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How To Recruit Students To Your College

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How Can You Use The College Life Cycle To Your Advantage

How to recruit urban high school students to your college.

As with all marketing campaigns, timing is crucial to maximize audience engagement. By paying close attention to the rhythms of college life you can take advantage of the major marketing opportunities that pop-up throughout the academic year, effectively reaching college students at the point when they are most in need of your brand.

The ebb and flow of the college semester are permeated with major events that the student body will gravitate towards. From the back-to-school season to homecoming and college football season, these are perfect opportunities to engage students and promote your brand.

The relationship between the brand and your college consumer doesnt stop at graduation. The transition into post-college existence is another key moment in a students life when their financial situations can potentially improve for the better and they find themselves making investments that could last them for much longer than just a single term.

At this point, students will need advice on applying for jobs, moving home, and learning how to adapt to the working world. Just like the beginning of their college experience, by being present at the end of their student lives, you can generate goodwill with consumers that will be entering a new phase of their life as spenders.

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Tell Your Campus Story

Show your prospective students the benefits and value they get out of joining your institution versus any other competitor of yours .

Universities consider the campus story to be one of the most important student recruitment strategies.

For instance, Stanford University shows what its like to be at Stanford using a walk-through video, while interviewing students. The video takes you on a virtual tour of the campus, from different angles including aerial views and focusing on all the state-of-the-art facilities.

The video has got 564,935 views and over 16,000 likes.

Life inside the campus is one of the most intriguing factors for students before actually considering joining the university. Make sure you highlight the most appealing features to capture their intrigue.

Best practices:

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Start Professional Development Early

First, more must be done to reach students earlier in their academic careers to help them tap into job exploration, skills building, and professional development.

One of the most effective and proactive steps employers can take is to expand quality internships for young people of color. No online training module or YouTube video can replace the learning that takes place when a young person interacts with professionals in their industry of interest. Just as companies are increasingly sharing the diversity numbers of their full-time employees, they need to examine the demographics of their internship cohorts and establish diversity goals. Offering compensated career exposure through onsite and remote experiences can ensure that students have information about their options early on.

Digital Marketing For Higher Education

7 Benefits of Recruiting Students in the Caribbean  How ...

Which college recruitment strategies should your college focus on, though?

That’s what this article aims to answer, sharing the best options for recruiting high school students for college, as well as adult and international students.

Keep reading to learn how to attract students to your college!

For professional help with how to recruit students for your college or university, connect with WebFX. We feature an experienced team with a background in higher education marketing that can help achieve your enrollment goals through online marketing.

Also Check: Ways To Graduate Early

Appeal To Their Interests

How do you provide the best volunteer opportunities for college students? By appealing to their interests! College students are busy. If they are going to take the time to volunteer, theyre likely to look for opportunities theyre passionate about, opportunities that utilize their skills and knowledge, opportunities for growth, and opportunities that fit their schedule. Whats more, finding valuable volunteerism opportunities should be as simple as possible for prospects. When presenting your program to college students, youll want to highlight specific volunteer opportunities college students will find worthwhile.

One of the best ways to match volunteers with opportunities theyll enjoy is to employ a volunteer management platform. A smart volunteer management software like Get Connected can help college volunteers search for opportunities based on their interests and skillsand can even automatically recommend opportunities based on their criteriaso theyll get more out of their volunteering experience.

Plus, students who feel that their skills and interests are being met are more likely to volunteer repeatedly, feel dedicated to your mission, and become donors later on.

College volunteers are an asset to any nonprofit. If you look to service-learning programs, social media, student organizations, and fraternities and sororities, you should find an abundance of motivated individuals who will volunteer at your nonprofit.

What Are College Students Values

Recognizing what these Generation Z students value can help to inform the development of your marketing strategy. By digging into how these college students see the world and the general opinions that they hold on social issues, brands can tailor their messaging and approach to better fit this demographic. While making wide generalizations about a group as large as this does have its limitations, by looking at survey results taken from both generational groups its possible to draw some insights as to the average college students beliefs.

Gen Z students value authentic experiences in every aspect of their lives from their online lives to their interpersonal relationships and their education. Rejecting the interruption advertising that has been the norm for decades, they seek content that is relevant to their needs and interests. Over 50% of Generation Z have ad blockers installed on their browsers. Similarly, Gen Z students are constantly seeking authenticity as a way to generate greater freedom of expression and greater openness to understanding different kinds of people, according to a recent report from McKinsey & Company .

The current American student body is a highly experimental, socially aware cohort that do not make purchases blindly. By paying attention to the value that they hold dear and tailoring your marketing strategy accordingly, you can avoid wasting time investing in ideas that are unlikely to resonate with this demographic.

