Enrollment marketing is an essential component for higher education institutions to attract and retain students. However, it can be a challenging and competitive task to stand out and persuade prospective students to enroll in your program over another school.
For this blog post, we interviewed the CoxNext experts, that have been successfully growing enrollment for a large technical school system over the past 5 years. We will explore the key elements of a successful enrollment marketing campaign, effective strategies for engaging prospective students, common mistakes to avoid, how to measure success and emerging trends in higher education enrollment marketing.
Question: What are the key elements of a successful enrollment marketing campaign?
CoxNext Experts: When it comes to enrollment marketing, the main conversion point is typically when a prospective student submits their application. Therefore, it’s crucial to have an application process as simple and straightforward as possible. This includes providing clear instructions, eliminating any unnecessary steps and creating a user-friendly interface that is easy to navigate. In addition, creating an omni-channel marketing funnel with campaigns optimizing towards building awareness and driving conversions is vital. By leveraging multiple paid marketing channels such as display, social, video and search ads, institutions can create a cohesive message and increase brand awareness. Finally, it is also important to regularly test the application process to identify any potential roadblocks or issues that could hinder the conversion process.
Question: How do institutions engage prospective students and encourage them to enroll?
CoxNext Experts: One of the best pieces of advice we can share is ensure you have engaging creative, including attention-grabbing visuals and messaging. We always emphasize the importance of having a strong call to action that creates a sense of urgency. This can be achieved through phrases like “Don’t Miss Out” or “Apply Now”. Highlighting the specific benefits of your program and how it can help prospective students achieve their goals can also set your institution apart from competitors. When working on an enrollment marketing campaign, we often suggest offering promotions, such as waived application fees or scholarships, to incentivize completed applications. We recommend using A/B testing to test different messaging and creative to help ensure that you are reaching the right audience with the best message.
Question: What are some common mistakes that higher education institutions make in their enrollment marketing campaigns, and how can these be avoided?
CoxNext Experts: One of the common mistakes we see higher education institutions make is running boring ads that do not grab the audience’s attention. It is crucial to create compelling and engaging ads to stand out in a competitive landscape. Another common mistake we see is institutions wanting to only run ads during their enrollment periods. While seasonality does play a role in the campaign, we see higher success rates with those that run year-round to ensure continuous brand awareness. Institutions should also be realistic when it comes to their budgets and goals, this will help avoid stretching their advertising too thin to be successful.
Question: How can higher education institutions measure the success of their enrollment campaigns and continually improve their efforts?
CoxNext Experts: Knowing and understanding your enrollment goals and past results is key to measuring your current campaigns success. We have found that assigning application fees to the conversion to calculate ROI is an effective strategy and helps to track success. It is also essential to compare marketing conversions to actual enrollment to identify any gaps and improve campaigns on a continual basis. By leveraging data analytics, institutions can get insight on what is working and what is not and make data-driven decisions, instead of emotional ones, to optimize campaigns for success.
Question: What trends and innovations do you see emerging in higher education enrollment marketing, and how can institutions stay ahead of the curve?
CoxNext Experts: According to the National Center for Education Statistics, college enrollment rates have declined in recent years. This tells us it’s more important than ever to maintain a solid enrollment marketing strategy to help keep your institution top of mind. Creating personalized experiences for prospective students, such as tailoring messaging and creative to specific segments of prospective students, will help you stand out. Institutions can also consider using chatbots and other forms of automation to create a more seamless application process and provide 24/7 support to prospective students. Another trend that has become increasingly important is short form video because it is an effective way to capture the attention of prospective students. Today’s generation of students prefers short form video content that is easily digestible and can be consumed quickly. Short form videos will allow your institution to showcase your unique offerings, campus culture, and values in a visually engaging way.
Conclusion: A successful enrollment marketing campaign involves creating a seamless application process, developing an omni-channel marketing funnel, offering promotions, and engaging creative with a strong call to action. Avoid common mistakes such as using boring ads and stretching your budget too thin. Measure success by assigning application fees to conversion, comparing marketing conversions to actual enrollment, and using A/B testing to test different messaging and creative. Stay ahead of the curve by investing in your peak enrollment times, providing remote learning options, and creating personalized experiences for prospective students. By implementing these strategies and insights from our experts, institutions can optimize their enrollment marketing campaigns and increase conversions.
If your institution needs help developing and maintaining a proactive enrollment marketing program, the experts at CoxNext are here to help. With years of experience, our team can produce a solid enrollment campaign that reaches the right prospects at the right time in their search for a higher education institution.
