C. Grant & CompanyMarketing

Communications

Reaching Prospective College and University Students, Parents, and Influencers Through

Social Media Marketing

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How Far Has Your School Taken Social Media?

A Few New Recruitment RealitiesAdmissions departments know the era of print (search pieces, viewbooks, advertising) has changed but most still struggle with how to convert to web-based strategies

--Print advertising opportunities are declining

--Traditional advertising effectiveness is declining

Parents are the key influencers in the Christian college choice

Most colleges and universities have focused their social media marketing on students, even as growth of Facebook, Twitter has been driven by parents/adults

--Admissions counselors “get” some elements of social media--they’re users (e.g. Facebook, YouTube, texting)

--They’re not as comfortable with social media for adults (e.g. blogging, Twitter)

The continued growth of college search sites, forums, and blogs has overwhelmed admissions staff; monitoring and contributing to websites requires more staffing than the typical school can allocate

--These include collegeprowler.com, unigo.com, communiversity.com, campusbuddy.com, ratemyprofessors.com, collegeblender.com, stuvu.com, youtube.com/edu, theuniversityreview.com, yourcampus360.com...and counting

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We can help.

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About Us

We have extensive experience in higher education research and promotion

We are the leading firm in social media marketing for Christian publishers

We have built social media programs to reach teens as well as parents

We customize our services to work seamlessly with existing recruitment programs and admissions staff

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What Others Say“Our relationship with C. Grant and Company was the start of something new and important for our organization. Through asking critical questions, C. Grant and Company helped us see ourselves as others see us…”

– Dr. Niel Nielson, President, Covenant College

“We are grateful for the study of alumni giving at Wheaton College conducted by C. Grant and Company. We found their firm to be professional, thorough and responsive. Their approach was innovative and immensely helpful.”

– Dr. Mark Dillon, Vice President for Advancement and Alumni Relations, Wheaton College

“C. Grant and Company provided very helpful consulting work for JBU. They helped us strategize and develop new approaches for some key areas in our student recruitment marketing program. As a result, we re-engineered our campus tour allowing us to increase our overall effectiveness with these contacts. This translated to increased yield. We were able to implement a number of other ideas that had very positive effects in our results. They are experts in this field.”

– Don Crandall, Vice President for Enrollment Management, John Brown University

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Our Distinctive

We bring a new perspective and best practices in marketing and research from the Business, Non-Profit, and Ministry markets to Christian Higher Education.

As a firm with expertise in marketing as well as research, we know how to develop research with real-world application and how to create communication programs that integrate traditional and social media marketing elements.

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Our Services

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Social Media Optimization

Advertisingand Search Engine

Optimization

Research/Online Reputation

ManagementDigital Audit

Our ServicesDigital Audit: Evaluation of web presence in online and constituent-generated media, including websites (student, parent, education, school search, and related), blogs (influencers and general), search engines, and online reviews.

Social Media Optimization: Generating awareness for schools and school programs through social media, blogging, reviews, and other non-search engine related vehicles.

Research/Online Reputation Management: Analyzing student, alumni, and parent website posts and reviews to gain insight into constituents; tracking and responding to online posts, reviews, and articles related to school programs, faculty, sports, and other relevant topics.

Advertising and Search Engine Optimization: Increasing web traffic to websites through improved coding and keyword content and through online advertising placement and Adwords campaigns.

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Typical Marketing Tasks

Work with school’s marketing group to develop strategy that integrates social media marketing with media relations, recruitment promotion, and existing marketing efforts

Create, design and execute innovative social media and web advertising campaigns to build opt-in subscriber lists, build group membership, and effectively build brand awareness and encourage web visits and campus tours

Create measurable objectives and regularly report

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Primary Social Media Objectives

Reach prospective parents and other influencers such as pastor and youth leaders through new social media avenues

Expand the reach of existing social media programs in reaching prospective students

Mobilize alumni to assist in student recruitment through social media

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Social Network Optimization Map

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Student and Parent Blogs

Blog Postings

Web Expert Articles

School WebsiteSchool

Facebook Page/Group

College Review Sites/

Forums

MySpace and other

networking sites

College Search Sites

Twitter (Parents)

Our Higher Education Web Marketing Checklist

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Reaching Students, Parents and Influencers:

Sample Work from Other Markets

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Social Networks

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Eblasts and Banner Ads

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Blogs and Online Newsletters

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Blog Posts/Tours/Contests

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MicroSites/Landing Pages

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Expert Articles

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Other Social Networking Sites

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Our Capabilities

Marketing Strategy

Brand Strategy

Advertising and Promotion

Media Relations/PR

Social Network Marketing

Broadcast Advertising

Direct Mail

Web Marketing

Blogging/Content Development

Literary Representation

Identity/Logo Development

Event Marketing

Website Design

Web Games

Video Production

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About Us

Founded 2001 by Christopher Grant, former Vice President, Advertising at Christianity Today, International, Senior Vice President, Marketing at ServiceMaster and Vice President of Marketing at Zondervan (HarperCollins)

Full-service integrated marketing and research firm (website here)

Office located in historic building in the Chicago suburb of Wheaton, IL

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The “&”Our experienced team has held professional titles including:

Director of Media Relations, Wheaton CollegeColumnist, Chicago Sun-Times Media GroupMarketing Manager, AmocoVP of Marketing, ZonderKidz (HarperCollins)Art Director, SpringHill CampsAdjunct Writing Faculty, Wheaton CollegeCo-owner, Gap Digital Recording Creative Director, Tyndale HouseAdjunct Marketing Professor, Calvin CollegeConsultant, Douglas Shaw & AssociatesSenior Associate Editor, Leadership JournalAuthor, “An Educator’s Guide to the Internet” (Simon & Schuster) and “A Rookie’s Guide to the Internet” (Radio Shack)Professor, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Washington State UniversitySenior Director, Corporate and Internet Communications, Zondervan

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Partial Client ListZondervan

Willow Creek Association

Wheaton College

Heartland Alliance for Human Needs and Human Rights

Raging Waves Waterpark

SpringHill Camps

Leadership Network

Covenant College

Mount Hermon Camps and Conferences

Glocal.net

Pioneer Clubs

City of West Chicago, IL

Associated Agencies

Meisner Aircraft

Center for Student Missions

ServiceMaster

Aramark

MicroTek

Tyndale House Publishers

Wheaton Eye Clinic

TruGreen

Forest Home

Baker Publishing

Muskoka Woods

John Brown University

Pine Cove

Jossey-Bass

Redeemer Church/NYC

Sandy Cove

Kanakuk Kamps

TH Hilson Company

LeaderTreks

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Thanks

Contact: chris@cgrantandcompany.comwww.cgrantandcompany.com