How colleges advertise themselves

Competition among US colleges has never been fiercer. Increasingly, a college education is regarded as essential to enable young people to thrive in the 21st century economy, and that means there is huge demand for colleges and rivalry between colleges to attract the best students. This has long been the case for sports. College sports are hugely popular throughout the US with millions of fans watching college events and bettors making their college football picks every week. However, that same level of competition for students is common across all subject areas and has put pressure on colleges to come up with new and innovative ways to advertise. Social mediaIn the social media age, direct mail feels increasingly impersonal to high school students, and colleges must embrace social media if they want to reach the widest audience. It is not enough simply to have a social media account and occasionally send out messaging. The most effective colleges focus their social media efforts on the platforms that have the most current popularity. In many cases, colleges start by reaching out to alumni and others to establish how their college is seen by prospective students. In this way, colleges treat social media as a two-way medium to help them tailor their strategies. Brand definition Branding is just as important to colleges as it is to businesses. Every college has a brand, or rather, an image, even if it is not consciously created by the college. Without significant focus on branding, the image that a college conveys may be based on stereotypes and misconceptions.Colleges are increasingly taking note of the importance of branding, and of approaching this in a comprehensive fashion, establishing first how they want the college to be seen and then ensuring that their branding across all platforms is consistent.  Student focusReputation and image are important, but colleges are also increasingly aware of the importance of giving prospective students insight into the life of the college. Although college is obviously about grades and development, students want to know what lies in store for them and how welcoming that college will be. There is inevitably a certain apprehension among some students about what the college experience will look like. Many colleges are making efforts to present a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere, setting out details of what support, guidance and activities are available to help students feel at home. Video marketingHigh school students are increasingly likely to access information in video form and colleges are responding. Videos are replacing the standard synopsis or prospectus, and across all platforms, colleges are using video to provide immediate information and to help create a strong impression of the institution. Videos can be used to illustrate the life of the college or the range of classes available, and the live streaming of events such as graduation is another way to engage prospective students. StatisticsYes, statistics can be a turn-off if done badly, but statistics provide essential information that students and their parents will want to see. Colleges can use statistics, particularly around graduation, to show what they can do for prospective students, but they must be presented in a way that will resonate. Students may be used to seeing statistics in information videos, often presented in clear and even entertaining ways. Combining the numbers with visual illustrations while providing access to more in-depth statistics enables colleges to capture the attention of both students and parents.  Success sellsShowing success stories of alumni is a quick and engaging way for colleges to underline their attractiveness. Short video or text commercials showcasing the stories of students who have graduated and gone on to achieve remarkable things can be a very effective way to sell the benefits of an education. Many colleges are using this human-interest angle in their advertising. Embrace diversityColleges increasingly understand the importance of embracing diversity and are finding ways to represent themselves as welcoming of students from all backgrounds. Students in the 2020s are more socially aware than any previous generation and instinctively expect institutions to be diverse places.Colleges don’t always get this right, and students are quick to spot tokenism and insincere messaging on this subject. However, more colleges are understanding the wider context to diversity, which is that every single student is an individual with unique experiences, and successful colleges are increasingly emphasizing diversity and individuality over old-fashioned approaches in their advertising. -