Studies have shown that when higher education institutions personalize outreach to prospects, enrollment rates increase by 63%. To do so, schools are using analytic strategies to leverage vast amounts of student data and deliver timely and valuable communications that reflect the student’s interests, needs, and stage in the decision process. This ability to create hyper-personalized print material and micro-target enrollment outreach to only the prospects that show the greatest likelihood of enrolling enhances the student experience, reduces spending for the school, and allows admission teams to work more efficiently.
By focusing on the students most likely to apply and be accepted into their schools, institutions can segment these prospects into specific, data-compiled niches. As a result, print material and messaging are coordinated across direct mail and events and integrated with digital and social media platforms according to a student’s interests, demographics, and lifestyle. Schools can develop detailed student personas and communicate with a more complete understanding of the prospect’s academic and socio-economic situation and find unique ways to appeal and motivate them to apply.
The Importance of Micro-Targeting for Universities and Colleges
Micro-targeting allows higher education institutions to develop enrollment marketing plans that attract the most qualified and motivated leads, nurture them through the decision-making process, and then get them to commit to registering. Schools can provide relevant, personalized, and valuable information at exactly the right stage in the prospect’s journey.
Benefits of micro-targeting include:
- Focused prospect-personas customized to a student’s stage in the enrollment process that boosts response rates, enrollment numbers, and revenue.
- Stronger and deeper communications with targeted personalization.
- Better decision making and behavior predictions through data analytics.
- More efficient allocation of resources directed at high-likelihood prospects.
Five Ways to Determine the Best Micro-Targeting Tactics
Higher education institutions are fortunate in the many opportunities available to gather information about prospective students that include admission forms, college fair forms, social media interactions, website visits, and campus events. They can use this data to segment the prospects and develop strategies that build trust and drive enrollment. Recent studies and reports have found that schools using data analytics have reduced marketing costs per enrolled student to between $429 and $623, significantly below the industry average of $1,505.
Schools no longer need to take a “one-size-fits-all” approach when reaching out to prospects. Instead, they can tailor every communication around the lifestyle of the student. Common segments include:
- Demographic– factors such as age, gender, ethnicity, family income level, and academic background are taken into consideration. It can be used to identify and craft marketing content that appeals to student-aid candidates, high-achievers, first-generation students, or adults seeking continuing education opportunities.
- Behavioral – tracks incidents like website or campus visits or application stages and progress. Schools can reward students with mascot-logoed swag that established brand awareness or can reengage inactive applicants based on the level of engagement.
- Psychographic – uses data gathered about the prospect’s lifestyle, interests, expectations, and values from social media connections or class and major inquiries – especially electives – to highlight relevant campus programs and experiences that match their interests.
- Geographic – sorts prospects by the region, state, or country where the prospect resides to customize outreach around in-state tuition savings, highlight campus residence opportunities, or address international prospect concerns like language and visas.
- Cluster Analysis – uses tools like the College Board Analysis Service to identify prospects by similar backgrounds, schools, or communities to map regions using ZIP codes, credit card agency data, US census information, and other consumer databases.
Schools can focus on one segment or combine segments to follow a prospect through the enrollment process and craft content to deliver experiences that also mesh with their lifestyle and values.
Micro-Targeting Enhances Multichannel Marketing to Enrollment Prospects
Equipped with a fuller picture of their high-probability prospects and an understanding of their expectations, higher education institutions can build customized, multichannel marketing campaigns aligned with the prospect’s content consumption preferences.
Each marketing channel has its own strength, but when schools coordinate and integrate their most effective print, digital, and social media capabilities with a focus on the appropriate prospect niche, all of their benefits increase. Studies have proven that including direct mail in multichannel campaigns lifts overall ROI by 12% or more compared to digital-only campaigns.
Below are ways each channel can support strategic, multichannel prospect enrollment efforts and reach prospects with compelling, valuable content that is created to drive further engagement.
Print Micro-Targeted Marketing
Print marketing remains a powerful and strategic component in multichannel, micro-targeted enrollment campaigns to build trust and establish a physical connection with prospects.
