As the world becomes more digital, the relationship between enrollment marketing and digital marketing is almost entirely intertwined.

There is no denying that prospective students receive a majority of their college information from digital spaces. Whether they’re scrolling on social media or using a search engine, such as Google, individuals considering a college degree are likely to be influenced by digital marketing efforts. Therefore, the connection between digital marketing and enrollment marketing work is undeniable. 

Though the two types of marketing are often controlled by different offices on campus and paid for through different budgets, the inter-connectedness should still be acknowledged so the two can work together and not against each other. 

Synergy > Silos

Digital marketing on college campuses are often concerned with expanding brand awareness. Enrollment offices are typically interested in sharing program- or institution-specific information to grab the attention of prospective students and their families. 

Instead of viewing these two goals as separate, creating an environment of synergy and collaboration will ultimately produce impressive results for both offices. 

There are several benefits to fighting against the silos that are often naturally created: 

• Creating a Cohesive Brand Experience: Working closely across institutional marketing entities encourages the overarching use of a consistent tone and voice. Consistency between the look and feel of a digital ad and the enrollment campaign a student will later receive provides a seamless experience for prospective students. 
• Optimizing Shared Data: Working together also means sharing data, which leads to channel optimization and appropriately spending the established media budget. 
• Increasing Efficiency and Effectiveness: A synergetic marketing strategy avoids the possibility of doubling up on efforts or working against each other.

All Marketing = Enrollment Marketing

While there is often a differentiation made between brand awareness and enrollment marketing work, in the end, all institutional marketing should have an enrollment bend. This means all marketing assets, placement, and media spend should have enrollment goals in mind. 

Though digital marketing goals may be more related to brand awareness, prospective students and family members of prospective students are guaranteed to see the ads. Ensuring that all marketing content includes useful, compelling information for prospective students and their families will increase brand awareness and enrollment metrics.

Simple Steps Towards Collaboration

For some, creating this collaboration feels impossible. However, there are a few simple steps that will quickly start the process: 

1. Schedule regular meetings between departments.
   As basic as it sounds, reach out to your counterpart to schedule a regular meeting cadence, opening the lines of communication and creating a unified force. 
2. Audit all current marketing assets.
   It would also be beneficial to complete an audit of all marketing assets, the goals of said assets, and their success. Once audited, the necessary changes to the work become more obvious. 
3. Create a digital marketing and enrollment calendar.
   Further into the process, a cohesive content calendar between both digital marketing efforts and enrollment offices should be developed to ensure that the many channels and types of communication are covered.

At GMB, we encourage this collaboration by ensuring the correct people are at the decision-making table. Bringing both digital and enrollment marketing experts together will provide an opportunity to create cohesive campaigns, work seamlessly towards the same goal, and increase both brand awareness and enrollment numbers. 

In the realm of higher education, there’s an undeniable challenge: the tendency for institutions to blend into the same indistinguishable mold. It’s an issue that permeates both our marketing strategies and, even more critically, our student recruitment efforts.

Picture this: prospective students receiving a stack of postcards from various institutions, all bearing an eerily similar template with a standard “insert obligatory picture of campus here” section. It’s a tiresome sight, isn’t it? It’s time for a change.

Don’t get us wrong; the traditional methods have their merits and have proven effective for countless institutions over the decades. But what we’re witnessing in higher education today is a shifting landscape. What works for one institution may not necessarily work for another, and the further we stray from our unique institutional identity, the greater the challenges we face.

The Problem with Playing it Safe

This is the core issue plaguing higher education: the realization that one solution does not fit all. Many of our marketing and branding clients are private liberal arts institutions, each with distinct strengths and challenges. Yet, it’s disheartening to see other large, one-size-fits-all agency teams offering a cookie-cutter approach to admissions teams.

And this is just one example where this happens. Many institutions continue to struggle with enrollment, primarily because these solutions fail to cater to their students and their families’ unique needs.

The Importance of Standing Apart and Above

In an educational landscape that often feels homogenized, students seek institutions that genuinely understand and value their individuality. When an institution consistently demonstrates that it recognizes and remembers what sets each student apart, it fosters a sense of belonging and engagement. This personalized approach not only enhances the overall educational experience, but also creates a lasting bond between the student and the institution.

