, from some programs that were longer established on the undergraduate side of things to um, Increase our budget on this program. Particular just based on the additional cost of, of what we were getting on.

[00:06:27] Yeah. And, and how competitive those terms are. Luckily, we, we have a really great freelancer that we work with that is a, that specializes in writing for seo. So we ran right to him to say, okay, we need to rewrite this page. We can't change the name of the program, but we do need to mix in these, you know, five to 10 search terms.

[00:06:46] Um, so it actually took him a little bit. You know, it was a back and forth of draft, you know, maybe three or four drafts to get, to actually get something that not only worked, but then didn't make it appear as though the, the program [00:07:00] was changing names. So his first draft was like, it changed the name of the headline and the site tag, and we're like, okay, that's not gonna work.

[00:07:07] Um, so those were, I mean, that's the really, the resources. So really the only additional, um, Funding required was was the s e o writer. And if you're lucky enough to have one on staff, you wouldn't even need to to spend any money there. 

[00:07:22] Day Kibilds: I want to quickly interrupt this conversation to invite you to join me at Element four 50 ones Engage Summit on June 27th and 28th in Rally North Carolina.

[00:07:32] When it comes to the student experience, we know that you wanna be a trusted guide from recruiting to graduation. The Engaged Summit by Element 4 51 brings the best minds in higher ed together to give you the strategy and tools to create a cohesive student experience. From start to finish, explore the latest technologies, increase your skillset, and gain insights into today's students to deliver the most personalized digital [00:08:00] engagement experience every step of the way.

[00:08:04] This is not your standard at tech user conference. This is a dynamic, inspiring, and empowering event for all higher ed marketers and admissions professionals. I'll be presenting at this event along with some of your favorite higher ed LinkedIn and Twitter follows. You can learn more about this event and register for it at Engage dot element four 50 one.com.

[00:08:28] Oh, and get 50% off your registration when you use the discount code and roll a five 50 at checkout. See you there. This is such a, a clever change that. You know, seems so simple when you actually think about it, but had big, big results. And I wanna, I wanna talk to you about that. So what results did you see from these shifts?

[00:08:52] Yeah, so 

[00:08:52] Shane Baglini: you could, it's funny when you look at our, our data and some of the charts, you can see we made these changes in, in like the third week in [00:09:00] February of 2022. Mm-hmm. And you could just see. Everything kind of skyrocket. Impressions, clicks, conversions, you, and you just, oh my gosh. Like you can see a line in the sand almost.

[00:09:09] So yeah, the results were, were great. We, you know, in, in the fiscal year 22, we had 46 conversions or, or submitted lead forms from a paid mm-hmm. Source, specifically paid source, because this was, We were, we were focusing on the paid aspects of this because mm-hmm. Some of the SEO issues and navigation issues with our site make it difficult for us to mm-hmm.

[00:09:31] Lead people right to our edu. Um, so we were focusing really on the paid aspect of things. So far in fiscal year 23, we're a May 26th. Here we have 157 conversions from, from paid form submissions. Wow. So yeah, that's a 240, 40 1% increase. Wow. 

[00:09:50] Day Kibilds: Yeah. That's incredible. That's job security for you right there.

[00:09:55] Shane Baglini: Yeah, and it, you know what? It went from being one of our least programs, drawing the least [00:10:00] interest to like leading the way across our, our portfolio of of programs because of that really simple shift. 

[00:10:08] Day Kibilds: I just, I think that's so clever. So have you seen those leads, like that interest translate into 

[00:10:13] Shane Baglini: enrollment?

[00:10:14] Uh, yeah. Yeah. So applications are up in that program as well, but I think, I mean, the most important thing was in spring of 22, we, we did not have a cohort enrolled in that program. And in spring of 23 we've got 11 students. So, you know, that might sound like a small number, but our, our target. And, and sort of keeping in line with Mullen.

[00:10:34] Burke's mission is really small class sizes. Mm-hmm. So our target is always like eight students. So we're over, we're over that target, which is, which is awesome. 

