Your higher education brand is paramount to swaying college decisions in your direction. Students have plenty of options when it comes to investing time and money into post-secondary education. So your college or university brand's perception in the marketplace could make or break your enrollment goals.
Here are three ways you can level up on your own brand perception.
Experiential Marketing
What's one of the best ways to shed some new light on your university brand? Give your target consumers a way to directly interact with it. While campus visits are the bread and butter of your experiential marketing toolbelt, don't neglect other opportunities to add some equity to your perception in the marketplace. According to a study from Event Track, 70 percent of consumers say they're more likely to become converted customers after an experiential marketing effort. Take your presence at college fairs, area high school events or even parades or athletic events seriously—use them wisely, and show your university's true colors with interactive or booths or social campaigns.
Expanded Brand guidelines
Most colleges and universities have brand standards. But how in-depth do they get? Do they include voice and messaging guidelines? Do they offer samples of photography standards? Do they identify the key unique selling propositions that your higher education brand offers that other competitors don't? If your user experience is inconsistent or lacking in demonstrated value, your higher education brand will be perceived as confusing or, worse yet, inauthentic.
Personalization
Marketing-savvy consumers are leaning more and more toward brands that pay attention—ones that show a clear memory of previous interactions. In fact, a study from Marketo found that 79 percent of surveyed consumers are only likely to act on a given brand's promo materials when they're tailored to previous interactions. As a college or university, your team is likely tracking content of phone calls and digital messages to each potential student recruit. So use this information to personalize your ongoing efforts, from a simple, one-off email to a printed postcard. Particularly with larger schools, it's too easy to perceive your brand as distant or out of touch with one-to-one communication—flex your personalization muscles to combat this image.
