Personalized video messaging is revolutionizing the way that organizations communicate with their clients and prospects. This is a combination of data-driven marketing, marketing automation and video, which creates the ultimate marketing tool, especially for today’s prospective students.
Today’s Generation Z students crave video content. Video captures their attention and as long as it isn’t a cheesy, professional advertising video, makes it through their “spam” filter for information. Another important characteristic of Gen Zers to keep in mind is that they want to be treated as an individual, not as a number. So when you combine personalization with video as a medium, you have the best chance of converting a prospective student into an enrolled student.
In an article by HubSpot, they note that marketers who personalize their web experiences see on average a 19% lift in sales – and for you, sales are applications. But this is also a great tool to nurture your relationship with your current clients or students.
One successful example of this trend in motion is Nike’s campaign, Your Year with Nike+. In this campaign, they created over 100,000 customized videos, showcasing the individual statistics of each Nike+ user. The theme of the campaign was to encourage their current clients to beat their achievements of last year, with their Nike+ sporting equipment.
And while you may not have the marketing budget to create 100,000 unique videos, there are aspects of personalized video message that are fairly simple to do. One way that many collegiate athletics departments are using this concept is with personalized aspects in a video. For example, welcome banners and congratulatory signs are featured in videos to help prospective student athletes envision themselves on campus and as a member of their team. This doesn’t require the same level of unique artwork that the Nike+ example has, but still has personal touches to make the student feel like an individual.
Another way to harness the power of individualized video is slightly more labor-intensive, but relatively easy to do. Simply have your admissions counselors or student recruiters record a message after a campus tour, for example, to thank your prospective students for visiting your campus. This will go a long way in making them feel like they are welcomed and aren’t just another face in the crowd of applicants.
While the recruitment industry is still in the beginning stages of leveraging this technology, here at StudentBridge we fully believe in the power of personalized video. Talk to us today to see how we can start positioning your admissions team for success with personalized video.