Your prospective students are experiencing a mobile mind shift. Their expectation? The ability to access any information or service about your campus on their mobile device at the precise moment they need it.
That means full integration of all digital assets, including a strong web presence with dynamic content; email that is personal and relevant; and a plan for digital advertising that is nimble and yet effective must be at the forefront of all enrollment recruitment plans.
There are dozens of different digital strategies that enrollment and marketing leaders can employ. Key to any of them is the ability to measure and adjust accordingly. As with any strategic plan, digital marketing is a living entity that must be nurtured and invested in.
Below are five digital strategies that can make the most impact on your enrollment funnel.
1. Use digital advertising to create consistent experience for prospective students.
Digital Advertising takes many shapes and forms. However, it is important to remember that targeting and retargeting strategies not only reenforce your brand but also can deliver specific, targeted messages to prospective students at different junctures of their enrollment journey. Be sure to understand and leverage digital ads that target specific email addresses, household IPs and narrow geographies. For example, you can direct ads to a science building at your feeder community college for transfers into your biology program. Additionally, you can message your future students on social media by demographics, interests and beyond.
2. Build your online community … before they arrive on campus.
Students and their families can learn about your institution as they interact with their peers and look for information in a variety of online communities. Be sure to interact and listen for their needs and questions in online communities such as CafeMom, Quora, and Reddit. Engage and share as you see fit but also listen and understand their concerns and dilemmas.
3. Send emails to your prospective students based on their behaviors.
Believe it or not, your prospective students are very much interested in receiving emails from you … as long as they are authentic and meet their needs. Drip campaigns from your CRM often will not address their circumstances. Use Behavioral Email to deliver email messages that are timely (when the student is actively engaged). Capture’s Behavioral Email Series (BES) campaigns consistently outperform industry benchmarks. Our average click rate (3.1%) is slightly above the industry average reported by Mailchimp (3.0%), while our unsubscribe rate (0.08%) is less than half the industry norm. Additionally, our bounce rate remains exceptionally low at just 0.1%, ensuring high deliverability and engagement. Long gone are the days of batch-and-blast; here to stay are the days when email communication reflects a student’s behavior and engagement.
4. Influence the influencers.
On every campus there are members of your community that can reach your prospective students when you cannot. Having a small army of influencers (active students, awesome faculty and successful alumni) can have an impact on how prospective students perceive your campus and can create great interactions.
5. Embrace video and audio production.
The use of video and audio has enhanced what a web presence can be. Putting out relevant video content allows your prospective students to get a feel for what is happening on your campus. You can also offer audio snippets of inspiring lectures by your faculty or produce podcasts about campus life. YouTube and TikTok are now the most important channels for institutions working to connect with students where they are … online and in your digital environment.
Do you need help seizing that “mobile moment” with your prospective students? Capture has the tools and expertise. Contact us today to find out more.
