Web 2.0 marketing strategies for Victoria University student recruitment

Organization Behavior

Marketing on the Internet

Target Market and Audience

Factors affecting the Target Market and Internet Marketing Efforts

Internet Marketing Objectives

The Internet Marketing Process for Victoria University

How Victoria University can best utilize the Web 2.0 Marketing:

Other benefits of using Web 2.0 Marketing:

Marketing and promotional efforts are done to ensure a continuous growth of operations by creating awareness among the most potential customers and offering them the products or services in the most effective and efficient way (Millman & El-Gohary 2011). Like traditional electronic and print media, web 2.0 marketing has also emerged as a successful medium of promotion for the last few years. Web 2.0 marketing tools include all internet or inbound marketing mediums that are used by the general public for interaction and sharing information with their family members, friends, relatives, and other community members (Software and Information Industry Association 2011). This paper presents the internet marketing efforts of one of the most recognized universities in Australia -- Victoria University. The purpose of the University behind using web 2.0 marketing tools is to create awareness among its prospective students in the local and international markets and increase its student strength by giving admissions to those students who totally meet its admission criteria.

The paper starts with an introduction to the internet marketing techniques; their importance in the present times, and usefulness for the educational institutions and universities. The main section of the paper discusses the marketing efforts which are needed by the Victoria University to get the maximum benefits from these internet marketing tools and techniques. It presents the core marketing objectives, the target market and audience for the internet marketing campaign, the internet marketing process, and the major benefits which Victoria University can realize from these next generation community-based marketing tools and techniques. The internet marketing process is a comprehensive process where the Victoria University will assess the need for internet marketing tools, select the best tool among different available options, and choose the contents and other features for its promotional campaigns that are to be run on that selected marketing tool or medium. The paper concludes with highlighting the major areas covered in the paper and discussing its key findings.

INTRODUCTION

Organizations always remain in a quest to find out new techniques and tactics to attract more and more customers. They use various types of marketing tools to promote their product or service offerings to the most potential target customers (Millman & El-Gohary 2011). Same is the case with universities and educational institutions. They offer their admissions in different courses and programs at different levels of studies to those students who fully meet their admission criteria and follow a specified roadmap for admission. To invite applications for admissions from prospective students, these universities and educational institutions have to communicate their admissions offerings and criteria in all those marketing and communication mediums which they deem necessary for this purpose. Traditionally, they used to market their educational program offerings on print media (newspapers), electronic media (televisions), and educational seminars held at their own campuses (Zhang, 2001).

Now-a-days, these traditional mediums are not fulfilling the requirements of an ever-changing Global environment. Now students search for admissions in their required fields of studies over the Internet on different platforms; like social media networks, blogs, wikis, etc. These are collectively called as Web 2.0 marketing tools (Millman & El-Gohary 2011). Thus, there arises an immense need to use these modern promotional mediums to attract potential students for admissions in different programs. Social media marketing has become the most cost-effective promotional medium of the present times (Software and Information Industry Association 2011). Universities and educational institutions have also recognized its importance for the promotion and growth of their operations. As students are getting more and more involved in modern technologies and ways of communication, universities have adopted the internet marketing and social media network as a strong tool for promoting their educational program offerings.

Victoria University is a well-recognized higher educational institution in Australia. It offers a wide range of programs and courses at undergraduate, graduate, post-graduate level studies. It invites applications for new admissions throughout the year on all major communication medium and its website. Victoria University has a very comprehensive website which gives all kinds of information to its visitors; including university profile, programs offered, detail of campuses, departments, and faculty, facilities and services, job portal, contact information, etc. (Zhang 2001). This website also provides useful links to various related websites, internet places, and social media networks like Facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc. These links are also an effective medium for promoting the educational programs being offered by different departments of the University (Software and Information Industry Association 2011).

The purpose of this paper is to identify and discuss the ways in which Victoria University can effectively utilize the modern internet marketing tools and techniques to promote its educational services, ensure a steady growth in its operations, and achieve its overall marketing objectives.

INTERNET MARKETING OBJETIVES

Victoria University aims to grow its business operations through new community-based marketing tools. The university offers a wide range of programs at its different campuses. Through these marketing tools, the university wishes to attract potential students from the market for admission to these programs. Therefore, the marketing objective for these inbound or internet marketing efforts will be to increase the number of students for the new sessions by using advanced community-based marketing tools. The university also aims to continue using these tools for building new relationships with a much broader community than the traditional electronic and print media communities. Another marketing objective for this new strategy is to get the maximum benefits from these next generation marketing tools by saving heavy promotional costs which it used to incur on traditional marketing tools. The money saved from this strategy can be used to invest in bringing improvements in the overall educational infrastructure of the University (Software and Information Industry Association 2011).

THE INTERNET MARKETING PROCESS FOR VICTORIA UNIVERSITY

1. Selection of Internet Marketing Medium:

Marketing over the internet seems to be an easy process, but it entails a number of complex decisions at different stages. The process starts with an analysis of the current marketing needs. In order to market and promote its educational programs on the internet, Victoria University will first need to analyse the effectiveness of its current promotional mediums, i.e. whether the electronic and print media are fulfilling the current marketing needs or not? Once this analysis is done, the University will identify the various next generation marketing tools which can help it in achieving its marketing objectives in a more efficient and cost-effective way (Bulotaite 2003).

