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Nation’s Top 2023 Military Friendly® Employers Announced

PITTSBURGH, November 11, 2022 – The 20th annual list of Military Friendly® Employers has been released on www.militaryfriendly.com and will be published in the December 2022 issue of G.I. Jobs® magazine. To reserve ad space in the December issue of GI Jobs magazine, the deadline is November 23, 2022. 

Top Military Friendly® Employers

There were several top employers in each Military Friendly® category.

Amentum earned the #1 2023 Military Friendly® Employer ranking in the largest company category. In response to the designation, John Heller, CEO of Amentum, said, “The value we place on military service is evident throughout our company and we are honored to have members of the military community on our team.”

In additional categories, Combined Insurance earned top honors in the $1 billion to $5 billion annual revenue category, while Premise Health was number one among middle-market firms. PrimCorp,LLC took top honors in the small to midsize firms and Blue Shield of California took the number one spot among nonprofit and government organizations.

Longstanding Military Friendly® Employers

Earning the Military Friendly® designation every year since the beginning of the list since December 2003 is a triumph. These Military Friendly Employers have created longstanding programs that show their commitment to veterans.

The Home Depot and USAA have been rated as Military Friendly® Employers in all 20 years since the list started.

In at least 16 of the 20 years, ManTech, Travelers, CDW, AT&T, BNSF Railway, Cintas, Schneider, Southern Company, State Farm, Southwest Airlines, and J.B. Hunt, have been designated a Military Friendly® Employer.

Military Friendly Data

“Being recognized with the Military Friendly® Employer Award highlights our commitment to a future where all people feel welcomed and appreciated. This acknowledgment confirms that we are heading in the right direction on our journey,” said Pete Hernandez, SVP ESG & Organizational Effectiveness, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts.

From the Military Friendly® Employer Survey data, we can see which industries, jobs, and hiring regions companies are focusing on in 2023.

Defense Contractors led the way, representing 11% of Military Friendly® designated employers. 2nd was Business Services, Health and Pharmaceutical Services, and Information Technology which made up 10% of the designated employers this year.

Geographically, Military Friendly® Employers identified Texas as their top hiring region for veterans, with California, Virginia, Florida,  North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Ohio, Colorado, and New York rounding out the Top 10 hiring regions.

For further information on the Military Friendly® Employers list, contact mf2021@militaryfriendly.com.

About Military Friendly®

Military Friendly® is the standard that measures an organization’s commitment, effort, and success in creating sustainable and meaningful benefits for the military community. Over 1,800 organizations compete annually for Military Friendly® designation. Military Friendly® ratings are owned by Viqtory, Inc., a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business. Viqtory is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Department of Defense or the federal government. Results are produced via a rules-based algorithm. The data-driven Military Friendly® lists and methodology can be found at https://www.militaryfriendly.com/mfcguide/.

Hiring Our Heroes and First Command Address the Hidden Financial Costs of Military Spouse Unemployment: 3 Ways Your Organization Can Empower Military Spouses

By Eric Eversole, President of Hiring Our Heroes and a Vice President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Mark Steffe, President/CEO of First Command Financial Services, Inc.*

Addressing the Hidden Financial Costs of Military Spouse Unemployment

It’s safe to say that no one dedicates their life to the military to become rich. Instead, the men and women of our armed services are dedicated to protecting our freedoms. Given the unpredictable nature of military service members’ jobs, their spouses often are the glue in the family and face unique challenges (permanent change of station moves, everyday household operations and money management, etc.). Simultaneously, they often work or search for employment to earn a second income to support their financial goals, including retirement. However, for the last decade military spouses, a 90% female population, have experienced an unemployment rate that is six times higher than their civilian counterparts—and the effects of military spouse unemployment go deeper than most know.

A new survey, The Hidden Financial Costs of Military Spouse Unemployment, conducted by Hiring Our Heroes (HOH) in collaboration with Syracuse University’s D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) and First Command Financial Services, shines a light on the financial consequences of being a military spouse. The research shows that military members’ service is negatively affecting the ability of their spouses to maximize employer-sponsored retirement benefits, build their long-term financial futures and find careers that offer competitive salaries equivalent to their professional experiences and/or education levels. The key takeaway from the survey? The time is now for employers, policymakers, and support organizations to do their part to lessen the financial costs of military spouse unemployment. (VIQTORY can help you find military spouse talent for your recruitment needs. Click here to learn more.) 

As leaders within the military and financial services communities, we have a uniquely informed perspective about the plight of the military spouse, particularly as it relates to unemployment and financial security. Hiring Our Heroes, an initiative of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, connects the military community—service members, military spouses, and veterans—with American businesses to create economic opportunity and a strong and diversified workforce. And First Command’s Financial Advisors, 84% of whom are veterans or military spouses, create tailored financial plans and coach our Nation’s military families in their pursuit of financial security. At both organizations, we witness first-hand how military spouse employment challenges affect their overall financial security.

Uncovering Hidden Costs

Military spouses struggle to find employment at their experience and/or education level and often experience gaps in their work history. The findings of the survey show that 32% percent of active-duty spouse respondents report being unemployed even though 76% have a bachelor’s degree or higher. Fifty-nine percent of respondents also report a total of three or more years of not working full-time, and 40% of respondents report leaving their last employment place three years ago or longer. All said, 90% agree or strongly agree that their spouse’s military service negatively affects their career. Before military spouses can begin to think about their financial futures, they need the opportunity to find and maintain meaningful careers. Without a second income, military families experience considerable uncertainty when it comes to their retirement. Notably, respondents who do not experience a gap in full-time employment are twice as likely to report confidence in maintaining their standard of living in retirement compared to those who stop working.

 

Access to employer-sponsored retirement plans tremendously impacts a military spouse’s confidence in their post-retirement standard of living. More than half of active-duty respondents report never or rarely being able to fully vest in their employer sponsored retirement benefits because they were not with an employer long enough to qualify. The Covid pandemic, childcare and frequent moves were cited as reasons for remaining with employers long enough. As one might expect, respondents who frequently took full advantage of employer-sponsored retirement benefits were more likely to feel very or extremely confident in their ability to maintain their standard of living in retirement.

 

Military spouses are highly educated, possess a strong work ethic and play key financial planning roles in their own families. However, many respondents lack confidence in managing their investment and retirement accounts. Thirty-three percent of respondents note that they do not understand civilian retirement savings plans at all or not very well, and 37% somewhat understand. Nonetheless, only 28% work with a financial planner and 49% do not, but want professional financial guidance, which is especially important for those saving for retirement without employer-sponsored benefits.

 

Charting a Path to Empower Military Spouses

We can open doorways for military spouses to have greater access to employment, which directly affects their financial security into retirement. Following are just a few ways to support military spouses in their pursuing long-term financial security.

  • Increase remote and portable work opportunities for military spouses so they can grow in tenure, pay, and take advantage of employer-sponsored retirement benefits.
  • Create more opportunities for military spouses to participate in employer-sponsored savings plans that have more flexible vesting requirements and do not penalize military spouses when they quit their job due to a permanent change of station (PCS) military-related move.
  • Continue to promote available free or low-cost financial education and financial planning services to help military spouses understand the importance of saving for retirement, creating a retirement savings plan, and reaching their retirement goals.


The Hidden Financial Costs survey findings uncovered the degree to which employment affects military spouses’ ability to achieve long-term financial security for themselves and their families. We implore employers, policymakers and support organizations to create consistent employment for steady income, offer access to employer-sponsored retirement benefits, and provide financial planning and education to grow military spouses’ long-term wealth. Military families make great sacrifices to safeguard our freedoms. Let’s work together to give military spouses the opportunity to have long-term financial freedom.

