How University Enrollment Can Get Back to Speed After Coronavirus

Universities and Colleges are currently experiencing unprecedented times amid a public health crisis surrounding Covid-19. As we battle an economic downturn and public health crisis, digital marketing and advertising within the higher education industry has nearly come to a halt. As any good marketer will advise, no organization should go completely dark when the road is rough.

In fact, due to a large number of consumers having significantly more downtime than normal, the higher education industry should take advantage of the underutilized digital media landscape.

With many schools across the country closing until April or later, screen-time utilization is expected to increase substantially. In combination with markedly lower media rates across platforms, this is a prime time for recruitment marketing that targets the 15 to 17-year-old demographic and their families. Right now, every higher education institution’s paid social dollar stretches further and reaches more high school aged students than before. Furthermore, we can also count on ad messaging resonating at a higher rate due to fewer competitors in the space.

However, while marcomm offices are scrambling to quickly develop Covid-19 messaging and paid social campaigns, press releases, and courses of action and thinking of the now…are we also thinking of the after? Once the panic, quarantines, and closures cease, which tactics and messaging are best for the higher education industry for post-pandemic high school aged students and their families?

Tips for Better and Smarter Digital Advertising Post-Covid-19:

1. Utilize Cross Platform Targeting
   Sequential messaging is key to moving qualified leads further down the funnel- does your school have the ability to sequentially target leads cross-platform? Orange142 utilizes cross-platform sequential targeting for our higher ed clients to serve a variety of creative messaging to users and reaching them cross device.

2. Let Data Work for You
   A Data Management Platform (DMP) is the most effective and efficient method of capturing audience insights based on an institution’s site traffic. By utilizing Orange142’s in-house DMP, colleges and universities are quickly able to see the similarities and differences of audiences who request information, apply, and enroll. Once the data is collected, Orange142 can then expand targeting reach to lookalike users who mirror the same internet behaviors and interests as those who apply and enroll, which lessens ad delivery waste, and offers hypertargeting ability to only the students and parents who are most likely to convert into enrollments.

3. Utilize Retrofencing
   Most of us are familiar with geofencing (advertising on mobile devices to users in a specified area), but are we familiar with retrofencing? Geofencing and retrofencing for higher education use the same ad targeting technology; geofencing is focused on targeting and serving ads to devices in a specified area in the moment while retrofencing focuses on targeting devices that were in a specific location previously with a predetermined amount of frequency. This means higher ed institutions can still target high school students using historical data from up to 12 months prior. Students may not be in school now or soon, but retrofencing allows colleges and universities to advertise to them regardless. Whether you are focused on retrofencing high feed high schools or all high schools in specific DMAs, Orange142 can help you take advantage of historical data.

Orange142 is here to help the higher education industry get back on its feet once our public health crisis is under control. Orange142 offers a robust suite of over 15 digital media and marketing solutions that generate leads and produce enrollments. Our team can become an extension of your marketing department and strategize on the most effective ways to utilize marketing dollars to ensure your higher education institution doesn’t miss a beat in 2020.