Latest / Higher Ed Marketing Insider / Reaching Students - Texts, Stories, and SEO in Higher Education - Higher Ed Marketing Blogs April 11, 2025

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Reaching Students - Texts, Stories, and SEO in Higher Education - Higher Ed Marketing Blogs April 11, 2025 · Higher Ed Marketing Insider

• 0:00
  Jill: It's a tough climate out there for education marketers, isn't it?
• 0:03
  Jack: Oh, definitely.
• 0:03
  Jack: Yeah.
• 0:03
  Jack: The
• 0:03
  Jill: ground keeps shifting and, uh, attracting students feels more competitive than ever.
• 0:09
  Jill: Mm-hmm.
• 0:10
  Jill: If you're trying to keep your institution ahead, getting the crucial insights quickly is Well, it's key.
• 0:15
  Jill: Yeah.
• 0:15
  Jill: That's exactly what we've set out to do today.
• 0:17
  Jack: Precisely.
• 0:19
  Jack: We've, uh, distilled the essential marketing takeaways from a bunch of recent articles in a pretty compelling case study.
• 0:25
  Jack: Okay.
• 0:26
  Jack: All with a laser focus on what's relevant and.
• 0:29
  Jack: You know, actionable for people promoting educational institutions like yours, right?
• 0:34
  Jack: We wanna give you the vital information without sort of over storming you.
• 0:38
  Jill: Absolutely.
• 0:38
  Jill: So we're looking at how Baldwin County Public Schools.
• 0:42
  Jill: Connected with their community using digital tools.
• 0:45
  Jill: That's the case study.
• 0:46
  Jack: Yep.
• 0:46
  Jack: That's the one.
• 0:47
  Jack: Yeah.
• 0:47
  Jack: And then exploring overarching strategies for guiding students, you know, from initial interest all the way to enrollment.
• 0:53
  Jill: Okay.
• 0:53
  Jill: The funnel.
• 0:54
  Jack: Uh, exactly.
• 0:55
  Jill: Yeah.
• 0:55
  Jack: And examining the core pillars of marketing for higher ed.
• 0:59
  Jack: The maybe surprising impact of text messaging on student retention.
• 1:04
  Jill: Oh, interesting.
• 1:04
  Jack: And some important trends in reaching students through, uh, SEO and authentic storytelling.
• 1:10
  Jill: Right.
• 1:11
  Jill: Think of this as your streamlined guide to what matters most right.
• 1:15
  Jill: Now.
• 1:16
  Jack: Let's maybe dive right into that concrete example then the case study of Baldwin County Public Schools in Alabama.
• 1:22
  Jill: Okay.
• 1:22
  Jack: This is a, um, a rapidly expanding district, really focused on academic excellence and, uh, community engagement.
• 1:29
  Jill: And their marketing had some very specific aims, right?
• 1:32
  Jack: Yeah.
• 1:33
  Jack: To
• 1:33
  Jill: make sure the community knew about the great things happening, showcase their programs, facilities, and, uh, really strengthen those bonds with local families.
• 1:41
  Jack: Exactly.
• 1:42
  Jack: And to achieve this, they implemented a digital marketing campaign.
• 1:45
  Jill: Okay.
• 1:46
  Jill: What did that involve?
• 1:47
  Jack: Well, one component was targeted display advertising.
• 1:50
  Jack: So ads aim directly at parents within the district.
• 1:53
  Jack: Right.
• 1:54
  Jack: These ads got over 680,000 impressions.
• 1:57
  Jack: Wow.
• 1:58
  Jack: Resulted in 800 clicks.
• 2:00
  Jack: But what's particularly interesting here is the view through conversions.
• 2:03
  Jack: View through, yeah.
• 2:04
  Jack: So more than 1400 people who saw the ad later visited the school website, even if they didn't click the ad itself.
• 2:12
  Jill: Ah, okay.
• 2:12
  Jill: So it's about that constant visibility, right?
• 2:14
  Jill: Yeah.
• 2:14
  Jill: Keeping the brand top of mind.
• 2:16
  Jack: Exactly.
• 2:16
  Jack: And they also used meta ads again.