It goes beyond mere academics; it’s about being part of a community that cares about their journey, their dreams, and their success. Students want to know that they are not just a number, but a meaningful part of the institution’s story; and institutions that prioritize keeping students top of mind are more likely to inspire loyalty and success in their student body.

From a branding perspective, it’s crucial to acknowledge that prospective students choose your institution for a reason. Highlighting that uniqueness in your enrollment marketing strategy is the key to success.

The only way to achieve this is by establishing a robust collaboration between your enrollment and marketing teams. From the very first interaction with your brand, students should be able to grasp what your institution stands for and envision themselves within it.

The Solution: Bridging Marketing and Enrollment

This brings us to the most impactful transformation you can make in your enrollment marketing efforts: bridging the gap between marketing and enrollment. When these forces unite, the potential for a consistent message, authenticity, and a unique visual identity that resonates with your institution’s spirit becomes evident. It’s this synchronization that will elevate your communication plan to new heights.

Now, why is this synchronization essential? It’s not merely about standing apart from the crowd of institutions offering education. It’s about:

• Nurturing a clear enrollment marketing plan that doesn’t just speak to students, but also captures their hearts
• Crafting a message that doesn’t just convey information but evokes emotions
• Engaging in a dialogue that doesn’t just address queries but forges connections

Enrollment marketing isn’t just a matter of numbers; it’s about creating a narrative, an experience, and a journey. It’s about fostering a bond that extends beyond a transaction, where students don’t just enroll in your institution, but they become a part of its story.

If you’re eager to explore how GMB has aided institutions in bridging this crucial gap and crafting a higher ed enrollment marketing plan that genuinely works, we’re eager to connect with you. Because together, we can turn the tide in higher education marketing and recruitment, making a lasting impact that extends far beyond the classroom.

1. Develop a comprehensive digital marketing strategy.

In today’s digital age, it’s essential to have a strong online presence to attract prospective graduate students. Develop a comprehensive digital marketing strategy that includes search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing, email marketing, and pay-per-click advertising. A strong digital marketing strategy will help you rank higher in search engine results, reach a wider audience, and generate leads.

2. Create compelling content.

Prospective graduate students want to know what they can expect from a program and why it’s worth investing their time and money. Show them what your program offers by creating compelling content that showcases your program details, faculty, research, and alumni. Use storytelling techniques to bring your brand to life and appeal to the emotions and aspirations of your target audience. 

Here are some ideas for crafting content that resonates:

• Use multimedia: Incorporating images, videos, infographics, and other multimedia elements into your content can make it more visually appealing and engaging. This can help bring your content to life and showcase the unique features of your program. 
• Focus on the student experience: Prospective graduate students want to know what it’s really like to be a student in a particular program. Create content that focuses on the student experience, including stories from current students, profiles of alumni, and virtual campus tours. 
• Showcase research and thought leadership: Graduate students want to know that your program is at the forefront of research and thought leadership in their fields. Highlight your program benefits in an email campaign or during a campus visit and share how it has shaken industries and helped graduates build successful careers. 
• Always, aways, aways, talk about your differentiators as a program: Every program has something unique to offer, whether it’s a specialized curriculum, access to cutting-edge technology, or opportunities for hands-on experience. Create content that highlights these unique features and showcases how they can benefit prospective graduate students.Up&Up has a system to ensure that we bring out the best in our clients and pair them with the right-fit students, whether that be in brand, web, digital or enrollment scopes of work. 
• Use data and statistics: This can help make your content more compelling and persuasive by demonstrating the success of your graduates, the impact of their research, and the quality of your programs. 

By incorporating these strategies, it lays the groundwork for organic search to be increased and allows for your program to stand apart and above the sea of sameness in the higher education space. 

3. Leverage virtual events.

Leveraging virtual events is a great way to engage prospective graduate students. Host virtual open houses, webinars, and Q&A sessions that allow prospective students to interact with current students, faculty, and staff. This will give them a sense of what it’s like to be a part of the community and help them make an informed decision about the school they want to attend.

4. Use personalized communications.

Prospective graduate students want to feel like they are more than just a number, so it’s important to use personalized communications to address their specific needs, interests, and goals. Tailor your messaging to their stage in the decision-making process  and use data-driven insights to provide relevant information that will help them choose your school as a right-fit student.

