Greetings Colleagues,
As we head into the final stretch of the academic year and look toward a busy summer recruitment season, I’m reaching out with a simple request to help us steward our resources more effectively.
Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota invests strategically in digital advertising to connect with prospective students. Whether it’s a search on Google or a scroll through Instagram, these ads are vital for keeping our mission front-and-center.
Behind the Scenes: Our Technical Safeguards
To ensure our marketing dollars are used efficiently, our team has taken steps to filter out internal traffic from our university networks. In theory, this prevents many of our ads from appearing to you while you are working on campus.
However, technology isn’t perfect. You may still see Saint Mary’s ads due to:
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Personal Devices: Using your own data plan or a device not recognized by our filters.
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Remote Work: Accessing the web from home or public Wi-Fi.
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Algorithm Overrides: Search engines and social platforms often prioritize “relevant” content based on your personal browsing history, which can bypass our exclusions.
The “Cost” of a Click
Most of our digital campaigns operate on a pay-per-click (PPC) model. When “internal” clicks occur, they have a real impact on our reach:
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Budget Depletion: Unnecessary clicks use up funds intended to reach new audiences.
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Ad Visibility: When we hit our daily budget limit early, our ads may stop showing to legitimate prospective students for the rest of the day.
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Data Accuracy: High volumes of internal clicks can skew our analytics, making it harder to see what is truly resonating with future Cardinals.
How You Can Help
If a Saint Mary’s ad does appear in your feed or search results, please “Think Before You Click.”
| Action | What to Look For | Better Alternative |
| Search Engines | Links labeled “Ad” or “Sponsored” at the top of Google/Bing. | Scroll down to the organic (unpaid) search results. |
| Social Media | Posts in your feed marked as “Sponsored.” | Visit our official profile page directly to see the same content. |
| Direct Access | Searching for a specific SMUMN page. | Bookmark frequent pages or type smumn.edu directly into your browser. |
Small Steps, Big Impact
A single click might seem like a drop in the bucket, but across our entire community, being mindful of our digital footprint ensures that every cent of our marketing budget is working to grow our university.
Thank you for your partnership in keeping Saint Mary’s vibrant and visible to the students who need us most.
Live Jesus in our Hearts, Forever!
Michael
