In higher education marketing, personalization is core to creating trust with your prospective students. By offering more opportunities for engagement, personalization creates trust with prospective students and leads to better yield. Potential applicants who receive information in a manner that speaks to them personally are more likely to proceed through the admission funnel.
Exploration
A majority of prospective students conduct college research online and spend most of their time exploring majors and programs. They value the opinions of their online social groups and consider their friends experts. They’re also very excited to share what they find. Facilitate a conversation by telling your story through multiple social media channels.
It’s common for prospective students to feel fear and anxiety at this stage. Choosing a college can be overwhelming, especially for first-generation students. Colleges can address this anxiety by demystifying the admissions process. Encourage prospective students to connect and learn more about the college by submitting an inquiry.
As you learn more about a prospective student’s interests, use that information to deliver specific and relevant content to them. For example, if a prospective student is interested in architecture, personalize emails with stories about architecture faculty, students, alumni, and architecture-related events on campus. When sending print materials, use variable data to drive traffic to personalized landing pages populated by videos, testimonials, and major/program information. Encourage them to start an application.
Application
Once a prospective student applies, continue to personalize but add student-specific admissions and financial aid content. Prospective students feel hopeful during this stage; however, they can easily get paralyzed by all the steps in the application process. Guide them through the sequence and make it clear what their specific next steps are. Personalize email, landing pages, and printed materials with consistent messaging. Deliver targeted program of study content in all channels and get them familiar with the work of their potential peers.
Acceptance
This is a critical time where prospective students are balancing excitement (“I got accepted!”) and apprehension (“Is this the right choice?”). Focus personalized content on the campus community. This is the time to really highlight the value in your college experience. Demonstrate the advantage of an earned degree through alumni stories.
Keep the prospective student engaged by inviting them to campus events. Continue to strengthen their connection to their chosen department through faculty stories. Clearly identify the paths to obtain the maximum amount of financial aid and encourage personal conversation with admissions staff.
Transition
Personalization should continue past the acceptance decision. Class registration systems can be complex and hard to navigate. Continue to guide prospective students through their next steps. Also, take time to acknowledge the relief they should feel in choosing a college. Celebrate the happiness that also comes with that decision. Help prospective students to connect with other incoming classmates by sharing video content about their assigned residence hall and show them how other students get around on campus.
The prospective students we are trying to reach were raised online, cut their teeth on social media, and expect personalized communications. They divide their time among many platforms so it’s imperative to meet them where they are. When you utilize targeted and personalized video, social media, email, websites and printed materials to continually reinforce your story, you’ll get your best-fit student to campus.