9 Higher Ed Digital Marketing Strategies, Trends & Tactics for 2025

With new tools, channels, and audience behaviors reshaping the landscape, staying ahead means staying flexible, creative, and maybe drinking a little extra coffee. Whether you’re reaching traditional undergrads, graduate students, or online learners, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution — and honestly, that’s part of the fun.

From where we sit, running enrollment marketing campaigns for schools of all shapes and sizes, our digital marketing team pulled together what we think are the big things to watch this year. We see this year as an opportunity to double down on optimizing existing content, expanding audience reach, and leveraging innovative technologies to connect with students in meaningful ways. 

In 2024, we covered some big trends that helped higher ed marketers navigate the digital landscape. For 2025, we’re revisiting a few of those — like AI policies and GA4 analytics — because in this field, the only constant is change.

1. Update Your AI Policy

We talked about the importance of drafting an Ai policy for your marketing team last year. Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to transform our ecosystem, offering tools for just about anything. It’s good for your team to have some guidance on when they should lean into Ai and when they should rely on some good ol’ fashion writing skills. If you have a policy, it may already be time to refine it. From ethical considerations to ensuring accuracy and transparency, an updated AI policy will help institutions harness the abilities of AI responsibly. Whether leveraging AI for chatbots or content creation, documentation on how and when to use these tools will be important. 

2. Refining GA4

With Google Analytics 4 (GA4) fully replacing Universal Analytics, 2025 is the perfect time to refine how you’re using this powerful platform. Your team worked hard to adapt in 2024, and now it’s time to build on that foundation. GA4’s event-based tracking can uncover insights into student behavior. By fine-tuning your tracking setup to focus on micro-conversions — like form fills, virtual tour interactions, and application starts — you ensure you’re capturing the wins your team is already achieving. With the right dashboards tied directly to your goals, you can translate those wins into compelling stories for leadership and use them to make smarter, data-driven decisions to unlock budgets. Bonus: you can finally prove someone actually clicked on that info session link everyone was so excited about.

3. The Rise of Chatbots in College Research

Students are changing the way they research possible colleges and programs. According to our latest survey, 60% of students report using AI chatbots — a significant jump from 49% last year. Even more telling, the percentage of students using chatbots to explore college options has nearly doubled, from 17% to 32%.

What does this mean for our industry? Chatbots are no longer a novelty; they’re becoming an essential part of the college research process. Prospective students of all ages are using them to compare schools, programs, and weigh their options. With chatbot usage increasing, institutions need to think about their presence in this space. This is your opportunity to meet students where they’re searching and ensure your school stands out in the conversation. This growing reliance on AI tools like chatbots to gather information naturally leads me to the next trend we need to embrace: Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE).

4. Googles Search Generative Experience

Think of it as SEO, but make it AI-fancy. Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) is evolving rapidly, and it’s reshaping how your prospective students see, or don’t see, information about your institution. With AI-generated summaries leading the way, SGE is driving a shift toward zero-click experiences, where users get answers directly in the search results — no clicks required.

And, in true Google fashion, SGE is constantly evolving. Google is tweaking the format often, so staying educated on updates is crucial! Optimizing for SGE requires high-quality, authoritative content that fully answers user questions while embracing a conversational tone and natural language. Stay flexible and pivot when necessary. By keeping pace with these changes, your institution has a better chance of staying visible in this ever-changing search landscape.

5. Omnichannel Marketing Integration

Your prospective students interact with your institution across multiple channels — social media, email, websites, digital ads, and even face-to-face or virtual opportunities. Delivering a cohesive and unified experience throughout their entire journey requires a thoughtful omnichannel marketing strategy. It’s about meeting students where they are and ensuring they can engage with your content in the way that suits them best. By creating seamless connections across platforms, you not only build trust but also make it easier for students to explore, learn, and take the next step deeper through your enrollment funnel.

6. Student-Generated Content

If there was one buzzword that defined 2024, it was authenticity. Prospective students, especially Gen Z, want to see the real you — your campus, your culture, and your community. They’re asking themselves: “Can I find my tribe here?” In our latest enrollment marketing survey, students ranked official college social media channels as their top resource during their college search. Among the most desired content? Student day-in-the-life videos. These videos resonate because they’re real and they’re. Students want to see themselves in your story, and they trust their peers to show it to them. Empower your students to create and share authentic content. Let them showcase your institution’s true identity. 

7. Micro-Moments

Micro-moments are those brief but critical points when prospective students turn to their devices to learn, explore, or decide. They are those split-second decisions that could make or break a student’s interest. Your website doesn’t load fast enough? See ya. Your link is broken? Bye. Your tuition page doesn’t list the tuition? Peace out.

By identifying and optimizing for these moments, institutions can create a smoother, frustration-free experience for students searching for specific information. This means ensuring fast-loading mobile pages, clear CTAs, relevant, timely, and easily digestible content tailored to each step of the decision-making process.

8. Increase Search Engine Visibility

Move over, skincare routines — higher ed is getting in on the influencer game. Whether it’s students giving dorm tours, alumni sharing career wins, or professors explaining why they love your school, influencers can help your institution connect authentically. And with TikTok videos now prominently appearing in search results, your next big boost might come from a student’s campus tour or day-in-the-life video. Check out our blog for tips to integrate influencer marketing into your annual strategy.

9. Generation Alpha Has Entered the Chat

Okay, maybe they’re just lurking for now, but the eldest members are officially in your pipeline. Just when you finally cracked the code on how to connect with Gen Z, here comes Gen Alpha — This tech-savvy, socially conscious generation growing up immersed in AI, endless scrolling, and on-demand everything. They’re not just comfortable online; they’re deeply connected to it. 

This generation values authentic, digital-first experiences and will want to see how your institution aligns with the causes and values they care about most. We’re still learning how to effectively engage with this audience, but the eldest members of Gen Alpha will be walking your halls in no time.  

Higher Education Marketing Strategies – Your Next Steps

These 9 tactics will help you refine your campaigns and stay ahead of the competition. However, if you're just getting started with digital marketing, we recommend beginning with four key strategies:

• Paid search campaigns driving to a landing page
• Improving SEO on your program and degree pages
• Using personalized calls to action on your website to capture direct, organic and return traffic
• Implementing a content marketing strategy

If hitting enrollment targets is a major focus for your marketing team in 2025, implementing the three core higher ed marketing strategies that are the baseline to driving enrollment is an important step to help you achieve your goals.