QUESTIONING THE VALUE OF COLLEGE: Almost half of 1,437 college students in a Barnes & Noble Education report believe that the value of college has lessened due to the pandemic, Inside Higher Ed reported. And about 95% of the students said they thought online classes should cost less than in-person courses, compared to 41% of faculty members. When it comes to the services that students most want from their institutions, these categories topped the list: career planning (47 percent); student life (including mental health) (42 percent); and academic support (30 percent).
Why you should care: Understanding the perceived value of higher education is paramount for enrollment marketers to successfully shape and frame the return on investment for prospects. In a post-pandemic world, the report argues that building the college experience around “skills development and lifetime learning” will be necessary to give students confidence they will be able to succeed in a challenging job market. “That includes strategic partnerships with employers and measuring success within new frameworks,” according to the study. “Creative credentialing and outcome-based models will become prevalent.”
THE DEMAND FOR DIVERSITY: More than 54% of audiences in the US, UK, and Brazil say they “do not feel fully culturally represented in online advertising,” a new Facebook report found. Sixty-four percent said they would like to see more diversity and 27 percent said they frequently see online ads with stereotypical representations. Notably, people with disabilities are highly underrepresented (1.1 percent) as well as members of the LGBTQ community (0.3 percent).
Why you should care: Paying attention to representation leads to enhanced brand loyalty and positively affects purchasing decisions, the report said. Plus, 61 percent of respondents believe brands are more authentic when their online advertising efforts are diverse. For marketing teams at universities, hiring marketers with diversity and inclusion in mind is key toward driving campaigns that represent all audiences. A step you can take right now is to conduct a thoughtful audit of the assets you use in digital ads and note any underrepresented or poorly represented groups.
SOCIAL MEDIA PLANNING TOOLS: Social media management requires comprehensive documents packed with copy, links, images, timelines, channels, performance data, and more. From Trello to SproutSocial, multiple options exist for social media managers to plan their social media campaigns smoothly for maximum impact. This HubSpot post details 11 social media tools, templates, and calendars to help you optimize your current social media planning process.
Why you should care: Proper planning and organization will go a long way when it comes to managing multiple channels with various content assets and promotions. “With a social media calendar, marketers can plan out posts for entire weeks or months in advance, which frees up working hours to strategize for the future,” wrote Sophia Bernazzani for HubSpot. While developing a well-thought-out social strategy is critical, so is executing it well. Test out different tools to see which ones work best for your team.
Each week, The Enrollify Podcast equips you with insights into how the latest trends in marketing and technology are affecting enrollment managers. Every episode is designed to inspire new, creative ideas for how to optimize the resources you have to generate the results you need.