Influencer Marketing for Higher Education

Influencer marketing has rapidly become a cornerstone of modern digital strategies, offering an unparalleled opportunity for brands to connect with their audience in a more authentic and engaging way. Higher education institutions, in particular, stand to benefit from this growing trend as they look to attract and engage prospective students. Influencers provide a powerful platform to enhance brand awareness, build community, and foster trust — elements that are crucial in today's student recruitment landscape. Let’s explore how higher education can leverage influencer marketing to effectively communicate their value propositions and build stronger relationships with future students.

Leverage Influencer Marketing in Your Digital Strategy

In an era where traditional advertising methods are more often being overshadowed by the dynamic and interactive nature of organic social media, leveraging influencers can provide educational institutions with a unique and compelling way to reach potential students. This approach not only helps in creating brand awareness around the institution's offerings but also in building a sense of community and belonging and builds trust, which is particularly appealing to Gen Z.

By tapping into chosen influencers' established credibility and their followers' trust, institutions can effectively convey their values, academic strengths, and the overall student experience. Furthermore, influencer marketing aligns with the current ways in which prospective students consume information and make important decisions about their education. A recent study discovered that TikTok is the search engine of choice for more than half of Gen Z and influences their purchase decisions more than any other platform.

As such, influencer marketing can be a key component in a comprehensive digital marketing strategy, one that adapts to the evolving landscapes of communication and student recruitment. Below are a few ways that influencer marketing can be effectively utilized. Before crafting your influencer marketing strategy, here are some things to consider. 

Target Audience Alignment

Identify influencers who resonate with the target demographic of prospective students. This could include young influencers, especially those who are students themselves or recent graduates, as they speak directly to the experiences and aspirations of potential students.

Focus on Engagement over Follower Count

The focus should be on influencers who drive meaningful engagement rather than those with a high follower count. Metrics like comments, shares, and clicks are far more valuable indicators of an influencer’s impact than how many people follow them. This means looking at how their audience interacts with their content—do they receive genuine feedback, questions, or discussions? High engagement shows trust and connection between the influencer and their followers.

Tell Authentic Stories

Engage current students and alumni as micro-influencers. They can share their success stories and experiences, adding credibility and a personal touch to your institution’s offerings, and share their genuine experiences related to higher education, such as the college selection process, campus life, academic programs, and career opportunities. 

Understand the Student Journey

Influencer marketing should reflect the various stages of a student's decision-making process. From initial awareness about different educational options to specific interests in courses or campus life, influencers can play a vital role at each stage. Content can be tailored to address common concerns and questions that students have when considering college, such as academic offerings, career prospects, and the social aspects of college life.

Create an Engaging Content Strategy

The content influencers create should be engaging and informative. This could include day-in-the-life videos, testimonials about their education experiences, and insights into the application process. For example, a video about a day on campus can give prospective students a real sense of what it's like to study at your institution. Similarly, discussions with successful alumni can inspire and motivate prospective students to envision their future post-graduation. Collaborate with influencers to highlight specialized programs, unique aspects of the curriculum, faculty expertise, research opportunities, and notable achievements of the institution.

Choose the Right Channel

Choosing the right channel involves understanding where your target audience spends their time and how they consume content. For example, Meta offers a comprehensive and detailed approach, while TikTok allows for creative and viral outreach. The rise of TikTok is mainly due to Gen Z teens preferring short-format videos. More than half of the platform's US users are Gen Zers. YouTube, on the other hand, offers a versatile platform for long-form, educational, and engaging influencer marketing content, ideal for higher education institutions seeking to showcase their academic strengths and campus life to a diverse and global audience. 

Additionally, while not social media platforms in the traditional sense, blogs and podcasts are also powerful channels for influencer marketing, offering in-depth content and a loyal subscriber base. The above can be invaluable in an effective higher education influencer marketing strategy, each serving unique aspects of audience engagement and content dissemination. The key is understanding your audience and choosing the right channel. 

Showcase Diversity and Inclusion

Influencer marketing allows for partnering with a diverse range of influencers that represent the inclusivity of the institution. Showcasing a range of perspectives and voices through influencer partnerships can help potential students see themselves in those stories, fostering a sense of belonging and community even before they set foot on campus.

Promote Scholarships and Financial Aid Programs

Influencer marketing can be leveraged to inform prospective students about scholarships, and financial aid programs, making higher education more accessible. Research tells us that this is a top concern of the prospective student demographic, and it’s important to speak to their motivations and concerns through marketing.

Identify the Right Influencers

To effectively reach prospective students, higher education institutions must identify influencers who resonate with this demographic. This goes beyond age and interests; it's about finding influencers who embody the aspirational aspects of the prospective student population. These influencers could be young thought leaders, student vloggers, educational content creators, current students and/or alumni who have a strong following among high school students and young adults.

In the evolving landscape of higher education marketing, finding the right people can be tough. Tools such as Upfluence and Influencity are revolutionizing influencer marketing and streamlining the cumbersome process of finding and connecting with influencers, often involving endless searches, complex negotiations, and direct messaging. By facilitating easier access to a wide network of relevant influencers, these tools allow higher education institutions to bypass the traditional challenges of influencer engagement. These tools offer targeted, custom campaigns, making influencer marketing more efficient and effective. This simplification not only saves time but also ensures a more strategic and data-driven approach in reaching potential student

Influencer marketing presents a transformative opportunity for higher education institutions to navigate the complexities of modern digital engagement. By leveraging the power of influencers, education brands can effectively communicate their unique values and opportunities to a wider, more engaged audience, creating a more authentic and relatable bridge between institutions and prospective students. Through thoughtful content and a keen understanding of the student journey, higher education institutions can leverage influencer marketing to not only elevate their brand presence but also to forge meaningful connections that inspire the next generation of students. 

As the landscape of digital marketing continues to evolve, embracing influencer marketing as a key component of a comprehensive strategy will be instrumental in shaping the future of student recruitment.