EducationUSA is a digital marketing engine for the U.S., or is it?
Education USA is the main U.S. tax payer-financed vehicle for the international promotion of U.S. universities around the world. Let's exclude Harvard, Stanford, MIT -- they do not need that marketing support.
Education USA and its sponsored organizations, such as the Institute of International Education, are powerful marketers, representing academic organizations, arranging college fairs, managing hundreds of advising centers and thousands of advisers. Correctly, EducationUSA has also spent more and more resources and focus on digital marketing including Facebook and new website services. Those of us who are professional digital marketers applaud that move since that's where young people, in particular, seek information via the web and social networks. One of the most powerful aspects of digital marketing is the ability to quantify results and efforts. It's not the old saying any more: "I know that I am wasting half of my advertising budget, I just don't know which half".
So it's more than surprising that EducationUSA does not seem to have any tracking, reports or measurement. I am not sure how to build a responsible and successful digital model without looking at the data. Where is the accountability? Please prove me wrong, so that when we ask next year, we won't get the same answer again: "no answers". * (see letter EducationUSAResponse_SenatorPortman.pdf
Call us if you need help with Google analytics. We will be happy to provide free services for the greater good of the U.S. education system.
EducationUSA should be sharing its data widely with the U.S. universities so that they can improve their marketing abroad and be more successful in attracting students to the United States.