Top Priorities for Advertising

  1. Build and strengthen brand awareness. As with any advertising, building and/or strengthening brand awareness is a top goal. That’s why it’s important to brand your ads appropriately and target the right audiences.
  2. Generate new leads. Ads are a great way to reach prospects. Planting a seed is great, but if you can also provide an easy conversion method such as an email form for more information, we can use ads to build our inquiry pool.
  3. Target specific demographics. Increasing exposure can happen through organic methods, but advertising allows us to target specific demographics. It’s a great way to build our brand among specific audiences.
  4. Drive traffic to the illinois.edu ecosystem. Always consider where you’re driving traffic. Does the landing page provide a way to sign up for more information? Does it allow for easy navigation to other great content?
  5. Encourage action. Again, planting seeds through brand exposure is wonderful, but be intentional with what you’re asking your viewers to do. Do you want them to explore further? Should they be applying? Scheduling a visit? Signing up for more information? Provide a clear action whenever possible.

OUA’s Advertising Strategy

The Office of Undergraduate Admissions uses advertising to reach specific audiences with targeted messages and actions. This could mean building our brand and generating interest among prospects or spreading the word about our Illinois Commitment program to Illinois residents. Advertising is an important part of our overall marketing plan.

Tactics we use include:

  • Social media advertising (Facebook, Instagram, and Google)
  • Retargeting
  • Geofencing
  • Target ads by audience (underrepresented students, out-of-state students, etc.)
  • Serving attention-grabbing content, including videos, photography, and unique messaging

How to Measure Success

  • Monitor your engagement. Are people seeing your ads? This is a good place to start when it comes to measuring the success of your advertising efforts.
  • Assess your ROI. Pay attention to the cost per click and other cost measurements. Are you getting the return you hoped for?
  • Measure the overall performance. If you have specific goals with your ads, such as driving traffic to certain landing pages or converting prospects to inquiries, take a looks at those outcomes. Weigh what you see with other factors such as cost per click and engagement to determine how your ads are performing overall.
  • Utilize tracking pixels. Tracking pixels can help monitor conversions and provide an opportunity to refine your audience. Advertising is about tweaking, so use your insights to make adjustments.