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Mandee EnglertMandee Englert, Digital Marketing Analyst at Penn State University, is one of the 12 presenters of the 2018 Higher Ed Analytics Conference.

In this 3-question interview, Mandee tells us about what’s coming in 2018, the challenges of embracing analytics in higher ed and the best ways to keep learning about data and measurement for higher ed marketers..

1) What’s coming for higher ed analytics and measurement in 2018?

I think AI is really going to play a role in 2018, allowing more users to be able to read and understand analytics data. Google Analytics and other analytics platforms are making it easier for a traditional marketer to log in and understand reports that matter to them. I hope that this will bring more attention to analytics in higher education which could result in more analysts being hired to help build actionable data-driven marketing plans.

We will be focused on refining our attribution model to better understand the student journey to enrollment and help us make better decisions about our digital marketing and TV advertising.

2) What’s preventing higher education from embracing data and analytics more widely for digital marketing?

I believe that higher education has traditionally been hyper-focused on brand marketing. A large piece of brand marketing is storytelling and making that brand memorable, increasing the perception and value. Brand marketing is not easily measured with analytics. On the other hand, analytics and optimization are so focused on goals and the bottom line. I think that this can sometimes clash with the brand storytelling that higher education marketers are more traditionally involved with. I think if the brand and analytics teams could better align, they could hold a really powerful combination in digital marketing.

3) What are the best ways to keep learning about analytics, measurement and data?

I dedicate myself to a certain amount of hands-on marketing and analytics every day. Even when certain tasks are pushed off to external vendors, I like to stay in the weeds so that I can keep up with the constantly changing landscape. I was once told to always “Ask Why 5 Times”, that has always stuck with me and has really helped me develop my analytics skills over time. It taught me to never settle for the general reporting and to keep digging deeper until I find a way to refine or solve the problem that I am out to solve.

A conference focusing on higher ed analytics?

The Higher Ed Analytics Conference is a must-attend event for higher ed marketing professionals and teams looking for new ideas and best practices.

Read below what a few of your higher ed colleagues who attended the past editions of the Higher Ed Analytics Conference say about the experience.

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