5. Build strong partnerships.

Building strong partnerships with other organizations in the industry can help you attract top talent. Work with industry associations, alumni networks, and other higher education institutions to create opportunities for prospective graduate students to engage with professionals in their field. This will help them see the value of your programs and give them a sense of the opportunities that await them upon graduation.

Engaging prospective graduate students from an agency perspective for higher education clients requires a multi-faceted approach. By following these steps, you can attract top talent and build a strong pipeline of future leaders in their respective fields.

With student enrollment declining for the past decade, many institutions are struggling with effectively reaching this generation’s pool of prospective students. And from sizable education costs to a general mistrust in the education system, many Gen-Z students are rethinking the traditional college experience, putting many institutions at a disadvantage. However, this doesn’t mean it’s over for higher ed; instead, this challenge presents an opportunity for institutions to flip the narrative and grab hold of the market. To do this, we have put together a comprehensive guide of student marketing strategies to help you market to Gen-Z students.

Who is Gen-Z?

Generation Z represents a major force in the marketplace for higher education. As the next generation going to college, it is imperative to know and understand this audience as the foundation of your future student marketing strategies. Gen Z, born between 1996 and 2012, is a cohort defined by being the most technologically advanced, outspoken, and educated generation. 

Gen Z places the highest value on truth, compared to Gen X who values status, and Millennials who value authenticity. This value for truth comes from Gen Z’s persona as digital natives. As a generation that has never lived without the Internet, Gen Z has more access to technology than any other generation. Because of this, Gen Z students are very comfortable searching for information and cross-referencing data sources in their quest for truth. For higher education institutes, this means that the student marketing strategies you put out must speak to the driving factor of this new generation: truth. 

Student Marketing Strategies to Attract Gen Z Students

Be authentic.

Gen Z values authenticity more than anything else. They can spot a fake or insincere message from a mile away. This means that your marketing messages need to be authentic and genuine, and you need to be transparent about your values and your brand.  Don’t try to be something you’re not, or Gen Z will quickly lose interest.

Gen Z students prioritize authenticity and truth, and they want the same from the brands they interact with. No longer will the one-size-fits-all marketing messaging and catchy taglines work for this group. Schools need to be upfront about cost and the value-add they offer to attract prospective students. 

It’s best to focus on the facts because this generation is all about asking “Is it worth it?” when choosing a college education. And it’s on institutions to answer that for them; because if you don’t, then you can’t start the relationship of trust between your prospective students.  

Prioritize digital outreach.

Gen Z students are part of the first generation to grow up with social media, and it is a crucial part of their lives. With the majority of Gen Zers owning a smartphone (and spending nearly 10 hours a day on their phones), social media can be a great way to connect with them. 

However, not every social platform is going to attract your intended audience. So when evaluating student marketing strategies, higher education institutions must be sure to be on the same platforms as their audience. For Gen Z, these platforms include Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube. 

Facebook and LinkedIn tend to be the top two platforms institutions prioritize. However, from a demographic perspective, Facebook is primarily used by Baby Boomers and Gen Xers while alums primarily use LinkedIn. For marketing efforts to be successful, colleges and universities must be active on the social media platforms their prospective students use.

However, decisions regarding which school to attend often involve people from multiple generations: prospective students, parents and guardians, relatives, teachers, and mentors. A multi-generational social media approach can help schools connect not only with prospective students but also with the varying members in their lives.

Focus on visual content.

When it comes to social media, 81% of Gen Zers say Instagram, TikTok, and Youtube are their preferred mediums of media. This shows us that Gen Z is a highly visual generation. As you’re creating student marketing strategies, stick to short-form videos and high-quality visuals to showcase the beauty of your campus and community. 

Video and stylized visual content should be a top priority for catching the attention of your target market. Due to the dynamism of the digital community with so many new apps and filters, anything considered static or “boring” won’t stand a chance with Gen Z. 

Leverage peer-to-peer influence. 

As you’re evaluating your student marketing strategies, consider leveraging peer-to-peer influence to attract prospective students. Gen Z tends to respond more to input from peers than their parents. They rely on platforms like TikTok to receive this peer-to-peer input and tend to view this kind of user-generated content as more authentic and accurate. 