Variable data printing (VDP) and print-on-demand (POD) allows schools to personalize and tailor each printed piece to create a bond and show the prospect they matter by using their preferred name or showing them content created specifically to their interest and academic programs. A recent study found that 67% of high school seniors expect personalized communication from colleges, like letters, emails, and notifications tailored specifically to their demographics, situation, and interests.
Direct mail pieces can be timely acknowledgements or rewards for prospects that achieve milestones along their enrollment journey. Interactive direct mail with pull tabs and sliders, scratch-off areas, three-dimensional elements, and specially textured paper create more memorable experiences. Calendars, refrigerator magnets, and catalogs delivered by mail have been shown to stay around the house for weeks, creating a positive impression whenever they’re picked up and enjoyed.
Schools can use the printed material they share with prospects to:
- Integrate video content through QR codes and personalized URLs (PURLs) printed on the piece to bridge the gap between offline and online engagement and introduce prospects to the institution through virtual tours and personalized messaging.
- Encourage participation in interactive games, challenges, and interactive experiences that can be shared on social media platforms and prompt students to participate to win prizes or engage in a hashtag campaign.
- Introduce prospects to WebAR experiences with personalized QR and other codes that when scanned bring the static print material to life with animations and 3D models that add a multisensory level to the print engagement.
Marketing.com teamed up with a highly regarded Southwest US university to expand on traditional direct mail sent to enrollment prospects that combined print with immersive A/R experiences. Each student linked to a customized splash page through a QR code on the personalized direct mail piece that included a welcome video and access to application procedures and program enrollment. Learn more.
Print and Digital Micro-Targeted Marketing
Print and digital marketing work in conjunction to reinforce messaging through the tangible, intimate nature of print coordinated with the immediacy and interactivity of digital platforms. Printed material stands out in the mailbox and grabs attention when displayed at school fair booths. The tangible quality of print creates opportunities for prospects, parents, and guardians to sit at the kitchen table and discuss options, while digital provides immediate access to FAQs, virtual tours or to review and download forms.
Schools can follow up on brochures, postcards, or acceptance letters with timely emails, SMS, and social media ads to retarget prospects, reinforce the print content, and offer incentives to continue the relationship. The printed material can be embedded with QR codes or personal URLs (PURLs) to connect to digital sites constructed to reflect the prospect’s profile, interest in a degree major or extracurricular activities, and to promote the school with digital content.
Not only can higher education institutions tailor print and digital content to guide prospects through the enrollment funnel, but they also gain the ability to continuously track and measure interactions through both print (QR codes and vanity URLs) and digital platforms (CTRs and conversions).
Print and Social Media Micro-Targeting
Schools use print materials and direct mail in collaboration with social media to foster community and drive prospects to institutional social channels where they can find student testimonials or information about campus activities. These materials can contain calls to action to participate in a digital or virtual event.
Social media allows schools to establish consistent branding with messaging supported by the printed piece for a cohesive experience, and both can include elements of personalization to make the connection meaningful. They can also leverage user-generated content (UGC) that prospects trust because of its authenticity and relatability. According to Notso, people find user-generated content three times more authentic than professional brand-generated content.
The integration between print and social media can trigger and create a sequence of communications that is uniquely purposed for each prospect. When a prospect scans a QR code on the print piece they are seamlessly guided to a specific landing page, social media account, or dedicated online experience designed to appeal to their interests.
Print and Event Micro-Targeting Marketing
Collaborating print material strategies with college fairs, campus tours, webinars, and other event marketing boosts attendance, allows schools to distinguish themselves, and plays an important role in post-event follow-up.
Micro-targeting offers prospects a sense of exclusivity with personalized, handwritten invitations to open houses and virtual info sessions tailored to the prospect’s interests. For localized or milestone-triggered outreach, VDP and POD make each mailer different and relevant. They enable the ability to insert locations, times, and event descriptions according to academic interest or event programming and send them out in small batches as needed.
