Douglas Olsen
Email marketing is an essential strategy for universities to connect with current students, prospective students, alumni, parents, and donors. With the right email marketing campaign, universities can hit the mark with their target audience, nurture relationships, and improve admission yields. This introduction will discuss how universities use email campaigns to engage current students, the importance of email marketing in higher education, and the key considerations for successful email communication with students.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Purpose | To connect with students, faculty, and alumni |
| Target audience | Current students, prospective students, parents, donors, alumni |
| Goals | Student recruitment, student retention, student engagement, improving admission yields, improving class quality, increasing profitability |
| Content | Relevant, personalized, short and honest subject lines, captivating stories, peer reviews, institutional values and social stances, visual components, videos, mobile-optimized |
| Strategy | List segmentation, brand consistency, automation, mobile responsiveness, data collection, user journey mapping |
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What You'll Learn
Emphasise institutional values and social stances
Emphasising institutional values and social stances in email campaigns for current students is a delicate task for universities. While universities have historically leaned towards institutional neutrality, especially on political and social issues, they are increasingly expected to take a stance on important issues. This is particularly true in the context of encouraging rigorous debate and ensuring free inquiry, the exchange of diverse views, and respectful dialogue.
Universities can navigate this landscape by focusing on their institutional values, such as free inquiry, diversity, inclusivity, and community. For example, a university might showcase its commitment to diversity and inclusivity by highlighting the unique contributions of students and faculty from diverse backgrounds. This can be achieved through student stories and testimonials, emphasising the university's role in empowering individuals to be themselves and encouraging their enrolment.
Another approach is to centre the email campaign on a particular issue that aligns with the university's values. For instance, a university might organise an email campaign centred on sustainability, detailing its initiatives and goals, and featuring student stories and experiences related to sustainability. This not only showcases the university's values in action but also provides a platform for students to share their perspectives and engage with the institution's values.
It is also essential to recognise the impact of user-generated content (UGC). Universities can leverage UGC to showcase unique events, student experiences, and perspectives that align with their institutional values. For example, a university might encourage students to share their experiences through photos or videos, which can then be featured in email campaigns. This not only emphasises the university's values but also provides authenticity and a sense of community.
Ultimately, universities should strive for authenticity and transparency in their email campaigns. This means being honest about their values, initiatives, and stances while also providing a platform for students to share their genuine experiences and perspectives. By doing so, universities can effectively emphasise their institutional values and social stances while engaging and connecting with their current students.
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Use student ambassadors to provide honest perspectives
Student ambassadors are an effective way to showcase the authentic, lived experiences that resonate with prospective students. They can provide an honest perspective that is more trusted than the information provided by admissions representatives. This is especially true in today's climate, where the public has become increasingly skeptical of overly promotional or sales-oriented marketing claims.
To make the most of student ambassadors, universities should empower them to create their own content. By giving them creative freedom, their content will feel more genuine and relatable. Universities should encourage ambassadors to focus on their personal experiences and unique perspectives. Heartfelt testimonials, whether written, video, or social media posts, can create an emotional connection with viewers. For example, a student ambassador could share why they chose the university, how it has impacted their life, and what they've learned so far. This type of content can make a university feel more accessible and appealing to prospective students.
Universities should also highlight diverse voices within their ambassador teams. By doing so, they can represent a broad range of experiences and perspectives, appealing to a wider audience. It's important to recognize and reward student ambassadors for their efforts, whether through financial compensation or exclusive perks like access to networking events. Publicly celebrating their work reinforces their value and motivates others to get involved. Universities can track the impact of their ambassador programs using metrics such as social media engagement, website traffic, and application rates.
To ensure a consistent flow of honest perspectives, universities should create an open platform for idea-sharing and feedback. This could be a shared platform like Google Drive or Slack, where ambassadors can log any questions, concerns, or suggestions. An open platform allows for real-time feedback and helps identify great new campaigns. It also gives ambassadors a sense of control and motivation, knowing that their ideas are being considered and acted upon.
Additionally, universities should encourage connection and community-building among their student ambassadors. This can be done through dedicated WhatsApp or Slack groups, regular social check-ins, or peer-to-peer support email accounts. While it's important to have rules for social interactions, ambassadors should feel free to chat openly and honestly without feeling overly managed by marketing teams. Regular one-on-one meetings are also crucial for building trusted and supportive relationships, where ambassadors can discuss any issues as they arise.
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Optimise emails for mobile devices
Optimising emails for mobile devices is crucial, as nearly half of your audience will likely be checking their emails on a mobile device. Emails that are not optimised for mobile may be abandoned by the user before they have even been read.
To ensure your emails are mobile-friendly, you should consider the following:
- Clean, uncomplicated layouts: Opt for a single-column layout, which makes it easy for readers to navigate without getting lost.
- Image optimisation: High-resolution images may lead to slow-loading times on mobile devices, so ensure that your images are optimised to load swiftly.
- Alt text for images: This helps visually impaired readers understand your images and also ensures your email loads quickly.
- Clear hierarchy: Use different font sizes and formatting to guide readers' eyes through your content.
- Quick, snappy content: Keep your copy concise and easy to scan, as mobile users are likely to have other apps demanding their attention.
When designing emails, it is important to preview how they will appear on different devices. Most major email providers support mobile optimisation settings, which allow you to preview how your email will look on both desktop and mobile screens. You can also edit the template styling for mobile clients, including the body colour, border width and type, background type, and background colour.
Additionally, when creating emails, it is important to avoid using