Five Ways Higher Ed Marketing Has Evolved

With the volume of programs outpacing demand from prospective students, schools that want to stay competitive will have to rethink their marketing strategies to grow enrollment. Let’s explore five key components to optimizing your digital marketing for higher education.

1. Prioritize data-driven strategies

Leverage your data to understand how prospective students engage with your school’s online presence. Connecting website, social media, email marketing, and other data can help your marketing team identify trends, optimize marketing channels, and strategically allocate resources.

Read more: Data-Driven Strategies to Increase Enrollment

2. Content marketing: Building authority and SEO

Content marketing is the heart of a long-term, organic online presence optimization as it builds authority and boosts search engine optimization (SEO). Utilize SEO best practices to guide your content, then embrace analytics to understand audience engagement and finetune your strategy.

Read more: Capturing Interest: Content Marketing for Higher Education

3. Leverage paid media

Paid media still has an important place at the table for a healthy higher education marketing strategy. Balance content marketing with paid media — which is particularly useful for targeting and nurturing specific audiences — to get the most out of the digital landscape.

Read more: Rethinking Paid Media’s Role in the Marketing Mix

4. Use AI to boost efficiency

Artificial intelligence (AI), such as chat bots, can create a more efficient student experience. Our work suggests that students who use chat bots have a conversion rate over 2x higher than those who do not. AI can be used for predictive analytics and personalized marketing strategies, with new developments emerging regularly.

Read more: Impact of Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education

5. Align marketing and admissions teams

For any strategy to be as successful, marketing and admissions teams need to work together. Break down the silos to create a collaborative culture, sharing data and engagement insights to best serve students and grow enrollments.

Read more: Marketing and Admissions: Better Together

Enrollment growth starts now

Embracing a holistic approach to a higher education marketing strategy is key to rising above the crowded market and reaching students. This takes time, expertise, and an understanding of which marketing technology tools are worth investing in. Collegis is the expert in leveraging data and technology to create comprehensive marketing strategies that grow enrollment. Need help? The innovation enablers at Collegis are ready to get to work on your strategy.