About the Episode
Got a story to tell? An innovative idea to share? Fill out our guest nomination form and let's chat!
About the Episode:
This episode of Talking Tactics is all about empathy. Allie Bear and Madelin Thompson from Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada share how they came up with a very successful Admissions Top Questions video series to support their prospective students through their university decision. The tactic was grounded and born from a robust student journey mapping project, and ended up getting 15,000 views (with half coming from email!) over the 2023 admission cycle.
Check out Wilfrid Laurier University's Admissions Top Questions series.
Key Takeaways
- Start with Empathy: Empathy-driven, user-centric research is the foundation for creating effective student communication strategies.
- Streamline Content for Clarity: Address common pain points in digestible, accessible formats to meet students' needs at the right time.
- Integrate Video and Email Campaigns: Embedding clear, actionable video content in email communications can drive high engagement and trust.
- Leverage Internal Expertise: Collaborative efforts between admissions, recruitment, and marketing can ensure authenticity and precision in messaging.
- Measure and Adapt: Monitor audience behavior, refine content strategies, and improve year over year for continued success.
Episode Summary
What Sparked the Idea for the Admissions Top Questions Series?
The Admissions Top Questions series stemmed from a user journey mapping initiative aimed at understanding prospective students' fears and needs. Wilfrid Laurier University identified key concerns like application clarity and a sense of belonging early in the process. These findings underscored the importance of clear, empathetic communication to alleviate student anxiety and build trust.
The team identified a gap in proactive support for prospective students and leveraged this as an opportunity to position Laurier as a reliable guide in the admissions journey.
How Did Laurier Approach the Series Creation?
- Gathering Insights: Laurier’s admissions, recruitment, and service teams brainstormed the most common student questions across the application cycle, categorizing them by month.
- Thematic Storyboarding: Questions were grouped into monthly themes to ensure relevance and alignment with the student decision-making timeline.
- Script Development and Execution: Madeline Thompson scripted concise, two-to-three-minute videos that emphasized clarity while remaining engaging and personable. The final videos were filmed professionally for high production value.
- Evergreen Content Strategy: Recognizing the limitations of year-specific videos, Laurier updated its series in 2023 to ensure reusability and efficiency, eliminating redundancies between international and domestic versions.
What Made the Distribution Strategy Effective?
Laurier's distribution focused on three primary channels:
- Email Campaigns: Emails drove half the total video views with click-through rates of 5% for domestic students and 6% for international students. Simple, engaging subject lines like "Here’s How to Apply to University" ensured students knew the email's value upfront.
- Social Media: Instagram stories reached nearly 7,000 viewers per month, extending the series’ visibility organically.
- Web Integration: Embedding the videos in Laurier’s admissions pages ensured prospective students accessing resources organically could find the answers they needed.
What Challenges Did They Overcome?
Laurier faced several challenges in their first iteration:
- Balancing Audiences: Separate videos for domestic and international audiences proved resource-intensive and unnecessary. Streamlining content for both audiences significantly improved efficiency.
- Resource Management: Producing the first series in-house was labor-intensive. Partnering with a professional video production company for key services allowed Laurier to maintain quality while staying within budget.
What Results Did They See?
The impact of the Admissions Top Questions series was substantial:
- 15,000+ Views: Half driven by email campaigns, with an average view duration of 1 minute and 16 seconds—well above industry averages.
- 320 Hours of Watch Time: Demonstrating meaningful engagement with the content.
- Decreased Inquiries: Service teams noted a significant reduction in repetitive prospective student inquiries.
- Broader Audience Reach: Nearly 28% of viewers were aged 25+, indicating parents and influencers were also engaging with the content.
Attend the 2025 Engage Summit!
The Engage Summit is the premier conference for forward-thinking leaders and practitioners dedicated to exploring the transformative power of AI in education.
Explore the strategies and tools to step into the next generation of student engagement, supercharged by AI. You'll leave ready to deliver the most personalized digital engagement experience every step of the way.
👉🏻 Register now to secure your spot in Charlotte, NC, on June 24-25, 2025! Early bird registration ends February 1st.
.svg)
.svg)
