Why College Video Tours are Recruitment's 'Secret Sauce' in 2016

From the oldest Millennials out in the workforce to the youngest members of Generation Z still in grade school, it’s hard to keep today’s young generations all straight. Even harder is figuring out their preferences and marketing to them. Luckily, there is one tool that has had an increasing impact on each generation since the mid-1800s: video. While it started out as simply motion pictures, today it has evolved into the primary delivery medium for information, entertainment, and instructions. Of course traditional recruiting methods, like direct mail campaigns and printed viewbooks, are still important to the recruitment process. But, adding video to your strategy may be the perfect solution for recruiting today’s Video Generation, and here are three reasons why:

1. 1. Video is scalable content - Traditional means of communicating with prospective students can be incredibly expensive, and likely will only reach one student with each piece. Video, on the other hand, can be shared and viewed simultaneously by a much larger audience. While it may be more expensive to create initially, video can be repurposed and redistributed to reach thousands of students at a time.
2. 2. It's where the students are - Today’s students have a limited online attention span and want to find the information they need quickly and efficiently. Search engines, like YouTube, allow video to be easily published and searched, allowing students to quickly find the answer to any question they may have.
3. 3. You can tell your authentic story - One of the most valuable things for today’s students is honesty. They hate being sold to and don’t want to see flashy advertisements when trying to find information. Video allows you to show what actually happens on your campus, and you can use your current students as spokespeople. Allowing real students to share their real stories helps paint an authentic picture of your college or university.

Video can be a valuable asset to any college or university recruiting strategy for many reasons. It can seem like an overwhelming project to start, but once you begin to build your video library it will become an invaluable asset for your entire institution.

To learn more about incorporating video into your recruitment strategy, register here for our webinar on December 9th, 2015. StudentBridge Marketing Manager, James Douglas, will be discussing some different tips and tricks for incorporating video.