3 Higher Ed Marketing Strategies That Will Boost Your Enrollment in 2023
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Over the last several years, the higher education industry has seen astonishing resilience and adaptability towards the ever-changing circumstances of Covid-19. Through waves of variants, lockdown restrictions, and the concern for student and staff safety, higher education institutions, departments, and professors have utilized technology in ways that will continue to shape the future of learning for years to come.
Marketing, content creation, social media and PPC advertising have changed drastically in such a short period. It’s time for higher education institutions to learn from the creative innovation that exploded during Covid-19 and apply it to their school’s platforms and marketing strategies.
You don’t need us to tell you that the marketing trends constantly change. But, for higher education, it’s looking a little different regarding what will boost enrollment in 2023.
In this blog, we will break down the three upcoming strategies in marketing for higher education that will not only boost enrollment but also reshape how your audience connects with your institution’s values.
1. Humanize Your Higher Ed Institution
Most higher education institutions have perfected their online branding. School colours are a strong force in brand recognition and pride, and each school has its unique voice and overall status that resonates with its students and staff.
However, when it comes to engaging with the younger generations as potential students - the generalized voice of an institution no longer speaks to that audience.
Younger generations, specifically Gen Z, have begun to lose trust in brands. They have become hyper-aware of when they are being “sold to,” and they are searching for more human interactions when making decisions about purchases or their future.
Evidence comes from the power of influencer marketing, people who are on the ground, engaging, listening and speaking to their audience on behalf of a company:
“Worth just $1.7 billion in 2016, the industry is set to reach $13.8 billion by 2022 as the industry witnesses more growth and becomes a more effective marketplace. This growth means more widespread use and will require marketers to evolve influencer marketing strategies in the way campaigns are measured, create analytics to scale campaigns and look at how to manage relationships between brands and influencers.” (Digital Marketing Institute)
Now, of course, it’s difficult for higher education institutions to utilize influencers in their marketing, but what we can learn from the tactics of influencers is the human connection between a brand and its services/products.
The best way to emulate this fast-growing online human connection trend with potential students is to bring your people to the forefront:
Staff
Department heads
Current students
Activity leaders
Alumni
All members of your institution can bring an inside view of resident life, student life, program opportunities and much more. Having these members be active on your social media, blog, and newsletter allows for a more personal experience between the institution and the audience.
Prioritizing this marketing tactic will give potential students direct communication with your school, allowing them to feel represented regarding student life and concerns, ultimately encouraging them to consider you for their degree.
Testimonials: The Best Way to Humanize Your Higher Education Institution
In our previous blog, “Why Student Testimonials are Important for Higher Education & How to Gather Them,” we dive deep into why testimonials are a great tool to highlight your institution’s most important values:
“Testimonials for higher education allow students to learn about current or past students’ experiences and get a more direct telling of the atmosphere, what to expect, and what campus life is like. More importantly, it allows graduate students to develop a deeper connection and build trust with faculty while getting more feedback on program expectations and outcomes.”
In our next point, we will highlight the most effective way to have members of your institution engage with your potential students.
2. Incorporate Short-Form Video Into Your Higher Ed Marketing Strategy
There’s no doubt that TikTok made waves in the marketing world once the pandemic hit. What started as an app for lip-syncing and dancing has become a powerhouse in social media marketing.
For a couple of years, marketers had perfected their social media strategies, but every once in a while, a business will come along and move the industry forward; enter TikTok.
TikTok was founded in China in 2016 and launched in other markets in 2017. It wasn’t until TikTok merged with another app called Musical.ly in 2018 that it became available worldwide. Since then, it started gaining popularity and was ranked the 3rd fastest growing brand in 2020 by Morning Consult.
Short-form video content is on the rise and has no plans to slow down as other apps are reformatting their platforms to fit this trend, such as Instagram reels and Youtube #shorts.
With TikTok now becoming the most popular platform with over 1 billion monthly active users, more high education institutions are incorporating TikTok into their marketing strategies.
“41% of TikTok users are between 16 and 24-years-old, a prime demographic for HigherEd.” (Convince and Convert)
Short-Form Video/TikTok Higher Ed Content Ideas
Most schools have well-rounded Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter accounts to update and engage with their followers. Still, TikTok is the most effective platform when implementing short-form video content into your strategy.
The University of Toronto’s TikTok account perfectly utilizes various content ideas to engage with the student body, campus life, and the city of Toronto. Here are some prime examples and their views:
Showing the academic history (2.1M)
This video reveals the impact of researchers at U of T discovering Insulin 100 years ago. This content idea is an excellent opportunity to showcase the academic achievements your institution has made throughout history and establish prestige. Using this format, you can reach a much wider audience who may not have known about your school but are now interested in learning more about your institution and programs.
