BYU Independent Study Project Recap

Background and Marketing Objective

Here at the Marketing Lab, we had the opportunity to work on an exciting and unique project for BYU Independent Study. The Independent Study program is a remote learning experience that can be used to access higher learning whenever and wherever the user needs. Historically, BYU Independent Study hasn’t done much marketing. When they decided that they wanted to expand their reach, we knew just the marketers for the job! We were tasked with creating a robust social media marketing strategy intended to expand their reach to Sao Paulo, Brazil; Seoul, Korea; Bangkok, Thailand; Mumbai, India; and Johannesburg, South Africa. We weren’t in Provo anymore!

Process

Our team was able to do a ton of research, both primary and secondary. We utilized many resources such as Education USA, KPMG, and government reports. Our team used these resources to paint the picture and break down the different demographics. We were able to learn how each location viewed higher education and which social media platforms were the most preferred.

Our team also created surveys that were distributed to each location. The findings from the primary research confirmed what the secondary research was telling our team. It also helped clarify and inform our social media strategies.

In an effort to provide recommendations with more of a human touch, our team also conducted some in depth interviews. It was really important to us to put a face to the data. By the end of the research process, our marketing team was drowning in data!

To dissect the data and learn from it, our team used the reports generated by Qualtrics, and also used R Studio to create custom graphs and charts. With the combination of reports and interview data, we were ready to create social media and Google AdWords strategies.

Outcome

While the specific strategies are confidential, the outcome was tremendous for BYU Independent Study. They were quite thrilled with the recommended strategies, and valued them enough to implement them immediately. Our team loved the unique, international challenge that we were faced with. We’re excited to see the results of these strategies put into practice!