Top 7 University & College Marketing Tactics

Higher education marketing leverages a blend of traditional and digital techniques to attract a unique target audience. Higher education institutions need to tailor their marketing efforts to satisfy the needs of diverse groups, from faculty and staff to students and parents. In this way, higher education marketing strategies must be broad-based and individually targeted at the same time.

Even with a diverse array of tools available, marketing to college students can be a difficult endeavor, particularly in such a crowded digital environment. To be successful, higher education organizations have to employ numerous tools to improve branding, messaging, and reach. Accordingly, higher education advertising and marketing methods come in just about every shape and size.

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Learn more about higher education marketing with this analysis of effective strategies.

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The following sections will engage in a specific exploration of seven inspirational ideas for higher education marketing in 2022.

1. Dedicate Time & Resources to Content Creation

Bill Gates coined the phrase “content is king” back in 1996 and it remains true to this day. 90% of organizations now leverage content marketing, and 78% of CMOs claim custom content is the future.

It is, therefore, crucial that higher education institutions prioritize the production of high-quality content to attract and convert prospective students.

Not all content is created equal, however.

Engaging, high-quality material captivates audiences and encourages them to return, fostering loyalty and trust. In contrast, poorly crafted content can drive potential students away, making it vital to focus on quality over quantity.
Institutions that invest wisely in content marketing benefit from its cost-effectiveness, as this approach is 62% cheaper than traditional marketing.

Content creation in the higher education marketing arena typically includes several, if not all, of the following:

• Website content: Higher education institutions need to develop a well-organized website and populate it with quality content. This includes dedicated microsites that focus on specific programs or events, creating a more tailored experience for visitors. A strong website serves as a critical hub for prospective students, offering valuable information and enhancing brand visibility.
• Blogs & podcasts: Text-based blogs and audio podcasts are an increasingly popular tactic for higher education marketing strategies. Producing valuable text and audio content can help attract and maintain a strong user base, which is fertile territory for various higher education advertising and marketing methods.
• Social media: Content creation can help drive effective social media marketing (SMM) strategies. Higher education social channels should provide good content frequently to maximize user engagement, improve branding efforts and boost enrollment.
• Video content: With the rise of social media, video content has become increasingly consequential to marketing endeavors. From long-form instructional content on YouTube or Facebook to short-form content for TikTok or Instagram, video can be an absolute game-changer for higher education marketing strategies.
• Traditional media: Even though digital marketing is crucial in today’s climate, broadcast, print and radio are still crucial to higher education marketing. These traditional media outlets have large user bases, providing a vast pool of potential customers for conversion.
• Mobile apps: Developing a mobile app can enhance accessibility and improve communication with current and prospective students.
• Emails: Implementing automated email campaigns based on user behavior can increase engagement and conversion rates.
• Advertising: Higher education advertising is a prominent piece of the overall business strategy for many academic institutions. Organizations that create targeted and well-executed advertising content can attract more customers and boost organizational success.

Taken as a whole, content creation is absolutely vital to higher education marketing strategies. From blogs and podcasts to social media and branding, content drives higher education marketing endeavors. Without producing top-notch content on a frequent basis, marketing to college students and other audiences can be difficult for higher education organizations.

2. Prioritize SEO Marketing to Drive Visibility

When higher education organizations prioritize search engine optimization (SEO) marketing, it can improve visibility and rankings within the major search engines. With so many people conducting their research on major search engines like Google, established SEO strategies can assist with higher education advertising and marketing efforts.

As compared with traditional higher education advertising and marketing methods, search engine marketing can yield much more insightful data. Within this domain, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a great example. When an organization purchases PPC advertising space, they pay each time a person clicks on the ad link. And when that happens, a virtual treasure trove of data opens up, shedding light on impressions, click-through rate and other valuable insights.

To boost search engine ranking and drive visibility in 2025, higher education institutions should adopt a range of SEO marketing tactics:

• Create and share quality content: Regularly produce and share engaging content that resonates with prospective students. Focus on topics relevant to your audience, such as program highlights, student success stories, and campus life. 
• Embrace AI in higher education SEO: Artificial Intelligence is transforming marketing and SEO strategies. By utilizing AI tools for content development and analyzing search trends, institutions can optimize their online presence more effectively. However, it’s vital to verify the accuracy of AI-generated content to uphold quality standards.
• Harness the power of video SEO: With approximately 91% of companies using video marketing, educational institutions need to prioritize video content optimization. Create informative and engaging videos, such as virtual campus tours or program overviews. Use keyword-rich titles and descriptions to improve search visibility, and host videos on platforms like YouTube while embedding them on your institution’s website to enhance user engagement.
• Optimize for voice search and long-tail keywords: As more users rely on voice-activated assistants, adjusting your SEO strategy to include conversational language and long-tail keywords is essential. Create content that answers specific questions prospective students might ask, such as “What are the best online nursing programs?” This approach can improve your chances of appearing in voice search results.
• Build quality backlinks: Focus on cultivating backlinks from reputable and relevant websites, such as educational blogs, industry publications, and local news outlets. Guest blogging and collaborating with other educational institutions can enhance your domain authority and improve search rankings.
• Focus on local SEO: Local SEO is key to attracting students from surrounding areas. Institutions should enhance their Google My Business profiles, actively manage online reviews, and integrate local keywords into their content. This approach boosts visibility within the community and establishes the institution as a preferred educational option.
• Prioritize long-form content: Long-form content continues to be essential for addressing the specific needs and questions of prospective students. This can include comprehensive guides, FAQs, and in-depth articles on program offerings. Align your content with Google’s E-E-A-T principles (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) to build credibility and improve search engine rankings.
• Improve page speed: Quick-loading pages are crucial for keeping prospective students engaged and enhancing search rankings. Institutions should focus on optimizing images, utilizing browser caching, and minimizing server response times to improve page speed.
• Ensure mobile-friendliness: With nearly 55% of web traffic originating from mobile devices, having a mobile-friendly website is imperative. Design responsive pages that adapt to different screen sizes, ensuring prospective students have a seamless browsing experience whether they’re on a phone, tablet, or desktop.
• Optimize HTML elements: Ensure that web pages have proper HTML characteristics, including tags, URLs, headings, and other elements that enhance SEO.
• Enhance user experience (UX): Creating a positive user experience is vital for capturing visitor interest. Institutions should streamline navigation and design visually appealing layouts to encourage users to stay longer on their sites, which in turn can positively affect SEO rankings.

Incorporating these SEO strategies allows higher education institutions to not only improve their search rankings but also foster deeper connections with potential students.

3. Leverage the Power of Social Media

Social media now dominates the screen time of desktop and mobile users, evolving from mere entertainment to a vital source of information and engagement in digital marketing.

In higher education, social media marketing (SMM) allows institutions to reach a vast audience and provides built-in analytics for evaluating campaign effectiveness. This makes social media a powerful tool for marketing.

Social media uniquely combines owned, earned, and paid media. Institutions share their own content (owned media), while user-generated content, comments, and mentions contribute to earned media. Additionally, targeted social ads enable institutions to reach specific demographics through paid media.

To fully leverage the power of social media, higher education organizations should:

• Identify strategic goals: Establish clear objectives that align with your institution’s mission, such as increasing student engagement, enhancing the visibility of academic programs, or boosting applications for a specific semester. 
• Publish timely and relevant content: Share updates on campus events, academic achievements, and application deadlines that resonate with current and prospective students. Regularly scheduled posts featuring student spotlights, faculty insights, or research breakthroughs help keep your community informed and engaged with institutional life.
• Monitor comments, mentions, and tags: Actively engage with your audience by responding to comments and monitoring mentions across platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Acknowledging user feedback and questions fosters a sense of community and shows prospective students that their opinions matter, enhancing your institution’s reputation.
• Review data and analytics: Regularly analyze campaign performance metrics to identify areas for improvement and adjust strategies accordingly.
• Utilize visual content:Incorporate visually appealing content such as campus tours, student life videos, and infographics about academic programs. High-quality images and engaging video content can showcase the campus environment, making it more relatable and attractive to prospective students and their families.
• Encourage user-generated content (UCG): Launch campaigns that invite students and alumni to share their experiences through photos, testimonials, or stories about their time at the institution. This authentic content can be powerful for prospective students, providing relatable insights into campus culture and academic life.
• Engage with influencers: Collaborate with alumni who have a strong social media presence or current students with significant followings. These influencers can help promote your programs or events to their networks, enhancing your institution’s reach and credibility within targeted demographics.
• Run targeted advertising campaigns: Implement paid social media ads targeting prospective students based on factors such as age, location, and field of interest. Ads showcasing specific programs or upcoming virtual open houses can drive interest and lead to increased applications.
• Foster community building: Create dedicated groups or pages for specific student organizations, academic departments, or prospective student cohorts. These spaces encourage collaboration and discussion, allowing current students to connect with future classmates and faculty, fostering a sense of belonging even before enrollment.
• Utilize hashtags effectively: Research and implement relevant hashtags in your posts that align with educational trends and campus initiatives. Using specific hashtags like #FutureLeaders or #CampusLife can help connect your content to ongoing conversations and improve visibility among prospective students exploring similar topics.

By implementing these strategies, your institutions can maximize its impact on social media and foster a more engaged and informed audience.

4. Augment Brand Awareness & Equity

It is difficult to overstate the importance of brand awareness and equity in the context of higher education marketing. An academic institution’s brand—from the university motto and crest to design elements, school programs and campus identity—is the overarching factor that makes it unique from competitors. In that vein, branding is critical to the success of higher education marketing strategies.

To maximize the impact of branding in higher education, consistency is absolutely pivotal. Academic institutions at this level need to ensure that their brand is consistent across all channels and campaigns. In other words, higher education organizations should strive to communicate the same brand through digital, traditional and social media, not to mention any other marketing endeavors.

In the evaluation of brand awareness and equity, higher education marketers should consider the following questions:

5. Engage in Mission-Driven Campaigns & Messaging

More than ever before, consumers are making purchase decisions based on an organization’s underlying mission and values. It is no longer enough to sell potential customers based on product, services, or price. To maintain a strong customer base in this era, higher education organizations should ensure that their branding and marketing efforts reflect a solid narrative.