*First Command Financial Services, Inc. is a paid client of VIQTORY.

©2022 First Command Financial Services, Inc. is the parent company of First Command Brokerage Services, Inc. (Member SIPC, FINRA), First Command Advisory Services, Inc., First Command Insurance Services, Inc. and First Command Bank. Securities products and brokerage services are provided by First Command Brokerage Services, Inc., a broker-dealer. Financial planning and investment advisory services are provided by First Command Advisory Services, Inc., an investment adviser. Insurance products and services are provided by First Command Insurance Services, Inc. Banking products and services are provided by First Command Bank (Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender, Equal Housing Opportunity, NMLS 562238). 

Securities are not FDIC insured, have no bank guarantee and may lose value.  A financial plan, by itself, cannot assure that retirement or other financial goals will be met. 

First Command Financial Services, Inc. and its related entities are not affiliated with, authorized to sell or represent on behalf of or otherwise endorsed by any federal employee benefit program, the U.S. government, the U.S. Armed Forces or any other third-party mentioned on this site. 

In the United Kingdom, investment and insurance products and services are offered through First Command Europe Ltd. First Command Europe Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of First Command Financial Services, Inc. and is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Certain products and services offered in the United States may not be available through First Command Europe Ltd. In Germany, we provide financial planning services through Financial Planners associated with First Command Europe Ltd.

The First Command Educational Foundation is a separate 501(c)(3) public charity and is not affiliated with First Command Financial Services, Inc., or any of its affiliated entities. 

6 Ways to Leverage Your Military Friendly® Schools Awards in Your Student Recruitment Strategy

You’ve earned industry-wide recognition as a Military Friendly® School, which is a huge honor. Veterans and active duty service members pursuing their education look to the Military Friendly® list as a resource to search for schools with great programs for the military. 

Why participate in the Military Friendly® survey:

  • Showcase your impact on military students
  • Spotlight your programs
  • Stand out against competitors
  • Woo potential students
  • Highlight your accomplishments

Your team took time answering all the questions on the survey, we evaluated your responses against data on thousands of other institutions, and the results are in. Congratulations on your Military Friendly® designation! Now that you’ve earned the designation, how do you leverage it in your recruitment marketing? 

Here are 6 ways that you can leverage your designations and drive more leads from the military community.

1. Save Your Testimonials

After you’ve announced the news, people will share their congratulations and some will provide positive feedback about their experience at your school. You can then use those comments to create testimonial graphics to share at a later time on social media. Veterans trust their peers above all, so sharing testimonials will add to your school’s credibility. It might even encourage them to move forward with their application.

2. Add the Designation to Your Website

If you have a designated military student page, make sure you include your Military Friendly® Schools Logo. This adds credibility to your page. The designation shows that your school’s programs meet the Military Friendly® standards. Download your Military Friendly® logo here.

3. Share the Military Friendly® Award on social media.

Share a press release on your school’s Military Friendly® status and share it on your social media channels. Being a Military Friendly® school is no minor thing. Shout it from the rooftops.

4. Add your Military Friendly® designation to Marketing Materials.

If you’re running ads to the military audience, add the well-recognized Military Friendly® logo to your veteran marketing graphics. It’s an easy way to show veterans that you value them.

Also, the Military Friendly® designation is a well-respected award program in the military and school community. Having the badge in your marketing material will enhance the veteran’s trust in your institution.

5. Include Your Military Friendly® Status in Your PPC Copy

If you’re running search ads for your student recruitment marketing campaign, adding your Military Friendly® Award can set your school apart and get the veterans attention when they’re searching for schools to use their GI Bill.

6. Reserve ad space in G.I. Jobs Magazine

Reserve ad space in the school-focused G.I. Jobs October issue where we share the complete list of 2022-23 Military Friendly® Schools. This trusted veteran resource is shared with over 400,000 veterans through our physical print distribution and our digital broadcasting. Veterans save this guide and look to it as a resource to start their search for the program that best fits their needs.

Thank You For Your Commitment to Veterans

As a Military Friendly® School, thank you for your continued commitment to veterans. If you have any questions on your Military Friendly® status or want to know how you can improve your programs, reach out to Kayla Lopez, the Director of Military Friendly®.

Ready to advertise in the G.I. Jobs October issue?

  • Featuring the Guide to Military Friendly® Schools, this issue is among the most popular and highly-anticipated of the year.
  • Distribution of 50,000 copies to 250+ military installations globally  
  • The digital version of the magazine is sent to over 50,000+ registered users. 
  • Shared on all social media platforms comprised of over 300,000+ followers
  • Archived on the GI Jobs platform where over 1.5 million unique viewers visit annually.
Reserve ad space here

2022-2023 Military Friendly® Schools, Congratulations!

Congratulations to the 2022-2023 Military Friendly® Schools.

By earning the Military Friendly® Schools award, your schools stacked up against more than 1,800 others that participated in the survey and the data shows that you are truly committed to the military community.

Institutions earned the Military Friendly® Schools designation through an evaluation using public data sources and responses from our proprietary survey. Thousands of schools participated in the 2022-2023 survey, 835 schools earned awards level designations in Gold, Silver, and Bronze. The complete 2022-­2023 Military Friendly® Schools list will be published in G.I. Jobs magazine’s October issue.

What Is a Military Friendly® School?

The Military Friendly® Schools list is created based on extensive research using public data sources for more than 8,800 schools, and responses to the proprietary, Military Friendly® Schools survey. Survey questions, methodology, criteria, and weighting were developed with the assistance from an independent research firm and advisory council of educators. It is administered for free and open to all post­-secondary schools wanting to participate and receive award recognition in Gold, Silver, Bronze categories. Criteria available at: www.militaryfriendly.com.


Once the list is final, we share the designations with our highly engaged military audience through G.I. Jobs Magazine. The 2022-2023 list will be featured in a huge spread in the GI Jobs October issue, shared across our email lists, and broadcast to our 300,000+ social media followers. The list is a highly anticipated resource for veterans interested in pursuing their education.
To earn the MFS designation, schools must complete an exhaustive, fully automated survey that rates the facilities, programs, and services they offer to military and veteran students. The survey data is examined along with public data from federal government sources to determine the outcome for student veterans. All this is examined carefully to determine which schools earn the Military Friendly® designation.
Each school’s score is then compared to the scores of other comparable schools to determine if the institution qualifies for an award. The Top 10 schools in 11 categories set the bar year over year, which encourages other schools to improve in areas that are proven to lead to better outcomes for veterans. You will find the Top 10 in each category on the following pages. The entire list follows, organized by state.

For details about the methodology, visit MilitaryFriendly.com/methodology.
The Military Friendly® Schools is an excellent place to start your research. Be sure to refer to the list on MilitaryFriendly.com, as it is regularly updated.

Do you want to advertise in the next school-focused issue?

2022-2023 Military Friendly Schools
  • Featuring the Guide to Military Friendly® Schools, this issue is among the most popular and highly-anticipated of the year.
  • Distribution of 50,000 copies to 250+ military installations globally  
  • The digital version of the magazine is sent to over 50,000+ registered users. 
  • Shared on all social media platforms comprised of over 300,000+ followers
  • Archived on the GI Jobs platform where over 1.5 million unique viewers visit annually.

2022-23 Military Friendly® Schools

This is the current list of Military Friendly® Schools rating within six categories:

  • Academic Policies & Compliance
  • Admissions & Orientation
  • Culture & Commitment
  • Financial Aid & Assistance
  • Graduation & Career
  • Military Student Support & Retention

You can find the complete description and award rankings for each institution by searching for the school name on militaryfriendly.com. 

