Marketing for higher education is no simple feat. Here are some tactics that will ensure your campaigns are always top-notch.
In today’s ever-evolving landscape, keeping up with trends and staying on top of your advertising game is a constant challenge. From new tools and technology to changing consumer behaviors, you need to be flexible and creative to continue providing value to your audience.
It’s not any different for those in the higher education sector. Those looking to market their enrollment marketing campaigns or engage with the student community will have to kick it up a notch in order to stay competitive in the modern age.
Here are some tips and things to keep in mind when it comes to deploying your higher education advertising:
Know and define your goals
While it sounds cliché and fundamental, believe it or not: knowing and defining your goals can (or should we say, will) shape your entire marketing strategy and approach.
Whether you are the institution itself or you are an advertising agency hired by a university or college to execute their marketing campaigns, it’s always important to start by identifying the problems and concerns you want to be resolved or the goals you want to be achieved.
Ask yourself questions that help narrow down what it is exactly you want to address, such as (but not limited to):
- Is it declining enrollment you want to address?
- Are you looking to decrease the cost per lead (e.g. the cost for every application form filled)?
- Are you considering appealing to potential donors and increasing fundraising from alumni?
- Are you hoping to increase the bandwidth and knowledge of what programs your university offers to prospective students considering their college options?
One important thing to remember is that every institution will have its own unique set of goals and objectives. Moreover, even a specific department’s goals might differ from the overall university’s goals. Their budget would also limit and shape the strategies and options you can use. Keep these things in consideration when choosing the medium or channel you’re advertising.
Identify your audience
Now that you’ve identified the goals and objectives as well as the problems you want addressed, the next thing you need to consider is your target audience.
While the easiest and most obvious answer is, of course, the students, there’s so much more than that. Use a wide array of tactics that will target and attract not just prospective students, but a broader group of audiences as well, that may be directly or indirectly related to them.
Your target audience may not just be the prospective students but could also be their parents, the ultimate decision-makers for which university they may want to send their kid to college. Think of the professors, counsellors, and student advisors of specific programs as well, who are looking to increase enrollment in their specific programs. Think of the school alumni as well, who may advocate and refer their family and friends to go to the same school as they did. It’s worth casting a wider net and thinking bigger than just looking at the actual people studying at the university.
Consider making use of geofencing and geotargeting. Location and convenience are some of the biggest factors that students consider when choosing which university to attend. Attract audiences that are within the scope and perimeter of the university as well as within the vicinity. Target those who have recently set foot on or visited the campus.
It’s also worth noting to look at policies and regulations pertaining to targeting audiences who are in the appropriate or legal age range. Ensure that you remain compliant with privacy and cybersecurity policies and any other government regulations when choosing who exactly to target. Leverage first-party data and contextual targeting to capture those people who are actually looking for universities on search engines. That way, you are actually delivering your ads to people who have actually expressed interest or are considering getting into higher education.
Take an omnichannel approach
Using one type of medium or channel isn’t enough in this day and age. Every audience segment has its own set of behaviors that advertisers and universities need to be aware of. Taking an omnichannel approach or a variety of marketing channels in which various audience segments can be reached is more strategic and cohesive.
That means taking advantage of both online and offline channels to ensure that you are getting as many touchpoints with your target audience as you can. A huge majority of the Gen Z and millennial generations are in the digital world nowadays. That means a big opportunity to leverage social media such as Meta and TikTok advertising, as well as connected TV advertising. Don’t forget to also consider those who are also looking at more traditional and offline means; make use of digital out-of-home advertising for those who are not always glued to their screens and those who may be passing by a billboard or a poster, who may have their interests piqued.
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Be mindful of current trends in audience behaviors
Be mindful of any current trends that may impact audience behaviors as well. A survey by OHO shows that 60% of students now use AI chatbots—a big leap from 49% last year. Even more striking, the number of students using chatbots to research college options has nearly doubled, jumping from 17% to 32%. It’s something to keep in mind to integrate this and be able to engage and reach more students in this day and age.
Another trend would be the shifts in the “search cliff”. Traditionally, universities relied on buying student names to fuel their marketing, moving prospects from awareness to consideration, then decision and enrollment. But that approach is losing ground.
Research by CollegeVine has shown that there is only a tiny fraction of purchased names that led to enrollment, and that trend is forecasted to continuously decline. By 2027, we could see 840,000 fewer 12th-grade and 700,000 fewer 10th-grade names available to buy. That’s a 40–80% drop in name availability.
In response, institutions need to expand their reach, or better yet, shift to a different approach that focuses on continuous student engagement. At the same time, it’s critical to diversify lead generation with organic strategies like smart content and to build stronger cross-campus partnerships, especially when resources are tight.
Be more personal
Today’s prospective students are quick to tune out generic marketing. What really grabs their attention are personalized experiences that speak directly to their goals and interests. That’s where hyper-personalized marketing comes in—using data to tailor messages and interactions. It’s become a powerful way to build stronger connections with students and boost enrollment outcomes.
Hyper-personalization takes things a step beyond basic segmentation. By tapping into advanced data analytics and machine learning, it delivers content and messages that are truly tailored to each individual. This approach looks at everything from browsing behavior and demographics to academic interests and past interactions, building a detailed profile to better connect with each prospective student.
That means potentially delivering to a prospective law student an ad that highlights more of your institution’s law programs or tailoring a more personalized landing page to international students on the benefits of enrolling in your campus, while delivering a different ad to an existing alumnus that resonates more with them.
Other types of content to consider include the usage of storytelling: deliver content that actually gives people a perspective on what it’s like to study at your university. Consider using display or video ads that show a “Day in the Life of a Student” or TikTok or Meta ads that show “Cool things they don’t tell you about studying at XYZ”.
By delivering ads and content that actually resonate more with your target audience, you continuously keep them engaged and on the hook. It also helps to keep your university’s name at the top of mind for them when they are actually in the consideration stage.
Final thoughts
Higher education marketing in the digital, modern age isn’t a one-size-fits-all type of situation anymore. You need to leverage a variety of tools and techniques so that you can make the most ROI on your campaigns and capture a wide array of audiences. Keeping up with the latest technological and behavioral trends in the industry and appropriately integrating them can help you constantly provide value to your target audience.
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