Integrated marketing is a way to get the best of several marketing strategies simultaneously for colleges and universities.
Higher education marketing presents a few unique obstacles, including wide demographics and difficulty presenting a distinct brand voice. Many universities try to avoid these problems by simplifying their ad strategy as much as possible, but while minimalism is generally a good thing in the marketing world, strategies that are too narrow often fail miserably.
The best approach is to hedge your bets and strengthen the consistency of your message by implementing an integrated campaign. This means you’ll be using multiple marketing and communications channels under a single, unified directive. It will take some getting used to, but once you commit to it, you’ll start seeing the benefits.
These four integrated marketing channels are some of the best and easiest to work with:
1.      Pay-per-click targeted marketing. With a pay-per-click (PPC) campaign, you’ll only pay for the leads that click through to your site. It’s a great peripheral strategy that can lead people to your website or a specific landing page, which gives you unlimited directory options.
2.      Social media. You’ve heard it time and time again, but the potential of social media in your strategy is limitless. Start engaging with your community as much as possible, and always include links to your profiles in all your other marketing materials.
3.      Print ads. Print advertising is not obsolete—you just need to find a way to integrate it with the web. Use QR codes or custom landing pages to make sure your potential students connect their tangible advertisements to your digital presence.
4.      Email. Email blasts are incredibly viable, especially if you know how to provide value to your audience. Make sure you’re focused on providing quality content and valuable resource.
With these four integrated higher education marketing channels in line, you’ll see a higher ROI and by association, more leads. Remember, if you need help or want advice on your marketing strategy, don’t hesitate to contact us—no strings attached.
photo credit: Paolo Margari via photopin cc
