Digital advertising can play a vital role in the student enrollment journey. However, leveraging different strategies and channels is crucial because not all users are at the same point in their decision making process.

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The infographic below showcases various digital advertising tactics and the roles they play in the student enrollment journey.

Awareness

Targeting users based on their demographics and the content they’re reading is a great way to spread awareness about your program. Digital advertising channels like Facebook and LinkedIn allow you to reach your ideal audience by targeting based on specific demographic information including age, geography and education/career background.

Various display advertising channels allow you to target audiences reading specific content. For example, you may want to strategically play an ad for your MBA program on an MBA rankings website. In addition, you can also place ads on specific premium websites (forbes.com, education.com, etc.) to spread general awareness.

Interest

Behavioral targeting allows you to target users based on their online behaviors. Google AdWord’s ‘In-Market Audiences’ looks at users’ browsing and search behaviors to determine what they’re ‘in-the-market’ for. Facebook’s ‘interests’ targeting and Twitter’s ‘behavior’ targeting essentially do the same thing, but it’s based on a user’s engagement on the respective channels.

Consideration / Intent

When a user is in the consideration phase, they are often performing searches and viewing landing page and website content about your program and school. Some users will inquire right away to receive more information, but some may continue to do research on their own before reaching out. That’s why it’s essential to have a retargeting strategy in place to continue engaging with those users who have engaged with your brand but haven’t inquired.

Inquire

Once a user gets to your program landing page, the goal is convert that user into a prospect. Utilizing a conversion-centered design, captivating content, compelling imagery and student testimonials are great ways to get that user to take the next step and inquire about your program.

Enroll

Once a user inquires, it’s up to your follow-up process to convert that prospect into an actual student. Having a customer relationship management (CRM) system in place is a great way to understand your prospects’ behaviors. CRMs often offer automated email and workflow features to streamline your follow-up process. Employing a follow-up strategy with a mix of calls, value-added content and events can be a great way to keep prospects engaged and informed while they’re in that decision making process.

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Questions about higher education digital advertising? Feel free to comment below!