As technology changes, your university has to adjust as well. If you sit back and admire the technological advancements but don’t make updates to your marketing strategy, you’ll end up falling short of your competitors. Being a successful higher EDU marketer requires you to embrace technology and implement the latest trends.
With 2019 on the horizon, now is the time to evaluate your higher education marketing strategy and how it can be improved. By positioning your university as a leader, you’ll be ready to take on new challenges and increase enrollment for the 2019-20 school year.
Below I share a few higher education marketing trends to have on your radar for 2019.
Video advertisements are more effective than written ads.
People tend to learn better by looking at visuals than reading words. Younger populations, in particular, prefer learning through videos, images and infographics. Expect your demographics to be drawn to video higher education marketing.
Luckily, there are plenty of opportunities to create videos. Give students a sneak peek of your campus facilities or let them sit in on a lecture. Anything that lets prospects experience your school on their own feels genuine and authentic.
Personal assistants are increasing voice search queries.
Nearly half of U.S. households have a personal assistant to rely on for questions, reminders and quick searches. However, personal assistants only recite the first search result. If you want your site to be relevant, you’ll need to make sure that it ranks exceptionally well on the search engines.
The best way to make your website voice friendly is by using natural language with long tail keywords. Think about the questions that prospects might ask and how they would sound. Include this conversational copy in your content to boost rankings.
A second look is needed for mobile friendliness.
It’s no secret that higher EDU websites should be mobile friendly, but it’s important to know exactly what is meant by this. Far too many websites are still not properly optimized. I come across many sites that have long, tedious contact forms, slow loading content and copy that is difficult to read.
If a prospect is giving you some of their time, deliver a great experience that includes the following:
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Responsive theme
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Clean, simple design
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Large, readable font sizes
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Large, clickable buttons
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Compressed images and CSS
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Autocorrect for forms
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No Flash
Helpful content is the best form of advertising.
Younger demographics do not want to be bombarded by traditional advertisements. They want helpful content that answers their questions and supports their needs. Blogs are powerful advertising tools that let you position yourself as an industry leader. They also leave room for guests posts and backlinks to university pages.
Other advertising opportunities include banner ads, promotional articles, high-profile endorsements, social media marketing and email marketing. All of these marketing opportunities can be confusing, and you don’t need to jump into everything right away. But, testing out these different ads allows you to find the best channels to promote your school.
We don’t expect there to be huge changes in 2019, but we do think that prospects are getting more confident in what they want and don’t want from brands. By publishing helpful content and delivering a great user experience, you can keep your college front and center for the 2019-20 school year.