Event brochures, catalogs, flyers, posters, banners, print displays, and popups can extend brand awareness and grab attention, whether its print signage that helps a prospect locate a booth at a college fair or an attractive, customized print packet that the prospect can take home and review further. Print materials and event signage can promote campaign-specific hashtags, encouraging attendees and prospects to share their experiences at the event on social platforms.
Post event, schools can use a multichannel approach to move the prospect along the enrollment journey and keep the experience fresh in their mind. Combining automated, printed handwritten thank you notes with coordinated emails can serve as friendly reminders of next steps.
Customized Printed Swag Micro-Targeted Marketing
Distributing printed swag and promotional items to a targeted, highly focused micro-targeted prospect population can significantly increase prospect engagement and encourage enrollment. Schools can match the branded swag to reflect the level of engagement and continue to build on the relationship with items that align with student interests and values.
Personalized swag doesn’t have to break the bank or budgets, and there are a wide range of items that can establish memorable physical and visual connections with prospects. According to a 2023 PPAI consumer study, 66% of people aged 18–24 said that receiving a promotional product from a brand would strengthen their loyalty.
Higher education institutions can distribute branded swag using a multichannel marketing approach:
- At campus events, recruitment fairs, and open houses to reinforce the brand during and after the event.
- Through direct mail in personalized mailers or acceptance packets that are fun, unique, and relevant.
- During social media campaigns as prizes for competing in online contests, hashtag challenges, and to encourage UGC and social sharing.
- As part of an email campaign that is timed and coordinated with promotional giveaways and to encourage event attendance.
- With influencer marketing to establish credibility through peer and alumni testimonials and endorsements.
Welcome kits can include branded pens, stickers, T-shirts, or caps and serve as tangible reminders of an event and begin to establish school pride and community. As the relationship continues, schools can reward important milestones with personalized swag like water bottles, Bluetooth speakers, or backpacks.
Measuring Micro-Targeting Success and Refining Multichannel Strategies
A micro-targeted, multichannel enrollment strategy lets higher education institutions collect prospect data from a wide variety of sources and platforms to determine the important elements that factor into the decision-making process.
Campaigns integrated across print, digital, and social media use focused segmentation to deliver personalized and variable content. Schools can A/B test print elements, email subject lines, and digital and social media ad images. Schools can track engagement across channels and attribute outcomes to specific tactics.
At various touchpoints along a prospect’s enrollment journey, there are seven metrics that are particularly important for understanding which strategies are driving inquiries, spurring applications, and increasing enrollment.
- Cost Per Inquiry (CPI) measures the average cost to generate a student inquiry and collect a lead.
- Response Rate shows the percentage of prospective students who followed the CTA or scanned a print piece to reach a landing page.
- Conversion Rate reveals the number of prospects who completed a step like accepting an invitation or submitting an application.
- Cost Per Enrollment (CPE) is the total marketing cost divided by the number of students who completed their journey and enrolled in the school. This metric delivers a clear understanding of the return on investment (ROI) for the entire campaign.
- Inquiry-to-Application Rate shows the effectiveness of a school’s prospect nurture campaign and reveals where messaging is misaligned with expectations.
- Application-to-Enrollment Rate reflects the success of micro-targeting segmentation and the ability to attract and retain the prospects most likely to enroll with the school.
- Return on Advertising Spend (ROAS) determines how successfully a school generated revenue per dollar spent on marketing.
These metrics help institutions allocate enrollment campaign budgets more effectively, refine personalization and outreach customization, and boost enrollment.
Conclusion
Micro-targeted, print-integrated multichannel campaigns provide actionable data that institutions of higher learning can compile and analyze to craft interesting and relevant prospect outreach that works. By coordinating niche messaging on trusted social media, through email, by sharing video and other digital content, and using direct mail and other print marketing products cohesively, schools reach the best candidates on the channels these prospects trust most.
For more information about micro-targeting and ways to boost your applications and registrations with print-integrated multichannel campaigns, contact Marketing.com today.