• 2:19
  Jack: Focusing on parents in their district.
• 2:20
  Jill: And how did those perform?
• 2:22
  Jack: Even better, actually over 1.8 million impressions and, uh, get this 38,729 total clicks.
• 2:31
  Jack: Whoa, which translates to a 2.12% response rate.
• 2:36
  Jack: The case study notes that really exceeded their initial targets.
• 2:39
  Jill: That's huge for meta ads in this space.
• 2:41
  Jack: It is.
• 2:42
  Jack: That level of engagement goes beyond just clicks, you know
• 2:45
  Jill: how so?
• 2:46
  Jack: Well, these ads also generated thousands of reactions, comments, shares, even new page likes.
• 2:52
  Jill: Okay, so real interaction.
• 2:53
  Jack: Yeah.
• 2:53
  Jack: This is just a genuine connection.
• 2:54
  Jack: People weren't just scrolling past, they were actually engaging with the content.
• 2:57
  Jill: And did this translate to their website traffic as well?
• 3:00
  Jack: It did.
• 3:01
  Jack: Baldwin County saw significant year over year growth, almost a 9% increase in overall traffic.
• 3:06
  Jack: Okay.
• 3:07
  Jack: And nearly an 8% rise in new users.
• 3:09
  Jack: That's solid growth.
• 3:10
  Jack: And what's more the completion of key actions on their website, things they really wanted people to do saw a substantial jump of almost 26%.
• 3:18
  Jill: Mm.
• 3:18
  Jill: 26%.
• 3:19
  Jill: So people weren't just looking, they were like signing up or finding information.
• 3:23
  Jack: Exactly.
• 3:23
  Jack: They were actively engaging with important content, accessing info, completing forms, and.
• 3:30
  Jack: The average time on site, nearly two minutes that suggest visitors found the content valuable.
• 3:36
  Jack: Relevant.
• 3:37
  Jill: So what kind of content were they pushing in these ads?
• 3:39
  Jack: Good question.
• 3:40
  Jack: The study highlighted things like, uh.
• 3:43
  Jack: School safety, the presence of resource officers.
• 3:46
  Jill: Always important for parents.
• 3:48
  Jack: Absolutely.
• 3:49
  Jack: Also, deadlines for virtual school applications.
• 3:52
  Jack: The benefits of enrolling there.
• 3:55
  Jack: Their one voice anonymous bullying reporting platform.
• 3:57
  Jill: Oh, that's good.
• 3:58
  Jill: The
• 3:58
  Jack: sheer number of students they serve, showing their scale and the advanced technology available in their schools.
• 4:03
  Jill: Those are all really salient points, aren't they?
• 4:05
  Jill: Safety options like virtual school tackling, bullying resources
• 4:09
  Jack: directly, addressing potential concerns and highlighting strengths.
• 4:13
  Jack: Builds trust.
• 4:14
  Jill: Yeah.
• 4:15
  Jill: There's a quote mentioned from Danielle Ludlow in their communications department, right?
• 4:20
  Jack: Yes.
• 4:20
  Jack: Basically saying how valuable the partnership was in getting their successes out there and driving engagement for key initiatives.
• 4:29
  Jill: So for anyone listening who works in school marketing, this case study really shows how effective a well-planned digital strategy can be, doesn't it?
• 4:36
  Jack: Absolutely tangible proof that targeted online campaigns can reach the right people, boost website traffic, and crucially build real community engagement.
• 4:45
  Jill: Okay, so that's one specific example.
• 4:47
  Jill: Let's maybe broaden out now and talk about that, um, that overall student journey, the enrollment funnel concept,
• 4:53
  Jack: right?
• 4:54
  Jack: This framework, it outlines the stages a potential student moves through from just becoming aware of a school.
• 5:00
  Jack: All the way to actually enrolling.
• 5:01
  Jill: And the article you looked at broke it down into stages.
• 5:04
  Jill: Yeah.
• 5:04
  Jack: Six key phases.
• 5:05
  Jack: Mm-hmm.
• 5:05
  Jack: Awareness, interest, consideration, intent, application, and enrollment.