[00:10:43] Day Kibilds: I. I'm imagining the foci, uh, remember kind of looking at what you did here and basically coming to you, like there's a line outside your office right now from faculty members that are like, do this for my program.

[00:10:56] Is that the case? Like what, what are some of like the ripple effects [00:11:00] of this huge success that you've seen? Yeah, so there's 

[00:11:02] Shane Baglini: a, there's a couple. Um, one is we, we looked at every single program and, and the keywords that we were bidding on. We've got another master's that's a master's in organizational leadership.

[00:11:12] Mm-hmm. That's one that. People interested in an MBA might be in line with, but you wouldn't know to search for that. So we, you know, we made shifts like that, um, to sort of make our programs more visible. Mm-hmm. They're still really, really valuable for people looking for that, but it's, you know, they're very specifically named.

[00:11:30] The second thing, and this is really. The, I mean, this is the goal, I think should be the goal for everybody. We're, we're now one of the first kind of stops along the way of a new program being developed. Oh my gosh. So 

[00:11:42] Day Kibilds: we've got a, you have figured out the way. 

[00:11:45] Shane Baglini: Yeah. Yeah. So we, we've got a, uh, a graduate certificate in.

[00:11:50] Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Mm-hmm. That we're considering spinning up into a, a standalone masters. And so the first thing before any [00:12:00] curriculum was developed, anything like that, was to come to myself and our digital marketing specialist and say, can you do some, my goodness, keyword, word research on, on what we should call this thing?

[00:12:08] I think you 

[00:12:09] Day Kibilds: could bottle this up and sell it, and people would buy it. I know this is the dream for marketers 

[00:12:14] Shane Baglini: everywhere. Yeah. And I mean, it's, yeah. And everybody, everybody listening to this should go. Check your keywords because I mean, really the name of a program could make or break. Yeah. You even, even not even from a paid search perspective, but somebody just browsing your website might come across a Master's and applied analytics and, and not know what it is.

[00:12:34] So the, the OnPage content as well as really important to sort of explain in popular terms what this program is. 

[00:12:43] Day Kibilds: Yeah. So what's your advice for folks that might want to Right now they're, they're like, oh my goodness, after this podcast episode ends, I am immediately checking my keywords. If someone doesn't know how to do that yet, what are the steps?

[00:12:56] Where do they go? What do they look for? How do they know what is popular? [00:13:00] What are your tips there? Yeah, 

[00:13:01] Shane Baglini: I mean, uh, the first tip would be to go to, to Google search tools. Uh, I mean, I think, mm-hmm. I think they make them just so user friendly for that reason, you know, don't think too much about it. Look at the landscape of higher ed and look at different programs around, you know, big brand names.

[00:13:18] That's what we did. And, and kind of the, the aspirational schools that are really successful graduate programs. We, we, we didn't think too much into it. It's like, okay, they're calling it this. Let's see why. Okay. And, and the why is because it's a popular. It, it's what people are searching for. So I would say definitely use the, the free tools available to you if you have an agency that, that you're working with, you know, task them with, with some of this research, but also mm-hmm.

[00:13:43] Don't think too hard about it, you know, the, the best ideas are usually already thought of. So, uh, there's no, there's no real need to recreate the wheel here. 

[00:13:53] Day Kibilds: That's great. Like, I, I think I'm gonna go and, and figure something out here for some of my work that I'm doing right now. [00:14:00] Is there anything that you learned.

[00:14:02] Out of this process that like you would do differently next time or, or something new that you might wanna try from your learnings? 

[00:14:10] Shane Baglini: Yeah. Well, I mean, what I learned was that y you know, as a marketer, it's okay to sort of speak up and say, Hey, this, you know, there's a problem with what we're calling this program, or there's a, you know, there's a problem with how long this program is or how much it costs, and that's why, you know, that's why we're not seeing the interest.

