HIGHER EDUCATION
LEAD GENERATION

WHAT IT TAKES TO GENERATE LEADS

Higher education is a competitive industry, with high stakes for both students and academic institutions. Prospective students are bombarded with options as soon as they begin their search for a degree program, and universities are constantly battling to stand out from the endless sprawl of programs and schools in order to garner interest from the best potential applicants. To thrive and grow, your degree program needs more than a bump in website traffic from prospective students — it needs higher-quality leads. Our team has extensive experience leveraging hyper-specific targeting to identify your ideal prospects and then deploying content to capture their attention. The result? Increased enrollment from a stronger pool of prospects.

WHAT IS LEAD GENERATION?

Lead generation is a marketing tactic that gets consumers interested in a certain product or service through a carefully calculated and steady drip of branded information. While “leads” are highly valuable in a number of industries, well-executed lead generation strategies are perhaps even more important in higher education. The high cost of degrees means that prospective students need as much information as possible to make the most informed decision about their academic future. Examples of effective lead generation strategies include long-form “lead ads” on Facebook, email drip campaigns that consistently deliver program information to prospective students’ inboxes, and sponsored search campaigns that place programs at the top of relevant Google or Bing search results.

LEAD GENERATION CHALLENGES

Working exclusively in higher education, we are particularly aware of the most common problems colleges and universities face in lead generation. Our top three challenges in generating leads for our clients are:

  • Finding the right audience

  • Effectively telling a program’s story

  • Providing the right conversion experience so students convert and are excited to learn more

LEAD GENERATION SOLUTIONS

Over the last decade, we’ve discovered specific solutions to the top lead generation challenges in higher education. Our solutions have proved to exceed our clients’ lead generation goals, ensuring the highest-quality leads make their way through the enrollment funnel. Our top three solutions are:

  • Persona identification

  • Unique creative and storytelling

  • A conversion rate optimization process that provides enough information to get students excited and move them down the funnel

HIGHER EDUCATION LEAD GENERATION TACTICS

HIGHER EDUCATION LEAD GENERATION BENCHMARKS

While implementing a successful lead generation campaign requires a comprehensive set of tactics, measuring the success of these campaigns comes down to three simple factors: total number of leads, cost per lead, and cost per quality. Whether through paid media, SEO, or digital PR, our lead generation efforts have quantifiable, tangible results for our clients. Take a look at the case studies below to see how our efforts boosted lead generation for major academic institutions such as the University of Central Florida, American University, California Western School of Law, and Tulane University.

CIRCA CASE STUDIES

University of Central Florida Case Study Graphic

University of Central Florida

The University of Central Florida needed to increase enrollment and lead quality for its various online healthcare programs, so it came to us. Through our efforts, we generated 902 new leads, with a 14.2% conversion rate. Find out how we did it:

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Tulane University

When Tulane University launched its Online Master of Social Work, it knew it would be challenging to stand out from the sea of MSW programs available to social work professionals. In partnership with Noodle, we launched a lead generation strategy that resulted in over 1,000 applications and a $109 cost per lead. Find out how we did it:

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Tulane University Case Study Graphic

CLIENT TESTIMONIALS

The University of Southern California wanted the world to know that its Master of Public Health program was led by top experts who were true thought leaders in their field. USC enlisted our digital PR team to help it get its distinguished MPH faculty featured prominently in the media. Here’s what one faculty member had to say:

Left Quotation Mark

This partnership has really increased my productivity and has allowed my work to reach new audiences outside of the traditional academic world. I have been really able to expand my visibility in the field. I wish we would have started these services years ago.

— Melissa Withers
Professor, USC MPH Program

Right Quotation Mark

LEAD GENERATION FOR HIGHER EDUCATION

INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE? LET’S TALK!

If you have a program that’s struggling to generate quality applicants or you want to launch a new program with the highest-quality leads, Circa Interactive will work directly with you to set, and ultimately surpass, lead goals. Reach out to us today to get started.