Follow militaryfriendly.com for regular updates to Military Friendly® Schools and Military Friendly® Companies.

Graduate School

  1. Goodwin University
  2. University Of Minnesota – Carlson Mba Programs
  3. South Dakota School Of Mines & Technology
  4. Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
  5. The Chicago School Of Professional Psychology
  6. University Of California, Davis – Graduate School Of Management
  7. Duquesne University School Of Nursing
  8. Indiana Institute Of Technology
  9. Northwestern Health Sciences University
  10. Franklin University

Gold

School Of Visual Arts (Sva)
Stetson University College Of Law
Walsh College
William & Mary Law School
Nebraska Methodist College Of Nursing & Allied Health
Capitol Technology University

Silver

University Of Maryland Eastern Shore
The Institute Of World Politics
Northeastern Seminary
Pentecostal Theological Seminary
The Culinary Institute Of America
College For Creative Studies

Bronze

University of Nebraska Medical Center
Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey
Regis College
Southwestern Law School
Benjamin N. Cardozo School Of Law, Yeshiva University

Large Community College

  1. Fayetteville Technical Community College
  2. Pikes Peak Community College
  3. Southwestern Illinois College
  4. Gwinnett Technical College
  5. Middlesex College
  6. Central Texas College – Killeen
  7. Houston Community College
  8. San Juan College
  9. Gateway Technical College
  10. City Colleges Of Chicago-Harold Washington College

Gold

Capital Community College
Wilbur Wright College
Central New Mexico Community College
Pasadena City College
Citrus College
Madison Area Technical College
Tallahassee Community College
El Paso Community College
Delaware County Community College
Kingsborough Community College
Wake Technical Community College
Southwestern Community College District
Mt. Hood Community College
Greenville Technical College
Central Georgia Technical College-Warner Robins
Central Georgia Technical College-Macon
Howard Community College
Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College
Suffolk County Community College
Northern Virginia Community College
Community College Of Rhode Island
Chattahoochee Technical College
Front Range Community College

Silver

Cuyahoga Community College-Western Campus
Cuyahoga Community College-Eastern Campus
Cuyahoga Community College-Westshore
Cuyahoga Community College-Metro
Trident Technical College
Fox Valley Technical College
Collin College
Community College Of Philadelphia
Santiago Canyon College
Bucks County Community College
City Colleges of Chicago-Olive-Harvey College
Hinds Community College

Bronze

College of DuPage
San Diego City College
Texas State Technical College
Anne Arundel Community College
Milwaukee Area Technical College
William Rainey Harper College
Chippewa Valley Technical College
Dallas College
Grossmont College
Allan Hancock College

Large Public School

  1. Kean University
  2. Santa Fe College
  3. Eastern Kentucky University
  4. University Of West Florida
  5. University Of Wisconsin Milwaukee
  6. Indiana University Of Pennsylvania
  7. Western Carolina University
  8. Pierce College
  9. Georgia Southern University
  10. Eastern Michigan University

Gold

University Of Colorado Colorado Springs
Southeastern Louisiana University
California State University, San Bernardino
Cuny John Jay College Of Criminal Justice
University Of North Carolina Charlotte
University Of North Georgia
Angelo State University
Palm Beach State College
Spokane Community College
Arizona State University Campus Immersion
Western Kentucky University
Grand Valley State University
Lehman College, Cuny
Pensacola State College
Texas Woman’s University
University Of Southern Maine
University Of Central Missouri
Youngstown State University
Northern Kentucky University
Cuny – Queens College
Southeast Missouri State University
San Diego Mesa College
Arkansas State University. Second Reference: A-State (Not Asu), Please Note Cap A & S And The Hyphen
University Of North Florida
University Of Wisconsin-La Crosse
South Texas College
Appalachian State University
West Chester University Of Pennsylvania
University Of Central Oklahoma

Silver

University Of Alaska Anchorage
University Of Tennessee – Chattanooga
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
University Of Wisconsin- Eau Claire
Radford University
Fort Hays State University
California State University, Long Beach
Georgia Military College
Utah Valley University
Murray State University
University Of West Georgia
Arkansas Tech University
Fitchburg State University
Southern Arkansas University
Northwestern State University
Rowan University
California State University, Chico
Green River College
Louisiana Tech University
Towson University

Bronze

California State University, Northridge
New Jersey Institute Of Technology
College Of Charleston
University Of Central Arkansas
East Tennessee State University
Central Connecticut State University
University Of Minnesota Duluth
University Of North Texas At Dallas
Bellevue College
Georgia Gwinnett College
National Aviation Academy (Naa)
George T. Baker Aviation Technical College
Western Washington University
Troy University

Non traditional School

  1. Post University
  2. South College
  3. Advanced Technology Institute
  4. Western Technical College
  5. Divers Institute Of Technology
  6. Hds Truck Driving Institute
  7. Valley College – Martinsburg
  8. Auguste Escoffier School Of Culinary Arts- Austin
  9. Bay State College
  10. Midwest Technical Institute – Springfield, Il

Gold

Lionel University
Auguste Escoffier School Of Culinary Arts – Boulder
Asher College Las Vegas
Universal Technical Institute-Dallas
Universal Technical Institute-Lisle
Universal Technical Institute Of Az
Universal Technical Institute-Long Beach
Universal Technical Institute Of California Inc-Rancho Cucamonga
Universal Technical Institute-Auto Motorcycle & Marine Mechanics Institute
Universal Technical Institute Of Northern California
Universal Technical Institute Of Pa
Nascar Technical Institution
Universal Technical Institute – Houston
Universal Technical Institute Of Arizona Inc-Motorcycle Mechanics Institute Div
Design Institute Of San Diego
Asher College, Dallas Tx Campus
Phoenix Truck Driving School At Fort Bliss
Westcliff University
Arizona College Of Nursing

Silver

Miat College Of Technology-Houston
MIAT College of Technology-Canton
School of Automotive Machinists & Technology
Ecpi University
Asher College
Ohio Business College-Sandusky
Ohio Business College-Sheffield
Tulsa Welding School – Jacksonville, Fl
Learning Alliance Corporation
Pittsburgh Institute Of Aeronautics (Pia)
Mti College
Yuma Truck Driving School
Tulsa Welding School & Technology Center – Houston, Tx
Aoma Graduate School Of Integrative Medicine
Northwestern Technological Institute
Roadmaster Drivers School – San Antonio, Tx
Morgantown Beauty College
West Coast University Los Angeles
West Coast University Orange County
West Coast University Ontario
West Coast University Center For Graduate Studies
West Coast University Dallas
West Coast University Miami
Roadmaster Drivers School – Jacksonville, Inc
Roadmaster Drivers School – Tampa, Fl
Roadmaster Drivers School – Columbus, Oh
Flex Air Flight Academy
Roadmaster Drivers School – Dunn, Nc
Roadmaster Drivers School – Orlando, Fl
Phoenix Truck Driving Institute
Roadmaster Drivers School – Fontana, Ca
Cda Technical Institute
Roadmaster Drivers School – Millington, Tn
5 Star Cdl Training Llc
College For Financial Planning
Roadmaster Drivers School – Bethlehem, Pa
Sage Technical Services

Bronze

Hamrick School
Roadmaster Drivers School – Phoenix, Az
Roadmaster Drivers School – Dallas, Tx
Sage Technical Services
Sage Technical Services – Cheyenne
Performance Training Solutions, Llc
Skill Distillery
Roadmaster Drivers School – Kansas City, Mo
Roadmaster Drivers School – Atlanta, Ga
Sage Technical Services – Lexington
Sage Technical Services – Endicott
Sage Technical Services – Blackfoot
Sage Technical Services – Caldwell
Lebanon County Career School
Sage Truck Driving School Texas, Llc
Sage Technical Services – Coeur D’alene
Covered 6 Security Academy
Sage Truck Driving School
Sage Technical Services – Muncie
Sage Technical Services
Professional Golfers Career College
North American Trade Schools
TUNER SCHOOL LLC .
MedCertify

