Tracking basics

The Marketing module in DreamApply is designed to work with leads. It allows marketing teams to monitor how applicants arrive at DreamApply and assess the effectiveness of their marketing efforts.

Leads

In DreamApply, leads are users who have registered or been collected through different channels but have not yet started their applications. These users are considered early-stage prospects and are not yet part of the main application workflow.

Leads do not have active applications, and Administrators cannot manage them through the main portal views and tools. To help institutions track these users, DreamApply provides a dedicated Leads view. This view shows how many leads have registered and how they are progressing to becoming applicants.

Leads can enter the system through multiple channels:

• Self-registration: Applicants can register on their own through the DreamApply portal. While many applicants proceed to apply immediately, some of them may stop after registration, for example, add programmes to the wishlist and remain at the Registered stage.

• Advisor registration: Advisors who have the Allowed to register new applicants option enabled can create accounts on behalf of applicants.

• Imports: Leads can be imported to DreamApply using:

  • Excel and CSV files
  • Integrations with external systems
  • DreamApply API

  When leads are imported, users do not create accounts themselves and may not be aware these accounts exist. To inform them, DreamApply sends a welcome email. It is important to supply valid email addresses to ensure that users receive the welcome email and can continue with their applications.

Trackers

To identify how leads arrive at DreamApply, DreamApply uses trackers.

Trackers are a core concept in DreamApply’s marketing. A tracker is a label assigned to a lead that indicates a specific channel through which they entered DreamApply.

Trackers can be used for multiple purposes:

• Marketing source tracking: Trackers help institutions identify which campaigns or referral sources bring leads to DreamApply and how effective these campaigns and referrals are.
• Advisor attribution: Trackers can be linked to specific Advisors or Agents. This allows institutions to measure their performance and calculate compensation based on the number of leads they refer.
• Discounts: Trackers can be used to apply specific conditions, such as discounts on application fees, for applicants who participate in specific campaigns or use reference codes.

UTM parameters and entry points

To let marketing teams measure their marketing efforts and connect leads to their original source, DreamApply offers the following tools:

• UTM parameters: The marketing team can add standard UTM parameters to campaign URLs. When a user visits the portal through one of these URLs, DreamApply automatically captures the parameters. If the user returns to register, DreamApply attributes the captured UTM parameters to the user.

• Entry points: Entry points are special URLs that can be embedded in marketing materials. When a user clicks an entry point URL, DreamApply automatically records the visit and captures the tracking data. After that, the user is redirected to their intended content. If the user returns to register, DreamApply assigns a tracker associated with this entry point to the user.

Advisors

DreamApply allows institutions to register Advisors who bring in leads to the system. Each Advisor receives a unique tracker code that is automatically assigned to any applicants they register. Institutions can then use these trackers to monitor the applicants’ progress and create reports for Advisor compensation.

Advisors can register accounts for applicants if the Allowed to register new applicants option is enabled for them. This option works with all levels of access to applicant data. However, if the Advisor’s access is set to Incognito access, they lose access to the applicants’ data immediately after registration.

There are two ways Advisors can register applicants:

• Register with an email: An Advisor can enter the applicant’s email during registration. DreamApply will set up the account and send a welcome email to invite them to continue with their application.

• Register without an email: If an Advisor has elevated permissions — the Ability to manage applications, offers, tasks and Allowed to register applicants without an email options are enabled for them — they can create accounts without providing an email address. In this case, DreamApply does not send a welcome email, and the Advisor must submit applications on the applicant’s behalf.

  Later, when the applicant reaches a specific stage in the admission process, the Advisor can update the applicant account with their email address. DreamApply then sends a welcome email to the applicant and allows them direct access to the system.

Analytics

DreamApply integrates with external analytics platforms commonly used by marketing teams:

• Google products: Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager
• Matomo: Matomo Analytics and Matomo Tag Manager
• Fathom Analytics
• Plausible
• Simple Analytics

DreamApply counts only guests (non-logged users) and logged-in applicants in analytics tracking. If a user is logged in with a secure role (Administrator or Advisor), analytics tracking is disabled for them to reflect real applicant behavior, not internal Administrator or testing activity.