• 5:10
  Jill: Makes sense.
• 5:11
  Jill: And I guess marketers face different challenges at each stage.
• 5:13
  Jack: Exactly.
• 5:14
  Jack: Like in that initial awareness phase, the big question is just how do you even reach potential students?
• 5:19
  Jack: It's such a crowded space.
• 5:21
  Jill: So what works there?
• 5:22
  Jack: Well, the article suggests a mix.
• 5:24
  Jack: Digital stuff like social media, ads, blogs, good, SEO, uh, but also traditional methods like college fairs, events, even direct mail still has a place
• 5:33
  Jill: and personalization.
• 5:34
  Jack: Yeah, that comes up.
• 5:36
  Jack: They note, uh, younger prospects might respond better to texts or emails while adult learners maybe appreciate a phone call, something more personal.
• 5:44
  Jill: Interesting.
• 5:45
  Jill: And video seems big too, right?
• 5:46
  Jill: And virtual tours,
• 5:48
  Jack: definitely.
• 5:48
  Jack: Data shows 83% find videos helpful.
• 5:51
  Jack: 79% like virtual tours.
• 5:53
  Jill: Yeah.
• 5:54
  Jack: And, uh, 63% clicked on digital ads.
• 5:57
  Jack: So online advertising is still crucial for that initial awareness.
• 6:00
  Jill: Okay, so you've got their attention, they move into the interest stage.
• 6:03
  Jill: Now what?
• 6:03
  Jack: Now the challenge is standing out.
• 6:05
  Jack: How do you make your school memorable compared to all the others?
• 6:08
  Jill: This is where your uuv PS, your unique value propositions come in, I suppose.
• 6:12
  Jack: Exactly.
• 6:13
  Jack: You need to clearly state what makes you different better.
• 6:16
  Jack: Plus, providing really informative content.
• 6:18
  Jill: Like what?
• 6:19
  Jack: Think career-focused blogs, webinars with faculty, tailored emails that show how your institution helps them reach their goals.
• 6:25
  Jill: Got it.
• 6:26
  Jill: Then comes consideration.
• 6:28
  Jill: They're weighing their options,
• 6:29
  Jack: right?
• 6:29
  Jack: And here the goal is building trust and credibility.
• 6:32
  Jill: How do you do that effectively?
• 6:33
  Jack: The article really emphasizes direct personalized communication.
• 6:38
  Jill: Yeah.
• 6:38
  Jack: Admissions counselors reaching out via email, phone, video calls,
• 6:43
  Jill: answering specific questions
• 6:44
  Jack: precisely, and connecting them with current faculty or alumni through virtual q and as.
• 6:51
  Jack: That offers invaluable firsthand perspective.
• 6:54
  Jack: Builds authenticity.
• 6:55
  Jill: Sure.
• 6:55
  Jill: And obviously having detailed program info easily available.
• 6:59
  Jack: Critical.
• 7:00
  Jack: And they also made a good point about tailoring messages for adult learners, addressing their specific concerns like work-life balance or career advancement.
• 7:08
  Jill: Right.
• 7:08
  Jill: They have different priorities than, say, an 18-year-old.
• 7:11
  Jack: Completely different.
• 7:12
  Jack: Okay.
• 7:12
  Jack: So then they move into the intent stage.
• 7:14
  Jack: They're close to deciding.
• 7:15
  Jack: So
• 7:15
  Jill: you need to keep them engaged, give'em that final nudge.
• 7:18
  Jack: Yep.
• 7:18
  Jack: Consistent personalized communication is still key here.
• 7:21
  Jack: They might have very specific questions about financial aid or program details or the application itself
• 7:27
  Jill: and creating some urgency, deadlines, maybe incentives
• 7:31
  Jack: that can work, clear deadlines, maybe offering application fee waivers to prompt action.
• 7:36
  Jack: The article also flagged key reasons adults might not enroll.
• 7:39
  Jill: Oh, like what?
• 7:41
  Jack: Things like cost work, conflicts, the length of the program worries about the job market.
• 7:46
  Jack: Even remote learning concerns.
