5 Enrollment Boosting Tips for Higher Education Ad Campaigns
Between fluctuating academic calendars, elaborate decision-making journeys, and a multitude of programs to promote, higher education marketers have their work cut out for them.
Optimizing your campaign demands constant adaptation to meet the needs of students throughout the year, which can be overwhelming without a well-thought-out strategy.
However, with a structured approach, the right keywords, and tailored content that meets students’ needs at each stage of their decision-making process—capturing their attention and persuading them to enroll at your institution becomes much simpler.
Boost your enrollment rates with the five crucial tips on creating an effective higher education marketing strategy.
1. Identify and target valuable higher education keywords
Keywords are fundamental in running a successful campaign because they ensure your ads are shown to the right audience.
Your first step should be identifying keywords or phrases related to your degree programs (like “Bachelor of Business Administration,” “Master’s in Computer Science,” or “Digital Marketing certification”) and the careers they lead to.
Conducting competitor analysis allows you to identify what keywords your competitors are targeting and how they position their programs. Using this information, you can identify gaps in your strategy and capitalize on opportunities to make it more effective.
Branded keywords can also benefit higher education by boosting your institution’s presence and making it stand out among competitors. However, it might waste your budget if competitors aren’t bidding on them.
Next, you’ll want to exclude overly expensive and irrelevant keywords that don’t align with your enrollment goals. Broad search terms can attract irrelevant traffic and chip away at your budget.
You should also use tools like Google Keyword Planner to help determine which keywords are worth using.
2. Plan a winning campaign structure
It’s crucial to structure your campaign around your audience’s needs.
According to Hubspot, segmented emails can drive 30% more open rates and 50% more click-throughs than unsegmented ones. For higher education marketing, segmenting students into different categories, such as schools, graduate, undergraduate, part-time, summer, or evening classes, allows you to create personalized ads for each group.
How you organize your leads also guides your remarketing plan. By gauging your student prospect’s level of intent based on their engagement with your site, you can determine what type of remarketing to use (search, video, social media, or email).
For instance, you can send a personalized email to students who have been accepted but have not yet enrolled by highlighting your institution’s unique selling points (like a vibrant campus community or career opportunities) to influence their decision.
The main idea is to create a full funnel of touchpoints that address every stage of the student’s decision making journey.
3. Persuade students with exceptional ad copy
You can have the best strategy outlined and identify the highest-value keywords, but if your ad copy doesn’t convey value in a way that is persuasive, your prospects won’t convert.
Writing a captivating headline is essential. Modern consumers are fast decision-makers when deciding whether or not a piece of content is worth engaging with. It’s the first thing a student sees, so you must draw them in with a compelling value proposition.
Use emotive language that concisely highlights the benefits of attending your institution. For instance, if you’re targeting a student looking to enroll in summer or evening classes, your ad needs to convey that.
Once the reader understands what the ad is for and engages with it, there should be a clear CTA that relates to a well-designed landing page and an obvious link to take them there.
4. Plan ads and content to support students through the customer journey
A student’s customer journey can be divided into different stages (awareness, consideration, and decision). You should have different ads and content that address the students where they are along that journey.
For example, med students preparing for applications will likely look to enhance their applications to improve their chances of acceptance. Pages like MS in Human Nutrition at Columbia University provide them with pertinent information, such as how to apply, navigate the portal, document approval, and more.
By aligning your ads and content with each stage, you ensure your paid marketing efforts are timely, engaging, and valuable while guiding them toward enrolling in your programs.
5. Update ads to align with seasonal marketing changes
Updating ads to align with seasonal changes offsets recency bias, keeps messaging relevant, and matches the buyer journey’s next steps.
Keeping copy and images fresh, even for programs that don’t change, is also critical to staying top of mind for prospective students. Revisiting copy and creative every quarter (or more often) improves campaign performance.
This means promoting summer programs before the summer semester, focusing on fall enrollment as summer ends, and targeting graduating students with advanced degree opportunities at the year’s end.
Keeping your ads aligned with the seasonal changes you create allows you to stay in touch with prospective students throughout the year. It ensures that your marketing efforts are always timely and valuable.
Conclusion: Drive enrollments with strategic marketing
Boosting enrollment in higher education requires a strategic approach.
You ensure your ads reach the right audience by identifying and targeting high-value keywords. Structuring your campaign to align with audience needs and using segmentation allows for personalized content delivery. Compelling ad copy motivates students to take action, while supportive content guides them through their decision-making journey. Regular updates keep your ads relevant with seasonal changes.
Partner with our team of paid marketing experts to achieve unparalleled results. Contact Perfect Search Media now and take the first step toward a successful ad campaign—let’s start optimizing your campaigns today!