Online/Vocational

Gold

Davis College
The Landing School

Bronze

Ohio Technical College
Excelsior College
IntelliTec College Albuquerque Campus

Private not offering Doctorate

  1. Whitworth University
  2. St. Joseph’s College Ny
  3. Columbia College
  4. Thomas University
  5. St. Bonaventure University
  6. Park University
  7. Elmhurst University
  8. Manhattan College
  9. Upper Iowa University
  10. Albertus Magnus College

Gold

Mercy College
Baldwin Wallace University
Maryville College
North Carolina Wesleyan College
Defiance College
University Of Redlands
Mcmurry University
University Of Northwestern Ohio
Lake Erie College
Saint Martin’s University
Mount Aloysius College
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University – Prescott Campus
Geneva College
Olivet College
Milwaukee School Of Engineering
Saint Xavier University
Fremont College
Calumet College Of St. Joseph

Silver

Hodges University
Berklee College Of Music
Herzing University
Thiel College
Canisius College
Assumption University
Utica College
Limestone University
Everglades University
Everglades University-Tampa
Everglades University-Miami
Everglades University-Sarasota
Everglades University-Maitland
Mid America Christian University
Central Penn College
Fisher College
Simpson College
Roanoke College
Bushnell University
Florida National University

Bronze

Pittsburgh Technical College
Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University
Unity College
Lackawanna College
Academy College
Tennessee Wesleyan University
Newman University
Trinity Washington University
Seton Hill University
Bethune-Cookman University
Houghton College
Friends University
Chowan University
Webber International University
Lasell University
Helene Fuld College Of Nursing
Platt College San Diego
Wartburg College
Nichols College
Lubbock Christian University
Saint Mary-Of-The-Woods College
Augustana University
Perry Technical Institute
Marymount California University
Iglobal University
University Of The Ozarks
Greenville University
University Of Mount Olive
Central Baptist College
Savannah College Of Art And Design
Bryant University
Mcdaniel College
Meredith College
Northwestern College
Hannibal-Lagrange University
Howard Payne University
Buena Vista University
Kettering University
Southwestern University
Barton College
Quincy University
Calc Institute Of Technology
Taylor University
Aquinas College
Union College, Ny Founded 1795
Culver-Stockton College
Heavy Equipment Colleges Of America
Rhema Bible Training College
Hobart Institute Of Welding Technology
Carthage College
Kentucky Wesleyan College
Amherst College
MyComputerCareer, Columbus
MyComputerCareer, Indianapolis
Nuc University
Mycomputercareer, Raleigh
St. Francis College
Vanguard University of Southern California

Small Community College

  1. Casper College
  2. Piedmont Virginia Community College
  3. Rowan College Of South Jersey
  4. Inver Hills Community College
  5. College Of Southern Maryland
  6. Lehigh Carbon Community College
  7. Kankakee Community College
  8. Wiregrass Georgia Technical College
  9. Central Community College
  10. Bossier Parish Community College

Gold

Osu Institute Of Technology
Northeast State Community College
Middlesex Community College, Middletown, Ct 06457
Finger Lakes Community College
Wor-Wic Community College
Coastal Carolina Community College
Savannah Technical College
Ocean County College
Clark State Community College
Wayne Community College
Three Rivers Community College
Central Carolina Technical College
Carteret Community College
Nash Community College
Bridgevalley Community And Technical College
Lake Area Technical College
Minnesota West Community And Technical College
Jefferson Community College
Klamath Community College
Northcentral Technical College
Northeast Alabama Community College
Suny Ulster
City Colleges Of Chicago – Harry S Truman College
North Shore Community College
Northwest Mississippi Community College
Rockland Community College State University of New York
Lakeland Community College
Rogue Community College

Silver

Hawkeye Community College
Arizona Western College Foundation
West Georgia Technical College
Horry-Georgetown Technical College
Quincy College
Meridian Community College
Germanna Community College
Quinebaug Valley Community College
Danville Area Community College
Western Nebraska Community College
Sauk Valley Community College
Howard College
Irvine Valley College
Onondaga Community College
Moraine Park Technical College
Sandhills Community College
Manchester Community College
Quinsigamond Community College
Century College
J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College
Copper Mountain College
College Of The Mainland (Com)
Southern Maine Community College
University Of South Carolina Sumter
Pennsylvania Highlands Community College
Iowa Lakes Community College
Jamestown Community College
College Of The Albemarle
Craven Community College
Middlesex Community College-Lowell
Middlesex Community College-Bedford
Cowley College
Lakeshore Technical College
Blue Ridge Community College – Weyers Cave, Va
Massbay Community College
Cayuga Community College
Northeast Community College
Southern Crescent Technical College
Aiken Technical College
North Iowa Area Community College
Mount Wachusett Community College
Bristol Community College
Halifax Community College
Marshalltown Community College
Albany Technical College
Saint Charles Community College
Asnuntuck Community College
Northeast Iowa Community College
Lord Fairfax Community College
Butler County Community College
Central Virginia Community College
City Colleges Of Chicago – Malcolm X College
Pamlico Community College
Minnesota State College Southeast
Oakton Community College
Coastal Pines Technical College
Mchenry County College
Ellsworth Community College
Edgecombe Community College
Louisiana State University-Eunice
Hudson Valley Community College
Shawnee Community College
Northwood Technical College
Pitt Community College
Central Maine Community College
Wallace State Community College
Surry Community College
Walters State Community College
Ozarka College
Massasoit Community College
Luzerne County Community College
Barton County Community College
Mitchell Technical College
Augusta Technical College
Southeast Technical College
Independence Community College
Madisonville Community College
Flathead Valley Community College
North Dakota State College Of Science
Moberly Area Community College
Williamsburg Technical College
Alexandria Technical & Community College
Arkansas Northeastern College
Clovis Community College
Orange County Community College
Salina Area Technical College
Housatonic Community College
Virginia Highlands Community College

Bronze

Rowan-Cabarrus Community College
Carroll Community College
Lake Region State College
Paris Junior College
Community College Of Denver
Central Arizona College
Drake State Community & Technical College
Nhti- Concord’s Community College
York County Community College
Owensboro Community & Technical College
Scioto County Career Technical Center
Kaskaskia College
Springfield Technical Community College
Lee College
Allen County Community College
Cape Fear Community College
Danville Community College
Nicolet Technical College

Small Public

  1. University Of Northern Iowa
  2. Western Illinois University
  3. University Of North Carolina At Pembroke
  4. University Of Wisconsin-Superior
  5. Black Hills State University
  6. Indiana University South Bend
  7. Auburn University At Montgomery
  8. Cuny- College Of Staten Island
  9. University Of South Carolina Aiken
  10. State University Of New York Maritime College

Gold

College Of Coastal Georgia
Morehead State University
Ramapo College Of New Jersey
Morgan State University
Montana State University Billings
Saginaw Valley State University
State University Of New York At Potsdam
Gulf Coast State College
University Of South Carolina Beaufort
Suny Oswego
University Of Maine At Augusta
Eastern Oregon University
Eastern New Mexico University
Suny Fredonia
Northwest Florida State College
Clarion University Of Pennsylvania
Suny Buffalo State College
Suny New Paltz
Cameron University
Southwest Minnesota State University
University Of Pittsburgh At Greensburg
The University Of Baltimore
Lander University
University Of Alaska Southeast
University Of Arkansas Pine Bluff
Frostburg State University
Suny Canton
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
The Citadel, The Military College Of South Carolina
New Jersey City University
Louisiana State University Shreveport
Northern Michigan University
Washburn University

