The idea of a "marketing budget" may seem daunting initially; however, it’s essential when developing and implementing an effective marketing strategy for your institution. With the necessary funds, it becomes easier to take advantage of opportunities presented by emerging marketing trends or create compelling content that resonates with your target audience, ultimately influencing their decision to choose your institution.

In this blog post, we will explore the world of marketing budgets in higher education, including average spending figures, areas where universities invest the most, critical components included in a marketing budget, and valuable insights on creating an effective budget that aligns with your institution's goals.

What is the Average Budget for Marketing?

Companies allocate 6% to 14% of their total revenue to their marketing budgets. However, this figure can vary significantly depending on the nature of the business. Business-to-consumer (B2C) companies generally invest more in marketing than business-to-business (B2B) companies. Moreover, smaller companies often dedicate more revenue to marketing to build brand awareness and drive growth.

In regards to higher education, according to a Simpson Scarborough survey, institutions spend between $429 and $623 per enrolled student, per year, on marketing. These figures represent many institutions' commitment to establishing a robust presence in higher education.

As companies mature and establish their brand, their marketing spending rate tends to slow down, typically due to improved results measurement enabling smarter spending. With a solid brand reputation, the focus may shift towards maintaining brand awareness and optimizing marketing ROI. Within the digital space, search and display marketing often represent a large portion of digital marketing budgets, reflecting their effectiveness in reaching and engaging audiences.

Therefore, as you define your marketing budget, keep these averages and trends in mind. Understanding these norms can provide valuable benchmarks as you plan and adjust your marketing efforts.

Which Universities Are Spending the Most on Marketing? 

According to The Hechinger Report, several universities, such as Southern New Hampshire University and Nonprofit Western Governors University, have become notable for their significant marketing investments. For instance, tax documents show that Southern New Hampshire University allocated $144 million to advertising in 2019 alone. In the same year, Western Governors University was just a little behind, spending $127 million.

Furthermore, the University of Maryland Global Campus announced in 2019 that they would dedicate $500 million to marketing over the following six years. Half of this budget is allocated to digital advertising, underlining the importance of this channel in today's higher education institutions' advertising strategies.

Private nonprofit universities, including some of the most selective ones, also invest significantly in advertising. The following figures represent the marketing expenditures for the 2018 or 2019 tax year, depending on the most recent documents provided by the respective institutions.

• Johns Hopkins University: $29.6 million

• New York University: $28.5 million

• University of Pennsylvania: $25.7 million

• Northwestern University: $25.6 million

• University of Miami: $23.2 million

• Columbia University: $13.2 million

• Boston University: $12.7 million

• Georgetown University: $11.6 million

• Stanford University: $10.3 million

These universities' substantial investments in marketing highlight the value they place on building brand awareness and reaching potential students. While only some universities can match these budgets, these figures underscore the growing trend of significant marketing investment in higher education.

What Does a Marketing Budget Include? 

Understanding what goes into your budget will help you manage it effectively and yield the best results. Here are some key areas you'll want to account for:

1. Advertising 

With multiple channels and formats, your advertising plan is where you can genuinely connect with prospective students. Here's a bit more insight into what each advertising method entails:

• Content Marketing: This can be anything from insightful blog posts about student life, e-books on choosing the right course, and engaging videos about your campus culture. Content marketing helps establish your institution as an authority, giving potential students more reasons to choose you over others.

• Social Media Advertising: Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat, and TikTok have become important places to engage prospective students. But beyond regular posts and updates, these platforms offer paid advertising options that can significantly extend your reach.

• Social Media Management: This involves regular posts, quick replies to comments and queries, and engagement with other content. While this may seem like a lot of work, it can significantly boost your institution's visibility and reputation.

• Email Marketing: A well-crafted email can deliver your message to potential students' inboxes. This strategy is ideal for sharing detailed information about courses, success stories, upcoming events, or even a friendly nudge to complete an application process.

• Pay Per Click (PPC): PPC ads can help increase your visibility, particularly for competitive search terms. For example, a PPC ad could ensure your institution appears at the top of the results when a student searches for "best online engineering degree programs."

2. Branding

Branding, in the context of higher education, plays a pivotal role in distinguishing your institution from others in the crowded academic landscape. It goes beyond just an eye-catching logo or a catchy tagline – branding is about the total experience that potential students have with your institution, online or offline.

Branding includes everything from your website's user experience (UX) and user interface (UI), the voice and tone of your communication, to real-world experiences at open houses or campus tours. Effective branding can create powerful, positive perceptions that attract students and contribute to their enrollment decision.

