Generate & convert demand
A layered plan moving from reach and engagement into lead forms, Messenger enquiries and conversation objectives — building interest and then capturing intent within the same platform.
Uttara University · Admissions Growth · Facebook, Instagram & Google
An integrated admissions media engine for Uttara University
As Uttara University's communication and media-buying partner for roughly two years, I planned and ran the paid engine behind its admissions cycles — a single full-funnel campaign across Facebook, Instagram and Google, run to fixed cost-per-result benchmarks on a governed ~BDT 862K per-cycle budget.
- Role
- Communication & Media Buying Partner
- Market
- Dhaka, Bangladesh
- Channels
- Facebook, Instagram, Google
- Duration
- ~2 years, multiple intake cycles
The engagement at a glance
2 yrs
Partnered as communication & media-buying lead
862K
BDT integrated media budget planned & managed per cycle
2.3M
Engagement generated via digital PR & curated group syndication
0.7M
Organic traffic driven alongside the paid funnel
The client
A leading private university competing for every intake
Uttara University is an established private university in Uttara, Dhaka, founded in 2003 under the DAR Trust. It serves more than 10,000 students across five schools and fourteen departments, and moved into a new permanent campus in 2023 — a brand with real heritage and a modern, forward-looking identity.
But admissions in Dhaka's private-university sector are fiercely contested and sharply seasonal. Each intake is a fixed window in which awareness, enquiries and applications all have to be generated, at pace, against a defined budget. The mandate was to turn that pressure into a repeatable, accountable acquisition system rather than a scramble of one-off boosts.
What the plan set out to do each cycle
- Maximise reach and awareness for the intake window across Meta platforms
- Drive engagement with admissions and program content
- Capture prospective-student leads through Facebook lead forms
- Generate direct enquiries and conversations via Messenger
- Capture high-intent search demand on Google through form fills and calls
- Deliver it within a governed budget at clear, objective-level cost-per-result targets
The approach
One funnel, two platforms, a job for every objective
Rather than treat Facebook, Instagram and Google as separate line items, I built a single funnel where each objective had a defined role, budget and target cost. Meta carried demand generation and conversation; Google captured the people already searching.
Capture high-intent search
A high-level Performance Max campaign aimed at website form fills and calls, catching prospective students and parents at the moment they were actively looking for a program.
How the budget was governed
- Objective-level budgets with a target cost-per-result set before spend began
- USD↔BDT reconciliation at a fixed rate, with agency service fee and VAT built into every plan
- 100% advance-payment scheduling planned around each platform's activation lead time
- A clean split between the Meta plan and the Google plan for transparent reporting
Creative & messaging
- Program-specific and scholarship-led messaging tuned to each intake
- Bilingual Bangla and English creative to match how prospective students search and scroll
- Clear admissions calls to action — apply, enquire, message — matched to each funnel stage
- Consistent application of Uttara University's brand identity across every placement
Paid performance report
What the paid budget delivered
Across the cycle, roughly BDT 862K of paid budget ran across two platforms — Meta carrying the funnel from awareness through to conversation, and Google concentrating on high-intent capture. Every objective was bought against a locked cost-per-result, so spend maps straight to delivery. The tables below are the paid performance report for the cycle: budget in, results out.
| Objective | Bid type | Budget | Cost / unit | KPI delivered | Leads |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awareness | Reach | $400 | $0.30 | 1,333,333 | — |
| Engagement | Engagement | $300 | $0.02 | 15,000 | — |
| Lead via FB form | Lead | $200 | $2.00 | 118 | 118 |
| Lead via message | Messaging lead | $700 | $1.00 | 700 | 700 |
| Conversations | Conversation started | $2,500 | $0.80 | 3,125 | 3,125 |
| Meta subtotal | $4,100 |
| Objective | Bid type | Budget | Cost / unit | KPI delivered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conversion — Performance Max | Website form fill or call | $950 | $3.00 | 317 |
| Google subtotal | $950 |
| Line | ||
|---|---|---|
| Media budget (USD) | $4,100 | $950 |
| Media budget (BDT @ 135) | 553,500 | 128,250 |
| Agency service fee (10%) | 55,350 | 12,825 |
| Subtotal incl. ASF | 608,850 | 141,075 |
| VAT & charges (15%) | 91,328 | 21,161 |
| Grand total (BDT) | 700,178 | 162,236 |
Figures reflect the delivered paid performance and budget build-up from the campaign cycle. Dollar rate charged at 135 BDT for both platforms; 100% advance payment allowed ~3 working days for account activation.