Silver

Western New Mexico University
Daytona State
The University Of Tennessee-Martin
University Of Montevallo
Mansfield University Of Pa
California State University Channel Islands
Millersville University Of Pennsylvania
University Of South Carolina Upstate
University Of Wisconsin – Stout
Pennsylvania College Of Technology
York College – Cuny
Northern State University
Northeastern State University
Edinboro University Of Pennsylvania
Stockton University
University Of Pittsburgh At Bradford
Jackson College
Southern University At New Orleans
University Of Arkansas – Fort Smith
University Of Wisconsin-Platteville
William Paterson University Of New Jersey
University Of Guam
Alfred State College
Granite State College
Eastern Illinois University
Salisbury University
Western New Mexico University-Deming
University Of Wisconsin-River Falls
University Of Montana Western
Northwest Missouri State University
Suny Morrisville
The College Of New Jersey
East Stroudsburg University Of Pennsylvania
Kent State University At Trumbull
South Florida State College
Maine Maritime Academy
Missouri Western State University

Bronze

Westfield State University
Bowie State University
Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania
Columbus State University
Wayne State College
Francis Marion University
University Of Sioux Falls
St. Mary’s College Of Maryland
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College
Mcneese State University
Great Basin College
University Of Pittsburgh At Johnstown
Texas A&M University San Antonio
Framingham State University
The University of Maine at Fort Kent

Tier 1 Research Institution

  1. Georgia State University
  2. Florida International University
  3. The University Of Texas At Arlington
  4. University Of North Texas
  5. University Of Kansas – Lawrence
  6. North Carolina State University At Raleigh
  7. University Of Colorado, Boulder
  8. The University Of New Mexico
  9. Texas Tech University
  10. The University Of Alabama

Gold

University Of Kansas-Edwards
University Of Colorado Denver | Anschutz Medical Campus
University Of Missouri
University Of Louisville
University Of California, Riverside
University Of Georgia
Old Dominion University
George Mason University
The University Of Texas At San Antonio
Oregon State University
University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Silver

TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY-COLLEGE STATION
Virginia Commonwealth University
University Of Delaware
University Of Central Florida
University At Buffalo – State University Of New York
Stony Brook University
University Of North Carolina At Chapel Hill
University Of Houston
New York University
The University Of Chicago
Clemson University
University Of Arkansas
The University Of Tennessee, Knoxville
Boston College

Bronze

Kansas State University
University of Kentucky
The University Of Texas At Dallas
University Of North Texas Health Science Center At Fort Worth
Cuny School Of Professional Studies
Wayne State University
North Dakota State University

Tier 2 Research Institution

  1. The University Of Southern Mississippi
  2. Mississippi State University
  3. Montana State University
  4. Idaho State University
  5. Mercer University
  6. Texas State University
  7. Florida Atlantic University
  8. Southern Illinois University Carbondale
  9. Illinois State University
  10. The University Of North Carolina Greensboro

Gold

Fordham University at Lincoln Center
Ohio University
Auburn University
University Of South Dakota
Western Michigan University
New Mexico State University
Kent State University
University Of North Dakota
University Of North Dakota-Flight Center
University Of Montana
University Of Montana-Bitterroot College
Nova Southeastern University
The University Of Rhode Island
The University Of Memphis
William & Mary

Silver

University Of Alaska Fairbanks
Cuny – The City College Of New York
Southern Methodist University
Cleveland State University
The Catholic University Of America
University Of Louisiana At Lafayette

Bronze

University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
University Of New Hampshire-Durham
Augusta University State of Georgia’s designated center of health sciences excellence and a thriving comprehensive research university. We offer more than 150 areas of study across ten colleges, for undergraduates, graduates, and professional students
University Of New Orleans
Sam Houston State University
Ball State University
University Of Idaho
The University Of Missouri – Kansas City
Tennessee Technological University
Rochester Institute Of Technology
Wright State University
Michigan Technological University
Florida Institute Of Technology
Chapman University

How do you get a Military Friendly® School award?

Methodology, criteria, and weightings were determined by Viqtory with input from the Military Friendly® Advisory Council of independent leaders in higher education. Final ratings were determined by combining the institution’s survey responses and government/agency public data sources within a logic-based assessment. We measure their ability to meet thresholds for Retention, Graduation, Job Placement, Repayment, Persistence, and Loan Default rates for all students and specifically, for student veterans.

 

“Military Friendly® is committed to transparency and providing consistent data-driven standards in our process. This creates a competitive atmosphere that encourages institutions to consistently evolve and support their programs. Award level schools have gone beyond that standard, Showing true commitment and dedication in their efforts. The Military Friendly® benchmark promotes positive educational outcomes and support services that better the educational landscape and provide opportunity to the Military Community.” -Kayla Lopez, Director of Military Partnerships, Military Friendly®. 

How Your Brand Can Build Rapport with the Military Community

by Victoria Mason, Inbound Lead Manager at VIQTORY

You need to market to the military. Why? About 250,000 service members transition out of the military each year, and the military spouse community includes about 1.1 million. While there has been more attention recently on these tribes, they are still overlooked relative to other talent pools. The benefit to you: less competition for them.

As an employer, school or franchise, you know that the demand for talent is at a 40-year high. The need for quality candidates no matter the industry is challenging, but that’s why it’s crucial for brands to connect to valuable, renewable talent through segments like the military community. 

How can you create brand awareness in this community? We’ll get into that later, but first we need to tell you about their experience and process of transitioning to civilian life. If you market to this tribe without learning about their experience, you’re doing a disservice to your marketing and recruitment efforts. VIQTORY is here to educate you and help you create a relationship with this talent pool.

What is the Transition Process?

This community of talented veterans and spouses take several steps to plan for their transition to civilian life. They put in countless hours of personal research to decide if they’ll start a franchise, enroll in classes, or jump right into their next job. There are also programs and courses provided to service members and spouses by the US Department of Labor (DOL) and the VA to help frame their journey to civilian life. 

According to the DoL under 10 USC 1144, each of the service members and their spouses can go through the Transition Assistance Program (TAP).  If you’ve never served in the military, you might not know what that is. TAP was created to provide resources to transitioning military and their families to help prepare them. The program was created in 1991, but it didn’t become mandatory until President Barack Obama signed the Veterans Opportunity to Work to Hire Heroes Act of 2011. 

Charles Dorr (Chaz), US Marine Corps Veteran (2006-2010) and VIQTORY Account Manager, shared his experience of the TAP class. He joined the Marine Corps thinking he’d do 20 years and retire, but he changed his plans. When he went through TAP (called Transition Readiness Program in the Marine Corps), he says, “I still had zero clue on a career path or idea that would benefit my transition. So my research really started on my own when I got home.” Getting out of the military and changing your life plan is a process. TAP gives people the tools to help them on their journey.

Topics Covered in TAP Employers Should Know

When Chaz took the class around 2010, he remembers sitting through presentations by trade schools and/or police agencies, oil and gas companies, etc. The biggest takeaway and help to him was that the VA representative told him to get to his home VA and file for benefits immediately. However, there were aspects of the program that he thought could improve. He remembered, “We were all in our camis and I couldn’t help but think I’m a civilian transition assistance program, shouldn’t we be dressed like civilians? Dressed ready for an interview or like a business professional.”

