With changing demographics comes a required shift in the way universities handle admissions systems. No longer are the legacy and PDF-handled admissions processes capable of meeting the needs of the up-and-coming generation of college students. These processes must be streamlined through mobile-friendly, cloud-based admissions systems.
Marketing in the higher education niche can feel like you're dealing with a whole different monster altogether. Whether you're a PPC - Pay per Click - expert or your first time creating ad campaigns for this industry, it's crucial to have a robust PPC campaign. On that note, you might want to consider applying these PPC campaign techniques:
Social media is becoming increasingly important when it comes to stakeholder engagement. According to research by Hootsuite, 98 per cent of higher education institutions use social media to share content. Social has the power to increase enrolments significantly, so much so that 41 per cent of university officials say they can attribute a rise in admissions to their university’s activity on social media. This shows how impactful social media platforms are as ‘brand awareness’ tools.
Europe hosts 45 per cent of international students globally and the number of candidates choosing to study internationally has been on the rise. EU Member States and HEIs are implementing strategies to ensure they attract the best talent, including promotional activities, English language programmes, and housing and financial support.
Big data influences so many aspects of our personal lives and is intrinsic to business decision making. From the ads we see on social media and the shows Netflix recommends to how our healthcare systems operate, big data reaches far and wide.
A recent survey we conducted with postgraduate applicants found that around 68 per cent don’t seek advice or guidance with an institution's admissions team before starting an application. With this in mind, it’s vitally important that universities treat their application portal as a marketing tool and make the process as self-explanatory and streamlined as possible to maximise conversions. Yet a number of education providers still aren’t leveraging online admissions systems and rely on outdated PDF application forms and programmes such as Excel to manage the process.
With increased competition and uncertainty across the global higher education market, what can universities do to attract and retain students? Unfortunately, there’s no simple answer – but focusing on vocational skills may prove beneficial.
International candidates are valuable assets to any institution, encouraging diversity and making the learning experience richer for all. Students from overseas are also a critical source of funding for universities and have a significant impact on the wider economy.
As universities respond to the COVID-19 outbreak by closing campuses and shifting to online forms of distance learning, many institutions and educators are scrambling to develop online engagement plans. In this repost, Michael B.Horn (Chief Strategy Officer at Entangled Ventures) reflects on the changes provoked by the current sanitary crisis in a supported effort to predict future trends.