• 7:48
  Jill: That's useful intel for marketers.
• 7:49
  Jill: Knowing those potential barriers
• 7:51
  Jack: absolutely helps you address them proactively in your messaging.
• 7:55
  Jill: Okay, so they decide to apply.
• 7:57
  Jill: The application stage, what's important here?
• 8:00
  Jack: Making it easy.
• 8:01
  Jack: Streamline the online process as much as possible.
• 8:04
  Jill: Reduce friction.
• 8:05
  Jack: Exactly.
• 8:06
  Jack: Yep.
• 8:06
  Jack: Proactive check-ins, reminders about documents.
• 8:08
  Jack: Maybe a dedicated help desk with resources that can all reduce applicant drop off.
• 8:13
  Jack: Even just encouragement help.
• 8:15
  Jill: Right.
• 8:15
  Jill: And finally enrollment.
• 8:17
  Jill: They're in, but the job's not done.
• 8:19
  Jack: Not at all.
• 8:20
  Jack: Now it shifts to ensuring a smooth transition, and importantly, fostering long-term retention,
• 8:26
  Jill: so guidance on registration courses, support services.
• 8:30
  Jill: Getting them settled.
• 8:31
  Jack: Yes.
• 8:31
  Jack: A positive onboarding experience.
• 8:33
  Jack: And then crucially analyzing your successes and getting feedback
• 8:37
  Jill: from students families,
• 8:39
  Jack: right about the whole journey that lets you continuously improve your strategies,
• 8:42
  Jill: which actually connects nicely to another area you looked at using text messaging for retention.
• 8:47
  Jack: Yeah, that was interesting.
• 8:48
  Jack: Student retention is a huge challenge, right?
• 8:50
  Jill: Mm-hmm.
• 8:51
  Jack: And this article positions text messaging as a really direct and frankly, effective tool.
• 8:57
  Jack: That stat they quoted, 98% of texts are read.
• 9:01
  Jack: That's pretty powerful.
• 9:02
  Jill: It really is.
• 9:03
  Jill: Compared to email open rights.
• 9:05
  Jack: Yeah.
• 9:05
  Jill: Yeah.
• 9:05
  Jill: So you can use it for timely reminders, deadlines, schedules, exactly.
• 9:09
  Jack: Assignment deadlines, schedule changes, important announcements.
• 9:12
  Jack: Mm-hmm.
• 9:13
  Jack: A quick personalized text is a very effective nudge.
• 9:16
  Jack: Keeps students on track.
• 9:17
  Jill: But it's not just reminders, is it?
• 9:19
  Jack: No.
• 9:20
  Jack: It's utility goes further engaging new students info about orientation, campus resources, even proactive support.
• 9:27
  Jill: Like advisors reaching out.
• 9:29
  Jack: Yeah.
• 9:29
  Jack: Maybe if a student seems to be struggling, a text can be a less intrusive first step than a phone call sometimes.
• 9:34
  Jill: That makes sense.
• 9:35
  Jill: And building community too.
• 9:37
  Jill: Event reminders.
• 9:38
  Jack: Definitely informing students about campus events, clubs, activities.
• 9:41
  Jack: I.
• 9:42
  Jack: That enhances their whole experience, which helps retention.
• 9:45
  Jill: But there are potential pitfalls, right?
• 9:47
  Jill: Compliance issues,
• 9:48
  Jack: huge ones.
• 9:49
  Jack: The article, stress compliance with regulations like the TCPA, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
• 9:55
  Jack: You absolutely need explicit opt-in consent.
• 9:57
  Jill: Can't just start texting everyone.
• 9:59
  Jack: No way.
• 10:00
  Jack: And managing message fatigue is key.
• 10:03
  Jack: You have to balance frequency and content, make sure it's relevant.
• 10:05
  Jill: Otherwise people just opt out.
• 10:06
  Jack: Precisely.
• 10:07
  Jill: Yeah.
• 10:08
  Jack: And technically integrating texting platforms with your existing student information systems, your SIS, that's crucial for automation and personalization.
• 10:17
  Jill: So you can send the right message to the right student at the right time.
• 10:21
  Jack: That's the goal.
