How to Market a College: 10 Marketing Strategies for Universities & Colleges
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Your college or university aims to attract the best and brightest students, but so does every other institution across the country. With each school aggressively marketing its degree programs, campuses, and online learning options, standing out to prospective students has become increasingly challenging.
Education is a significant investment, and students have numerous factors to consider when choosing the right school. They need answers to questions like: How much does it cost? Who are the most notable alumni? What kinds of career opportunities will a degree from this college provide?
Your marketing efforts must address these questions while showcasing your school as the unique environment it truly is. Implementing effective college marketing strategies will help you boost interest in your institution and attract more potential students.
Keep reading to discover the best university marketing strategies and how to implement them successfully. Or, give us a call to learn how our digital marketing services can assist you!
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1. Optimize your website for search engine optimization (SEO)
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving your website’s rankings in search engines like Google.
Many prospective students use search engines to find schools that meet their needs. To reach them during this search process, it's crucial that your website appears on the first page of search results for the relevant keywords they are using.
It's essential for your university to appear on the first page of search results because 90% of people don’t click past it. If your school isn't on the first page, prospective students may never find it, leading to a loss of excellent applicants to other schools with similar programs that rank higher.
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2. Target long-tail keywords on your college’s website
Selecting keywords is crucial for SEO as they determine your visibility in search results. Opting for long-tail keywords, which consist of 3 or more words, is advisable over short-tail keywords (1-2 words) because they align more closely with user search intent. Long-tail keywords tend to attract more targeted traffic due to their specificity and lower competition, making it easier to achieve higher rankings.
To effectively rank for a specific keyword, integrate it strategically across your website. This includes incorporating it into headings, titles, meta descriptions, and throughout your content. However, it's essential to avoid keyword stuffing, where keywords are excessively used in a way that disrupts natural readability. Google values relevance and user experience, so using keywords where they naturally fit is key to improving your search rankings.
3. Develop a strategy for earning backlinks
Link building is a crucial component of SEO for college marketing strategies. Acquiring links from reputable websites can significantly enhance your search rankings.
Links are essential because they serve as endorsements from other sites, signaling to users and search engines that your content is trustworthy and authoritative. When credible websites link to yours, Google interprets this as a validation of your site's quality and relevance.
Google prioritizes credible and useful content in its search results. By earning links from established sites, you gradually strengthen your own site's authority and ranking potential.
Creating high-quality content is a powerful strategy for building links. When you produce valuable content, other website owners and editors may link to it as a valuable resource for their audience. This endorsement from authority sites reinforces your site's credibility in the eyes of search engines, thereby positively impacting your search rankings.
4. Consider the user experience
Providing users with a positive experience is integral to effective SEO. A key factor in this experience is your website's design.
The first impression your website makes is critical. When students visit your site, they immediately form opinions about your university. It's crucial that your website's design captivates them and encourages further exploration.
The design of your website significantly influences user experience. An outdated or unappealing appearance can deter prospective students from staying on your site. Ensuring your website is visually engaging and user-friendly is essential to retaining visitors and fostering a positive impression of your university.
Navigation plays a crucial role in ensuring a positive experience for prospective students visiting your website for the first time. It's essential that they can easily locate all the important information they need without any difficulty.
Simplifying your page headings is an effective strategy to help students find information effortlessly. Sections such as "Academics," "Admissions," and "Campus Life" serve as broad categories that encompass various topics of interest to students. A clean and intuitive navigation structure encourages visitors to stay longer on your site, as they can quickly access the information they're seeking.
In addition to navigation, the speed at which your pages load is critical for delivering a seamless user experience. Slow-loading pages can frustrate users and lead them to abandon your site in favor of faster alternatives. High bounce rates resulting from slow loading times can negatively impact your site's ranking on search engines like Google, which prioritize sites that provide a positive user experience.
To optimize your page speed, consider using tools like Google Page Speed Insights. This tool provides insights into your page's performance and identifies areas for improvement. If managing this on your own seems overwhelming, digital marketing companies offer page speed optimization services to help ensure your site operates at peak efficiency.
Improving various factors such as content quality, mobile-friendliness, page speed, security, user experience, backlinks, technical SEO, and local SEO can significantly enhance your website's Google ranking, helping you reach more prospective students effectively.
5. Run pay-per-click (PPC) ads
PPC advertising offers universities a prominent way to market themselves, with ads appearing prominently at the top of search results. Like SEO, PPC ads are keyword-triggered, making long-tail keywords preferable due to lower competition and higher quality traffic. After selecting your keywords, you bid for placement, setting your maximum bid—the highest amount you're willing to pay per click (CPC). Adjustments to your bid can be made at any time to optimize campaign performance.
