For any college, digital marketing is a necessary component to enrollment marketing strategies. Prospective students research online, whether they are busy adult learners or digital-native Gen-Zers, and if your college isn't showing up in their searches, you will be missing out.
Digital marketing is often thought of as Google ads that drive conversions, bringing in new inquiries. However, digital marketing encompasses a lot more than that. It includes ads across online platforms, organic search, email, and text messages. Higher education digital marketing strategies that take advantage of a variety of online tactics will drive conversions and also raise awareness and nurture inquiries to become students.
Digital Marketing's Role in the Enrollment Marketing Funnel
The average person spends almost 7 hours a day on screens connected to the internet. This means people considering college are online throughout the long journey to becoming a student, from when the idea of going to college first comes to mind to deciding which college to enroll in. Higher education digital marketing can align with every stage of this journey by using a variety of tactics.
Awareness Stage
At the awareness stage, people are early in their college search. They may still be deciding whether or not they want to go to college, what part of the country they want to go to, or what major they are interested in. They are not actively in research mode at this stage, but they are thinking about college and talking to people about it.
For higher ed enrollment marketing teams, digital marketing can help your institution be present as people are thinking about college. Visual marketing that showcases your institution's energy, like display ads, YouTube videos, or videos shared on social media platforms, can capture people's attention. Prospective students at this stage are excited about the potential a degree or new experience can bring them, so you want to tap into that enthusiasm in your marketing. Using keyword targeting, interest-based targeting, or look-a-like models in advertising can help you find people in this stage of their journey.
Consideration Stage
A prospective student is researching colleges more heavily in the consideration stage. At this point, they might be searching for specific majors/degree programs or certain colleges. So you can get more targeted in your higher education digital marketing by running display ads, paid search ads, and social media ads for program, degree, and institution-specific keywords.
Consistently putting effort into SEO can also help prospective students come across your institution during their research. Keep in mind that people search on more than just Google. Gen Zers go to social media for searches, like Instagram and TikTok. More and more people are also using Generative AI tools like ChatGPT for research. Incorporating keywords that people might search for in your content and producing quality content that shows your expertise will help your college appear wherever people go to search.
Prospective students also look at college websites and social media to help find programs or institutions they are interested in. Incorporating content within your website and social media showcasing your brand, differentiators, and community will help your institution stand out.
Evaluation Stage
At the evaluation stage, prospective students are getting more serious in their research. They want to learn more about each college in order to compare them. At this point, people will be ready to give you their email address to get more specific information about your program or institution.
You can find these people through online advertising targeted specifically for people searching for degrees that drive to web pages or lead forms. At this point, your messaging should draw them in to want to provide an email address by providing something of value and using messaging, imagery, and video to draw them in. Be clear about the action you want them to take and what they will get from it. If the next step is that they will be added to your email list or they will be contacted by an admissions counselor, be upfront so they don't get annoyed and unsubscribe right away.
You can also look beyond traditional online advertising. Participating in lead generation sites, like Niche.com or Princeton Review, where people actively research colleges can also generate inquiries.
Inquiry to Enrolled Student Stages
If someone inquires about your program, it's likely that they also requested information about other programs, so your digital marketing doesn't stop here! Until they enroll as a student, they will be in comparison mode. Through these stages, you will need to make sure your college is top of mind by consistently highlighting why you are the right fit for them and addressing any questions or barriers they may have for taking the next step, whether it is finishing their application or putting down a deposit.
A marketing automation platform is a powerful tool for staying in touch with inquiries and helping to encourage them along the enrollment funnel. With a marketing automation tool you can send emails, text, retargeting ads, and notifications to admissions at scale. By leveraging first-party data, you can personalize messages based on the interests and behaviors of prospective students to be relevant and capture attention when it matters the most.
Enrollment marketing efforts benefit from higher education digital marketing strategies that are deployed in an integrated way across multiple channels. By leveraging a mix of digital marketing efforts, including online advertising, marketing automation, social media, and SEO, you can reach prospective students at every stage of their journey, from thinking about college to becoming an enrolled student.