Since then, the TAP program has made improvements. Anyone who’s been in active service for 180+ days must go through pre-separation counseling. The training helps service members create plans to achieve their post-military goals. Retiring service members have to start TAP as soon as possible during the 24-months before they plan to separate. Service members separating start TAP 12 months before their separation date.

TAP class is a formal one-day workshop that covers tools and resources with veterans to help them evaluate career options, know where to find information on civilian employment, and educate them on the fundamentals of the employment process. The DOL’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service administers a mandatory one-day employment preparation workshop for all transitioning service members and two optional two-day workshops for career exploration, technical career preparation, or general employment preparation.

There are also TAP Training Resources that service members and their families can review or register for like the Employment Fundamentals of Career Transition, Wounded Warrior and Caregiver, Department of Labor Employment Workshop, and Career and Credential Exploration. Service members can choose to participate in a variety of workshops based on their goals.

How G.I. Jobs Magazine Helps to Close the Gap

“It took the Navy about 7 years to turn me from a civilian into someone they trusted with an airplane and a crew.  Turning me back into a civilian was certainly going to require more than a few days,”  Chris Hale, Navy veteran and CEO of VIQTORY.

While the TAP program has come a long way and serves as a great starting point, transitioning service members and their families need additional support to augment the workshops. That’s why VIQTORY created G.I. Jobs and Military Spouse magazines. They cover topics like resume writing and examples, success stories, and top hiring industries. 

In 2001, we started with G.I. Jobs Magazine – a rich publication dedicated to sharing how to get a job, identifying the hottest industries, and telling inspirational success stories of veterans. We built a community recognized throughout the military and distributed to hundreds of thousands of veterans. Our distribution of G.I. Jobs includes TAP and expands to Student Veteran Resource Centers, Command Career Centers, Family Readiness, libraries, barber shops and beyond. 

Today G.I. Jobs print magazines are distributed to over 5,400 physical locations, while the Military Spouse print magazines are distributed to 2,500 physical locations around the world. Our digital distribution expands even further to 50,000+ monthly views of the digital magazine, and it’s promoted to our combined 300,000+ social media followers.

How You Can Use Our Trusted Magazine to Connect to Veterans and Spouses

Demand for talent is at a 40-year high while the supply of that talent continues to drop. Whether you’re an employer looking for workers, a school looking for students or a franchisor looking for franchisees, you’ve no doubt realized that the talent recruiting rules of engagement have changed. This change is not temporary.  

The best way to influence the military community for the long term is to allow a trusted friend to carry your message. G.I. Jobs and Military Spouse are those trusted friends, and we are happy to announce some exciting upgrades to the magazines and special discounted rates for 2023. 

Check out the 2023 media kit, which details the incredible value in building your brand through G.I. Jobs and Military Spouse.  

Top Recruitment Marketing Trends for 2022

In the world of recruiting nothing is ever static. Due to employer needs, advances in technology, market trends and much more, it is a field that is ever-changing. You can get on board and adopt the trends and practices that have already started taking over, or you can fall to the wayside and let your competition.

Here are 5 Recruiting Trends to be aware of for 2020.

1. Employer Branding

With the lack of talent available in today’s job market, it has never been more important to cultivate a strong employer brand. This means ensuring that your company has a strong, positive reputation to go along with a workplace and culture that are attractive to job seekers.

As a result you will attract more quality candidates while increasing your retention rate. Linkedin research has revealed that 75% of individuals on the job hunt take the time to look at an employers reputation and their brand before applying for open positions.

Form a strong employer brand for your organization to help you stand out from your competitors instead of falling behind.

2. It is a Candidate Driven Market

Traditionally, employers have held all of the power when it came to the job search but that is no longer the case in 2020. With the lowest unemployment rate in 18 years at almost 4%, the tables have turned in favor of the job seeker. There are more job openings than there are qualified candidates, giving the upper hand to the talent. That is why it is imperative that organizations use every tool at their disposal in order to find and hire quality employees.

3. Inbound Recruitment

Recruitment Marketing is the first step in the talent acquisition process. It is the implementation of techniques used by marketers and applying those practices to the world of recruiting. An important aspect of this process is the implementation of inbound recruitment.

Inbound recruitment uses the techniques of inbound marketing, and applies them to recruitment marketing. Inbound recruitment allows candidates to find your open positions, rather than you going to the candidates. Ideally you will answer any questions candidates have about the position and provide a seamless transition into the application process without having any contact with that candidate.

4. Social Recruitment

The number of individuals who are actively using social media is astronomical, and so is the number of ways in which it can be used. Social Recruiting is a term that refers to using social media networks such as Facebook, Linkedin or Twitter, along with social media websites that include Glassdoor and Indeed for recruiting purposes.

This practice goes beyond simply posting your companies open positions online, it also allows you to proactively and personally target and interact with potential job candidates. With 84% of companies capitalizing on the benefits of using social media in their recruitment efforts, it is a trend that simply cannot be denied.

5. Employee Referrals

Employee Referrals have been around for years, but it is still a focus that companies should have in their recruitment strategy. It is an internal process of finding candidates to fill open positions and it has ended up being one of the fastest, and most cost-effective ways to hire new employees.

As opposed to finding talent through traditional methods, referrals allow you to bring in candidates who have been recommended by people who know the culture, beliefs and the ins-and-outs of your organization.

Incentivizing those employees to bring in strong qualified candidates will also be effective when it comes to not only decreasing your time-to-hire and cost-to-hire, but it will motivate them to find and refer the top talent your organization is looking for.

Webinar: Generating Quality Candidates From The Military Community​

Join us as we discuss:

  • What is First Party Data and How Do We Use It to Target a Specific Audience
  • Best Practices in Military Veteran Recruitment
  • Advanced Targeting in Veteran Recruitment Marketing Campaigns
Sign Up to Our Watch On-Demand Webinar Now​

3 Advanced Targeting Techniques For Student Recruitment

Keeping enrollment numbers up has never been as difficult as it is today with such a high volume of Colleges and Universities to choose from. At VIQTORY, our experts are able to help you find quality applicants using our Military DSP ensuring that you stay ahead of the curve.

We are able to implement a number of advanced targeting techniques that allow us to cut through the clutter and advertise your opportunities directly to thousands of transitioning service members. Our tactics will alleviate the pains that used to come hand-in-hand with student recruitment techniques of the past.

Targeted Display

In the digital age in which we live, people are now spending up to 5 hours a day on the internet. This makes online ads one of the best ways to reach a wide audience. The trick is knowing where to place those ads, and that is where Targeted Display comes in. Targeted Display means that you are putting ads in front of an individual based on what they are interested in, regardless of which websites they are on. Here’s an example. 

Say that an individual wants to buy a new guitar. The first thing that they are going to do is hop online and do some research. They may start on the Guitar Center website, which leads them to various other websites/forums where they can learn about different guitars such as Reverb or Musicians Friend. Now they have gone down a rabbit-hole and their internet activity is filled with guitar-related searches. Later, that same person is back on the internet browsing Facebook, and they see an ad for Sweetwater Music. Then maybe they are looking up movie times on the Cinemark website and they see an ad for Gibson Guitars.

We are essentially following the user and showing them ads that are relevant to them based on sites they’ve visited, what they have searched, and what they have read. This ensures that ads are being placed in front of the right people instead of them going to waste. We apply that very concept to Colleges and Universities to help get the right applicants. Here at VIQTORY we use Targeted Display to help increase exposure and awareness for our clients by getting their ads on the screens of transitioning service members.

Geo-Targeting

Businesses are no longer confined to advertising within their geographical location through the use of things like billboards and newspaper ads. Geo-targeting allows us to advertise to people wherever you see fit. Every computer in the world has a unique IP Address which identifies the location of every specific device that is connected to the internet. We can take that information and run ads to those IP addresses anywhere we want.

