It’s an iconic scene of the holiday season. Children rush down from their bedrooms early Christmas morning to see what Santa has left under the tree. They shake each present to guess what’s inside and then squeals of delight emerge as torn pieces of wrapping paper are strewn through the air.

Actually, it’s not all that different from what prospective students experience when they “unwrap” your marketing collateral to get a feel for your program offering – from the classroom experience to extracurricular activities, from future classmates to career services. Sometimes, they like what they see and unwrap additional content. Other times, it’s the equivalent of a kid unwrapping a sweater from Grandma when he was hoping for a new iPod.  He moves on to the next present.  Likewise, the prospect moves on to the next university or program on their “wish list.”

As Scrooge would say, “Bah, humbug!”

Whether it’s your website, blog, or another digital asset, your goal as a higher education marketer is to delight your prospects with remarkable content so they stick around and unwrap another “present” to move further down the marketing funnel. The ultimate destination? A call-to-action such as registering for an information session, submitting an inquiry form, or, the best gift of all, applying!

But here’s the challenge. So much of the content on university websites, for example, sound exactly the same.

How can you captivate a prospect when every school seems to be saying that they have “world-class faculty” and “academic excellence?” (And by the way, what doesthat actually mean?)

Enter thought leadership.

At a time when universities desperately need to differentiate themselves in a saturated, global marketplace, thought leadership is an effective strategy to communicate your unique value proposition to prospects.

Here’s an example.

Many business schools tout the expertise of their economics and finance faculty but University of San Diego Rady School of Management takes it a step further through thought leadership.  Professor Harry Markowitz, who won the Nobel Prize in Economics for his pioneering work in modern portfolio theory, is showcased in this YouTube video. (By the way, YouTube is a fantastic digital marketing tool because it’s the second largest search engine. In fact, videos are 53 times more likely to appear in search than text webpages.)

Now, of course, not every program has a Nobel Prize faculty member. However, think of the ways you can demonstrate thought leadership of your institution through unique stories and expertise of not only your faculty, but alumni, current students, admissions team, career services team – you name it.

And a Stanford alumnus shares his words of wisdom here.  It’s practical, which brings up another point.  Thought leadership isn’t about using loftly language to impress. It’s about connecting. It’s about being helpful.

Be real. Be relevant. Be relatable.

Here’s an innovative idea. Columbia created a social media account specifically for thought leadership.

As you identify thought leadership opportunities in your marketing collateral, think about how you can you get prospects excited about learning. How can your programs contribute to their intellectual and emotional growth in a way no other experience can? How can your thought leadership prepare students for the future and position them for success in a world that doesn’t have an owner’s manual?

One more seasonal thought.  Like Rudolph’s red nose, one of the great things about digital marketing is that your messages can go viral allowing your thought leadership to spread to even more prospects.  And that, my friend, is the gift that keeps on giving!

Happy holidays!