Mongoose Research

Starbucks engaged their opt-in audience by texting a trivia question complete with prizes.  Responses to those questions allowed Starbucks to detect the end-user's device.. then followed up with an optimized MMS movie about a summer promotion.  Very well done.  

We in higher education can learn from this.. how to better build relationships with our opt-in audiences.

The full story:
http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/messaging/15346.html

Many campus maps today are large PDF or image files and are very difficult to navigate. Based on Google Maps, the Campus Map Platform provides an interactive, valuable asset to any website.

• is interactive and based on Google Maps.
• allows prospective students to view campus locations, read descriptions, view photos and videos.
• provides turn-by-turn directions to campus locations.
• makes it easy for your staff to make text edits, upload pictures and embed YouTube videos.

• Gardner-Webb University
• Nazareth College

 
(click for full image)

Congrats to Mid America Nazarene University!  Admissions First Mobile Site includes:

• High quality videos as page header image (love this)
• Extremely short inquiry form
• Zen design
• Turn-by-turn directions with Google Maps

View the site

View the Pinterest Board

Responsive design can certainly help students navigate your .edu Web site. In fact, if done well, it is fair easier than a site designed.. well, non-responsively (is that a word?).  

Pros:

• No pinching. Students are not forced to squint and pinch to figure out where they want to go.  The site will also be gracefully degraded according to their individual screen size.
• Visual appeal. Graphics appear large and very visible.
• Future friendly. Varying sizes of tables, phones and other appliances are appearing all the time. What will the future hold? A screen on your refrigerator? A screen built into the back of a tray table on an airplane?  Responsive design will allow you to sleep well knowing your content will render well on all these devices.
• Easier management. Institutions struggle as it is with keeping content up-to-date.  Responsive design allows you - in theory - to use a single CMS and have one single source for all content that is rendered. This certainly is easier than having to "remember to update the mobile site".

Cons:

While all the pros and certainly nice to have; we feel this does not effectively suit the needs of prospective students.

• Navigation flows. Responsive design does not allow for different navigation structures for mobile as opposed to desktop or tablet. Best practices for mobile navigation calls for significantly fewer links on a page (different navigation).  With responsive design, navigation tends to be more complex and time consuming.
• Too long-winded. Copy-writing for mobile is VERY different than desktop sites. Jacob Neilson put is best.. something like “when it comes to copy-writing on mobile, short is too long”. Ideally, your full .edu site would be responsive AND you have a separate dedicated mobile site for prospective students. 
• Barriers to top tasks. Creating a mobile site allows us to effectively eliminate all the “garbage” content and only focus on critical information and top tasks. For example, it would be a mistake to include a message from the Dean on the mobile site.

At Mongoose, we develop both responsive sites and mobile sites.  We try our best not to be biased. Responsive design is a much more zen concept.. but, in it's current form is not best for external audiences - especially prospective students.

Institutions are always looking for new ways to improve the vital campus visit experience. Using Mongoose's Campus Visit Platform, Gardner-Webb is now able to provide an elegant experience for prospective students and parents. This includes:

- an easy to use online visit scheduler
- confirmation text message with a link to a mobile admissions site
- turn-by-turn directions

..and the favorite feature for their campus visit coordinator: the ability to easily open and close dates and times as well as review visit requests.

Here's the process:

A student comes to the website and selects "Request a Campus Visit" and is presented with an easy to use calendar:

The student is then asked to provide some personal information and visit options:

The visit request is then confirmed:

Bonus: The student receives a text message with a link to a mobile admissions site.  This site contains academic program information, financial aid information and more.

Clickz - per the norm - has an on-target article regarding how to best design for mobile.  Highly recommended read.

Brands (Or Universities) usually want to simply port their existing website and format it for a mobile browser. While that gets all the information in the users' hands, it doesn't achieve the true experience to match users' needs. Screen space is limited, and trying to fit all the various options of a desktop Web experience into a tiny screen is going to lead to user frustration in seeking information. Secondly, since mobile users are operating in the real world, it shouldn't be assumed that they have the time to leisurely browse as they would in a desktop experience. Designing for mobile means focusing on the key tasks that the user needs and making them as simple and efficient as possible.

For the full article:
http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/2025619/scaling-generating-successful-mobile-experience

Mass configuration day at Mongoose.  
(we thought it was too cool not to share)

Congrats Gardner-Webb on your new admissions-first mobile site and implementation of targeted texting. The site makes it easy for prospective students to:

• find their academic program of choice
• answer their most common questions
• request more information
• receive turn-by-turn directions to various locations on campus

These tasks would be extremely laborious for a prospective student using a mobile phone with their desktop site.

Special thanks to Annie Freeman and the entire GWU team!

Visit the site: http://ug.gardner-webb.edu

Click to view full screenshots:

Good work, Marty!

Admissions-First Mobile Strategy

Topics discussed during the LIVE broadcast include:

• Text messaging
• Admissions-first mobile strategy
• Admissions-first mobile content
• Branding
• Dos and Don’ts
• Case studies
• ROI

… and much more

View the episode.

DO:

• Use lists and bullet points vs. long copy
• Keep content up-to-date / test links weekly
• Use 10 or fewer links
• Use larger buttons
• Encourage communication
  • Link phone numbers, Email
  • Enroll in text messaging for admissions
• Include most desired content
•  Academic Programs
• Cost/Financial Aid
• Events
• Campus and Parking Map

DONT:

For a complete sumary of best practices please view our whitepaper.