Paid media results
What the paid campaigns delivered
| Metric | Result |
|---|---|
| Reach | 1,333,333 |
| Engagements | 15,000 |
| Leads — Facebook form + Messenger | 818 |
| Conversations started | 3,125 |
| Website conversions — Google form fill / call | 317 |
| Total leads & conversions | 1,135 |
Delivered across Meta and Google at the plan's locked cost-per-result. Reach, engagement and conversation volumes are the paid campaign outputs; the 2.3M engagement and 0.7M organic traffic figures above sit on top of these, from the earned PR & syndication layer.
In admissions, the win isn't a boosted post — it's a funnel where every taka has a target before it's spent.
Mahdi Hasan · Communication & Media Buying Partner
Beyond paid
Digital PR and curated group syndication
Paid media opened the funnel, but a strong organic layer compounded it. Alongside the campaigns, I built a digital PR communication programme and a curated network of community-group syndication — seeding admissions stories, achievements and program content across relevant education, student and parent communities and earned channels. It extended reach and credibility well beyond the paid budget.
2.3M
Engagement generated organically
0.7M
Organic traffic driven to owned channels
How the organic layer worked
- Curated a network of relevant student, parent, education and community groups for content syndication
- Ran digital PR communication — placing news, milestones and program stories across earned and owned channels
- Synced the organic posting cadence to amplify each intake's paid push
- Repurposed high-performing paid creative into organic formats to compound reach at no extra media cost
Execution snapshot
How the plan was run
| Focus | Implementation |
|---|---|
| Audience segments | Prospective students and parents — interest, lookalike and retargeting layers |
| Key channels | Facebook, Instagram, Google Search & Performance Max |
| Objectives & bid types | Reach, engagement, lead, messaging, conversations, PMax conversions |
| Creative | Program, campus and scholarship messaging in Bangla and English |
| Measurement | Meta lead forms & Messenger, Google conversion tracking, cost-per-result |
| Budget controls | USD/BDT reconciliation, ASF & VAT handling, advance-payment scheduling |
My role
What I owned
- Planned and bought all paid media across Facebook, Instagram and Google for admissions cycles
- Built full-funnel media plans mapped to each intake, with objective-level budgets and cost-per-result targets
- Managed the university's paid social and search campaigns end to end
- Coordinated program messaging and calls to action in Bangla and English with internal teams
- Owned budget governance — USD/BDT reconciliation, agency service fee, VAT and advance-payment scheduling
- Set up and monitored lead capture across Meta lead forms, Messenger and Google form/call tracking
- Built the digital PR communication programme and curated group-syndication network that drove organic reach
- Delivered campaign performance summaries and reporting to university stakeholders
- Worked as the external media and communication partner alongside the Brand & Communication office
What I took from it
Key insights
Match objective to channel
Meta for demand and conversation, Google for high-intent capture — each platform doing the job it does best.
Conversations convert in education
Messenger volume matters in admissions; a message thread is often the real start of an application.
Price every result up front
Setting a target cost per lead before spend keeps a fixed budget honest and comparable across cycles.
Governance is part of buying
Advance payment, ASF and VAT planning protect activation timelines as much as any targeting choice.
Seasonality rules admissions
Front-loading awareness before the deadline crunch keeps later conversion costs manageable.
Where I would take it next
- Layer program-level landing pages and enhanced conversion tracking for cleaner attribution
- Build lookalikes from enrolled-student data to sharpen prospecting
- Automate a shared performance dashboard for the Brand & Communication office
- Add a nurture sequence from first message to application to reduce drop-off
Why this case matters
An accountable acquisition system, not a scatter of boosts
Over roughly two years, the work turned Uttara University's seasonal admissions pressure into a repeatable, measurable engine — one integrated plan, clear targets, disciplined budget governance and reporting the university could act on. It is exactly the kind of branding, communication and campaign discipline a university's outreach function runs on.
Client website
www.uttara.ac.bd ↗