Are you struggling to draw more students to your school? You’re not alone. In fact, about say generating website traffic and leads are among their biggest challenges.
If you’re not drawing website traffic to your website, you could struggle to educate people about your college or university.
When people don’t get the chance to learn about your institution, they might not choose your school among the rest.
Here are 10 higher education marketing tips that can help you draw more students to your school. With these marketing tips, you can help people recognize the benefits of choosing your institution.
You can set yourself apart from other schools and boost enrollment this year.
Start improving your digital marketing strategy with these 10 tips today.
1. Build Your Brand
First, take a moment to consider your brand. A distinct brand can help your digital marketing materials stand out.
It takes only for people to make an instant decision about whether or not they like and trust you. If they don’t like you, they won’t continue exploring your content. You might miss a chance to boost enrollment as a result.
It can take over five tries before people start becoming aware of your school, though. Repetition and consistency are key.
Review your school’s brand guidelines. Your brand can include your:
- Mission and vision statements
- Voice
- Tone
- Personality
- Color palette
- Font styles
- Logo
- School crest
- Mascot
As you start using these higher education marketing tips, keep your brand consistent across every marketing channel. That includes your website, print materials, and social media accounts.
Consistency will make it easier for people to remember who you are. You could have an easier time standing out from other schools, too.
2. Create Personas
If you don’t know who you’re trying to reach, your marketing strategy won’t appeal to your target audience. Instead, take the time to research your audience. Create distinct personas based on:
- Age
- Gender
- Location
- Household income
- Marital status
- Interests
- Majors
- Hobbies
- Pain points
For example, are you trying to reach parents or prospective students? Consider creating different marketing materials with each group in mind.
Are you trying to reach students who recently graduated high school, or students enrolling in higher education as older adults? Each group will have its own needs and interests.
Create content for different personas as you start developing your online marketing strategy.
3. Update Your Website
Take a look at your institution’s website. If your website is old, outdated, or lackluster, people might leave without clicking around. They’ll never view your content or learn about your college.
Meanwhile, your bounce rate will start to rise as people leave. A high bounce rate can hurt your search engine rankings. Low rankings could make it more difficult for people to find your institution when they search for local colleges.
Instead, run your website through Google’s PageSpeed Insights and Mobile-Friendly Test. Make sure your site is fast and mobile-optimized.
Try to update your website with the user experience in mind, too. A positive user experience can keep people on the page.
Consider working with an experienced digital marketing agency. They can update your website, which will benefit your entire marketing strategy.
You can partner with an experienced team to get started: https://www.tribalcore.com/higher-education/.
4. Create Informative Content
Help prospective students and their parents learn more about your college. Start creating engaging, eye-catching posts for your new website.
Content marketing can help you educate, inform, and entertain your audience. Try creating different posts, including:
- Blog posts
- Videos (campus tours, student testimonials, tutorials, etc.)
- eBooks
- Infographics
- Webinars
- Polls
- Quizzes
Create interactive content to keep people engaged.
Try gathering keyword research before you start creating content. Determine what your audience is searching for online. Then, create content that will answer the questions they’re asking.
5. Use Search Engine Optimization
Once you start creating content for your website, optimize your posts for search engines. Search engine optimization (SEO) will help your site rank higher for relevant searches. With SEO, you can:
- Rank higher than other institutions
- Boost your credibility
- Draw more website traffic
- Generate more leads and student enrollment
An experienced digital marketing agency can help you get started.
Update your Google My Business (GMB) listing, too. Your GMB listing will help more people find your website and school.
6. Create PPC Ads
As you develop your higher education marketing strategy, consider using digital ads. Pay-per-click (PPC) ads can appear on Google and social media. You can show off images of your school to draw more website traffic.
Then, you can turn those website visitors into leads and boost enrollment.
7. Stay Social
Social media marketing can help you maintain an active online presence. You can reach more students online and engage your audience.
Share your website content on social media. Respond to any questions you receive online, too.
8. Gather Reviews
Gathering reviews can boost your credibility. Potential students can learn more about your school from current or past students.
Ask students to post their reviews on your GMB listing. Then, use a plugin to feature those reviews on your website.
9. Work With Influencers
Consider collaborating with students and faculty members as you use these marketing tips. For example, a student can create a day-in-the-life post. They can share photos and videos about life on campus.
Working with influencers can expand your reach online. As influencers share their posts, more people will learn about your college.
Influencer marketing can also help you leverage someone else’s existing brand trust. Future students might feel more comfortable learning about your school from someone else.
10. Track the Trends
As you start developing your online marketing strategy, make sure to keep up with the latest marketing trends. For example, video content is becoming more popular. In fact, video content could account for 80% of by the end of this year.
Keeping up with the latest trends will help you remain relevant.
Boost Enrollment: 10 Tips for Successful Higher Education Marketing in 2021
Developing a strong digital marketing strategy can help you reach more prospective students. Keep these 10 higher education marketing tips in mind. With these tips, you can expand your reach and boost enrollment with ease.
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