Higher Ed Marketing Platforms to Be Thankful For

It’s the time of year for giving thanks and reflecting on the good things in our lives. And when it comes to the ever-evolving landscape of student acquisition, you can bet there are a few digital platforms we’re extra thankful for this year. Check the list for yourself to see if these higher ed digital platforms already have a place in your enrollment marketing strategy.

#1. Instagram

The growth of Instagram Stories, and the digital ads behind them, have provided a key platform for schools trying to engage a new generation of prospects. 500 million users are checking out the Stories format every day, with 25% of millennials and Gen-Z users turning to Stories to influence a product or service decision. Those are key audiences for a school to tap into to reach new student prospects. Instagram Stories are tailor-made for engaging, visual content that show off your campus, student life, and more. Putting ad dollars behind Stories to reach even larger target audiences is a great brand-building strategy to ensure your prospect funnel is always full of new users.

#2. Paid Search

This one is obvious, we know. Paid search should be a part of any higher education marketing strategy, and its importance and scale is so well-known we can’t leave it off our list. We’re thankful for the way paid search continues to evolve and increase its importance in the prospective student journey. Search trends are changing, and the way your potential students use search to find your school is changing as well. Given that, we’re thankful for new features rolling out to paid search to help make it even easier to engage prospective students and push them toward an enrollment. Things like lead form extensions on search ads will roll out globally soon and make it easier to capture an inquiry right off the bat. And the push for greater use of audiences helps deploy more advanced student acquisition tactics like stale inquiry re-engagement. So this year, let’s be thankful not just that paid search is still around, but that it continues to grow as a tool to bring new prospects to campus.

#3. OTT Streaming Video Ads

It’s no secret that higher education marketing has had a long-time love with linear TV ads. And we’re not saying that your school should quit TV buys cold turkey. But there is plenty to be thankful for in the streaming video area. OTT, or “Over The Top,” refers to streaming “cord cutter” services like Hulu, Roku, etc. And these days, key higher ed audiences like millennials are flocking to it. 52% of U.S. adults over 18 use an OTT service, and millennials spend more than seven hours per day streaming video on mobile devices! Video allows your school to deliver engaging content in a way search doesn’t – visually showing off things around campus or including student testimonials. And since OTT is digital, it allows for better and more precise audience targeting and better measurement than traditional TV.

When it comes down to it, we at Statwax are truly thankful for great clients and driven schools who remain dedicated to helping people improve their lives through education. And when it comes to digital strategies that are proven to help you grow your enrollment, we’re especially thankful for these platforms and tactics – and many more.

Feel like your school’s enrollment marketing strategy is lacking strategy, tools, or results to be thankful for? Let’s talk.