Interesting facts about the campus (138.6K)
This video highlights the most popular movies filmed at the U of T campus, such as Goodwill Hunting, The Incredible Hulk, Robocop and Mean Girls. Incorporating facts like this allows the app’s algorithm to pick up these popular movie titles as keywords and reach more audiences who enjoy these movies.
College and university campuses have many interesting facts about their buildings and city. By sharing some of these facts in this form, you may pique the interest of potential students.
Campus sports (42.3K)
Sports media always has a space online that creates plenty of engagement. Filming all aspects of your school’s sports teams, such as games, practices, fans, and alumni athletes, on TikTok is a great way to show potential athletes the community your institution fosters. This also humanizes your school’s sports teams, letting fans see the teams’ personalities, drive, and sportsmanship.
Showcasing international students (20.7K)
TikTok is a global platform with a powerful algorithm that can reach interested students worldwide and boost enrollment. Sharing the experience and stories of international students on your platform reveals that your institution supports your student body, and your programs garner interest from respective students in various countries.
Alumni stories and testimonials (12.1K)
Building off our previous point, sharing student and alumni stories and their connection to your institution is the perfect way to truly picture what type of personal/social life potential students will have.
Campus tours (10.9K)
Having professional images and footage of your campus and facilities across your platform is a necessity. In addition, results show that providing unfiltered, short-form videos with a more personal and relatable view of your campus, buildings, and day-to-day student life is an effective way to connect with your audience and boost enrollment.
3. Invest In Good Copywriting for Higher Ed Marketing
People often underestimate the value of good copywriting. Strong writing and communication are integral when it comes to marketing and advertising. The ability to use language that represents your institution in a way that speaks directly to and for your audience is something professional writers with any background can do with ease.
Some marketers will claim to be copywriters without having a solid portfolio or writing background to back it up. They can be exceptional marketers, strategists and creatives. Still, when applying brand guidelines within web copy, captions, blogs, and any written work, it’s best to invest in professionals to represent your school.
“In higher education marketing, I see way too many websites where an overloaded (sometimes understaffed) marketing department simply tells each organizational department to write the copy for their pages on the website. The resulting copy is dense blocks of jargon and academic gobbledygook that scares the target audience away. Academic writers have to learn the art of web writing just like the first Jamaican bobsled team had to learn how to bobsled. Don’t just grab anybody from the English department. You don’t want a novelist. You want a copywriter.” (Caylor Solutions)
If you want to learn how to create compelling copy to boost enrollment, check out our previous blog, “Copywriting: Finding Your Big Idea.” This blog highlights four ways to ensure that your copy stands out and speaks to your target audience.
You can also read our post, “Best Digital Marketing Tools for Higher Education in 2023,” to discover some of our favourite copywriting tools!
By investing in good copywriters and dynamic software, your higher ed institution will be able to more efficiently produce high-quality content that resonates with potential students and boosts enrollment.
Who We Are
Noetic Marketer is a full-service digital marketing agency with roots in both Ottawa and the GTA. We specialize in creating and maintaining digital marketing campaigns for higher education, e-commerce, and professional services. As digital marketers, we strive to find solutions to every company’s lead generation challenges, creating personalized marketing strategies that suit the specific needs of our clients.
Need help with developing effective messaging for your higher education digital marketing campaigns?
Check out Noetic Marketer’s higher education marketing services page to learn how we can help you achieve your digital marketing goals.
If you have any questions about higher education marketing or want to start a digital marketing campaign, schedule a free consultation with us!
About the Author
After graduating from Queen’s University with an English Language & Literature degree in 2019, Emry Joy Tommasini has dedicated her time to honing her skills and beginning a career in the copywriting industry - learning about blog writing, email marketing, editing and publishing. During 2020, she started putting her literature degree towards a more personal passion by writing book reviews on her Emry’s Bookshelf Instagram page. The account flourished into creating an online outlet to write more in-depth reviews for Emry to truly analyze texts without caption limitations. In the past year, Emry has established herself as a copywriter, gaining experience writing SEO-oriented copy for various small businesses across Ontario in a government-funded program to help business owners during Covid-19. As a Copywriter & SEO Strategist at Noetic Marketer, Emry has continued to strengthen her copywriting skills and SEO knowledge in the marketing world and is excited to have entered a career that feeds her creative abilities and thirst for continual growth and knowledge.