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The Glacier TeamOct 23, 2018 9:30:00 AM3 min read

Increase Student Recruitment with A Spring Marketing Campaign

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Boost student recruitment with a spring marketing campaign

Spring is the time of year when students' attention naturally turns towards a well-earned summer that typically doesn’t involve spending time in classrooms. Many graduating students will also have their eye on their number one choice of post-secondary institution. With that in mind, it might seem like having a spring campaign for your higher education institution is a waste of your school's marketing budget.

While it's true many students have determined their ideal choice for the upcoming school year, spring is in fact an opportune time to deliver a strong campaign. 

TRADITIONAL STUDENTS

Late spring is often the time when acceptance and rejection letters start rolling in, so there are a few key weeks right before some decision making where you can generate new conversions. For example, you can retarget students who may not have originally had you as their first choice, however may reconsider once it’s decision time. Think about it- would you be more open to choosing a school that is consistently present with their ads, or one that you haven’t heard from in months? There is power in showing up. You can even continue to have open houses, and use this as content to advertise. You can also use this time to advertise undersubscribed programs. Furthermore, this is a great time to target non-traditional students with awareness. Now who would make up this audience?

non-traditional students

Spring campaigns might not seem to fit into the traditional schedule of when students will enrol in a higher education institution, but that’s alright: there are plenty of non-traditional students who will respond to non-traditional campaign timing. These students are those who skew older than the more common college-age students in their late teens and early twenties. They typically juggle more responsibilities and need education options that they can accommodate into their life and work schedules. “…One survey found that 93 percent of prospective non-traditional students highly value learning about an institution’s flexible offering in outreach materials." Hanover Research, p.4

Blog_Spring 1_93 percent

A spring campaign that highlights flexible schedules which can accommodate these responsibilities goes a long way to attracting these students.

returning students

A spring campaign also helps with recruitment by reaching out to specific students in need of just a few credits to finish their degrees. Targeting former students who are only a few credits away from graduation is an excellent way to reach a receptive audience and make a good return on your marketing budget. As your higher education institution knows how many credits a specific student needs to graduate, marketing materials can be tailored to highlight the specific courses that are available in a given semester and entice former students to return and complete their program. Narrowing down a campaign to such a potentially receptive demographic has been shown to deliver much higher performance , illustrating how economical a well-targeted spring campaign can be.

Blog_Spring1_Target former students

students entering their senior year

The seeds you plant today could yield big fruit later. Targeting your message to students who still have one more year of high school will help keep your institution be top of mind when they need to get serious about their future later. Choosing the right higher education institution is one of the most important decisions someone can make, especially considering the large investment of time and money someone places into it. Reaching potential students early on doesn’t just establish a prime place in their thinking; it also demonstrates an in-kind investment that mirrors your future students’ commitment.

To learn more about launching a spring marketing campaign, contact Glacier today and increase awareness among your target student demographic.

P.S. Follow us on LinkedIn for tips, tricks, and industry updates.

We collected insights from 1,700 high school students on their media preferences for higher ed advertising. Access Report.

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