As an example, say that The Pennsylvania State University is running ads promoting the school while trying to increase their number of applications. They’re not going to want to run ads around their physical location because everyone in Happy Valley already knows about Penn State. They would want to run ads in places that are filled with individuals who are more likely to apply, anywhere you see fit. This way you are increasing the chances that your ads are being delivered to relevant viewers while extending the reach of the ads. We will go more in depth later in this article, but the main point is that we are able to target specific geographical locations based on a school’s needs and where they want their ads to be displayed. 

Geo-Fencing

The ways in which people advertise is something that is always evolving, but never before have we been able to target people in such specific locations anywhere in the world. This is done through a targeting technique called Geo-fencing. It works much like Geo-targeting in the way that it targets an individual’s devices to serve them ads. But instead of using the IP addresses from computers and laptops, although it still can,  it targets the location services on their mobile devices as well. If you are using a mobile app, there is a strong possibility that your location is being used. Many times, the app doesn’t even need to be opened to gather the person’s location. For instance, those that use weather applications on their smartphones, location is always being used so that you are getting accurate real-time information. 

geo-fencing baseball field

We are able to create custom shapes, or fences, on a map as small as 100 meters. We can then pinpoint any device using location services within that fence and serve ads to those individuals. Even after they leave the location, we can continue to place ads in front of anyone who has been in that shape within the last 30 days. Back to my earlier example.

Say that the Pennsylvania State University is running ads to promote the school while trying to  increase their number of applicants. While Geo-targeting is an excellent tool that will help to get results, Geo-fencing takes it a step further. We are able to draw a fence around specific military bases and run ads to every mobile device within the fence that has location services turned on. We could even fence every base in the country if we wanted to. While these service members are still on the base they can be seeing ads for Penn State, and we are able to keep showing them ads for up to 30 days, even after they’ve left the fence, making sure that it is top-of-mind. Here at VIQTORY, we can find the top talent for our clients who are looking to recruit students. This capability blended with the numerous other techniques we include in our campaigns assist in making us the best at what we do.

Ready to Reach the Right Audience?

We help schools accelerate their enrollment and growth goals using our first party data across 3 trusted brands – G.I.Jobs®, Military Spouse® and Military Friendly®. Using smart technology, we are able to deploy targeted campaigns that deliver the results you need.

Our flexible plans and cost-effective solutions help you attract and engage your desired audience in the least amount of time.

We’re ready to discuss your educational recruitment strategies to see where we may be able to help!

Yes, the Meta Certifications are worth it. Hear Why from Our Meta Certified Campaign Managers

The VIQTORY team is proud to announce that the Strategic Campaign Managers are Meta Certified. Alysha Tuma, the Senior Manager of Ad Operations and Strategy, earned her Advanced Media Buying Professional Meta Certification. Also, Audrey Liberati, the Programmatic Campaign Specialist, earned her Media Planning Professional Meta Certification.

The Meta Certification is an advanced certification for digital advertising professionals to demonstrate their proficiency in Meta marketing solutions. Our Ad Ops team has been crushing our client’s campaign goals left and right for years, but now they have the credentials that officially recognize them as the skilled strategists they are.

Meta Certified Media Planning Professional

About the Meta Certifications and Our Team’s Experience

The Meta Certified Media Buying Professional is an expert level certification for digital advertising professionals who have advanced skills in Meta marketing. To earn this high-level recognition, Alysha demonstrated her proficiency in the skills, tools, advertising policies, and best practices required to buy ads on the Facebook app, Instagram and Messenger. Alysha has been managing successful campaigns since the wave of header bidding in 2013 and mobile programmatic advertising in 2015. In the last 7 years as a programmatic campaign manager she’s designed strategies for over 200 accounts across all industries. Beyond programmatic advertising, Alysha has 10 years of digital advertising experience.

Alysha Tuma works for VIQTORY as a Meta Certified media buying professional
Audrey Liberati works for VIQTORY as a Meta Certified media planning professional

The Meta Certified Media Planning Professional Credential is awarded to digital advertising professionals with proficiency in Meta marketing. Audrey demonstrated her ability to design successful end-to-end Meta marketing strategies that align with business goals and complement a holistic marketing strategy. Audrey has been creating successful Facebook strategies for VIQTORY’s accounts for the last year. Before being the person behind the marketing curtain pulling the levers, she was on our Client Success team working day in and day out with our partners and answering questions about best practices.

Implementing Meta Marketing Best Practices and Strategies with Success

Since studying for the Meta certification exam, our campaign strategists have tried new tactics. Audrey said, “I think that the certification helped me think of new ways to target and think of creative ad formats that we haven’t tried before like the carousel ad.”

 

She saw an opportunity to test that strategy with one of our key accounts, Ashley Furniture, the largest furniture manufacturer in the world, and distributer in the United States. Ashley Furniture came to VIQTORY with a goal of increasing their recruitment leads from the veteran audience. Meta recommended including a 15-second video that is followed by a sequence of images. Audrey implemented that strategy and had amazing success. Not only did she get an uptick in the CTR from a .60% to over 1%, the leads more than DOUBLED. She saw an increase in conversions with an average from 50 a month to roughly 120. She’s continuing to test this strategy with other clients.  

Along with testing new strategies, Audrey has been adjusting targeting to some Meta best practices as well as tried out different formats that the platform offers. She said, “I think the benefit of getting certified is that you understand how the company (Meta) has structured its platform and you understand why they suggest some of the best practices that they have.” 

Alysha agreed and shared that taking the courses “brought to light some new perspectives on how to optimize some TOFU (top of funnel) clients, working to increase their brand awareness and measuring lift in ad recall.”

What’s Next for VIQTORY’s Ad Ops Team?

Alysha says the team’s currently working on their Google Ads recertifications and they are very close to completing their Google Analytics (UA) certification and GA4 training!

In case you missed it, the beloved Universal Analytics properties will stop processing July 1, 2023. Our team is preparing for the future and taking the steps to make sure we have our Google Analytics reporting set up for the change! If you’re one of the many companies using Google Analytics to analyze your campaigns, Google created several training videos to help you get ready for the shift. 

One last word of advice! For other marketers considering certifications, Alysha said, “Take the time to go through all of the recommended courses for any platform. Facebook (Meta) and Google have a myriad of free courses that provide additional resources such as practice quizzes and study guides. Each of these was key in my preparation for my certification exam. Study! And take the practice tests until you achieve 100% passing on each of them – your future self will be happy you did!” 

Our team of experts will be sharing more tips on programmatic advertising best practices. Make sure you follow us on LinkedIn for tips, trends, and more.

3 Essential Tips to Attract Military Students

Recruiting military students is a smart move for any school. The value that student veterans bring to a campus (or online classroom) is seen in their graduation rates, grade point averages and their leadership qualities. 

 

But how do you go about doing that? Recruiting military students is not necessarily the same as traditional students. They have certain needs that must be met in order to spark their interest. 

Take a Multi-Channel Approach

For lack of a better phrase, this is the proverbial, “don’t put all your eggs in one basket” approach. It makes sense from an enrollment marketing approach that you would try and deliver your message to your audience on several of the platforms they are using. This helps to create brand recognition through repetitive exposure. But before you begin, do you know what platforms your audience is using? How about what brands your audience is loyal to?

Our G.I. Jobs brand is trusted by the military community to provide service members with advice and opportunities after they leave the military. Schools understand that one of the best ways to get their educational opportunities in front of the military is through a platform that has name recognition, but also delivers results.

