3 Effective Lead Generation Tips for Universities

Attracting new students to your university is a tougher challenge every year. Not only do you need to bring in enough students, but they need to be the right students. You want there to be demand for all of your programs and you want the best and brightest to choose your flagship degrees.

But how do you make that happen? How do you generate leads that bring the right students into your school?

Here are the tips you need to succeed in today’s competitive market:

Consider a Virtual Open Day

Getting prospective students to visit is an important way for them to understand your campus’ unique culture and climate. Unfortunately, it’s not possible for you to host everyone—and not everyone can physically travel to attend, either.

Why not take your Open Day online? It costs a fraction of the price for both you and your attendees. You can expose your school to far more students and it’s easier for an on-the-fence prospect to decide to attend. Given that today’s students live online, showing up in a virtual environment not only meets them where they are, but it shows you to be a forward-thinking school.

Even better, virtual Open Days allow you to leave the information, virtual tours, and presentations online for prospective students to access  on-demand. That gives them the control and boosts your reach well beyond a single in-person event.

Use Social Media Lead Ads

You probably already use social media for your marketing—it allows you to connect with students and prospects while sharing relevant news and information. What you might not have implemented yet are targeted lead ads that deliver customized content directly to your prospects.

50% of Generation Z think social media is the most relevant channel for ads. However, you need to be on the right platforms. Very little of Generation Z is on Facebook. Instead, you’ll need to target Snapchat, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok to introduce your university to this generation.

Social media lead ads allow your prospect to show interest and provide their contact information without ever leaving the social media platform. It’s a great way to engage a generation that is moving quickly—they can download a free report, answer a survey and opt-in to receive their results, and more.

Not every platform has the capability for lead ads, so you should also be sure you develop excellent landing pages for your various social media offers.

Provide Educational, Engaging Content to Create Relationships

Attracting people to your school means that you need to create a relationship with them over time. The easiest way to do this is by sharing useful and fun information. For instance, you might offer a free webinar about how to be successful in college or an e-book on how to navigate the university social scene. For specific programs, you may create an infographic on earning potential for various positions that are commonly found after graduation.

The key is that you want to stand out from the crowd. All schools are inundating teens with information. The way to connect with them is to make your offers seem fun and unique. 

Once you have a student’s contact information with a free download or webinar, stay in touch using a newsletter and other events. Make sure that everything is targeted to topics that are of interest to the student. No one wants to feel like a number or one of many. Students want to feel like you are talking specifically to them and that you truly want them to attend your school.

Personalization will allow you to speak to each target group’s unique needs and desires. You’ll be able to do a better job selling your school when you can focus on specific advantages that speak directly to a student’s needs.

Student-Focused Marketing Wins in University Recruitment

Focusing on the student—where and how they interact—can have a meaningful impact on your marketing efforts. Use online events like a Virtual Open Day to cater to students all over the world. Work with social media ads on the right platforms to make offers. And build a relationship based on resourceful, engaging content.

It can be hard to keep up with where young people are spending time online, especially as new social media platforms emerge regularly. Proper research, or the right partner, can help you target the right prospects in the right place.

Interested in getting started? Contact us for more information today!