Therefore, colleges and universities should use this peer-to-peer influence as a potential student marketing strategy. Because Gen Z primarily uses social media, this type of content can yield better results as well as reach a wider audience. 

Some examples of how to incorporate peer-to-peer influence in your student marketing strategies include:

• “Day in the Life” videos created by current students 
• User-generated content by student ambassadors 
• Alumni spotlight videos 

These types of student marketing strategies allow institutions to incorporate storytelling into their brand, which in turn bridges the gap between prospective students and schools. 

How to Best Incorporate Student Marketing Strategies 

Remember that Gen Z values truth and authenticity the most, so be sure these values are reflected in your brand and your marketing messaging. And don’t be afraid to throw out the old playbook: What worked for the last generation of college students won’t necessarily work for this generation. This means pivoting from some of the traditional methods of marketing and meeting students where they are, in the digital universe. Digital platforms offer a great way to connect with prospective students and really lean into the Gen Z persona. 

By leveraging the latest student marketing strategies, you can improve your student enrollment, attract the right fit students, and increase brand awareness of your educational institution.

Ever read through a college website and started getting a serious case of deja vu? Or noticed how pamphlet after pamphlet and viewbook after viewbook are all saying the same thing? Have you ever had that sinking feeling that your higher ed brand messaging sounds just. Like. Everyone. Else?

You’re not alone. Many brands in higher education (and elsewhere) suffer from bland brand messaging. The root causes may vary, but it usually boils down to playing it safe and sticking with the status quo. And while it may be comfortable, is it really effective?

We think not. And we’re higher ed marketing experts, so we kinda know a thing or two about how to effectively connect with your audience. Forging deep connections with your audience starts with messaging that reflects your true brand. 

So, how do you create authentic brand messaging in higher ed that sounds uniquely you? Let’s break it down. 

Reasons Why Authentic Brand Messaging Matters

Before we jump into the “how,” let’s begin with the “why” authentic messaging matters (because this is what’s going to get buy-in from the rest of your team as you lay out the guidelines for how write like your brand):

It makes you relatable.

Choosing a college or university can be an intimidating process, whether you’re a recent high school graduate or a working professional looking to continue your education — especially with how most higher education institutions present themselves: Sophisticated. Scholarly. Prestigious.

Breaking out from the mold and presenting yourself as something different — something fun, exciting, and unique — is going to help you find more right-fit students who really resonate with your school and what you have to offer. 

It gives your students something to hang on to.

Students are usually looking for something specific when researching colleges and universities. Primarily it’s the educational programs, but also it’s the experience. Because higher education is more than just education — it’s an opportunity for students to learn more about themselves, meet new people, and make connections and memories that will last a lifetime. 

By being authentically you in your brand messaging, you’re giving students a much more accurate picture of what they can expect if they attend your school — a distinction that could make their decision to enroll that much easier. 

It helps you stand apart and above your competition.

Almost every college can say they offer the same thing: A vibrant student life. Beautiful campus. Stellar academic programs. Solid career preparation. So, to make the educational experience at your school seem different, it has to sound different. It has to sound like you. 

Are you a small community college in the heart of a thriving metropolitan area? 

Or are you a traditional university located in the foothills of somewhere more rural? 

Or are you something else entirely?

Students are going to resonate with those scenarios differently and be drawn more towards one over the others. So embrace who you are and show how your educational experience really is special and catered to your students’ wants, needs, and goals. Now that we’ve made our case for why you should lean into authentic brand messaging, let’s explore how to make it happen.

How to Make Your Brand Messaging Stand Apart

Helping brands find their voice and narrow down their messaging to something that’s uniquely them is one of our favorite parts of the job. And there’s no special, magical formula to make it happen. It’s mostly a list of guidelines on finding out what makes your brand different, how to say it, and (most importantly) how to stick with it. 

Let’s dive in, shall we?

Start with your Why.

We consider the “why” behind everything to be pretty important. So, when narrowing down your messaging, it’s important to focus on why your brand exists. And don’t settle for the first thing that comes to mind, because that’s going to be like everyone else (to help prepare students for the next phase of their education or career). No, to really stand out, you have to dig deeper.

Is it to help students pursue a career in a specific field?

To be the college or university that makes radical changes in a specific industry?

To lead with service and make the world a better place?