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How Can You Utilise Cross

The college students demographic is a moving target, even with the insights we have into how they spend their money and where they spend their time, it can still be difficult to deliver marketing results by using one platform alone. Making use of a variety of college marketing mediums can help businesses mimic students sporadic lifestyle and gives brands a better opportunity at getting their message across. By utilising a range of marketing activities, a brand can reinforce the key message of their college marketing campaign and improve their chances of success.

More than ever before, the consumer is playing a vital role in the dissemination of marketing campaigns: this is especially true amongst students.

Advertise on Social Networks

Social networks such as Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat have been blamed for a raft of mental health issues amongst the student body, but that hasnt put a stop to their popularity with this demographic. Targeting students via social networks can be done with surprising ease, but costs can ramp up quickly with little benefit if there is no overarching strategy in place.

Encourage User-Generated Content

Video Advertising

Speak to them in their voice

Best Practices For Recruiting Students In Higher Ed

HOW TO GET RECRUITED TO US COLLEGE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

As student recruitment retains it place at the forefront of higher education discussion, we take a look at some of the best strategies universities can employ to ensure they are at the top of their game. Working examples from a range of European institutions show that small things can make a difference, and with the right technology, reaching applicants is a lot easier.

Student recruitment in higher education has become a competitive playing field. The UK governments measure of higher education participation reached 49 percent in 2016 – the highest on record. Demand for a higher education remains strong, and there is a growing call in the workplace for graduate skills. Online and distance learning courses are becoming more popular, as are postgraduate degrees. The University of North Carolinas Kenan-Flagler Business School saw a 78% jump in enrollment to 1862 students from 1047 the previous year.

The same can be said for international recruitment. Universities have always sought to attract international candidates because of the economic and cultural benefits they bestow. Currently, the US receives the most international students worldwide – they attracted over one million at the beginning of the academic year in 2016. However, its share has decreased over the last decrease as other markets like Australia and Germany become more appealing to those studying abroad.

1. Invest in university admissions software

2. Run informative social media campaigns

YouTube:

Instagram:

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Emphasize A Personal Touch With Students

While technology has had a positive benefit as a stopgap measure for remote learning, students are experiencing tech fatigue from a lack of real human interaction. Students respond positively to a greater personal touch. While in-person meetings are not always possible, one-on-one phone calls can help students through the matriculation process or finding access to funding options.

What Should You Consider When Marketing To College Students

Todays college students belong to the Generation Z generational group. These individuals were born between the mid-90s to the mid-00s and are following hot on the heels of Millennials. Although they have many things in common with their predecessors, such as an affinity with modern technologies, there are also some subtle differences that should be noted in order to target them with effective marketing.

Read Also: Colleges That Accept Low Gpa Students

Align High School Counselor Outreach With Activities Counselors Value

In comparing the responses from enrollment managers with the data about what high school counselors value, there are some clear disconnects. Only 50-60 percent of institutions said that they had a section of the website for high school counselors, yet high school counselors overwhelmingly rated college websites as the most useful resource . Similarly, 69 percent of public institutions and 78 percent of private institutions rated direct mail sent to counselors as effective, but direct mail was only rated useful by 15 percent of counselors.

Tips To Recruit Employees From Colleges

Recruit students

Recruiting soon-to-be college graduates is a great way to scale your company and find fresh talent. Follow these six tips to recruit candidates from local colleges.

College job fairs are an ideal way to meet potential employees.

Colleges are great places to recruit top entry-level talent. Soon-to-be college graduates are looking for jobs and internships long before their graduation date. As they search, its important to know how to get their attention by forming strong relationships and having recruitment strategies on hand. Here are six tips for recruiting employees from colleges.

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Set Up Communication Channels That The Students Are Most Comfortable With

According to a 2016 study conducted by Ruffalo Noel Levitz, heres how students prefer the first contact with colleges:

Method of Communication
19% 16%

However, these numbers are mere guidelines for what students may prefer. Your prospects may or may not have the same preferences. To ensure convenient communication with them,

  • Provide them with communication options when signing up.
  • Or conduct an email or text survey to ask their preferred mode of communication.
  • To know more about building a marketing list , read this post.

    Best Practices:

    • Segment lists according to preferred modes of communication and send them broadcasts to confirm their opt-in on the respective channels.
    • Notify them of how many messages to expect in a week or month.
    • For messaging, discuss life at the uni/your city with the prospective students. Address any issues they have with in-depth conversations .
    • Use broadcasts to send messages like faculty qualifications or alumni achievements. Use peer-to-peer texting, phone calls, conversational emails or chatbots to talk about their desired course in more detail .
    • Assign specific student success agents to the prospects so they always have one point of contact, and you can build a relationship with them.