• 10:21
  Jill: And how do you know if it's working?
• 10:23
  Jill: What metrics matter?
• 10:23
  Jill: Good
• 10:24
  Jack: question.
• 10:24
  Jack: I.
• 10:24
  Jack: The article pointed to things like response rates, opt-out rates, appointments scheduled via text.
• 10:31
  Jill: Okay.
• 10:31
  Jill: And
• 10:31
  Jack: ultimately the impact on actual student retention rates.
• 10:34
  Jill: Mm-hmm.
• 10:35
  Jack: Gathering feedback on the texts themselves is also important.
• 10:38
  Jill: Did they have examples of schools seeing success?
• 10:40
  Jack: They did.
• 10:41
  Jack: Hartford Community College saw students getting text reminders about events were like 53.7% more likely to persist.
• 10:49
  Jack: Wow.
• 10:49
  Jack: In Arkansas Tech University.
• 10:50
  Jack: Hit 94% retention for first year students in a program who got supportive texts.
• 10:57
  Jill: Those are significant numbers.
• 10:59
  Jill: Really shows the potential.
• 11:00
  Jack: It really does.
• 11:02
  Jack: Okay.
• 11:02
  Jack: Maybe we can shift gears slightly now and uh, talk about those foundational elements, the four pillars Yeah.
• 11:09
  Jack: Of higher ed marketing.
• 11:10
  Jill: Right.
• 11:10
  Jill: This came from a white paper, you said?
• 11:12
  Jill: Yeah.
• 11:12
  Jill: One of the four pillars.
• 11:13
  Jack: They are branding and reputation.
• 11:16
  Jack: Outreach and engagement, assessment and analytics.
• 11:19
  Jack: And finally, innovation and adaptation.
• 11:21
  Jill: Okay, let's break those down quickly.
• 11:23
  Jill: Branding and reputation is how you're seen
• 11:26
  Jack: pretty much your image, your values, what you're known for in the eyes of students, families, the community.
• 11:32
  Jill: Got it.
• 11:32
  Jill: Outreach and engagement.
• 11:33
  Jill: That covers all the ways you connect.
• 11:35
  Jack: Yeah, all the touch points from initial awareness, right through that whole funnel we just talked about.
• 11:39
  Jill: Makes sense.
• 11:40
  Jill: Assessment and analytics.
• 11:41
  Jill: That's the data part.
• 11:42
  Jack: Exactly.
• 11:43
  Jack: Measuring what's working, what's not.
• 11:44
  Jack: Understanding ROI, identifying areas to improve crucial
• 11:48
  Jill: and innovation and adaptation.
• 11:50
  Jill: Staying current.
• 11:51
  Jack: Yep.
• 11:52
  Jack: Keeping up with new tech, changing student expectations, being flexible enough to adjust your strategies when needed.
• 11:58
  Jill: So these four pillars provide a kind of framework for evaluating your whole marketing effort.
• 12:04
  Jack: That's the idea.
• 12:05
  Jack: The white paper apparently even has a self-evaluation checklist.
• 12:08
  Jill: Oh, you, to help
• 12:09
  Jack: marketers see where they're strong and maybe where there are gaps in their approach across these pillars.
• 12:15
  Jack: It gives that holistic view.
• 12:16
  Jill: Okay.
• 12:17
  Jill: And that ties into how universities are actually connecting with students today, which is always evolving.
• 12:22
  Jill: Isn't that question
• 12:22
  Jack: Constantly.
• 12:23
  Jack: The final article we looked at really hammered this home, it stressed the growing importance of, well, authentic student voices,
• 12:30
  Jill: right?
• 12:30
  Jack: Data-driven approaches through the whole funnel using texting strategically, uh, SEO, and just solid data management
• 12:39
  Jill: and the authentic voice part.
• 12:40
  Jill: User generated content UGC and storytelling.
• 12:43
  Jill: That seems huge now,
• 12:44
  Jack: incredibly powerful.
• 12:46
  Jack: When prospects see real photos, read real testimonials, hear real stories from current students, it just builds trust and relatability in a way.
