DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGIC PLAN FOR LA TROBE UNIVERSITY
Executive summary
La Trobe University has a vision of revolutionizing the impact of higher education on the different systems and procedures within the community. In this, the institution has developed a five-year strategic plan that runs from 2018 to 2022. Enhancing student’s experience is at the core of this strategic plan enabled by excellent operational, accommodation of diversity, and increased revenue growth. However, the organization faces a significant challenge in the form of intense competition in acquiring postgraduate students. This report has formulated a strategic marketing plan that can be utilized by the institution in increasing the number of postgraduate students. The plan primarily focuses on increasing the number of postgraduate students by 10% on an annual basis in which each faculty should ensure an annual increase of 3% in the number of new students registering for postgraduate students on an annual basis to help in the realization of the 10% goal.
Contents
Digital Marketing Strategic Plan for La Trobe University
Introduction
Over the years the Australian higher education sector has seen several changes that have increased the level of competition in this specific industry. Through this, players in this specific industry have to demonstrate an outstanding level of strategic management to ensure effectiveness and creation of value to the stakeholders in all systems and processes in an individual institution. La Trobe University is one of the players in the Australian higher education industry. Its management approach has been considered as one of the best around the globe.
La Trobe University was instituted in 1964 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (La Trobe University, 2020 p 2). It was the twelfth university in Australia and the third in the state of Victoria. Since its conception the institution has produced more than 200,000 graduates (La Trobe University, 2020 p 2). Current world rankings place the institution at the top 350 around the globe. The institution is also ranked top 400 in all three major rankings. It has a student population of more than 38,000, managed by more than 7000 staff (La Trobe University, 2020 p 3). The institution has a mission of advancing knowledge to shape the future of the community and students. Similarly, it has a vision of promoting positive change and address the major issues in the contemporary world through close association with all stakeholders and excellent services and products. The institution believes in the accommodation of all diverse communities around the globe. It also believes in operational excellence to enhance the quality of its services by creating value for all stakeholders in a cost-effective manner.
Currently, La Trobe University has a five-year strategic action plan in motion. The plan is expected to run from 2018 to 2022, which is expected to lead Australia in redefining how an effective higher learning institution in the contemporary world should look like (La Trobe University, 2020 p 5). Enhancing students’ experience is at the core of the strategic plan. Through this, the students and other stakeholders should consider the institution as their partner of choice. The plan is also set to enhance the employability of individual learners by striking a balance between the expectations exhibited by employers and the level of skills among individual students in their respective professions. The plan also aims at enhancing the research capacity and capabilities of individual learners.
Through all these, the institution expects to accommodate the diversity that exists around the globe, excellence in its systems and procedures, which is essential in enhancing its revenues. All these should reflect in the institution’s unique culture of innovation and equal opportunities to all students. The plan is to be implemented on three levels, which include the individual level, which basically is to ensure career success for both students and its employees. The operational level is to achieve excellence in all management ranks, which is gauged by the management performance indicators (MPIs) like effective capital budgeting and planning. The strategic level is the third level and involves the use of 7 key performance indicators (KPIs) in determining how each strategy corresponds with the institution’s vision and mission as well as its culture (La Trobe University, 2020 p 11).
However, in all these La Trobe University faces intense competition in relation to attracting postgraduate students. There are six other universities situated in Melbourne, which include Monash University, RMIT University, Swinburne University of Technology, University Of Divinity, University Of Melbourne, and Victorian University (University Reviews, 2020 p 4). In addition to these there are other satellite campuses like CQ University, Charles Darwin University, and Australian Catholic University. All these institutions are competing with La Trobe University in acquiring the limited number of postgraduate students in Victoria. Similarly, the institution also competes with the other 36 public universities in Australia. The competition is further heightened by the three domestic universities and the two private international universities in the country (University Reviews, 2020 p 5). Through all these, the report is set to formulate an effective strategic digital marketing plan that La Trobe University can utilize in attracting more postgraduate students.
The plan will analyze the external and internal environment of the institution through the use of the PESTEL framework. It will also set the goals and objectives of the digital marketing plan in accordance with the institution’s mission and vision. The plan will also highlight the different market segments that La Trobe University can target to increase its market size. On the same note, the report will also highlight the positioning and marketing mix the company can utilize in this mission. Additionally, the plan will also cover the marketing content and engagement strategy that can be effective. Lastly, the plan will present the timeline and budgeting needed for the effective implementation of the plan as well as a framework for monitoring its progress.
Act
Goals and objectives
The institution has a total of 82 master degree programs, which form the base of its postgraduate learning program. The primary objective of this strategic digital marketing planning is to ensure an annual increase of 10% in the number of postgraduate students in the institution for the next ten years. There is a need for a collective effort among different stakeholders in the organization to ensure effective implementation of the plan and realization of this goal. Through this, every post-graduate program should ensure an annual increase in the total number of learners by 3%. In this, every faculty in the institution offering a post-graduate program should report the number of new students that have registered to undertake their master’s programs on an annual basis.
The plan is also to ensure an annual increase of 8% in the total number of subscribers to the different social media platforms belonging to La Trobe University. The contemporary world has seen the adoption of social media as one of the most preferred marketing platforms by a significant number of organizations including La Trobe University. This is in consideration of the emergence of generation Z and generation Y as a significant target market. These two generations were born and raised in an era of intense use of technology they heavily rely on social media content for the smooth realization of their goals and objectives. These two generations also form the largest market segment for master’s degree programs.
References
University Reviews, 2020. List Of Universities In Melbourne | Uni Reviews. [online] Uni Reviews. Available at: <https://universityreviews.com.au/list-of-universities/melbourne/> [Accessed 26 May 2020].
La Trobe University., 2020. Facts And Figures. [online] Latrobe.edu.au. Available at: <https://www.latrobe.edu.au/about/at-a-glance/facts-figures> [Accessed 26 May 2020].
La Trobe University, 2020. [online] Latrobe.edu.au. Available at: <https://www.latrobe.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/1014844/La-Trobe-Corporate-Brochure.pdf> [Accessed 26 May 2020].