Higher Ed Branding Is Different Now: Here’s How Your Institution Can Adapt

Declining enrollment and spreading skepticism about the value of education have college administrators rightly nervous. The same number of institutions are now competing for fewer students.

But even in an unstable world, students will still invest the cost of tuition to springboard their careers and achieve their goals. The new challenge is not to convince people that college is worth it — it’s to show prospective students how your college can be worth it for them. 

Modern higher education branding means creating new strategies that get specific and talk to every prospective student in a way that personally resonates. Schools need to craft a value proposition that students won’t be able to turn down.

In the past, college branding relied on legacy, prestige, and school identity. While trust and a sense of community are important, students are looking for something more: What can they get out of college on a personal level?

It takes more than a color scheme to tell a story about a college’s identity. To be compelling, marketing should put students at the center. It has to tell an immersive story about what it’s like to experience your college and what students will get out of their education. 

For example, instead of just talking about your cutting-edge facilities, your school could share a video featuring a student whose experience using modern equipment on campus resulted in a job offer. 

Rather than interviewing business leaders about how an MBA program produces productive employees, you could sit down with a recent graduate of that program and ask about how they were empowered in their career.

In both of these examples, the student is the focus, enabling prospective students to better understand how attending your school will benefit them, personally.

A reputation is not enough — students want to make smart investments that get results. Making a connection between a school’s program and the ability of its students to stand out on the job market will make a bigger impact than talking about that school’s long history. 

Students understand that prestige doesn’t always translate into a campus culture where they, personally, will fit in and thrive. Showcasing student stories, whether as short-form video content or a static testimonial quote, allows prospects to see themselves in current students who feel at home on campus.

Both employers and students are placing more value on things like practical skills and internships than traditional prestige. So potential attendees now look holistically at both the student experience they can expect and the ultimate payoff of attending school. They don’t always choose a school that’s ranked number one. 

They may, instead, look for a tuition rate that makes sense for their income level or seek programs that give them hands-on experience to launch their career. For example, a guaranteed internship at a partner company or a unique program that will help them stand out are the types of resume-boosters that students may feel are worth paying for. 

The key to winning them over is identifying and communicating what makes your school stand out. Proving that value with data about post-graduation success rates can help more potential students envision themselves succeeding — thanks to the education and opportunities provided by your school.

Today’s higher education branding needs to compel audiences with a story about what makes their school stand out. Narrative is a key tool for reaching audiences, helping them imagine life at your university — and beyond.

Prospective students are primed by brands to expect personalized messaging and content. But personalization has long been a challenge for higher education, as students often come from diverse backgrounds and have widely varying needs. 

Fortunately, modern technology allows you to speak directly to prospective students and deliver the information and messages that show how your school can meet their specific needs. 

For example, using FlippedApp, you can have artificial intelligence (AI) reach out to students with tailored messaging based on their stated interests. Once a student expresses interest in the school, a human recruiter can engage with them further. 

Social media is also an incredibly effective way to connect with potential students, but it’s not enough to just have profiles on each platform. You’ll need to strategically post content, then actively engage with everyone who interacts with it.

The media and marketing landscape is evolving faster every year, and it can be a challenge to keep up, especially for large traditional universities. Economic pressures, shifting job markets, and new student preferences and priorities add an extra burden.

Legacy media no longer reaches high schoolers at the same rates as past generations. Gen Z students scroll on TikTok, have conversations with AI platforms, listen to podcasts, and consume vast amounts of user-generated content (UGC). Media is also much less centralized, with audiences spread out over a variety of channels. 

To reach these potential students, like it or not, you’ll need to meet them where they’re at. Depending on your current marketing practices, that might mean tweaking your approach and adopting some newer channels — or it could mean rebuilding your strategy from the ground up.

Students are knowledgeable about education and career paths, and they’re seeking alternatives to college when it makes sense. They ask questions to learn whether college is worth it for them, and they often decide that a coding bootcamp, technical or trades certification, or entrepreneurship will better set them up for success. 

These factors, along with economic uncertainty and reduced birth rates after the Great Recession, are contributing to the “demographic cliff” — a decline in enrollment projected to continue over the next decade or longer.

You can control the conversation by clarifying the unique value your particular institution offers, whether that’s strong connections in certain industries, an urban location that helps students build networks, or hands-on learning opportunities.

Digital communication strategies dominate, and they’re the only way to deliver the dynamic and personalized experiences prospective students expect. 

Schools must adapt to new storytelling formats and adopt strategies that are native to the digital platforms where Gen Z prefers to spend time. For example, short-form video featuring trending sound is one of the most effective ways to reach new audiences on Instagram and TikTok. 