• 12:55
  Jack: Polished marketing often can't,
• 12:56
  Jill: feels more credible, doesn't it?
• 12:58
  Jack: Totally.
• 12:59
  Jack: The article gave examples, like using student stuff from social media, real testimonials on your site, maybe longer blog posts about a student's journey
• 13:07
  Jill: behind the scenes glimpses.
• 13:08
  Jack: Yeah, that too.
• 13:09
  Jack: Or even running UGC contests to encourage students to share their experiences.
• 13:14
  Jack: Okay.
• 13:15
  Jill: Now you mentioned SEO again, the article called it a Potential Blind Spot for Universities.
• 13:19
  Jill: What does that mean?
• 13:21
  Jack: It means many might be, um, basically invisible online to a lot of potential students.
• 13:28
  Jack: Yeah.
• 13:28
  Jack: Because their websites aren't optimized for how people actually search
• 13:31
  Jill: and people do search.
• 13:32
  Jill: That's Statista number was striking.
• 13:33
  Jill: 89% of college bound students say university websites are their most important resource.
• 13:39
  Jack: Exactly.
• 13:39
  Jack: So if you're not showing up in relevant Google searches, you're missing a huge chunk of your audience.
• 13:44
  Jill: What are the common mistakes universities make with SEO?
• 13:47
  Jack: Well, one big one is focusing too much on branded keywords terms with the university's name,
• 13:52
  Jill: right?
• 13:53
  Jack: They often neglect the non-branded longer phrases, the long tail keywords that students use early on, like someone's searching for, you know, affordable engineering programs in Chicago.
• 14:03
  Jack: Ah,
• 14:04
  Jill: okay.
• 14:05
  Jill: Need to capture that exploratory search traffic
• 14:07
  Jack: precisely.
• 14:09
  Jack: Also, technical issues are common.
• 14:11
  Jack: Websites that aren't mobile friendly.
• 14:12
  Jack: Pages that load slowly.
• 14:14
  Jack: Yeah, that kills your rankings and frustrates users.
• 14:17
  Jack: Google says you'll lose over half your mobile visitors if a page takes more than three seconds to load.
• 14:21
  Jack: Ouch.
• 14:22
  Jack: Yeah.
• 14:23
  Jack: And outdated or poorly organized content, bad internal linking.
• 14:27
  Jack: That all hurts.
• 14:28
  Jack: SEO too.
• 14:29
  Jill: So search is important at every stage of that funnel.
• 14:32
  Jill: We talked about
• 14:32
  Jack: definitely from broad searches early on to comparing specific programs.
• 14:37
  Jack: To finding application details later,
• 14:39
  Jill: and it's not just other universities are competing against in search, is it?
• 14:42
  Jack: Good point.
• 14:43
  Jack: No alternative providers like Coursera or Udemy often have really strong SEO games.
• 14:49
  Jack: They show up a lot,
• 14:50
  Jill: but some universities are doing it well.
• 14:51
  Jill: Oh
• 14:51
  Jack: yeah.
• 14:52
  Jack: The article mentioned Arizona State using specific landing pages for programs and Carnegie Mellon having a strong multi-channel content strategy, it can be done
• 15:00
  Jill: and local.
• 15:01
  Jill: SEO is important too, right?
• 15:02
  Jill: For attracting students nearby.
• 15:04
  Jack: Very much so.
• 15:05
  Jack: Optimizing your Google business profile, using location keywords, getting local reviews that helps you show up for people searching in your area.
• 15:14
  Jack: Remember, a third of mobile searches are location related.
• 15:17
  Jill: Wow.
• 15:18
  Jill: Okay.
• 15:18
  Jill: So universities need to look for content gaps on their sites.
• 15:22
  Jack: Yes.
• 15:23
  Jack: Are you really answering the key questions?
• 15:25
  Jack: Students have?
• 15:26
  Jack: Cost, career outcomes, campus life.
• 15:30
  Jack: Do you have good hubs for each program?
• 15:32
  Jack: And
• 15:33
  Jill: AI and Surge is changing things too.
• 15:35
  Jill: Zero click results.
• 15:36
  Jack: It is more answers appearing right on the Google Results page.
