Top Higher Ed Lead Generation Strategies to Maximize Enrollment and Engagement

Thousands of prospective students apply for college each year during the regular decision period in January and February. While it might seem beneficial to increase your digital marketing efforts in the weeks leading up to decision months, if you employ higher education lead generation strategies only during those months, you’re losing out on potential qualified leads.

Fewer qualified leads mean lower enrollment rates, which is not something you want for your institution. You need an effective lead generation campaign. Here’s why.

Five Effective Higher Ed Lead Generation Strategies

The reality is that higher education lead generation is a long game. If you can get your campus in front of prospective students throughout the academic year, you have a better chance of student recruitment success.

Fortunately, you and your team can implement several strategies to boost student enrollment and engagement.

Consider adding these five higher education lead generation strategies to your toolkit.

1. Identify Your Target Audience 

While it may be tempting to want to reach every prospective student, not all of them will be the right students for your institution. There are several reasons for this, and one of them could be as simple as your campus not offering the right degree track.

Take some time to brainstorm with your team about who your ideal prospective student is. Then, create ideal student personas for your various degree programs. Consider these important aspects when creating your student personas: demographics, career and professional goals, interests and hobbies, and financial aid needs.

Ideal student personas can help inform your student lead generation efforts. Remember to include older adult students in your ideal student personas, especially considering that 1 in 5 adults are returning to college.

2. Create Personalized Outreach Campaigns

Your institution offers various degree programs, and not every student is alike. Each student has different interests and goals, so it’s important to understand them for better lead nurturing.

Personalized campaigns are more likely to be read than generic messages. With that in mind, use segmentation to create targeted contact lists for prospective students. This way, when you have information to share about your nursing program, for example, only those students interested in the nursing program receive the message.

Pro Tip: Use Mongoose to create better, more personalized outreach campaigns. Mongoose easily integrates with your existing tech stack to make personalization easier and more effective. 

3. Create a Content Marketing Strategy

Did you know that 67% of prospective students use search engines as their primary means of researching colleges or universities? This is why 84% of higher education institutions view search engine optimization (SEO) as part of their higher education lead generation strategy.

Creating a content marketing strategy focusing on SEO is an excellent idea for increasing conversion rates. When prospective students Google your campus and its programs, an effective SEO strategy will land your institution on the first page of Google’s results.

The key to optimization is maintaining a regularly updated blog with engaging content related to your campus and its programs. Consider blog posts that feature case studies, student testimonials, and insights into degree programs.

Pro Tip: Incorporate Mongoose Chat into your campus’s website. That way, when a user visits your website to read about a specific degree program, the chatbot is ready to interact with prospective students and generate leads.

4. Host Virtual and In-Person Events

Bringing prospective students to campus, whether through virtual events or in-person meet-and-greets, is a great way to boost student recruitment. These events allow students to learn more about your campus and its programs while experiencing a “day in the life” of current students.

Hosting webinars can also be a powerful tool for sharing relevant information and answering common questions about your programs. Gen Z students often look for interactive, engaging ways to connect with institutions, and virtual events make that possible.

Pro Tip: Use Mongoose to invite prospective students to register for virtual events and track participation for better follow-ups.

5. Use All of Your Available Marketing Channels

The great thing about higher education lead generation is that you can spread your efforts across various digital marketing channels.

Most prospective students begin their research with a Google search, but many also rely on social media platforms like LinkedIn. This means your institution needs to be where the students are. Consider running social media ads or using PPC strategies to increase visibility.

Incorporating a chatbot into your website is an excellent way to capture qualified leads in real time. With Mongoose Chat, you can answer prospective students’ questions 24/7, capture leads, and schedule follow-up tasks. Then, with Mongoose Text, you can follow up with collected leads through highly personalized email campaigns and segmented text outreach.

Pro Tip: PPC advertising can boost brand awareness by 80%. With lead generation campaigns, you can create landing pages to collect prospective students’ information, like their contact details and program interests. Then, use Mongoose to start SMS campaigns for better lead nurturing.

Elevate Your Higher Ed Lead Generation With Mongoose

There’s no doubt about it: your institution depends on higher education lead generation. You can’t afford to leave student enrollment up to chance. The more prospective students your email marketing, PPC, and webinars reach, the greater the chances of boosting enrollment rates.

Ready to learn how Mongoose can help you increase conversion rates and engage new students? Contact us today to schedule a demo and learn more about Mongoose.

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