Growing the SAMHSA Minority Fellowship with Targeted Outreach
The SAMHSA Minority Fellowship Program
RQ Marketing Services significantly contributed to the growth and success of the SAMHSA Minority Fellowship Program by implementing targeted outreach strategies. Leveraging online advertising, social media and email marketing, we effectively enhanced the program’s visibility and drove meaningful engagement.
As a result, we achieved outstanding increases in both master’s and doctoral fellowship applications, with a remarkable surge of 152% and 61% respectively. Our tailored approach not only amplified awareness but also fostered a stronger connection with potential candidates, ultimately leading to a substantial growth in applications.
152%
Increase in number of Total Master Fellowship Applications
61%
Increase in number of Total Doctoral Fellowship Applications
5K+
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Introduction
Industry: STEM
Location: United States
The Minority Fellowship Program’s (MFP) mission is to educate ethnic minority nurses with expertise in mental health and/or substance use disorders that are prepared to assume leadership positions in education, research, practice, and health policy.
The program encompasses two distinct tracks: MFP Doctoral, offering 3-5 year fellowships for individuals pursuing doctoral studies in minority mental health and substance abuse issues, and MFP Masters, supporting full-time accredited master’s degree students in behavioural health or substance abuse disorders prevention and treatment.
Objective
Boost awareness of the minority fellowship program while increasing application numbers and implementing conversion tracking.
Challenges
Dwindling application numbers necessitated review of outreach strategies.
Low Application Numbers
Low number of applications hindered diversity and inclusion efforts, this indicated potential barriers to awareness necessitating a review of outreach strategies and program visibility
Absence of Conversion Tracking
Without conversion tracking, the MFP was unable to analyze user actions after clicking an Ad, making it challenging to optimize the user experience or accurately measure campaign success.
Limited knowledge of User behaviour
With no insights into user behaviour and the type of content resonating with the target audience. This was leading to wasted resources and decreased engagement.
Alumni Engagement Challenge
Post-program completion, the absence of a structured alumni connection system limited visibility. Hindering the establishment of a robust alumni network impacting mentorship, collaboration, and showcasing of success stories.
Solution
RQ Marketing Services introduced targeted social media outreach, online advertising and email marketing campaigns to help boost program visibility and increase application numbers.
Outreach with Social Media, Online Advertising and Email Marketing
Dedicated social media accounts were set up on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter with curated content calendars to increase program awareness and search presence.
Targeted digital ads promoted the Call for Applications and Backstop week. Audiences were then retargeted through ads on Facebook to engage and re-engage potential applicants.
Email campaigns were used to disseminate program information to targeted audiences.
Automated Email Scheduler
Automated reminder emails were pre-scheduled to recommenders and applicants, improving communication and deadline adherence, and reducing overhead of administrators.
Integrated Reporting Tools
The integrated reporting tools in RQ Fellowship allowed MFP to dive deeper into demographics, locations, age groups, and the number of draft and final applications. This detailed breakdown provided invaluable insights, enabling a thorough understanding of applicant characteristics and application stages within their Fellowship programs.
Alumni Directory
Utilized RQ alumni directory to effortlessly track fellows, offering a streamlined platform for them to update contact information, share career milestones, publications, and foster collaboration with fellow alumni.
Conversion Tracking
By setting-up conversion tracking and implementing UTM codes, provided valuable insights into the user journey and the effectiveness of the marketing efforts. This allowed for optimization of campaigns for better performance.
Results
Increased Number of Applications
152% and 61% increase in the number of Master’s and Doctoral applications respectively with the help of Facebook Ads, Social Media
Increase in Engagement Rate
Facebook Ad achieved an impressive engagement rate of 2.50%, surpassing the industry benchmark of 1%. Additionally, 173 individuals shared our Call for Application posts, and we garnered 59 Post Saves, demonstrating strong interest and interaction.
Improved Program Visibility
Call for Application Emails successfully drove 493 users to the website, while Facebook Ads attracted 1793 users. It’s noteworthy that these channels were not utilized last year, indicating their effectiveness in reaching our target audience.
Automated Email Scheduler
Automated reminders enhanced communication, reducing response time and improving the number of complete applications. Email Scheduler helped bring 125 applicants back to the application form.
Conversion Tracking and Data Driven Analytics
The Fellowship program was able to gain valuable insights into user behaviour, allowing them to make data-driven decisions to enhance the application process. We were able to identify pages and elements that attracted the most attention and interaction from users, So content was tailored to better resonate with the target audience, ultimately increasing application numbers.
We were able to gain deep insights into user behaviour throughout the application journey. From the moment applicants landed on the website to the point of submission, every interaction was tracked and analyzed, allowing us to identify potential friction points and optimize the process for a smoother user experience.
Increased Engagement
Utilizing the RQ Alumni Directory facilitated ongoing engagement of Alumni.
