12 Higher Education Marketing Trends of 2023

Advertising and marketing developments come and go at a fast pace, and better schooling is not immune to those shifts.

Particularly at a time when faculty enrollment is down, increased schooling establishments should evolve, innovate, and leverage new methods to draw and interact college students.

If you wish to keep forward of the curve, look no additional. Listed here are the highest 12 increased schooling advertising and marketing developments of 2023.

1. Quick-Type Video

Quick-form video is taking the social media world by storm, and better schooling can (and may) take part.

Quick-form movies seize the eye of at the moment’s digitally savvy college students and supply a artistic outlet to showcase your campus tradition, occasions, and information. Think about leveraging platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and Snapchat to ship bite-sized content material like campus highlights, behind-the-scenes content material, and even college and pupil interviews.

Check out this instance from the College of Utah:

2. Conversational Advertising and marketing

Conversational advertising and marketing makes use of an interactive strategy to have interaction an viewers in actual time. Within the context of upper schooling, the place potential college students need personalised experiences and fast responses, this technique is an efficient approach to accomplish each.

For instance, the College of Kentucky engages with college students on social media by publishing polls and questions by way of Instagram Tales. By using these interactive options, the college includes its viewers in conversations about campus life, educational preferences, and extra.

3. Video Touchdown Pages

Among the many top-performing touchdown pages, 30% incorporate video. What’s extra, embedded video content material can improve conversion charges by 86%.

For increased schooling establishments, video-friendly touchdown pages can provide a digital campus expertise that static photographs and textual content can not match. However the benefits transcend simply aesthetics.

From a technical perspective, movies can improve the time spent on a web page, not directly benefiting search engine optimisation rankings. Should you already use video as part of your advertising and marketing, incorporating it into your touchdown web page technique also can assist improve person engagement and drive conversions.

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4. Scholar Ambassador Packages

Who higher to talk about your establishment and its greatness than your personal college students? That is what makes pupil ambassadors so compelling.

You’ll be able to consider this technique as a mixture of influencer advertising and marketing and word-of-mouth advertising and marketing. Scholar ambassadors provide a real and relatable perspective that resonates with potential college students. They will share firsthand insights about campus life, educational applications, and the general pupil expertise – like on this instance from Quinnipiac College:

In the end, these genuine narratives will help potential candidates envision themselves as a part of the neighborhood. By way of their tales, pupil ambassadors can play a pivotal function in attracting and interesting new college students.

5. Cross-Channel Advertising and marketing

Advertising and marketing is all about assembly folks the place they’re — however lately, audiences span each nook of the web.

By establishing a presence throughout a number of channels, you’ll be able to make sure that you attain your viewers wherever they’re — be it on social media, electronic mail, search engines like google and yahoo, and even conventional media.

For example, youthful demographics gravitate towards social media platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and Twitter. They usually search visually interesting, bite-sized content material. Digital advertisements, digital campus excursions, and short-form movies are extremely efficient for this group.

Alumni, however, may be extra energetic on social media platforms like Fb and LinkedIn, particularly for networking functions. Alumni-focused content material, akin to emails, reunion occasions, and success tales are related to this viewers.

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6. Digital Excursions

One of many main issues of potential college students is whether or not or not the tradition is an efficient match. To be able to discover out, tons of of hundreds of scholars tour faculty campuses yearly.

Nevertheless, digital excursions provide a brand new approach to “expertise” a school campus with out ever leaving your own home. Digital occasions bridge geographical gaps and provide an interactive manner for establishments to have interaction with potential college students and foster a way of neighborhood.

360-degree digital excursions can showcase key amenities, dorms, lecture halls, and extra. In addition they enable attendees to discover at their very own tempo and spend extra time in areas which are of curiosity.

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7. Chatbots

You may consider chatbots within the context of customer support. Nevertheless, this expertise additionally offers instructional establishments a brand new approach to help and information present and potential college students.

Take Ocelot, for instance. It is an AI-powered chatbot that solutions frequent questions and assists college students across the clock. At the moment, over 500 schools and universities leverage this device.

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Chatbots, like Ocelot, additionally give administrative employees a carry, enabling them to give attention to extra advanced duties. On high of that, it gives a centralized location for all pupil interactions.

8. Devoted Hashtags

A devoted hashtag is a novel tag that represents a selected matter, model, occasion, or neighborhood. In contrast to generic hashtags which are extensively used (i.e., #finalsweek or #campuslife), devoted hashtags are created for a selected viewers. 

. For example, Brown College has a devoted hashtag (#SceneAtBrown) that college students can embrace when posting campus-related photographs and movies.

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When college students and alumni use a devoted hashtag, they don’t seem to be simply sharing an image — they’re affiliating themselves with an establishment. Think about leveraging a devoted hashtag to your subsequent occasion or mission to spice up its visibility and foster neighborhood spirit.

9. Visitor Running a blog

Running a blog is an efficient advertising and marketing channel to highlight pupil testimonials, college profiles, and alumni success tales.

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10. Digital Occasions and Webinars

In contrast to static brochures, webinars provide an interactive platform the place attendees can ask questions and obtain fast responses from admissions counselors or college members.

For example, UC Santa Barbara hosts digital occasions to assist college students “meet with UCSB employees and college students, find out about alternatives on campus, get recommendations on filling out your UC utility, and extra.” On high of that, they re-publish webinars and pre-recorded movies on their YouTube channel, which college students can entry at any time.

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11. Video Advertising and marketing

The human mind processes visuals 60,000 occasions sooner than textual content. This makes video content material way more partaking than textual content or nonetheless photographs alone.

For potential college students sifting via piles of brochures and web sites, a compelling video can instantly seize their consideration and convey a message extra successfully.

Whether or not hyping up an upcoming occasion (like within the instance under from the College of Rochester), introducing a brand new college member, or giving a campus tour, movies can simplify and current advanced info in an easy-to-understand, visible format.

12. Customized Advertising and marketing

Today, audiences not reply to generic, one-size-fits-all messages. Customized content material is not only most popular; it is anticipated.

In different phrases, in at the moment’s aggressive increased schooling panorama, personalization would be the nice differentiator. 

For example, take into account a potential who comes throughout an advert on social media for a college’s marine biology program, a area she’s enthusiastic about. Intrigued, she clicks on the advert and reads a associated article on the college’s groundbreaking analysis in marine ecosystems. The following day, she receives a follow-up electronic mail from the college that particulars scholarships for marine biology majors, testimonials from present college students in this system, and an invite to a digital tour of the marine analysis amenities.

In fact, personalization extends past the recruitment part. By sharing tailor-made information — like alumni success tales from a selected program — establishments can preserve stronger, lasting relationships with their graduates, resulting in elevated alumni involvement and donations.