Jackie Vetrano, Online Marketing and Social Media Manager – The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is one of the 12 presenters of the 2019 Higher Ed Analytics Conference.
In this 3-question interview, Jackie shares with us thoughts on what’s next for higher ed analytics in 2019, advice to get more strategic with measurement and tips to make analytics reports more efficient
1) What will make a big difference for higher ed analytics and measurement in 2019? Where do you plan to focus your analytics efforts?
Data becomes a bigger and bigger part of the conversation each year in higher education, and I think we are – as a whole – getting better at figuring out what to measure as well as why we’re doing it. We’re moving away from tracking the number of likes we got on a social media post or the number of followers for each account and thinking about more important numbers that tie directly back to goals. Think click-through rates or completed actions. With my role at UNC, I am responsible for a lot of reporting, I am looking to truly refine the reporting process to make it the most beneficial for my team in 2019.
2) What’s your advice to adopt a more strategic approach to analytics and performance measurement?
Whenever we start in on marketing campaigns, we need to establish concrete goals and then get to work on the creative side. It’s easy to dive in and create the campaign then set it out into the wild without thinking about the entire reason for the campaign in the first place. Even with something as simple as a daily Facebook post, what is the goal? Clicks on the link? “Love” reactions? In any case, it’s important to think of what we’re trying to achieve and then actually measure it. The next step isn’t just to move on to the next post, but to try and take away why something worked, or why it didn’t. Then, you can adjust and make the next campaign that much better.
3) Analyzing the data and unearthing analytics insights is half the battle. What are your top tips to present/share analytics reports that drive action?
It’s pretty simple. Act! It’s easy to get lost in the numbers of big reports. In my experience, I’ve learned that presenting small bits of data, explaining how you got there and then using actual words to explain what the numbers mean and the future actions lead to much more action than simply sharing a chart with an overwhelming number of data points. Once the action is changed, you should also showcase the win (or future recommendations) to those who helped to implement it, in order to prove that the data you’re using is reliable and can help drive future decisions.
A conference focusing on higher ed analytics?
The 2019 Higher Ed Analytics Conference (#HEA19) is a must-attend event for higher ed marketing professionals and teams looking for inspiration, ideas and best practices to step up their analytics and measurement game in 2019..
Read below what your higher ed colleagues who attended the past editions of the Higher Ed Analytics Conference said about their experience.
Tags: HEA19, Higher Ed Marketing, Higher Ed News