5 Ways Data Can Improve Your Digital Marketing Campaign
Like the majority of private schools, you probably spend at least 70% of your budget on digital marketing. But do you know for sure if it’s working? Or are you just hoping that it is?
Strategies that properly collect and analyze data will help you move away from guesswork and assumptions and give you real insight into what’s working, what isn’t, and where to allocate your valuable marketing dollars.
We can show you how. Here are five actions you can take to make sure your digital efforts are being rewarded – so you can make informed, effective marketing decisions that are built on concrete data.
1. Focus on the Math That Matters
Not all data is created equal, and it can be difficult to know which numbers to listen to. In fact, 39% of schools are “not sure” they’re satisfied with the conversion goals they’re tracking.
Certain metrics can be misleading and muddy the conversion picture, like views, impressions, followers, and open rates. These are sometimes called “vanity metrics” – and while they are still important to measure, they can sometimes distract from your larger organizational goals.
Instead, private schools should prioritize metrics that nurture right-fit families along the funnel:
- Inquiries: Here you capture actual contact information, which is valuable to have and can also help you enter them into email/SMS workflows for more in-depth content and follow-ups.
- Event RSVPs: Actually getting families on campus – connecting with your team and imagining themselves there – is one of the most effective ways to nurture a lead. It deepens the relationship.
- Downloads: Your audience has taken a deliberate step to access further information about your school through a viewbook, program details, or fact sheet – and that’s meaningful.
- Applications: The highest-value conversion for private schools. It’s a metric that should be valued above all else.
Here’s how you can focus your team on the metrics that truly matter:
- Set up conversion tracking for your highest-value actions
- Track these actions with Google Tag Manager or similar tools to avoid overreporting and missing key signals
- Clean up your reporting dashboard to focus on those outcomes rather than vanity metrics
This shift in focus gives your team real indicators of interest and helps you benchmark campaign effectiveness over time. We know because we’ve done it before.
2. Reduce Your Funnel’s Friction
The top three most effective admissions touchpoints are all in-person connections: individual tours, small -group tours, and open houses. That’s why it’s important your digital marketing helps nurture mission-aligned families along the funnel – from the first touchpoint or inquiry to that all-important visit.
Make sure your online forms (and other conversion steps) are simple to use and free from any unnecessary barriers that might stand between a curious parent and a campus visit.
Here are a few tips:
- Keep forms short – ideally with no more than five total fields
- Place forms above the fold to maximize visibility
- Make sure forms are easy to complete on mobile
- Add one or two easy-entry options like “I’m interested” forms or Calendly links
Smooth, friction-free digital campaigns have the ability to drive a 62% increase in form submissions.
3. Rethink “Word of Mouth”
As many as 92% of private schools listed “word of mouth” as an important marketing tactic in the past 12 months. And it is often based solely on anecdotal evidence – the very opposite of a data-backed insight.
It’s so important to know where your qualified leads are coming from. If you don’t, you won’t be able to identify and bolster the tactics that are actually doing the work.
These simple steps can help you get a clearer picture of how your audiences are finding you:
- Set up proper attribution using GA4
- Segment internal traffic (current families or staff looking up school info) from prospective families who are researching enrollment
- Integrate your website forms with a CRM to automatically record the original source of every new lead
- Don’t underestimate organic search and local directories
Knowing who they are, where they are, and what they’re looking for will mean better targeting, which can then, with our help, lead to a 147% jump in website conversions.
4. Look Out for Robots
Not all traffic is good traffic. The internet is filled with non-human sources and activity, and a spike in traffic that turns out to be from bots or AI tools can trick your ad platforms into thinking a campaign is a hit.
This can lead to misleading data – and a misallocated budget.
Try this:
- Monitor engagement metrics like time on site and bounce rate to spot fake traffic
- Make sure automated ad platforms like Google Performance Max receive plenty of human oversight and vetting
- Use security measures (like CAPTCHA) that verify users are human
We can show you how to track and analyze your data in a way that ensures campaign optimization, which can bring you a 515% return on ad spend.
5. Set Smarter Goals
Being objective about your performance is hard enough on its own, but it’s especially tricky when you’re not sure what to compare yourself to.
Being able to measure your data against industry standards is exceptionally valuable. It helps you avoid unrealistic expectations – and it can stop you from panicking over what turn out to be perfectly normal results.
This might help:
- Set regular reporting periods (quarterly, for example) to track trends
- Survey families and staff pre- and post-campaign to track awareness and engagement year over year
And absolutely download our free Enrollment Marketing Benchmark Report. It will give you an in-depth look at how you stack up with other schools and how helpful Metric Marketing can be for you and your team.
You deserve a digital marketing strategy that supports you and your private school’s goals – one that unlocks information instead of breeding uncertainty or confusion.
We can help you transform disconnected data into valuable, actionable insights. When you work with us, you get the right information to make better marketing decisions.
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At Metric Marketing, we develop measurable and practical strategies to help private and independent schools like yours to make the most of your marketing efforts. We’d love to discuss your private school’s marketing requirements with you. Contact us today to speak with our marketing professionals or use the form below to sign up and receive more marketing tips in your inbox.