Whatever the reason, your why is the foundation of your messaging and what you offer. There are several ways to go about discovering your brand’s why: Research your school’s founding story, hold workshops with key stakeholders, examine your position in the market, etc.

Know your brand and your audience.

Once you have your “why” nailed down, it’s time to focus on who you are as a brand and who you’re talking to. For this, it’s important to be really honest about what your school brings to the table. What is the experience like at your school and what kind of students does it attract? 

Examine the areas where you really excel and find out what makes you shine there. Talk to current students, alumni, faculty, staff, athletes — anyone who has benefited from what your school offers and ask them why they chose you. 

What made you stand out? 

How were you different? 

What are their interests and what did they find most valuable about their time at your school? 

Understanding who you’re talking to and what resonates with them will strengthen your messaging and help you discover which points to highlight.

Fiercely commit to your tone and voice.

This is the fun part: Discover how your brand sounds to your audience and embrace it. Because your voice and tone should reflect the kind of experience your audience can expect when they attend your school. 

Are you a casual, laid-back campus with lots of opportunities to explore? 

Are you innovative and passionate, motivated to change the world with your educational programs? 

Are you pragmatic and straightforward, built to help students achieve their education and career goals as efficiently and effectively as possible?

There are so many options and avenues to explore when it comes to your brand voice and tone, ultimately determined by your audience and what you offer. And to convey to students that you may be the right fit for them, choosing the right messaging, voice, and tone can show as well as tell them what they can expect from you as a higher education institution. 

Talk like a human to another human.

A common trap most colleges and universities fall into is taking a formal, serious approach to their messaging. Yes, education is important and your school may be prestigious — but so many other colleges and universities can claim that. 

To really stand out, write as though you’re talking directly to your ideal student. Be casual. Be friendly. Use slang, if it’s appropriate. Have fun with it, especially if you’re trying to convey that you’re offering a fun campus experience. 

Even if it’s more on-brand to sound professional, there are still ways to sound relatable, such as:

Avoid industry jargon.

Litmus test: Which sounds less intimidating to a high school senior? “Higher education institution” or “college?”

Trust your contractions.

They’re great! And they flow better, especially in copy.

Use the second person as much as possible.

Because every audience, no matter their age or career status, prefers to be spoken to, not about.

Hire a copywriter.

It takes a very specific skill set to write in a voice and tone that isn’t your own. 

We all write and speak in our own way — it’s only natural. But copywriters are trained to write in their client’s brand voice, no matter what it is. 

So, to avoid having all of your marketing materials sound like they’re written by an army of different people with varying writing styles (because they probably are), it’s helpful to hire a dedicated person in charge of your messaging and copy to ensure everything sounds cohesive and consistent. 

Bottom Line

Authentic messaging for your brand is important. It not only helps your brand stand out, but it sets the tone and expectation for students who may be interested in attending your school — which can help increase enrollment and find more right-fit students who are the perfect match for your college or university. It’s a win-win for everyone… not to mention it can be really fun finding your brand’s voice.

Need a little help? Check out what GMB can do for your branding. 

If this question is at the forefront of discussions at your institution, then the answer is probably YES! Your brand is the soul of your organization and the reason a prospective student and family will choose you against other institutions. If you’ve recently asked yourself, “Does our messaging reflect who we are? Why would a prospect choose us? Can our audience see themselves in our campaigns?” then keep reading. A university rebrand can be a powerful tool for creating a fresh, modern image and connecting with new audiences. It’s even more powerful when you uncover your institution’s authentic self and share it with the world, unapologetically. Here are a few reasons why a university might choose to rebrand:

1. To reflect changes in the university: Universities are constantly evolving, and a rebrand can reflect changes in the institution’s mission, values, or focus. For example, a university may have added new programs, expanded its research capabilities, or new leadership may have come on board. A rebrand can help communicate these changes to the public.
2. To Stand Apart and Above in a crowded market: With so many universities vying for student enrollment, research funding, and prestige, it can be challenging for any one institution to stand out. A rebrand can help a university differentiate itself from its competitors and create a unique, memorable image.
3. To reach new audiences: A rebrand can also help a university connect with new audiences, such as prospective students, donors, or business partners. By updating its image and messaging, a university can appeal to new groups of people and expand its reach.
4. To create a sense of unity and purpose: A rebrand can also create a sense of unity and purpose among students, faculty, and staff. By crafting a new visual identity and messaging, a university can help people feel more connected to the institution and more motivated to be part of its mission.
5. Attracting more right-fit students: A rebrand can help a university appeal to prospective students by showcasing its strengths and highlighting the unique opportunities it offers. Aligning who you are with the prospective student who could thrive at your institution is incredibly powerful and impacts enrollment, retention, graduation rates, alumni engagement, and future advancement of the university. 
6. Enhancing the student experience: A rebrand can also create a sense of pride and belonging among current students. A strong, cohesive visual identity makes students feel more connected to the university and more likely to get involved in campus life.