[00:14:29] I, I think marketing. Um, is usually the last to sort of mm-hmm. Like, okay, here's this program. We developed this curriculum, it cost this much now, now go get us students. But we were able to sort of flip that now where mm-hmm. People have seen this result and they're thinking, okay, let's, let's make sure we get the, the really basic things right here.

[00:14:52] Um mm-hmm. That, that would be my biggest learning is that you, you know, Speaking up as a marketer isn't [00:15:00] going to like, it's not gonna offend anybody. It's gonna, it's, we're all working towards the same sort of, we want students to enroll. So sometimes marketing has the best perspective on that. From a, from a, you know, a product standpoint.

[00:15:12] I know that word isn't Word is in higher ed. Dirty word in high ed. Yeah. Yeah. But I mean, really it is, it's how you're packaging your, your product and marketing is in a, is in a good. Spot to really inform that. 

[00:15:25] Day Kibilds: Yeah. Well one of the things I really love about this tactic is how really it was, it was a language issue in, in many ways and, uh, folks might have seen me.

[00:15:35] I talk about this a lot, how. Language is the barrier that's keeping students away from our programs, that marketing can single-handedly control. Like we can use the words that people are going to understand. We can rewrite things so that it's accessible for everyone. And that's so powerful and it's one of those barriers people don't even think about.

[00:15:59] Mm-hmm. [00:16:00] Right. So I love that. Yeah. 

[00:16:02] Shane Baglini: We're, we're, um, you know, it's important to think. How your students are thinking. Mm-hmm. And, and you know, a lot of that can be informed by how they're searching. Um, yeah. You know, people search how they think. And if we're not thinking about the student experience, a lot of times higher ed is designing websites and, and ads and things for, you know, it's a combination of a, of an intranet and a, and a website.

[00:16:28] It's like we're here for our perspective and current students. Can we design things that. Makes sense for them. I 

[00:16:35] Day Kibilds: actually cringed when you said intranet. Don't do that to me again. I imagined like H T M L not responsive, like buttons that are gray. Don't do that to me again. All right. Never say intranet again.

[00:16:49] Never. It's, it's forbidden on this podcast. Duly note. Um, um, well, you know, thank you so much, Shane. That was short and sweet. Any other learnings to share [00:17:00] about this tactic with our audience? 

[00:17:02] Shane Baglini: None other than, than to just, you know, Whether you have an agency or you got a small team or a big team, just be checking your, your keywords at all times.

[00:17:12] Um, 

[00:17:12] Day Kibilds: yeah, you can magically double enrollment according to Shane. 

[00:17:16] Shane Baglini: Right? Right. I mean, and you can, you know, make sure that the right mix of keywords is there and you're not overextending yourself and all those, those good things, but, You know, it's a daily sort of thing that, that you need to do to make sure everything you're doing is relevant.

[00:17:29] Day Kibilds: Mm-hmm. I love it. I love how simple it is. If folks wanna contact you, Shane, where can they find 

[00:17:34] Shane Baglini: you? Sure. So I'm on Twitter. Uh, my Twitter handle is at Shane underscore bag. And I'm on LinkedIn at Shane Bagley. Perfect. 

[00:17:44] Day Kibilds: And I do suggest that you follow Shane, as I said, one of my favorite internet friends.

[00:17:49] Thank you, Shane. Thanks so much day. 

[00:17:50] Shane Baglini: Really fun. 

[00:17:51] Day Kibilds: To our listeners out there, keep walking the walk and talking the tactics.[00:18:00] 

[00:18:03] Thank you all for listening to Talking Tactics. If you try what you heard today or if you've got a tactic of your own to share, I definitely want to hear it. So find me on LinkedIn by searching for my name, Diana Kiltz. That's D A Y A N A K I B I L D S, and if you're enjoying talking tactics, please rate and review the show because there's nothing I love more than a good grade and positive reinforcement.

[00:18:30] Finally, if you just can't get enough of good podcasts, the Enrolled Podcast Network delivers with an amazing selection of other marketing and emissions focused podcasts just for you. Go show them some love. See you next time.