Today, students can go online to do their research through university webpages to compare programs, post-graduate career options and stay connected with former classmates through social media.
LinkedIn recognized the potential of marketing towards this target audience and launched University Pages. These pages connect users to hundreds of colleges and universities around the country. The new features allow higher education institutions to share news, images or videos, open positions within the organization, detailed information such as tuition, fields of study, graduation rate and compare stats like location and career paths of alumni.
LinkedIn Higher Education is a valuable marketing tool for university systems to expand their reach to incoming students as well as alumni. In an informal survey, our team found that several regional universities were under-utilizing the available features. So how exactly does it fit into a university marketing strategy, and how do you reach the target audience?
Inform & Recruit
According to a 2012 Pew Research Center survey, 95 percent of teens between the ages of 12-17 are online. With statistics like that, it’s sensible that LinkedIn now allows students as young as 13 to create an online profile. This feature creates an opportunity for university admissions to begin building relationships with the best and brightest students during the recruiting phase. LinkedIn Product Management Director Christina Allen believes that University Pages “will be especially valuable for students making their first, big decision about where to attend college.”
Many parents of future college students are already proficient users of LinkedIn features. This is an opportunity to influence their opinions. In a recent post, Hubspot pointed out that these pages are a good place to connect with prospective students’ parents. They recommend creating groups to post content relevant to these users that include information such as tuition, available scholarships, on-campus activities and housing, and the local community.
Connect & Update
I began using LinkedIn to connect with professionals in my field when I graduated from college. I’ve used the site to reconnect with former classmates over the last few years. While many universities operate company pages linked to employees and career services, my alma mater manages an alumni group for the entire University System, as well as a subgroup linking alums in my area. There are frequent updates on local and annual events for a chance to network face-to-face.
Continuing to engage alumni is one of the greater challenges facing university advancement offices. University Pages is an ideal place to collectively share information related to events or promotions. By sharing stories about alumni or current students, you can connect prospective students and other alumni to the university. Online video is one of the most effective ways to reach your target demographic. According to comScore,
“More than 83% of Internet users now consume video across all age groups.”
Not so long ago, Contrast Creative produced a capital campaign video for the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. The video was presented at statewide campus sponsored alumni gatherings, University events and was the focal point of the UNCW fundraising webpage. The funds raised created 239 new scholarships and generated $31.5 million in new endowment funding. But if University Pages had existed at the launch of the campaign, it may have yielded a higher return by accessing a larger share of the target market.
Perhaps it’s time to take a look at how effectively your marketing team is engaging LinkedIn users. Like most social media networks, it is essential to keep up-to-date with the platforms in order to effectively communicate with your target audience.