    See how you can improve your student recruitment strategies and engage students with CallHubs texting and calling tools.

    Optimize Content For Online Attention

    Its a no-brainer that Gen-Z is hooked to the net and conducts most of its business online. Researching for colleges and universities that best match their expectations is no different.

    This is why your student recruitment strategies must focus on optimizing online content to ensure you appear on their search results and compel them to open your pages.

    Remember that every university and college out there is fighting for their attention .

    Heres how you stand first in line to earn their attention.

    Best practices to optimize online content:

    • Optimize SEO: They say the best place to hide a dead body is on the 2nd page of Google. And why not 95% of all search traffic never goes beyond page 1 of Google. The first ten queries get 208% CTR these two statistics show how important it is to appear on the first page and compete for the top 10.

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    Give Em What Theyre Looking For

    Students interested in attending your university want to know what its really like to be a part of campus life. The most cost-effective way of translating campus life to social media is by using student-generated content. With thousands of students already creating shareable content from around campus, universities can share those experiences with incoming students to give the truest portrayal of college life.

    A massive shift towards mobile coupled with social media platforms focused on video gives college programs the ability to present their campus in motion. During the 2016-2017 school year, video was just starting to roll out across platforms. Instagram still had 15-second video limits, and Facebook hadnt yet rolled out its Facebook Live broadcasting. The 2017-2018 school year will give universities their first opportunity to bring pictures to life with extremely low barriers to entry. Forget production sets or fancy cameras. Whip out a smartphone and instantly share video with your audiences. Remember to put yourself in the shoes of a 17-year-old whos interested in attending your school: a Facebook Live video of the homecoming football game makes a bigger impression than a static image of the game. Prospective students are using these features your school should, too.

    Bottom Of The Funnel: Student Recruitment Strategies To Inspire Prospects To Secure Admission

    Recruitment Tip 1 | How to Recruit College Students | Video by Ira S Wolfe

    Individuals in the BOFU are your most engaged prospects they have shortlisted your university, and now is the time to make the last efforts to show you are the perfect match. These prospects have actively engaged in conversations, requested admission requirements, and attended an event.

    Once both you and them are sure that you could be good fits for each other, you start the final stage of nurturing, where you guide them from the most promising stage to confirmed admission.

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    Dont: Advertise In The Local Paper And Tv

    Although American College life has changed a great deal in recent years, the college paper is one of those cultural staples that refuses to die. Most college institutions still support the publication of a local newspaper that keeps students up to date on sports team results, events and important campus issues. While it could be argued that any publicity is good publicity, readership of college newspapers has been on the decline for some time, so advertising on this channel might not be the most cost-effective idea. The same principle applies to local or college operated television.

    Communicate Authentically And Honestly

    Career services centers are coaching students to ask about an employers culture during their interviews. As they graduate from nearly two decades of schooling and move into their first or second job after college, graduates may have mixed emotions about all the changes ahead. In the same way youre screening for fit, they are too.

    Students are invited to study your culture the moment they arrive for an interview. They dissect the language in your outreachis the message positive and hopeful, or impersonal and terse? Students are even encouraged to look at your email signature for clues on inclusivity, and evaluate when and how calls are scheduled. Essentially every single point of communication provides input into how a student sees the relationship.

    Tiffany Taylor, Strategic Education Success & Training Manager at Handshake

    If a student demonstrates interest in working at an employer with a fully distributed workforce and thats something you offer, mention it! Illustrate how flexible work is a key tenet for your organization, and how it has helped your colleagues better accommodate their early careers. When you start to consider these components, your hiring narrative shifts quickly.

    And if emojis are in your personal vocabulary, go ahead and use them in your recruiting message! Whatever is unique to you can help you build relationships with students, as well as show that your employer welcomes self-expression.

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    When Should You Start The Recruiting Process

    As mentioned previously, different sports and different division levels recruit the majority of their athletes in different periods. Top D1 prospects for womens gymnastics or womens volleyball will likely receive recruiting interest freshman year of high school or even earlier. Track and field athletes and swimmers will mostly be recruited closer to senior year. The important thing to know about starting the process is that the earlier you plan, the better prepared you will be to get recruited for college sports. Athletes can build their target list, research schools, attend camps, edit their recruiting video and use NCSA to get noticed before having contact with a college coach. In college recruiting, it is better to be ahead of the pack in order to receive recruiting interest while a coach still has open roster spots. Its never too early to start.

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