A university rebrand can significantly impact your university’s image and identity. However, the biggest impact you can make is to lean into your institution’s strengths and unique attributes that make you truly amazing. And here at GMB, we encourage you to own who you are and share it with the world.

One look across LinkedIn presents a good snapshot of how quickly communications have been commodified. Innovation and distinction may be happening in the delivery of courses or in the classroom themselves, but not in terms of positioning and recruiting students for graduate programs.

The trouble with positioning – both inside and outside of higher ed – is that it can be quickly copied. How often do you see “flexible” and “affordable” as a proposition? It’s hard to imagine that no matter how well priced your online MBA is, someone else can’t come along and offer it at a lower price point. 

In most categories, each player “owns” the category benefits. It’s entirely possible that online graduate degree programs incur this same market characteristic. What this means is that positioning has become a graduate program’s competitive advantage. But to get there, we must take a step back from the usual tactics-as-digital-strategy perspective and refocus on the basic tenets of strategy. 

With proper strategy – an understanding of the market, who you are targeting and how you’ll position your program – higher education marketers can begin to carve out distinction in the market and increase consideration among prospective students.

Below, we’ll explore why this increasingly competitive and uncertain world requires a renewed focus on strategy as well as three things to focus on when planning your next recruitment campaign.  

Strategy, Revisited

To quote one of the more prolific authors on marketing strategy, Michael Porter, “the essence of strategy is defining how a company is unique and how it will deliver a distinctive mix of value. Strategy is about aligning every activity to create an offering that cannot easily be emulated by competitors.”

In a sense, strategy is about what you choose not to do as much as it is about what you choose to do – more or less a series of trade-offs. To paraphrase Porter, the more focused your strategy is – applying strict scrutiny to a few key decisions – the more likely differentiation will evolve. 

So this is our call-to-arms, if you will. As you revamp or start planning your next recruitment cycles, return to the basics of strategy. The new marketing realities for higher education marketing demand it. 

New Marketing Realities

Messaging parody aside, recruiting students for graduate programs using digital marketing has become increasingly competitive as well as more expensive. Higher education marketers must be more attune to the limitations of most budgets and how those limitations should impact strategic decisions. 

In terms of cost, average cost-per-clicks can be approximately $20 to $30 for many of the popular online graduate degree programs. LinkedIn CPMs can hover around $30 and geotargeting can average around $10 to $15 on social media channels. In terms of competition, primarily online institutions saw online graduate enrollment fall 13.6% (education and business degrees taking the biggest enrollment hits). And while graduate enrollment rose slightly (fall 2021), enrollment rates and graduate degree alternatives may skew the number a bit. “Proximity-to-institution” also fell slightly, with two-thirds of online grad students reporting they would only consider online degrees from schools within 50 miles. Talk about the market constricting.

Why Campaigns Fail

Poorly Allocated Budget

The reality is that none of us have an unlimited budget. While reach and frequency rarely make it into many digital advertising conversations, in a high-involvement category frequency is huge. How much you have to spend and how big your target audience is plays a role in how impactful your messaging can be when recruiting students for graduate programs. What’s more impactful, reaching one person once per month for six months or one person once per week for six months?

Lack of Defined Targeting

Similarly, with the same limited resources, we cannot target everyone. Not only should segmentation help identify probable targets, if done correctly it should identify what segment will be the most responsive. For example, which segment has a higher propensity to be interested in an online MBA: a young professional with no kids in a marketing role or a 35 to 44 year-old parent working at a nonprofit? Strategic focus makes answering this question easy. 

