In this 3-question interview, Shelly 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?
My focuses for 2018 will be providing value with my data and A/B testing. It’s easy to simply report numbers; the real magic happens when you can translate those numbers into action-oriented insights. Additionally, I see testing as crucially important in the digital world, and tools like Google Optimize make testing very easy. I plan to test everything from ad copy and design to landing pages in 2018.
2) What’s preventing higher education from embracing data and analytics more widely for digital marketing?
I think there are two things that are hindering the embrace of analytics in higher education marketing – the sheer amount of data available and the difficulty in portraying its relevance to the bottom line. With so much data out there, it can be really difficult to figure out where to even begin and what metrics are most important, which makes it tempting to shy away from data entirely. Once you do get a handle on which data to report on, it needs to be presented in an impactful way to be taken seriously, as opposed to a “data dump” without deeper insights or an action plan.
3) What are the best ways to keep learning about analytics, measurement and data?
I make myself available to as much information as possible – I sign up for as many newsletters, webinars, and conferences as I can. Asking for feedback from peers and superiors is also extremely valuable – sometimes I’m too close to the data, so being able to get opinions from people a bit more removed from it is very helpful. In doing this I also open myself up to new perspectives, and provide my coworkers with the opportunity to show me what they look for and value most in my reporting.
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.