• 15:39
  Jack: So the advice is publish really high quality, well structured content use structured data markups, so Google understands it.
• 15:46
  Jack: Keep it fresh.
• 15:47
  Jack: Boost your site's expertise, authorit and trustworthiness, EAT, and maintain consistent branding.
• 15:53
  Jill: It's a lot to keep track of.
• 15:54
  Jill: What about paid search versus organic SEO?
• 15:56
  Jack: The article compared them.
• 15:58
  Jack: Paid search gets faster results, but organic SEO builds more sustainable, long-term visibility, and often more trust.
• 16:05
  Jill: So a balanced approach is probably best.
• 16:07
  Jack: That's what they advocated, integrate both strategically
• 16:09
  Jill: and they offered some concrete SEO actions Schools can take.
• 16:13
  Jack: Yeah, things like.
• 16:14
  Jack: Do proper keyword research for those non-branded terms.
• 16:17
  Jack: Build a content strategy around answering student questions, blogs, guides, FAQs, fix the technical website problems, and use that student generated content we talked about.
• 16:26
  Jill: Okay.
• 16:26
  Jill: And briefly on the budget side of things, marketing budgets in higher ed.
• 16:31
  Jack: Well, with enrollment, fluctuating spending wisely is more critical than ever.
• 16:35
  Jack: Mm-hmm.
• 16:36
  Jack: Digital marketing spend is high, often over 75% of the budget.
• 16:40
  Jill: So where should that money go?
• 16:41
  Jack: Key areas are still S-E-O-P-P-C ads, social media, email, events, webinars, maybe influencer marketing, engaging alumni, the
• 16:51
  Jill: usual suspects, but needing careful allocation, right?
• 16:54
  Jack: Optimizing that spend means using data analytics heavily personalizing content, looking at automation and AI for efficiency and nurturing organic content and community outreach.
• 17:04
  Jill: It all sounds very interconnected.
• 17:05
  Jill: Understanding the journey, using the right tools, managing the budget,
• 17:08
  Jack: exactly.
• 17:09
  Jack: And those future trends.
• 17:09
  Jack: I mentioned ai, VRR for virtual tours, maybe more data personalization.
• 17:14
  Jack: Yeah, even ethical marketing show where things are heading.
• 17:16
  Jill: Like the Georgia State chatbot example for ai or Stanford's virtual tour.
• 17:22
  Jack: Yeah.
• 17:22
  Jack: Examples like that.
• 17:23
  Jack: Point the way forward.
• 17:24
  Jill: Mm-hmm.
• 17:24
  Jack: Staying aware of these trends is essential for staying effective.
• 17:28
  Jill: So to kind of wrap things up, we've covered a lot of ground from the student journey stages and how marketing fits in Uhhuh to specific digital tools like.
• 17:39
  Jill: Targeter ads.
• 17:40
  Jill: SEO text messaging, right?
• 17:42
  Jack: The practical tools, the
• 17:43
  Jill: huge value of authentic student stories and the need for strategic data-driven budget management.
• 17:50
  Jack: Those are really the core pieces, aren't they?
• 17:51
  Jack: Yeah.
• 17:52
  Jack: Understanding the student using the right tool smartly, being authentic and managing resources well.
• 17:57
  Jack: That's the formula for navigating education marketing today.
• 18:00
  Jill: It really does seem to come back to genuinely understanding why students.
• 18:04
  Jill: Make the choices.
• 18:04
  Jill: They do, what motivates them, what their concerns are.
• 18:07
  Jack: Absolutely.
• 18:07
  Jack: As some of the sources highlighted, getting that why Right.
• 18:10
  Jack: Seems foundational to everything else.
• 18:12
  Jack: Mm-hmm.
• 18:12
  Jack: If you understand their motivations and behaviors,
• 18:15
  Jill: then you can build strategies that actually connect.
• 18:17
  Jill: It's definitely something for listeners to think about.
• 18:19
  Jill: How well do they understand the why for their own prospective students?
• 18:24
  Jill: Exploring that could be key to strengthening those connections and ultimately boosting enrollment and retention.