2. Publication of Contents:

The University will choose those tools which are considered more useful than others. Therefore, the next step in internet marketing process is the publication of contents on the selected internet platform, optimization of contents on the search engines for advertising, or promotion of contents on different social media networking sites. These contents can be in the form of picture albums, text, or videos. While adding contents to the websites, search engines, or social media networks, the University must ensure that the purpose of those contents should be to attract the potential customers (students) in such a fashion that they truly become eager to know more about the University and its offerings. The contents should be focused on why the prospective students may prefer this university for admission in their favourite courses over all other universities and educational institutions in the locality (Millman & El-Gohary 2011).

3. Optimization of Content Search:

After finalizing the form of contents, the University will have to choose proper keywords for these contents which may be helpful in enhancing their possibility to be displayed at the search engine or social media networking sites. This step is called content optimization process in which the university will have to consider the volume of searches and selection of words. The words selected for the contents must be added to the University's website and pages titles so that the relevant searches provide direct link to the required information on the website.

4. Build Relationships on Social Media platform:

Students now use social media networking sites like Facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, etc. To interact with their family, friends, relatives, and the outside world. They build their own communities on these modern inbound platforms; share important information, post contents, and keep in touch with their community members in different other ways. Victoria University can get advantage of these platforms to promote its educational programs to the most potential students from the local and international markets. Therefore, the next step is to build new relationships on these platforms by making content pages on its name and putting all the information of the available program offerings on these pages. Victoria University can use Facebook, twitter, and LinkedIn for the promotion of its programs by sharing information on departments, faculties, campuses, programs offered in each campus, admission criteria and process, deadlines for submitting admission applications, and contact information (Gallatin 2009).

How Victoria University can best utilize the Web 2.0 Marketing:

The objectives behind using Web 2.0 marketing, social media networks, blogs, and search engine advertisements is to attract the prospective students from the market and enhance the student strength in all the campuses of the University. Victoria University can attract these students for admissions in its different campuses by effectively using these marketing tools at correct time and schedule (Bulotaite 2003). For instance, the University should start advertising its admissions soon after the students get free from their previous exams in different program categories. The major focus of these advertisements should be kept towards highlighting the most significant information which students or their parents generally look for in their initial screening process. This information includes campuses' location, programs offered and the admission criteria for each program, and deadline for submitting applications (Millman & El-Gohary 2011).

Parents -- A potential target audience:

Another most important factor which can enhance the effectiveness of internet marketing is including the parents in the target audience. Generally, these are the parents who look for the admissions for their children in the best educational institutions in their localities. If Victoria University wishes to promote its program offerings to the potential students, it must also target their parents in all of its promotional ads and pages on different web 2.0 marketing platforms.

Other benefits of using Web 2.0 Marketing:

1. Storage Capacity:

Victoria University will also get some other benefits from Web 2.0 marketing tool which are not available in traditional electronic and print mediums. The first advantage of internet mediums is their storage capacity. Unlike television, newspapers, seminars, and other mediums, the internet marketing tools provide huge storage capacity where marketeers can store their albums of pictures, videos, and text files to be accessible by everyone (Millman & El-Gohary 2011).

2. Accessibility:

The second advantage of web 2.0 marketing tools is their equal level of accessibility by their users all over the world. The social media networks, blogs, search engines, and other internet places can be accessed by the internet visitors from any location in the world. It makes these internet marketing tools the most effective promotional mediums and source of information for the universities and students respectively (Software and Information Industry Association 2011).

3. Cost Efficiency:

The third most important benefits are the costs of these internet marketing tools. Unlike electronic and print media, social media and blogs are totally free for the users. If Victoria University makes an account on these internet platforms, it will not have to pay amount the web hosting companies or other online promotional firms. However, there are promotional charges if it wishes to advertise its educational program offerings on the home pages or specified places on these social media networking sites (Bulotaite 2003). But if the charges of these internet promotional offers are compared with those of traditional electronic and print media campaigns, there is a big difference between them. The promotional ads over the web 2.0 marketing platform are fraction of the cost incurred on electronic and print media. This cost benefit can give various other benefits to the University. For example, it can invest this saved amount on purchasing library books, putting in the Research and Development areas, investing in improving the infrastructure in the new campuses, and meeting its necessary administrative expenditures (Beneke 2011).

CONCLUSION

Internet marketing is the most cost effective medium of promotion among all the modern and traditional marketing tools. Victoria University aims to target potential students for its undergraduate to post graduate studies using these internet marketing tools. On one side where Victoria University will find internet marketing a more complex and lengthy process than electronic and print medium, it will also get various benefits that are not available in these promotional mediums. The cost-efficiency, storage capacity, and accessibility from any location in the world are the most significant advantages of social media networking sites which can be used by the university to promote its educational programs offerings to the prospective students (Bulotaite 2003). These benefits cannot only help the University in achieving its marketing objectives, but will also be helpful for the students who look for admissions over the internet.

Although the target audience for this new strategy of Victoria University is the students who have to start their new academic career at the university level, but Victoria University can also make the parents as its target audience as well. This is because parents also search for the new admission openings in different mediums of communication available in the country. Thus, by targeting the students and their parents will be a more effective strategy in the process of internet marketing (Millman & El-Gohary 2011).