Here are some strategies for engaging in mission-driven campaigns:

• Highlight nonprofit work: Create campaigns that showcase community service projects, like organizing food drives or providing tutoring for local schools.
• Promote social justice initiatives: Develop materials focusing on social justice commitments, such as hosting workshops on equity or featuring programs that support underrepresented groups.
• Reflect diversity and inclusion: Ensure marketing materials include diverse representations and narratives, such as featuring students from various backgrounds in promotional videos.
• Tailor messaging for different audiences: Craft specific communications addressing unique concerns, such as sending customized newsletters for parents and students highlighting relevant resources.
• Engage with the community: Foster partnerships with local organizations, like collaborating with community centers for joint events or service projects that align with your mission.
• Empower student voices: Involve students in campaigns by encouraging them to share personal stories or experiences related to the institution’s mission through social media takeovers.
• Leverage alumni success stories: Highlight alumni who have positively impacted their communities, showcasing their achievements in social justice or nonprofit work in marketing materials.
• Implement feedback mechanisms: Regularly gather input through surveys or focus groups to assess how well your messaging resonates with stakeholders, using the insights to refine campaigns.
• Organize awareness campaigns: Plan events that raise awareness about social issues, such as a “Diversity Month” with activities that promote dialogue and understanding among students.
• Create educational content: Develop resources like online workshops or informational articles that educate the community on the institution’s values and commitments, helping reinforce those principles.

6. Demonstrate the Career Value of a Degree

Marketing to college and graduate students hinges on effectively demonstrating the career value of specific degrees or programs. Clearly showing how a degree translates into career opportunities is essential for boosting enrollment.

Here are some strategies to demonstrate career value:

• Showcase graduate success stories: Highlight testimonials or case studies of alumni who have successfully leveraged their degrees to advance their careers. Include specific roles, industries, and achievements.
• Provide data-driven insights: Share statistics on graduation rates, employment rates, and average starting salaries for graduates from specific programs. Use infographics to make this data visually appealing and easy to digest.
• Highlight industry partnerships: Promote collaborations with companies and organizations that offer internships, co-ops, or job placements for students. This can demonstrate the real-world connections of your programs.
• Conduct career outcome surveys: Regularly survey graduates to gather data on their employment status and career progression. Share these results on your website and in marketing materials.
• Host career panels and workshops: Organize events featuring alumni and industry professionals who can discuss the career paths related to specific degrees. This provides prospective students with direct insights and networking opportunities.
• Utilize social media: Share success stories and data on social media platforms, using engaging visuals and formats like videos or live Q&A sessions with alumni to reach a broader audience.

Prospective students are more likely to enroll when they clearly understand the potential benefits of their chosen path.

7. Communicate Health, Safety & Security Policies

Last but not least, various societal factors make it imperative for higher education institutions to communicate health, safety and security policies in a clear fashion. From COVID-19 to allegations of sexual misconduct, harassment or discrimination, just every cross-section of higher education will have questions about these policies.

To understand the importance of this type of messaging, consider the challenge of marketing to college students today, particularly concerning on-campus activities. From a health and safety standpoint, in 2020 students needed to know about COVID-19 rules and regulations, including testing, quarantine or vaccination requirements. Remote learning capabilities were also necessary in this context, in the event that in-person classes are not feasible.

In terms of safety and security, college students are seeking out environments that prioritize the prevention of sexual misconduct or unlawful harassment or discrimination.

Here are some strategies for communicating policies:

1. Develop comprehensive policy guides: Create easily accessible documents outlining health, safety, and security policies, ensuring they are clear and comprehensive.
2. Utilize multiple channels: Disseminate information through various platforms—such as websites, email newsletters, social media, and campus signage—to reach students where they are.
3. Conduct informational workshops: Host sessions for students and staff to explain health and safety policies, offering a space for questions and clarifications.
4. Regular updates: Provide timely updates on policies as circumstances change, especially in response to evolving public health guidelines or safety concerns.
5. Create visual content: Use infographics or videos to present complex policies in an easily digestible format, making the information more engaging.
6. Establish a clear reporting process: Clearly outline the steps for reporting incidents of misconduct or safety concerns, ensuring students know how to seek help when needed.
7. Encourage feedback: Actively solicit student and staff feedback on the clarity and effectiveness of policy communications to identify areas for improvement.
8. Promote awareness campaigns: Launch campaigns that focus on specific health, safety, and security issues, using slogans or taglines to reinforce key messages.

Without clear information into existing policies, higher education institutions run the risk of limiting potential enrollment or running afoul of government regulations.

Enhance Your Higher Education Marketing Strategies

If you would like to enhance your higher education marketing strategies, it can be thoroughly helpful to obtain membership with the American Marketing Association (AMA). From training and certifications to networking opportunities at local chapters across North America and many other membership benefits, the AMA helps higher education institutions reach and exceed their marketing goals. To augment your higher education marketing efforts, join AMA today!