Once your maximum bid is set, your PPC ad placement is determined by both your bid and your quality score.
Opting for long-tail keywords is effective in reducing your CPC because they face less competition, lowering the cost per click compared to more competitive keywords.
PPC campaigns are highly effective for attracting interested students, with 75% of high-intent searches resulting in clicking on a PPC ad. This targeted approach ensures that you attract students genuinely interested in your institution.
Managing your budget is straightforward with PPC advertising—you have full control over how much you spend. Whether it's setting a specific campaign budget like $10,000 or adjusting bids to control costs, there are no unexpected charges once your budget is set.
Overall, PPC is a powerful tool for driving relevant traffic to your university's website, generating valuable leads, and ultimately converting prospective students into enrolled ones.
6. Have an active presence on social media
Social media is a vital college marketing strategy, offering direct access to potential students across various platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and LinkedIn.
These platforms provide colleges with opportunities to engage with students and offer insights into university life. Authenticity is crucial, so sharing real photos of current students in action is more effective than using stock images. This approach helps prospective students envision themselves at your institution.
Social media platforms also serve as ideal channels for showcasing campus events, offering prospective students a glimpse into university life and potentially influencing their decision to apply.
Additionally, leveraging videos on social media can be highly impactful. Featuring students and faculty sharing their experiences and enthusiasm for your university can resonate deeply with prospective students, highlighting unique aspects that set your institution apart.
Overall, social media pages provide direct communication channels to inform and engage with students, offering valuable insights and compelling content that can inspire interest and connection with your university.
7. Focus on your unique selling points
Every school possesses unique strengths and distinctive selling points tailored to attract students who align with those qualities. By strategically focusing on these strengths, your marketing team can carve out a distinct position in the educational landscape, increasing interest and applications.
To pinpoint these selling points, it's essential to conduct both internal and external assessments. Internally, consider why current students and alumni chose your school, and why faculty members chose to teach there. Externally, analyze perceptions from competitors, educational experts, and guidance counselors regarding your institution.
Highlighting these qualities that have historically appealed to students can effectively attract future applicants who share similar interests and aspirations.
8. Develop a long-term communication strategy
Choosing a college is a complex decision for students, involving considerations such as academic programs, living arrangements, career prospects, and extracurricular activities, among others.
To support students through this process and maintain engagement with your school, it's crucial to develop a robust communication plan.
Initially, raise awareness about your institution by emphasizing its unique strengths, location, and activities. Once students express interest, continue to nurture this connection to remain relevant throughout their decision-making journey.
Lifecycle email marketing is a powerful strategy in this regard. By sending targeted messages based on demographics, past interactions, and other relevant factors, you ensure timely communication with relevant information.
Even after students apply, maintain communication. Since students often apply to multiple schools, it's important to continually demonstrate why your institution is the best choice.
Consistent and strategic communication throughout the decision-making process helps keep your school top of mind and enhances the likelihood of attracting and retaining prospective students.
9. Build a responsive site
To effectively reach prospective students, it's essential to develop a mobile-friendly marketing strategy, given the preference for smartphones and tablets over desktops.
Implement responsive design to ensure your website displays and functions seamlessly across all screen sizes and browsers. Craft content that is easily readable on mobile screens and facilitates straightforward contact through phone calls or emails.
A mobile-friendly approach not only demonstrates that your institution is current and accessible but also maximizes your ability to engage prospective students on their preferred devices, enhancing outreach and interaction.
10. Optimize for targeted searches
To attract a diverse range of prospective students, whether they're interested in campus life, specific programs, or online learning options, optimizing your website and social media pages for targeted searches is crucial.
Ensure essential search terms like your school's name and location are prominently featured across your site. Create specific landing pages optimized for terms related to degree programs and admissions policies to cater to those seeking detailed information.
Incorporate these targeted keywords into your PPC ads for maximum visibility. Additionally, create blog posts addressing the factors students consider when choosing a school, focusing on their priorities to resonate effectively.
By strategically optimizing content across platforms based on prospective students' interests and needs, you can enhance your university marketing efforts and attract more applications.
Ready to reach more prospective students with these college marketing strategies?
The aim of your institution is to prepare future leaders, and integrating contemporary marketing strategies is essential to attract them effectively. Incorporate these concepts into your current strategy to enhance awareness, engagement, and enrollment at your college or university.
If you're ready to implement these college marketing strategies and expand your reach to prospective students, MacroHype can assist you. Contact us today to consult with a strategist about our comprehensive digital marketing services!
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