3. Agencies and Freelancers

If you're planning an ambitious marketing and branding campaign or adjusting your social media strategy, sometimes the workload surpasses your in-house team's capacity. That's when agencies and freelancers come into play. They can provide expert services to boost your marketing efforts.

• Higher Education Digital Marketing Agencies: A specialized higher education marketing agency can be instrumental in your marketing strategy. These agencies bring a deep understanding of the higher education landscape, prospective students' behaviour, and effective marketing tactics in the sector.

• Freelancers: Freelancers offer another option for enhancing your marketing efforts. You might hire freelancers for specific projects or tasks, such as graphic design, content creation or social media management. You can hire a freelancer for a one-off project or establish a long-term relationship for ongoing work.

4. Software

These tools offer valuable assistance in executing, managing, and tracking your marketing campaigns, helping to ensure that you reach your goals. As you plan your marketing budget, be sure to consider these critical software categories:

How to Create a Higher Education Marketing Budget

A well-informed marketing budget is crucial for higher education institutions aiming to reach prospective college students. Let's break down this process step-by-step.

Step 1: Understand your institution's goals

Before seeing a return on your investment, you must outline your institution's goals. Are you trying to boost enrollment in your online and continuing education programs? Your marketing budget should directly support these goals.

Step 2: Define your target audience

Next, figure out who your prospective college students are. Are you aiming to attract students straight out of high school, enrolled students looking for executive education, or adult students interested in online education programs? Understanding your audience is the key to effective targeting and, thus, efficient use of your marketing budget.

Step 3: Benchmark against similar institutions

Chief marketing officers could pay more attention to the importance of understanding what colleges and universities of similar size and scope are spending on marketing. Studying what other universities spend can give you a realistic perspective on your marketing budget and possible results.

Step 4: Allocate funds to different marketing channels

Digital advertising is a cost-effective digital marketing channel for higher education institutions. Therefore, you should allocate a significant portion of your marketing budget to this channel. Balancing your digital and conventional marketing efforts is crucial for reaching prospective college students graduating from high school and those interested in continuing executive education.

Step 5: Plan for the future

A well-structured marketing budget should also consider future opportunities and changes. For instance, you could plan a marketing and branding campaign or prepare to be the official education partner at a higher education marketing conference — budget for these significant marketing expenditures in advance to avoid last-minute going over budget.

Step 6: Monitor and adjust

The landscape of education marketing is constantly evolving. Stay adaptable. Monitor your marketing efforts and adjust your spending to ensure maximum efficacy. Utilizing marketing technology can provide significant marketing advantages.

Create a Budget That Prioritizes Your Goals

A well-planned and adequately allocated marketing budget is crucial for the success of institutions in today's competitive landscape. By understanding the average budget for marketing in the industry and where universities typically allocate their funds, you gain valuable insights into the strategies employed by successful institutions.

However, in our experience, marketers in the higher education sector often find themselves facing the challenge of budget constraints. Financial limitations can hinder your access to marketing tools, limit your reach on paid advertising platforms, and affect the quality of your marketing materials.

It's one of the biggest challenges in higher education digital marketing. Read our solution in our previous blog post, "7 Challenges in Higher Education Digital Marketing + Solutions to Fix Them."

Book a Free Consultation

Implementing new marketing strategies requires a lot of planning and execution. If you need help, we offer customized, full-service higher education marketing services that will fill your pipeline with quality prospects and applications. You can schedule a free consultation with one of our experts to learn more about our services and how they can help your school grow!

Who We Are

Noetic Marketer is a higher education digital marketing agency that supports universities and colleges in many aspects. At the heart of Noetic Marketer are a team of strategists, designers, and analytic minds focused on achieving your school's enrollment and student and alums engagement goals.

Over the past few years, our team has created and implemented complete digital marketing solutions for higher education institutions across North America.

Our services include digital strategy consultations, search engine optimization, pay-per-click advertising, social media advertising, content marketing, website design, email marketing, CRM implementation, and conversion rate optimization.

About the Author

Krystal Wiltshire first entered the digital marketing world when she interned at a small agency in Montreal, Quebec, where she discovered her knack for blog writing.

Since then, she has continuously improved her skills, working closely with small business owners and marketing teams in larger-scale businesses.

As a Digital Marketing Coordinator at Noetic Marketer, Krystal strives to create content that positions our clients’ brands or companies in a positive light and uplifts them to become industry leaders.

When she’s not working, Krystal loves to break into spontaneous dance sessions, look up new cooking recipes, and watch her favourite crime shows on Netflix.