Thinking beyond social media, schools can also bring dynamic experiences to their own websites. Features like interactive 3D maps and immersive virtual tours allow potential students to explore your campus from anywhere in the world — and picture themselves there.

Colleges still face the continuous challenge of appealing not only to prospective students but also to their parents, to donors, to alumni, to current students considering re-enrollment, and more. It’s a tall order when there’s so much variety in preferred messaging, channels, and approaches for each demographic.

You’ll need to tailor your messaging to meet a variety of needs and reach audiences where they are on a range of platforms. While prospective GenZ students are on TikTok, donors may be better reached by email. Meanwhile, alumni are using LinkedIn, and parents are browsing forums.

Analyzing the data and conducting research and testing is the only way to determine the best strategy for your institution. Every school is different, and experiments can help marketing teams discover the approach that works for their unique mix of audiences.

Consistent branding remains important. But bringing your strategy into the modern digital-first era means leveraging new technology and approaches to personalize your messaging, showcase your strengths, and tell the right stories to the right audiences.

A cohesive brand identity — encompassing everything from colors, fonts, and logos to language and culture — can ensure a united message across different platforms. You’ll have different things to say to different people, but the fundamentals of who you are should stay clear and consistent.

Consistency is what builds trust and conveys authenticity, but when multiple departments across your college are producing content simultaneously, maintaining your brand identity can be a challenge.

To stay true to your image, every department needs clarity on what fundamental message should ring through all assets. A comprehensive brand guide and strategic plan can be a useful reference point to keep everyone on the same page.

It’s easier than ever to bring in the authentic voices students care about. These voices can share their compelling stories, talk about what daily life is like on campus, or discuss what makes your faculty or programs unique.

For example, the guided tours on Providence College’s campus map are led by real students who share their perspectives. Those real, lived experiences are incredibly valuable and give prospective students more insight into what they can expect than traditional marketing materials ever could.

Social media is another great place to share authentic short stories. Short-form videos can showcase day-in-the-life content, montages of student activity, a behind-the-scenes in biology class — relatable content that gives voice to the student experience.

Purdue recently posted some excellent on-the-ground content of alums cheering on their alma mater at a Boilermaker game. It resonated with audiences by conveying the spirit and tradition that new students will get to be part of when they join Purdue Nation.

Tailoring your messaging for different audiences can help you distinguish your school in ways that matter to that particular audience. 

For example, if a prospective student has shown interest in pre-med, you could nudge them into a marketing funnel that emphasizes high rates of acceptance to medical school, hands-on experience, or an excellent pre-med program.

Meanwhile, community partners might experience a very different marketing funnel, focused on needed workforce development and positive impact on the region.

Marketers already know how to differentiate their messaging — the challenge is doing at scale with such a wide range of audiences. Digital tools can make that personalized outreach across platforms simple and scalable. 

We mentioned FlippedApp earlier, which uses AI-driven strategies to scale personalized engagement, but AI can also be a great tool for repurposing content. For example, team members can ask AI to reframe a message written for current students so that it resonates more with alumni. 

You can also run digital ads to make use of each platform’s algorithms. These algorithms are becoming highly advanced and may even find high success rates with niche audiences you’ve never considered targeting. Armed with data on where your efforts are resonating, you can further tailor your strategy and messaging to reach the specific audiences who are most interested in engaging.

What does your college have that no one else does? The answer is key to understanding how to position your school in a competitive landscape.

This is especially important for small schools. Large state schools have the benefit of size and name recognition, but smaller schools can offer the personalized attention and tight-knit community culture that so many students are really looking for. 

Many smaller schools also have specific programs that punch above their weight. Capitalizing on your standout offerings and raising awareness can be key to garnering interest and respect. Maybe you have an internship program that regularly launches students into success or unusually high scores for “sense of belonging” in student surveys. 

Once you know what truly makes your school stand out, you can use personalized marketing and targeted ads to reach the audiences who will care about those strengths. 

The modern world of school branding requires you to actively reach out on a variety of platforms and tailor your messaging to highly specific audiences — while staying true to your school’s brand identity. And when it comes to connecting with potential students, you’ll need to deliver the immersive, personalized experiences that they expect.

Concept3D helps you rise to the challenge with creative digital experiences that show students what life is really like on your campus. With the help of Concept3D, you can:

• Immerse website visitors in interactive 3D campus maps and virtual tours.
• Personalize your outreach at scale with AI, using an app designed to meet students where they are.
• Differentiate your offerings with an interactive events calendar that showcases the opportunities students can expect.

See how Concept3D can bolster your higher-ed brand efforts with modern digital experiences — schedule a demo today.