Digital content can increase student enrollment at your school. However, providing information about academic programs, campus life, and faculty isn't enough to attract your target audience to your school. The content you include must be engaging and allow prospective students to interact with others in a personalized digital world.
Here we discuss effective methods for promoting your college's brand to tell a compelling story and drive enrollment.
1. Approach Your Marketing Materials with Storytelling
Students want to learn about the college they might attend one day. It means they should be able to visualize themselves walking around campus and sitting in the classrooms. Creating a story that matters and speaks to a prospective student's needs is a beneficial approach to digital marketing.
Telling the story of your college allows your audience to picture what life will be like at your school. They feel an instant connection despite never setting foot on campus. That means your digital content should clearly communicate how attending your school can affect the course of their life. They must understand what it will mean to live at your college and complete one of your programs.
2. Ensure Functionality Across All Devices
College applicants spend much of their time on their cell phones and tablets. Browsing college websites on a computer isn't as common as it once was. That means you must optimize your website for mobile devices. Visitors will likely look elsewhere if your school's website isn't functional and simple to navigate on a handheld device.
You can promote your online brand with interesting images, engaging content, and innovative features that translate to any device. A high-resolution image should look the same whether someone's viewing it on a laptop or iPhone. Prospective students should haven't to zoom in or out or scroll around the page to look at photos or watch videos.
3. Facilitate Online Engagement with Social Media
Social media is another popular tool among future college attendees. Teenagers and young adults depend on social media to connect, communicate, and find information. You should incorporate social media into your digital marketing strategy. Creating engaging content for social media can increase traffic to your website and keep your college at the forefront of prospective students' minds.
Consider your current social media platforms and whether they're effective. It might be time to update the content with more exciting posts that attract your target demographic. Creating different accounts won't benefit your college if you don't post original content that entertains readers.
You should think about which platforms you want to use and the type of content you should include. You can start with one or two accounts and gradually expand your reach across multiple social networks. Your posts should mix original content with user-generated content.
Keep your followers informed of important dates, such as application deadlines. Announce upcoming events prospective students can attend. You can also promote your brand with posts that link to your website.
4. Offer Unforgettable Virtual Experiences
Virtual events give attendees a fully-immersive experience from the comfort of their homes. They can participate and interact with others without driving or flying to your campus. StudentBridge can work with you to create video vignettes and embed compelling content prospective students can use to engage online in real-time.
Prospective students can also enjoy campus life with Campus Visit Experience. Instead of following a tour guide, viewers become their own tour guides. They can "walk" around campus to the locations they're most interested in seeing. They're not restricted to time limits or a predetermined route like they would be with in-person tours. They can decide where they want to go and how long they want to stay.
Promote Your Brand with StudentBridge
StudentBridge offers a range of digital marketing solutions for educational institutions. We can help you elevate your enrollment strategies with effective and unique platforms to draw in prospective students and convince them your college is right for them.
Call (678) 824-8181 or contact us online to request a demo or learn more about how we can help.
