5 Higher Ed Marketing Strategy Tips

A marketing strategy contains many elements that work together to help you meet various goals for your higher education institution. First off, you need to make potential applicants, parents, high school teachers, and the general public aware of your program. Then, you must nurture prospective students so that they not only apply but enroll if they are accepted. Mixed in among these goals, you may have institutional priorities and objectives that will add layers to your efforts.

As you plan out the elements of your strategy, here are some tips to keep in mind:

Strengthen Your Website

Your website is the number one way students begin researching college choices, according to our recent survey of high school students. But the second most popular venue for students to find the right college is search engines like Google. Your website needs to be easy to navigate, contain important resources for students, and be optimized for search terms to help students find you and your programs. Ensure that your central marketing asset—your website—gets the attention it deserves.

2. Personalize and Segment

With data science tools now available to understand prospective students’ needs, and advertising targets who expect content relevant to their interests, it’s easier to find ways to reach the different target audiences or personas in your plan. With search retargeting, geofencing, reverse mail lookup, and other tools, you can find great ways to reach each type of student or advisor with messages that will draw them closer to your school.

3. Involve Students, Alumni, Instructors, and Staff in Marketing

Influencer marketing is very successful, and you have a campus just teeming with potential influencers. Involve your students in efforts to get out the word on social media, get exciting staff or faculty to write blogs that highlight activities, and consider featuring stories from alumni who have some very fond memories of their time at your institution. Livestreaming on social media is a fun way to involve your “influencers.”

4. Entertain with Video

Video continues to be an important way to engage your targets, and the entertainment value of using social media channels can make this part of a winning strategy for your institution. Include short videos in as many ways as possible: on your website, in emails, on social media, and more.

5. Analyze and Survey

Data analytics can tell you what parts of your strategy are working so you can elaborate on them. You can also use them to help you plan your strategy by analyzing your region’s demographics, common search terms, and more. Surveys are another way to collect valuable intel on students; use surveys to find out what attracted students to your institution, what they needed or appreciated in the admissions process, and any other valuable data that will help shape your marketing strategy to best attract students to your school.

 Contact us today  to find out how we can help level up your education marketing strategy.