Video messaging made for higher ed

Higher Education Marketing For Admissions, Advancement and Student Success

While colleges and universities are experiencing a decline in undergraduate student enrollment, they are looking for effective, higher education marketing strategies to boost their numbers. Likewise, the year 2020 has brought a new series of challenges for schools – forcing teachers, staff, and students to experience a new way of teaching, learning, recruiting, and more. However, a new education marketing strategy has proved its success and potential throughout the 2020 pandemic: video.

Video is one of the most engaging and effective forms of content for university marketing strategies and companies across the globe. Why? Video is engaging and educational. It also establishes a greater empathy with the audience and strikes an emotional cord. Let’s take a look at some of the stats on the power of video in higher education.

• 95% of a message is remembered when in a video vs. just 10% in plain text.
• The average teen watches 65 videos a day.
• YouTube is the top social platform for today’s teens. 85% of teenagers say they use it.

Types of Higher Ed marketing videos

You may be thinking a video is a video, but that’s not the case. There are various types of videos you can create for higher education, and each serves a unique purpose. For example, traditional marketing videos are seen on websites. These videos are professionally produced, polished, have lots of time and money invested into them, and nearly impossible to do during social distancing. Social media videos are fun, quick, and inexpensive videos distributed online – meaning they are designed to be consumed in mass. Video conferencing is another type of video you’ve likely experienced more of this year. These are great for live conversations; however, it requires all parties to agree and meet at a specific time because they are done in real-time.

As you can see, each of these videos serves a different purpose, but there’s still a gap in the market. Teachers and staff should have the ability to use video to connect personally with prospective and current students and alumni without having to coordinate a meeting and plan a specific time. For this reason, colleges and universities are using personalized videos to connect with their audience. Personalized videos are quick, one-off videos recorded for an individual or small groups and bridge the gap between having an in-person conversation and sending a long, text-heavy email. These videos drive action and create high impact, lasting impressions through personalization. For these reasons, colleges and universities use personalized videos for college advancement, recruiting prospective students virtually, and as part of a student engagement strategy.

Virtual campus recruitment strategies for Admissions

Colleges and universities are facing a decline in enrollment, which makes recruiting efforts even more important. However, with the 2020 pandemic, colleges have not been able to rely on the previous recruiting methods like campus visits and college fairs, as they have in the past. As a result, admissions teams have had to adapt and alter their strategies towards virtual recruiting efforts. If you’re looking to stand out, colleges and universities need to do something different – like incorporating personalized videos into your outreach. These videos are sent to prospective students and add that personal touch to the conversation, which is valuable in the decision-making process.

Video strategies for increasing enrollment

If you’re searching for innovative ideas for admissions and effective ways of recruiting college students virtually, it’s time to consider personalized video. Rather than sending traditional plain-text emails to students, admissions teams should communicate in students’ preferred medium – video. Personalized video messages are recorded and designed for individual students or small groups and, therefore, highly personalized. As a result, these videos have a high-impact on prospective students, making them feel recognized, valued, and more connected to that school. Sending personalized videos throughout the admissions process shortens response times, increases engagement, and wows your audience. This creates a highly personalized experience for each student, giving your school a competitive edge, and building loyalty from the start. Check out these examples of admissions videos and virtual recruiting ideas to use throughout college recruiting strategies.

• Send Follow-Ups. Communicate with prospective students in their preferred medium by sending video introductions, application updates, or event invitations – all packaged with a familiar face and a sincere message.
• Lead Virtual Tours. Showcase campus life by touring academic buildings, residence halls, and student spaces for individuals who can’t make the trip.
• Connect Your Community: Introduce faculty members, coaches, and members of the student body to provide more information about a specific major, athletics, or extracurriculars based on the prospect’s interests.

Do other colleges and universities like Techas Tech University, Michigan State University, and Miami University are using college admissions videos throughout their university marketing strategies? Talk to a higher education recruiting expert,and they’ll show you our personalized video platform and strategize a plan of action that meets your needs. They’ll share ideas on how to increase college enrollment with video, along with how to increase yield and fight melt.

Improving alumni relations and college advancement

Another area where personalized video has been adapted is alumni/donor relations and college advancement. Higher education advancement teams are always looking for ways to improve alumni engagement, raise money, and create effective giving campaigns. Using personalized video is an effective way to communicate with your alumni base and keep them connected with your community. Engaged alumni become loyal supporters of your school and are more likely to give back in the future.

