A crash course on the value of TikTok

WHY YOU SHOULD ADVERTISE ON TIK TOK: We know TikTok seems like a brand new platform...but at one point, so were Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. It's only a matter of time before every school is on TikTok, just like every institution is on Facebook now.

TikTok currently has over 80 million monthly active users and 60% of those are Gen Z, which represents an astronomically huge opportunity for student recruitment. Yet only 8% of colleges and universities are using the platform for enrollment marketing (yikes), according to a report by Glacier.

There isn't a ton of competition right now when it comes to colleges promoting their brands and offerings on TikTok, which means the field is wide open for some homeruns. And because higher ed tends to be a late adopter of all things social, the schools that hop on TikTok advertising now will have the reach and power tomorrow that schools like the University of Michigan have on Facebook today.

To be an early adopter, you need to build up your profile, your brand presence, and your network. Here's a little more information about how you could get started with TikTok, depending on your level of investment:

Bronze Level 

• Develop a digital brand around your mascot
• Source 3-5 students to become trend ambassadors (help strategize content)
• Post 2x per week 
• Spend: free (all organic reach) 🆓

Silver Level

• Establish a TikTok influencer cohort at your university
• Pay creators per 1k impressions
• Post 4-5x per week
• Spend: $10-$15k per semester 💰

Gold Level

• Partner with celebrity creators for branded hashtag challenge
• Encourage user-generated content 
• Run campaign 1-2x per year
• Spend: $100k 💸

Shameless plug 🔌 Learn more about this topic, and see examples of schools who are crushing TikTok right now in a recent FRIdeas video — FRIdeas #40: How Enrollment Marketers Should Advertise on TikTok.

🎁 BONUS TOPIC 🎁

CONSIDER JOINING CLUBHOUSE: Speaking of newer social media platforms, have you heard the buzz about Clubhouse? In December of 2020, the app had 600,000 users — today, it has more than 10 million. Clubhouse is a social audio app that's all about community. Marketing Tech recently published a post about how businesses can make the most out of Clubhouse. Below are a few ways you could leverage the platform as an enrollment marketer:

1. Select members and build a follower base
   • Choose faculty and admissions counselors as members in your club. You can build clubs around areas of expertise (i.e. breaking into a business career for an MBA program). Then, invite followers on other social media platforms to follow you on Clubhouse.
2. Create a landing page specifically for Clubhouse users
   • Build a page that includes details about your clubs, a speaker and event schedule, and other valuable resources, like an ebook, a blog post, etc.
3. Host a relevant conversation
   • Set up a lunch and learn grad admissions event or a chat about the value of business school with thought leaders and successful alumni. As long as you're providing compelling and useful information, you won't give off a sales-y vibe to users.

Shameless plug 🔌 Check out our FRIdeas episode to hear insights from our host, Zach Busekrus, about the app: "FRIdeas #33: To Clubhouse or Not to Clubhouse…That is the Question. Here Are Some Answers."

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