In the newly published Capture white paper, Three Things Every University Should Be Doing This Summer, Capture Director of Undergraduate and Secondary Education Initiatives Jamie Gleason says its important that colleges reenergize their processes, their pools and their outreach mechanisms.
Another suggestion he has for enrollment offices: refresh your message.
“One thing COVID-19 has done is bring people back into their email accounts,” Gleason writes. “Some industries are reporting more than a 30% increase in open and click-through rates via email since March 2020! So, in this ‘meso-season’ between Fall 2020 work and Fall 2021 startup, round up your most creative workgroup to speak a new message through your email communications.”
What should this new messaging say? For one, university emails need to strengthen the institution’s position in the marketplace during these uncertain economic times. Gleason suggests emphasizing career placements and discussing dual-level or 4+1 programs.
“Don’t dwell too much on bad news,” he adds. “Concentrate on turning economic lemons into lemonade through story.”
Due to lingering uncertainty about the pandemic, it’s also important that schools use their messaging to be responsive and empathetic to what is happening both on campus and throughout the world, Gleason writes. This means revisiting and revising communications several times during the cycle.
Also, this fall promises to be quite different on campuses throughout the country. That means it also will be different for prospective students researching potential colleges for Fall 2021. More than ever it will be vital for a school’s messaging to explain the value of visiting and/or attending specific online visit events, Gleason writes.
Summer Session
The subject of email communication was a big portion of Capture’s recent webinar, “Summer Session: Two Strategies to Reenergize Student Search and Email Marketing.” During the 45-minute presentation, Gleason was joined by Capture Director of Communication Strategy Anna Havrilesko to talk about how colleges can execute effective email outreach based on student behaviors. Capture recently reformatted its email delivery tools … and clients are seeing up to a 100% increase in open and click-through rates.
Check out the webinar recording to learn more. And be sure to download the new white paper, Three Things Every University Should Be Doing This Summer.
By Kevin Hyde, Senior Content Manager, Capture
