BUILD BRAND AWARENESS ON YOUTUBE: YouTube is the second most popular search engine on the web with 2 billion active users. The average user spends 23.2 hours per month watching content on the platform (wow!). That content runs the gamut from workouts to recipe explainers to anything else under the sun. And 70% of users bought from a brand after seeing content on YouTube.
The thing is, enrollment marketers struggle to use YouTube effectively for student recruitment — and it's time that changes. This post is the first in a series about advertising on the platform. To get us started, here is more information about the types of ad formats that are available on YouTube. Below is a framework to help you gain an understanding of the options, as well as the kind of campaigns that would fit in with each:
1) Bumper ads:
📽️ Ad type: Bumper ads play before, during and after other videos and are 6 seconds or shorter (they also can't be skipped)
✅Works well when: You want a greater reach with a short message
💡Ideas: Financial aid announcement or app deadline extension
2) Skippable in-stream ads:
📽️ Ad type: Skippable in-stream ads play before, during, and after other videos and can be skipped after the viewer watches the first 5 seconds.
✅ Works well when: You have a longer message and want greater reach (it's recommended that you keep these 30 seconds or less)
💡Ideas: Premium content offer promotion (scholarship guide, GRE cheat sheet, etc.)
3) Non-skippable in-stream ads:
📽️ Ad type: Non-skippable in-stream ads play before, during, and after other videos and cannot be skipped. In the US, these are 15 seconds or shorter.
✅ Works well when: You'd like your target audience to see your full message.
💡Ideas: Program highlight or student testimonial
Shameless plug 🔌 For more tips to help you get started, check out a recent FRIdeas video — FRIdeas #41: How to Advertise on YouTube [Part 1]: 3 Tips for Enrollment Marketers Striving to Increase Brand Awareness.
ADD AN SEO AUDIT TO YOUR LIST: Regularly completing SEO audits on your website will ensure that your content is well-optimized and shed light on the areas that need improvement. According to Circa Interactive, common mistakes for higher ed websites include: title tags that are missing keywords, images that are missing alt tags, and content duplication. There are three different types of SEO audits: technical, on-page, and blog, and it's recommended that enrollment marketers frequently perform all three! For the step-by-step process, check out this post by Circa Interactive: "How To Do An SEO Audit: 7 Steps To Improve Your Site."
Shameless plug 🔌 Check out our other blog post for more SEO insights: "SEO Hacks for Higher Ed Marketers with Little-to-No Time, Money, or SEO Knowledge."
Starter Stories is a new podcast that explores the stories behind the world’s leading education technology companies and education consultancies...and the people who created them.