Gobi's top 5 tips for student recruitment videos
As a result of growing up in an immersive world of video content, today’s prospective students expect to be able to watch videos anywhere, whether on YouTube, endlessly flicking through Instagram Stories, or scrolling through hundreds of 15-second videos on TikTok.
Using videos to communicate with and recruit new students is one of the most powerful tools available for university marketers. Videos can help engage current students, inform staff, and communicate with prospective students about your institution's programs and other aspects of campus life. Video can be used strategically to nurture a student throughout the entire recruitment process – from initial interest to filling out an information form to enrolling in a program and beyond.
If you're not already using video in your student recruitment strategy, now is a great time to start!
What are the benefits of using video for student recruitment?
Video is an essential tool for driving brand awareness, creating engagement and influencing decisions. In particular, video can even influence a student's decision to apply to a university. For example, according to a study by Google and Greenberg on the Role of Video in the Student Decision Journey, 80% of prospective students who planned to attend an online university said watching an online video influenced their decision to apply.
Video can also make prospective students feel excited, confident, and enthusiastic about their program of study. The same study by Google and Greenberg found that prospective students who planned to return to school at an online university were significantly more likely to say they felt excited, confident, or enthusiastic after watching videos tailored to their programs. These are the same emotions people reported feeling after enrolling in a course.
Top 5 tips for videos in student recruitment
- Document the student experience: Show everyone what college life is like by sharing photos and videos of your journey. This could include an overview of the campus, the library and other facilities, or day in the life videos featuring students who “takeover” the university Instagram account for a day.
- Study program-specific content: While an overview of the university can give you a feel for what the school is all about, specific content will help you attract students to specific programs. You might create this content by sharing student and professor stories, as well as graduate success stories using recent graduates and alumni.
- Alumni stories: Ask alumni to share stories from their years at the university, or interview them on how college gave them the job opportunities they have today.
- Exciting events: Students are motivated by providing them with a sense of community. This is a huge part of the college and university experience. You can inspire prospective students by highlighting memorable moments such as when the football team wins an important match or when students reach a milestone.
- Answer their questions: Prospective students have many questions, and video is a great way to answer them. You could have a dedicated time each week or month when you answer frequently asked questions on Instagram Stories or Facebook Live. Or, you could film a video for your enrollments page that answers all of the possible questions students may have.
To finish up
As we have mentioned, video is a fantastic tool to inspire to take action. When used strategically, videos in student recruitment will create a long lasting relationship between prospective students and your institution what will last beyond enrollment.
As a final tip: if you're a student creating videos on behalf of the University, think about the following questions:
- What would you like to have known when you first started?
- What do you know now that you didn't knew then?
Reflecting on these questions and creating a narrative in your videos around prospective student's challenges is guaranteed to make your University stand out in the crowd.
Want some tips on how to record the videos? Check out our six tips for creating better stories here.