When a soon-to-be high school graduate is preparing to apply for college, the first places they will look for more information are the internet and social media. Many students form impressions on schools based on things they see on social media, from Instagram to Snapchat to Twitter and beyond. If you are a college or university striving to find the best students to attend your school, consider going digital with your education advertising.

Targeting

Rather than targeting every possible student, try targeting a specific audience. Start by defining your ideal student(s), then work on finding patterns in their search habits, age, gender, location, interests, etc. With this information in mind, you can then formulate ads that will captivate their attention while they surf the web. You can also research search terms that are typically used while searching for potential colleges.

Social Media

Social media graphics differ from web page ads in that they are targeted based on rich demographic and psychographic data collected about users. This means that with your education advertising efforts, you can target even more specifically. Most social media platforms allow targeting based on personal interests, age, location, education level, job title, field of study, and more.

Paid Search

Paid search can get your website to the top of the Search Engine Results Page, allowing you to become top of mind for people who are actively searching for educational opportunities. Placing education advertisements strategically throughout the college search process can truly help colleges get themselves noticed. Programmatic retargeting can even be used to remind users to revisit a college’s site, and who knows, it may convince them to apply! If you focus on targeting keywords that are closer to the bottom of the funnel, you will hit closer to home with students who are making those final college decisions.

Enrollment

Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty. If you are a part of your college’s education advertising team, your number one question is probably “How do we increase enrollment numbers?” Social media is a great place to start because there are many options for ad promotion. Try video ads on Facebook and YouTube, for example. Create custom filters on Instagram and utilize polls, Q&A, etc. on Instagram Stories to engage your audience. Programmatic retargeting tools are beneficial as well; they allow you to customize ads based on the way a user has interacted with your site. Perhaps a student visits your application page but leaves before completing any forms. You can retarget them with display ads to remind them to apply!If you are a college or university in need of education advertising experts, don’t hesitate to contact Red Shark Digital.