More Metrics than Focus

This isn’t so much about identifying the most important metrics, but to identify the most important KPIs that align to those objectives. Higher education marketing isn’t exactly e-commerce, yet what we track often isn’t impactful to moving the needle. The more we focus on the natural ebb and flow of click-through rates, the less we lose sight of the incremental effects of our digital marketing. Attributing inquiries to each campaign is important – but if that isn’t the dominant behavior for most prospective grad students, looking at holistic incremental gains over the course of your marketing efforts provide a much better view of your efforts.

Where Strategy Brings Focus

Focus on a ‘Hero’ or ‘Halo’

As is most often the case, there isn’t enough budget to realistically market all of your online graduate programs. A good market orientation and segmentation approach should help to identify flagship programs (i.e. heroes). For example, the promotion of your M. Ed may increase awareness of your Ed. D., or the other way around. Another way to look at a hero program is to identify the program that you feel has this highest propensity to attract those currently in-market. With enough resources dedicated to your “hero,” you can quickly see a return-on-investment and use any new funds generated for other programs. Identifying profit drivers earlier makes it much easier to focus your efforts.

A similar strategy is to use the halo effects of brands. The single strongest predictor of higher click-through rates and lower cost-per-acquisition is a strong brand. Depending on the strength of your institution or the departmental brand (think Darden School of Business), when budgets command it, take advantage of the strength of your strongest brand. This is the rising-tides-raises-all-ships marketing analogy. A heavily concentrated “brand campaign” can be more effective than a stretched-too-thin budget for multiple program campaigns. 

Focus on a Core Target Market

It’s imperative that we must also focus on the targets that will make the biggest difference. Referring back to Porter’s quote, the actions we opt not to take is just as important as what we ultimately do. Once you’ve established which programs you will move forward with, identify the core markets that you can adequately invest in. If your state is primarily a net export state, it makes more sense to invest your budget in-state. The same goes for segmenting your audiences. Starting with 25-34 year-olds is great but if you can’t reach your audience at least once 1-2 per week, you’ve stretched your budget – and segment – too thin.

Focus on 1 Message

It can be tempting to tell the world about all the benefits of your program. Access to faculty, world-class labs and program rankings are all valuable but the more you try to pack into your ads, the less likely they are to be memorable or retained (most display ads get 250 milliseconds of your audience’s attention). 

The same can be said when it comes to branding. Outside of your logo, focus on 1-2 design assets to use across marketing activities. When recruiting students for graduate programs, remaining distinct – from a design perspective – can be just as effective as being differentiated. 

Combined, the focus of messaging and design makes it easier for you to build familiarity and memory structures that improve processing. If you are advertising for multiple programs, find a way to communicate the same benefit but dramatized differently or create slight variations in design. Repetition naturally creates mind share and the meaning and message anchored to your ads creates a position. 

At GMB, we define digital strategy as “where to play and how to win” – a line borrowed from Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works. It’s a quick reference to bring to life the steps needed before we even touch ad creative. We look at people, presence and then we focus on ad platforms. 

If you’ve got a tricky marketing problem you can’t quite find a solution to or gearing up to plan your next graduate student recruitment campaign, drop us a line! We’d love to help you find your strategic focus.

Our industry is at an inflection point. Higher education has lost billions of dollars. College Board reported apps are up, yet the numbers are unevenly distributed across the spectrum of college types. And while we continue to read predictions that aren’t in our favor, Americans are “still attached to the college experience.”

More than ever, colleges and schools must establish a strong identity and position themselves in a way that brings clarity to their core truths–meeting current consumer shifts caused by COVID as well as having the vision to remain relevant beyond. 

So while the results of the pandemic have left many schools re-evaluating who they are, their value proposition and what to invest in, it’s been shown that an investment in building a strong brand increases the likelihood of enduring. 

Today, modern brand building starts with a strong higher education brand strategy that understands that there have been fundamental shifts in where brands are built and combines intelligent strategy and creative communication. 

Modern Brand Building Requires Balance 

Modern brand building is built on a foundation that balances culture, media and marketing truths. For every new shift in media behavior there is a marketing truth that continues to endeavor. For every emergent social media platform, there are still fundamental human behaviors that are slow to evolve. For every qualifier we place in front of “influencer” and for each push to remove “funnels” from our lexicon, the more we rediscover a need to go back to past practices to inform key business goals. 

