September 14, 2023

1. Develop a comprehensive digital marketing strategy.

In today’s digital age, it’s essential to have a strong online presence to attract prospective graduate students. Develop a comprehensive digital marketing strategy that includes search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing, email marketing, and pay-per-click advertising. A strong digital marketing strategy will help you rank higher in search engine results, reach a wider audience, and generate leads.

2. Create compelling content.

Prospective graduate students want to know what they can expect from a program and why it’s worth investing their time and money. Show them what your program offers by creating compelling content that showcases your program details, faculty, research, and alumni. Use storytelling techniques to bring your brand to life and appeal to the emotions and aspirations of your target audience. 

Here are some ideas for crafting content that resonates:

• Use multimedia: Incorporating images, videos, infographics, and other multimedia elements into your content can make it more visually appealing and engaging. This can help bring your content to life and showcase the unique features of your program. 

• Focus on the student experience: Prospective graduate students want to know what it’s really like to be a student in a particular program. Create content that focuses on the student experience, including stories from current students, profiles of alumni, and virtual campus tours. 

• Showcase research and thought leadership: Graduate students want to know that your program is at the forefront of research and thought leadership in their fields. Highlight your program benefits in an email campaign or during a campus visit and share how it has shaken industries and helped graduates build successful careers. 

• Always, aways, aways, talk about your differentiators as a program: Every program has something unique to offer, whether it’s a specialized curriculum, access to cutting-edge technology, or opportunities for hands-on experience. Create content that highlights these unique features and showcases how they can benefit prospective graduate students.Up&Up has a system to ensure that we bring out the best in our clients and pair them with the right-fit students, whether that be in brand, web, digital or enrollment scopes of work. 

• Use data and statistics: This can help make your content more compelling and persuasive by demonstrating the success of your graduates, the impact of their research, and the quality of your programs. 

By incorporating these strategies, it lays the groundwork for organic search to be increased and allows for your program to stand apart and above the sea of sameness in the higher education space. 

3. Leverage virtual events.

Leveraging virtual events is a great way to engage prospective graduate students. Host virtual open houses, webinars, and Q&A sessions that allow prospective students to interact with current students, faculty, and staff. This will give them a sense of what it’s like to be a part of the community and help them make an informed decision about the school they want to attend.

4. Use personalized communications.

Prospective graduate students want to feel like they are more than just a number, so it’s important to use personalized communications to address their specific needs, interests, and goals. Tailor your messaging to their stage in the decision-making process  and use data-driven insights to provide relevant information that will help them choose your school as a right-fit student.

5. Build strong partnerships.

Building strong partnerships with other organizations in the industry can help you attract top talent. Work with industry associations, alumni networks, and other higher education institutions to create opportunities for prospective graduate students to engage with professionals in their field. This will help them see the value of your programs and give them a sense of the opportunities that await them upon graduation.

Engaging prospective graduate students from an agency perspective for higher education clients requires a multi-faceted approach. By following these steps, you can attract top talent and build a strong pipeline of future leaders in their respective fields.