Digital Analytics and Social Media Measurement in #highered: Why and how to upgrade your skills in 2015

10 years from the basement to the 3rd floor

Congratulations, we’ve made it!

Digital has finally grown up into a strategic marketing and communication channel in higher education.

You’ve seen new staff members join your team and your digital budget increased over the past few years. Higher education digital professionals are now getting a seat at the decision table, several have move into director positions and a few have even “graduated” into institutional leadership positions at the vice-president level.

So, how did the “web person” whose office was in the basement – next to the web server room – 10 years ago made it to the corner office on the third floor?

It wasn’t a revolution, but a necessary evolution enabled by social media, mobile devices and… the Millenials, the first digital natives.

Show the analytics data or it didn’t happen

Yet, with increased responsibility comes increased accountability.

As the profession matures, playful experimentation alone doesn’t cut it anymore.

Asking for forgiveness instead of permission was a very good strategy to get out of the basement, but, as many of you know, it won’t keep you on the 3rd floor – too much light up there.

For this, you need to adopt a systematic approach to performance measurement – not just for bragging rights, although nothing wrong with the added bonus ;-) – but to inform decisions, course-correct underperforming strategies and predict probable outcomes of future campaigns.

Today, learning how to use analytics data to get permission, absolution and ultimately a promotion is THE winning strategy for higher ed digital pros like you.

Different stages toward digital analytics mastery

Whether or not you are a number person, you can learn to make digital analytics your friend to showcase progress, demonstrate value, highlight issues, forecast probable outcomes and ultimately open doors.

1) You’ve just heard about Google Analytics or you feel overwhelmed by all the Google Analytics reports

Don’t worry: everybody started at this point :-)

More than 200 of your colleagues working in higher education have learned how to navigate Google Analytics and put it to work to measure what matters to their institutions by taking our 4-week online course on Web Analytics for Higher Ed since September 2011. The course is constantly updated by its instructor Joshua Dodson, Digital Marketing Strategy and Optimization Manager at Eastern Kentucky Unviersity. If you want to find out why so many of your colleagues took this course, check out what they say about their learning experience.

2) You want to go beyond the basics in analytics and widen your skill set

If you want to go to the next level with Google Analytics and digital data analysis like many of the alums of our foundational course on Web Analytics for Higher Ed, you should consider taking our brand new 4-week online course on Advanced Web Analytics for Higher Ed, also taught by Joshua Dodson. After taking this course, you’ll be ready to upgrade your analytics practice with the help of Google Tag Manager, Universal Analytics, Dimension Widening, Advanced Event Tracking and the Google Analytics Reporting API.

If you are a higher ed professional ready to set up and implement a comprehensive social media measurement plan at your school, don’t miss the first session of our unique 4-week online course on Social Media Measurement for Higher Ed, taught by Liz Gross, Social Media and Market Research Strategist. After taking this course, you’ll be ready to measure the value of your social media initiatives for your institution by following a framework designed for higher education.

3) You are a seasoned analytics professional working in higher education and you want to keep learning for your institution — and your career:

If you want to join the ranks of the few higher ed professionals using analytics to predict future outcomes for digital initiatives, you are the perfect match for our brand new 4-week online course on Predictive Web Analytics for Higher Ed offered in March 2015 (and a great next step for students taking the course on Advanced Web Analytics for Higher Ed). After taking the course on Predicitive Analytics, you’ll be able to show the difference your work make and predict probable outcomes to reduce uncertainty for your digital initiatives. Known side effects of this course include becoming your boss’s most valued team member and turning top executives on your campus into fans of yours.

Learn with your team!

If your team needs its yearly dose of digital analytics goodness, get an on-demand pass for the 2015 Higher Ed Analytics Conference. It is a must-see to find out about the latest trends in higher ed digital analytics as it features many early adopters.