Nowadays universities suffer from a decrease in the number of students to enrol. this is due to the fact that universities update neither their study programs nor their marketing strategies. Printed brochures and guiding tours around campus for soon-to-be students have gone to the past and don’t bring any good results anymore. That is why university administration and marketing specialists ought to come up with brand-new ideas and strategies to promote their alma maters and attract more students with ease.
Study the Target Audience
Before you are ready to appeal to your potential students, you need to get to know them better. So, the initial step is to study the target audience of the university, covering not only those who are to study for sure but also those who wish to enrol but face some obstructions preventing them from becoming a student.
As a result, you will know what changes to introduce to marketing strategies, means of communication with potential students, programs, study fees, and so on.
Conduct Surveys
The more you speak with everyone involved in the study process, the more ideas for improvement you can attain. That is why conducting surveys is another way to get your university’s marketing and operations reorganized. Talk to professors, university workers, existing students, potential students, their parents, and so on. Here are some questions you can come up with:
- What are your turn-on/turn-offs when enrolling at the university?
- What will you add to/distract from the study process?
- What prevents the university from becoming successful?
- How would you like to get to know about university news?
The questions may vary according to the direction of potential improvements.
Adjust Programs
One of the reasons which affect the amount of enrolling students is the dis/satisfaction with the study programs. Future existing students may not be pleased with the time, study load, qualifications, and so on.
These days students are not ready to study for five or six years, so, many universities propose shortened programs, lasting two years instead. Many also combine work and studying, so they are more pleased with flexible study hours. There are also students who aim for specified or general qualifications to opt for.
If you learn how to discover needs and wishes and please your students, you will have more applicators with ease.
Teach Practical Skills
Recent surveys and research prove that modern students are after practical skills and qualifications included in study programs. That is why many universities include internships and practical sessions in real business and commercial entities. This way students have an additional source of income and learn practical skills as well.
Programs with internships are claimed to be more popular among students and end up with well-qualified specialists to graduate afterwards.
Change the Means
Paper brochures, magazines or newspaper articles will be of no means in promoting the university and its programs. With the global digitalization in the air, it is no wonder that universities well-presented online have more applicants than those with a poor presence on the Internet.
‘I was looking for a reliable medical school personal statement writing service when I came over the university social media page and changed my mind. I have never regretted it,’ says Carla Johnson, a student of the University of Florida.
The university will be sooner noticed and the information will be reviewed online. So, it is vital to supply the online presence in all possible forms, counting official websites and social media pages as primary means. Official websites will play as the credible information source for both potential students and their parents, so they should contain data about study programs, pricing, qualification, credits, study conditions, and contact means. Meanwhile, social media pages will be the place where the future students will go primarily for necessary info and support.
Final Words
The world is constantly changing, bringing up new challenges. It covers the university education field as well. For universities not to get outdated, they need to keep up with the trends, find new ways to appeal to students and change their marketing strategies appropriately.
Before applying any changes, it is vital to know your target audience better in order to direct adjustments to please students and their parents’ needs and wishes. You can start with surveys and then pass on to alternative study programs, enhanced with practical parts, altered time and money limits, and so on.
It is significant to get the use of modern means as well. You need to make your university visible and prominent online by promoting it on the official website and social media pages.
All in all, modern issues require a modern approach which means that you have to alter your university marketing to keep up with the latest trends and become successful afterwards.
