Digital marketing solutions may be the most important part of a successful student recruitment campaign, and videos are a key digital marketing tool. Develop an effective video marketing strategy to cut through the clutter, engage your ideal audience, and inspire them to act.
Why utilize a video marketing strategy for college recruitment?
With compelling video creation and proper placement, you can convey your marketing message to your target audience more efficiently and effectively than ever before.
A recent Wyzowl study shared some impressive facts about the amazing influence video marketing has on consumers:
- The average person watches more than 1.5 hours of online video content per day.
- 72% of people would rather use video to learn about a product or service.
- 76% of marketers say video helped them increase traffic and sales.
- 81% of people have been convinced to buy a product or service by watching a brand’s video.
- Having watched a branded video that they enjoyed, 83% of consumers would consider sharing it with their friends.
“The play button is the most compelling call-to-action on the web.”
– MICHAEL LITT
An effective video marketing strategy is especially important for companies who hope to reach members of Generation Z, who stream video an average of 23 hours each week. In addition, well-produced and informative videos convey volumes about your school’s identity, and online videos are easily shared via social media.
How can you use video marketing effectively for college recruitment?
If time and budget allow, we strongly recommend including both paid ad campaigns and free opportunities in your video marketing strategy.
For paid ad campaigns, we typically utilize the following digital marketing solutions:
- Google Ads/YouTube (for search, display, and video)
- Social Ads (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter)
- Emerging Media (where appropriate)
- DOOH Ads
- OTT Ads
In addition to paying for video advertisements, you can utilize your website, YouTube channel, and social media pages to share video content with relevant audiences.
Consider where your audience spends their time.
While people of almost all ages spend large amounts of time on websites, mobile apps, social media platforms, and using streaming services, there are differences from generation to generation. Focus your video marketing efforts on the platforms your ideal customers are known to frequent most often. Those targeting young adults for college recruitment would do well to share video content on YouTube, Instagram Stories or Reels, Snapchat, and/or TikTok. DOOH and OTT advertising are also valuable avenues for reaching prospective students.
YouTube
YouTube is the second most visited website worldwide, with more than one billion monthly users who collectively watch more than one billion hours of videos each day.
Instagram has 1 billion monthly active users globally and 90% of Instagram users are under the age of 35.
Snapchat
Snapchat ads are 7x more efficient than TV ads at reaching Gen Z and 72% of Snapchat ad viewers aren’t even reachable by TV ads. 38% of Snapchat users aren't on Instagram.
TikTok
As of July 2020, there were over 90 million monthly active TikTok users in the United States alone. 41% of TikTok users are between the ages of 16 and 24. 90% of these users say they use the app daily.
DOOH (Digital Out of Home)
Digital out of home messaging is a newer development in the OOH field. Not to be confused with online advertising, digital OOH media uses physical screens to display electronic messages.
OTT (Over-the-Top)
Streaming media ads, also known as over-the-top (OTT) ads, allow marketers to present commercials directly to viewers through streaming video services, smart TVs etc., bypassing network and cable TV providers.
+ Learn three key digital marketing solutions for college recruitment.
Share “snackable” video content.
In this day and age, short videos are the way to go. According to Entrepreneur.com, “The average human attention span is getting shorter as social media dominates the world with visual experiences.” Not only will short video content be more likely to grab and hold your audience’s attention than almost anything else, it also requires less overhead to create than long form videos.
Use video marketing for the following.
- Virtual campus tours
- Stream speaking events
- Virtual open houses/info sessions
- Portrayals of campus life
See our complete guide: Recruiting Students – A Marketing Plan to Increase College Enrollment.
Here at MSS Media, Inc., we’ve been providing Education, Government, Real Estate & Lifestyle clients with succinct, optimized, and successful marketing solutions for more than 15 years. Consider MSS Media, Inc. a full-service, one-stop shop for all your Media and Public Relations needs. Your goals are our motivation. And our mission is to propel your message, further and faster, to achieve the outcomes you’re looking for. If you found this blog post helpful, please share!
