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Tatjana SalcedoTatjana Salcedo, Web Strategist-University of Vermont, is one of the 12 presenters of the 2018 Higher Ed Analytics Conference.

In this 3-question interview, Tatjana 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?

Newly available reports in products like Google Analytics have the potential of providing more and deeper web traffic insights than ever before. Tapping into the power of many of these reports require a more strategic and purposeful configuration of analytics properties and views. This year I will be focusing more on optimizing and monetizing our institutional goals in Analytics while also developing a reporting strategy to make sure the right decision makers are getting the right kind of data at the right time to help them make solid data driven decisions around our digital marketing efforts.

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

Many higher ed institutions are steeped in tradition, a reticence to stop doing things “the way they’ve always been done” is a major impediment to being able to quickly adapt to rapid changes in marketing strategies. This can be especially challenging in an institution heavily reliant on alumni donations where a fear of alienating donors holds back rebranding efforts that are common in other businesses. But probably the biggest roadblock is our inability to effectively monetize individual marketing efforts. Without being able to measure ROI, it’s hard to show the value of new and novel marketing efforts and easier to fallback on the same old, same old. Finding analytics models that accurately and believably demonstrate the worth of various marketing efforts is not always easy, but important to demonstrating the value of web analytics in guiding marketing decisions whether new or old.

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

Keeping tabs on what others are doing both within higher ed and without is definitely an important component to developing good “analytics chops.” There are lots of great blogs and free webinars coming out on a regular basis, I often have to pick and choose but I try to learn one new analytics skill or insight every month. Personally, I avail myself of Google’s certification programs and keep them updated. However, my analytics clients within my institution (and outside the institution) are probably the best source of pushing me to further develop my analytics skills. Their data questions constantly push me to uncover new ways to uncover, collect, aggregate, and present data not found in standard Google Analytics reports.

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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