Even within our G.I. Jobs brand, there are several platforms schools can use to reach the military community. One of the most important and effective is through targeted ad campaigns on Facebook. Here’s an example of an ad Penn State ran for their online programs:

GI Jobs Ad Example - Penn State

Here are VIQTORY, we have in house experts who help schools craft their messaging to the military community. If you don’t have any experience engaging the military students, feel free to get in touch with us! We’d love to strategize with you. 

Keep the Military in Mind With Your Marketing

As I said above, military students have different needs than those of traditional students. They care about different aspects of the college experience, and your marketing materials should hit on that. The idea should be to take an aspect of your school that is beneficial to military students, and promote that benefit through the eyes of a current or former military student.

Testimonials are still an effective way to leverage your offer. Here is a great example of a testimonial Drexel University did showcasing their online courses through the eyes of a veteran graduate:

Be Smart With Your Targeting

Finding potential military students using targeted social media ads has become one of the more effective ways for schools to gain applicants. In fact, companies using social media to recruit employees has grown in both scale and capability in recent years, and it only makes sense that schools are hopping on the train as well. But why is it so effective? The answer, in one one word: targeting.

The ability to place targeting parameters around your campaign allows your ad to be seen by somebody who it will resonate with. In this case, being able to specifically target the military community, most notably those who would be interested in educational opportunities, will make your campaign far more successful.

But the key to building a great target audience is in the data used to create it. This is where first-party data comes in. Our unique first-party data allows us to create custom audiences that produce major results for schools.

First-Party Data

First party data is the unique information we collect directly from our audience, about our audience. It is called “first-party” because there is no in between. They connect with us, and we collect data and information about them. So, it is feasible to say that we are the only company in the world with this specific data about the military audience.

How Do We Collect First-Party Data

  • Data from behaviors, actions or interests demonstrated across our websites, GIJobs.com and MilitarySpouse.com
  • Email subscription data
  • Social data from Facebook and other social outlets
  • Data from our job board
  • Activity on campaigns
  • Current size of our data is 22 million that includes veterans and military spouses.

What Types Of Data Do We Collect?

  • Age
  • Gender
  • Military Branch
  • Experience
  • Industry interests
  • Behavior
  • Interests
  • Geolocation

First-party data is so valuable because it intuitively tells you who your target audience is, and allows us to run more efficient and effective campaigns. It brings you accurate traffic and a stream of interested, engaged potential applicants.

If you’re interested in learning more, feel free to contact us.

3 Awesome Ways to Use Content Marketing in Military Student Recruitment

Content marketing is all around us. In fact, you’re probably either using or viewing some form of content marketing on a daily basis and you might not even know it, especially if you use social media. The Content Marketing Institute defines content marketing as “…a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.” 

To put it in simple terms, content marketing is a long-term strategy meant to establish a meaningful relationship between a brand and its audience by delivering them valuable, relevant content. So exactly how can you do this in a military and student veteran recruitment campaign? First, let’s start with the basics.

The Strategy

Your content marketing, no matter what methods you choose to use, should do three things:

  1. Identify/Reinforce somebody’s pain point
  2. Agitate their pain point
  3. Provide a solution for their problem

Additionally, each piece of content you create should be part of a grander funnel, or applicant journey path. All your content should fall neatly into one of the following areas of the journey path:

  1. Awareness
    • The prospect is made aware/reminded that they have a problem/need, and that your school has some kind of solution for it.
  2. Evaluation
    • The prospect evaluates the options they have available to them, including yours and your competitors’.
  3. Conversion
    • The prospect makes a decision to attend either your school or one of your competitors’.

Here is a great illustration:

VIQTORY Marketing Funnel Example

Once you realize who your target audience is, you’ll be able to craft a message and, ultimately, begin to craft your content. Service members and veterans have a unique set of circumstances, as they have had a different path of experiences than other students leading up to their college education. It’s important that your marketing efforts recognize those differences, and cater to them.

So what kind of content should you use for each stage of the funnel? Well, let’s take a look at some examples.

Top of Funnel Content

Prospects entering the top of your student recruitment funnel may not know that you have a solution for their problem. In the case of the military community, you are trying to showcase why your school is a great fit for them, and that you have specific services to help them succeed. Your content must be relevant to their place in the journey path – they must be made aware that you have special accomodations for military students.

Here is a great example of a video being used as top of the funnel content to recruit military students by The University of Michigan. 

The video speaks directly to the specific audience they are targeting – members of the military community (active, reserve and veterans). It also subtly makes them aware of their problem of finding a university that supports them. Finally, it offers a solution in a great way – by showing not just one or two military student success stories, but by introducing many military students succeeding at the university. 

Here are some other ideas for top of the funnel content:

  • Social media posts
  • Photographs
  • Infograph
  • Podcast
  • Research Data
  • Statistics

Middle of Funnel Content

Once a prospect has been made aware of their need, and that you have the solution they’re looking for, they must now be able to trust you before they make a decision on your offer. This is where middle of the funnel content comes in. Middle of the funnel content is all about nurturing your prospect so that, in time, they will come back to you. Remember, content marketing is, in most cases, a long-term strategy.

Typically, prospects will have questions during the consideration stage of their journey, which is why I love content that aims to answer those questions. Here is a great example of a military and veterans affairs “resources” page Eastern Michigan University has on their website. It houses all of the important resources military and veteran students might need, all in one place. Don’t make prospective applicants work to find answers to their questions. Make it as easy for them as possible to make their decision.

Military and Veteran Affairs

Some other great middle of the funnel content ideas are:

  • Webinars
  • Newsletters
  • E-Books

Bottom of Funnel Content

You’re almost there! Assuming the content prior to this has served its purpose, your prospect is ready to convert, either with you or somebody else. Whether that is getting them to click “apply now” or a different kind of goal, bottom of the funnel content will serve the same purpose. Get your audience to take your desired action. In the case of student enrollment marketing, it might be a prospect requesting more information or actually applying/enrolling.

Here is a great example of a landing page for Felician University, dedicated to military veterans. The messaging and imagery is directed solely towards the military community. 

One of the things I like about this landing page is that it offers the prospect a couple different options, which in this case Felician University would consider them all to be a conversion, just of different variations. Somebody who applies immediately is certainly a conversion, while those who elect to plan a visit or request more information would fall into the “qualified lead” category. Now, this type of multiple CTA landing page may not work for every situation, but I do like it in student recruitment. 

Here are some more examples of bottom of the funnel content:

  • Demos/Free trials
  • Testimonials
  • Comparison Sheets

Bonus Tip: Reach Prospective Students on the Platforms They Use

Social media has changed the way we communicate, but it has also made it easier for schools to reach prospective students. Social media platforms like Facebook have allowed schools to reach more prospects than ever before. 

Here at VIQTORY, one of our areas of expertise is in helping schools reach highly engaged candidates through social platforms like Facebook. We are able to deliver a school’s message directly to the audience they seek, in this case, service members and veterans. Here’s a great example, an ad we ran as part of a campaign for The University of Pittsburgh.

This ad is part of Pitt’s successful campaign to increase military student enrollments. By using our G.I. Jobs brand, Pitt is able to reach their target audience through a channel that the military community already trusts. It also allows Pitt to develop their own brand within the military community, making them a viable option for service members and veterans. 

Remember

How your content marketing fits within your greater recruitment funnel is just as important as what types of content you choose to use. Ensure that all of your content is aligned to recruit military students – this means that the messaging is all consistent and every piece of content is dedicated to their needs .

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Over 21 years ago, VIQTORY’s co-founders celebrated the first day working at a new company with an exciting, new mission: to create vital, civilian-produced resources for the approximately 250,000 people leaving the military each year. In doing so, they introduced military veterans to previously unknown civilian employment, entrepreneurship and education opportunities.

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