Mythbusting Websites AMA Handout

Mythbusting Websites

5 December 2016

#AMAHigherEd

#higheredmyths

what you think teensthink about.edu websites: andwhat teens really think

##

#AMAHigherEd #higheredmyths


Michael Stoner President, mStoner

[email protected] @mStonerVT

Gil Rogers Director of Enrollment Marketing, Chegg

[email protected] @GilRogers

mailto:[email protected]?subject=

mailto:[email protected]?subject=


download: mstnr.me/MythB2016

http://go.edu.chegg.com/mythbusting-websites

Today’s Agenda

1. About this study

2. Myths? Realities?

3. Takeaways

4. Discussion & questions


Myth? OrReality?

8

Myths or realities?


1. Your website is effective if it isn’t responsive.

2. Teens will think poorly of your college if you have a bad website.

3. Your website is the most important influence in a teen’s decision to apply.

4. Teens overwhelmingly prefer video and images to text on college websites.

9

Myths or realities?


5. Teens move freely back and forth between social media and college websites.

6. Teens are eager to engage with your college through a smartphone app.

7. Virtual tours are way more important to teens than campus maps.

10

Demographics: Professionals


• Work across multiple functions: marketing, communications, web, social media, admissions

• Institutions: 40 % public, 20% private universities; 33% liberal arts, colleges community colleges, prof schools

• More than 50% have worked in higher ed for 5-15 yrs. • 596 responses included in final report

11

Demographics: Teens


• 62% high school seniors; 35% juniors • Most considering applying to public (86%) or private universities (61%) &

51% considering both. 28% considering applying to liberal arts colleges • 87% had started researching colleges already • Prospect pool is diverse: 47% Caucasian/White; 24% Hispanic/Latino; 23%

African American/Black; 11% Asian • 2,346 responses included in final report


Your website iseffectiveif it isn’t responsive.

Myth or reality?

#higheredmyths

66%of teens used a smartphone or mobile

device to respond to our survey.

#higheredmyths

81%of teens told us they visited a college website using a

mobile browser in our Mythbusting Admissions research, conducted in 2015 (mstnr.me/AdmissionMyths)

http://mstnr.me/AdmissionMyths

#higheredmyths

70%of teens told TeensTALK® 2016 that they

use a college website throughout their admission process (bit.ly/2frJo5e)

http://bit.ly/2frJo5e


Teens will thinkpoorly of your collegeif you have a bad website.

Myth or reality?

#higheredmyths

82%of professionals said that a bad website

will have a negative impact on teens opinion of the college.

#higheredmyths

43%of teens said that their opinion of a college

would be affected by a bad website.

#higheredmyths

74%of juniors agreed that “College websites make a

difference in my perception of the school.” (E-Expectations 2016: mstnr.me/E-Expect16)

20#higheredmyths

Kind of jobs I can get

Tuition, costs, aid info

Academic info

Student life info

Admission & app processes

What other students are like

Info re tours, info sessions

Scheduling a visit

0 10 20 30 40 50

Hard-to-use areas of .edu websites


Your website is the mostimportant influence ina teen’s decision to apply.

Myth or reality?

22

The question we asked


“When you evaluate a particular college prior to deciding whether to apply, how important is the college’s website in your decision whether to apply or not?”

#higheredmyths

80%of professionals rated the importance teens

placed on a college’s website as 6 or 7.

#higheredmyths

84.4%of respondents to NACAC’s “2015 State of

College Admission” attached “considerable importance” to websites as an undergraduate

recruitment strategy (mstnr.me/2dAAeSn)

http://mstnr.me/2dAAeSn

#higheredmyths

of teens rated the a college’s website as 6 or 7 among sources of information.

37%


Question: “Which resources did you or would you use during each phase of the college application process?”

data & figure from TeensTALK® 2016; © Stamats 2016 | © Chegg 2016


Teens overwhelmingly prefervideo and images to texton college websites.

Myth or reality?

#higheredmyths

2.4 hrsaverage time teens spend each day watching

TV/DVDs/videos (The Common Sense Census: mstnr.me/2eko4vY)

http://mstnr.me/2eko4vY

#higheredmyths

76%of professionals said that teens prefer

video to text and images.

#higheredmyths

40%of teens say they prefer video content

to text.

#higheredmyths

Content preferences on a college website

what teens say

(n=1902)

what professionals

believe (n=520)

text & articles 64% 17%

photography 60% 74%

charts and infographics 47% 55%

headlines and subject lines 47% 57%

videos 40% 76%

other images besides photography 8% 6%


Teens click throughto your sitefrom social media sites

and vice versa.

Myth or reality?

#higheredmyths

Click-throughs from a .edu site to a social site*

to Facebook

to Twitter

to Instagram

to LinkedIn

to YouTube

to college search/help

80

44

10

35

25

34

57

69

11

63

39

53

professionals (n=434) teens (n=1349)

*when researching colleges

#higheredmyths

Click-throughs to a .edu site from a social site*from Facebook

from Twitter

from Instagram

from LinkedIn

from YouTube

from Snapchat

from YikYak

to college search/help78

5

15

35

7

32

23

33

73

20

40

61

58

58

45

59

professionals (n=430) teens (n=1431)

*when researching colleges


Teens are eagerto engage with your collegethrough a smartphone app.

Myth or reality?


#higheredmyths

54%of professionals said that teens will download

and use a college’s app after they’d decided which institution they were attending.

#higheredmyths

72%of teens said they did not download or use

any college apps.

38#higheredmyths

updates on admissions info

learn about college-specific info

submit an applicataion

communicate with a college rep

take a virtual campus tour

0 16 32 48 64 80

Half of teens would download an app to communicate

But: do you offer what they want?


Virtual tours areway more importantthan campus maps.

Myth or reality?

#higheredmyths

39%of professionals said that teens looked at a campus map when researching colleges.

#higheredmyths

78%of professionals said that teens used a virtual tour when exploring colleges.

#higheredmyths

67%of teens looked at a campus map when

researching colleges

#higheredmyths

64%of teens used a virtual tour when

researching colleges


Bonus round:best .edu websites


Professionals


Teens

#higheredmyths

Teens and your website …

• Your website is important throughout the process, but different parts are important at different times.

• Your site must be responsive: 66 percent of the teens responding to this survey used a smartphone or mobile phone to fill it out. In contrast, 92 percent of professionals used a desktop or laptop computer.

• Photos are important forms of content. But pay as much attention to the text on your site as to the videos.

#higheredmyths

Teens and your website

• The content about academics/majors is very important. Make it robust and easy to find. And remember: teens look for both these terms on your site.

• The campus map is a neglected information resource for teens: they use it in a variety of ways in addition to way finding.

• Your social media sites are important in creating an impression of your institution, but teens won’t necessarily go to your site from Facebook or vice versa.

Handout: mstnr.me/AMA-Myth-2016

Mythbusting Websites: mstnr.me/MythB2016

Mythbusting Admissions (2015): mstnr.me/AdmissionsMyths

http://go.edu.chegg.com/mythbusting-websites

http://mstnr.me/AdmissionsMyths

Mythbusting Websites AMA Handout

Education

Transcript of Mythbusting Websites AMA Handout