As Richard Rumelt wrote in Good Strategy/Bad Strategy, strong strategy “discovers the critical factors in a situation and designs a way of coordinating and concentrating your actions to deal with those factors.”

From a brand strategy perspective, the critical factors higher education marketers must focus on is media’s continued fragmentation, the dividing of attention and a customer journey that is more disconnected than ever. To remain relevant, visible and unique, we must connect the various “bits” and develop them into a coherent and comprehensive alignment.

In sum, strong higher education brand strategy should be rooted in modern brand building techniques that strike a balance between these new challenges and the fundamentals that haven’t changed. 

Balance brand marketing and enrollment marketing

Often thought of as siloed or divided by traditional/digital tactics, modern higher ed brands must balance brand marketing and recruitment activities across the spectrum of marketing objectives. As Binet and Fields argued “Balancing brand building and sales activation activity appropriately for the sector in which the brand operates remains a vital requirement.” Enrollment and brand marketing should seek to work in tandem to build a full funnel. 

There’s nothing worse than recruitment efforts gone unnoticed because the brand wasn’t recognizable, marketing efforts cannibalized or ownership of first party data weakened the overall institutional media strategy. All should work in concert to maximize effectiveness of brand building activities to make recruitment efforts more efficient. 

In practice, modern higher ed brands use brand marketing to reach the right audience enough times to increase preference and shape attitudes, so when recruitment campaigns are launched, these short-term activations are made much stronger. Similarly, marketers should pursue a balanced and shared scorecard to monitor the movement of both efforts to better understand which leading indicator is a reliable predictor of long or short-term success. 

Balance the “bits”

Our current media environment can best be described as fragmented, disconnected and decentralized. The customer journey is messy at best, attention is divided and interactions with brands extend beyond our control–making higher education marketing much more difficult. 

Modern higher ed brands recognize that this seemingly endless array of digital interactions demands consistency across each audience touchpoint that reinforces a brand’s distinct assets and brings balance between brand, college and program communications. 

Balancing the bits also requires understanding that the diverse collection of channels higher ed marketers have at their disposal can work together, not only to scale reach but through a mastery of craft and context can maximize impact throughout this complex ecosystem. 

Balance the collective understanding

Brands are built through collective meaning. Marketing helps to create meaning, reinforce previous interactions with a brand and get more people to experience the brand. It’s when a consensus reality has formed that a brand truly “owns” its status and attributes. For example, luxury brands don’t maintain their luxury status without a collective understanding. 

As prospective students experience a college or school, collective attitudes and perceptions are established and strengthened through a school’s advertising as well as reinforced by the actions of current students. 

Modern higher ed brands find their authentic brand promise and ensure that it resonates internally as well as externally. Effectively communicating your brand promise ensures you attract more right-fit students, which has the potential to improve future student outcomes. Similarly, improved student outcomes coupled with delivering on your brand promise increases the likelihood that the meaning you’re building with advertising is also reinforced through internal audiences. 

Balance marketing communications and community

Just like our social networks, brands have become decentralized. Audiences have just as much voice and more creative tools than ever before. Brands are now shared and scale can now be built through co-creation and community–creating meaningful incremental reach. 

Whether it’s an influencer or genuine fan, strategic partnerships with creators add value by communicating more nuanced brand codes, reducing buying friction and strengthening emotional connections to a brand. 

In practice, modern higher ed brands balance distinctiveness and messaging between paid media and their community creators. Carefully selecting partnerships with creators who enhance your brand promise brings additional value to your creative strategy and credibility.

The Modern Higher Ed Brand is Built with Authenticity

As Stephen King wrote in What is a Brand?, “[A brand] has to be a coherent totality, not a lot of bits…blended into a single brand personality…Secondly, it has to be unique, and constantly developing to stay unique, because it is through its uniqueness that the brand can offer sustained profit margins. Thirdly, this blend of appeals must be relevant to people’s needs and desires, and immediate and salient. It must constantly stand out from the crowd; it must spring to mind.”

To King, a brand was always more than its communications–and we couldn’t agree more. It starts with the desire to invest in uncovering what makes a brand truly authentic. Reflected in a compelling brand promise, balancing each new media challenge becomes much easier when anchored in a brand truth that’s consistent, unique and relevant to the needs of your right-fit students.