For example, Lyons College ran giving campaigns that included personalized videos to their alumni. After one year of use, they saw a 70% open rate (compared to the higher ed average of 25%) and a 44% view rate of Covideo emails. These efforts also led to increased donor engagement, overwhelmingly positive feedback from donors, and an uptick in gifts (including an unexpected gift of $12,000). Mary Lemings, the Assistant Director of Stewardship at Lyons College, shared, “I hear from donors all the time, responding to their personalized video email, telling me they loved it and that this type of email is a nice touch.” This isn’t the only instance, as research shows giving campaigns with personalized videos raise 105% more than those without. Check out how to increase alumni engagement with video, along with some college fundraising strategies to improve alumni donations.

• Maintain Alumni Engagement. Send video newsletters and event invitations to update alumni on campus news and upcoming events, such as reunions and fundraisers.
  
• Make the “Ask.” Present your fundraising message with a human face to add a personal touch and inspire interaction.
• Say, “Thank You.” Research shows 65% of first-time donors don’t make a second gift, but 80% of those donors said a simple “thank you” would encourage future donations. Express your gratitude for their generosity with sincerity and authenticity.

Interested in learning how Lyons College, Rose Hulman, and Baylor University are using personalized video throughout their college advancement strategy? Talk to a Covideo expert, and they’ll show you the ropes.

Student engagement strategies for best success

While virtual learning was already rising, Covid-19 forced most schools to jump aboard unexpectedly. Now, aspects of virtual learning are here and here to stay. Adapting to a virtual learning strategy is easy, especially with little to no experience or teacher preparation. As a result, teachers turned to digital platforms to streamline the process while still offering a top-notch virtual learning experience. However, a major challenge of virtual learning is engaging students online. Institutions are searching for ways to maintain classroom engagement and how to keep students engaged throughout the semester. One of the most effective student engagement strategies and methods for increasing student success is through personalized video. Recording and sending personalized videos to your students allows you to accommodate different learning styles in the classroom. This makes content more accessible and easier to comprehend and ultimately leads to improved student performance. Here are some ideas on how to engage students online and increase student engagement and success overall.

• Provide Video Feedback. Screencast students’ assignments to provide more detailed, comprehensive feedback and offer one-on-one support.
• Teach Beyond the Classroom. Walkthrough lesson plans, presentations, and assignments for students to watch on their own time and to refer back to when in need of a refresher.
• Host Virtual Office Hours. Elaborate on students’ questions, and share your screen to explain lesson plans and topics further, as if you were meeting in person.

Personalized video is one of the best ways to improve the student experience and create a tailored learning experience for each student. See how schools like Ivy Tech and DePauw University are using personalized videos as part of their student engagement strategies during this time.

Using video in higher education marketing

The pandemic has changed the traditional processes throughout higher education. Colleges and universities have adjusted their approach and are using video platforms to carry out their jobs effectively. While you could create a video strategy on your own, using a personalized video platform like Covideo streamlines the process, making it easy, simple, and quick for your team to record and send videos. Covideo is a tool that lets you easily record, send, and track videos for a dynamic, hyper-personalized message that has the benefits of face-to-face conversations with the flexibility and convenience of email and text. Sending personalized video messages with Covideo helps you stand out from your competition, adds a touch of personalization to the conversation, makes your message more engaging, and is a more effective way to communicate with students and alumni. With Covideo, you can record a short message from your phone or computer and then choose whether you want to send it via email, text, or social media. Better yet, when emailing your videos, a video thumbnail will send in the body of the email, which increases engagement, clickthrough, and conversion rates. When a recipient clicks on your video, they will be directed to a branded video landing page with a customizable call to action buttons like “Apply Now” or “Donate Today.” This shares your personalized message alongside your branding and also encourages action from your audience.

Start recording today

If you’re looking to transform your outreach for virtual recruiting, increase alumni engagement, and maximize student potential/classroom engagement, consider incorporating video into your current strategies. Not only will you be amazed by the results, but your messages will leave a lasting impression on your audience. Talk to a Covideo expert to learn more about using video for higher education and some strategies that meet your needs. Or, see for yourself with a  7 day free trial and start recording videos in minutes.