You’ve heard about them. You’ve likely done your own research on them (and if not, there are countless resources available if you need to get up to speed). In fact, our 2020 Graduate School Intenders Survey found that:

• Email and text messages are their preferred direct channels of communication
• Most of these students spend more than three hours a day on social media
• Google is the most used resource in their search for graduate programs

As our survey confirmed, Gen Z is a “just-Google-it” generation who will never know the pain of scouring a library full of encyclopedias to find an answer, waiting on a dial-up connection, or the primitive experience of an “AOL keyword search.”

To reach this audience where they are, it’s crucial to run digital media campaigns that use Google Search Ads (formerly AdWords) paired with an engaging landing page. Google Ads allow you to deliver content that directly relates to what these students are searching for. For example, an ad for your Master of Business Administration program can be there when a prospective student searches Google for the “best MBA program.” Similarly, you can deliver an ad for your Master’s of Education program to those searching for answers to questions like “How do I become a teacher?”

Appearing at the top of their search with a succinct, engaging value proposition can earn you clicks and new leads from those eager to learn more about your program. Plus, our team of digital marketing experts can help you get the most out of each Google Ads campaign by continuously optimizing your ads and their paired landing pages.

Once you pull these students into your funnel, you’ll need to deliver a steady stream of relevant messaging in order to keep them engaged, and ultimately, drive them to apply and enroll. Spark451 has been perfecting outreach methods to Gen Z for years with great success. We’ve built key strategies that meet this generation where they are — online and mobile. Our secret recipe for success isn’t all that secretive:

• Hyper-personalized, segmented, and captivating e-communications
• Robust, personalized text messaging
• An extensive digital media strategy implemented across targeted social platforms

Each of these “ingredients” is, of course, created with mobile-friendly design and accessibility in mind.

In this digital age, consumers are under constant pressure to buy something new or inquire about a new product or service. But, have you ever wondered why companies with deadline-driven campaigns, such as Amazon’s Prime Days, are so successful?

Marketing campaigns that emphasize deadlines compel consumers to take immediate action because they tap into our innate fear of missing out. This sense of urgency can be easily replicated in the higher education landscape.

Take, for example, a recent Spark451 partner case study: A small, private, liberal arts college in suburban Pennsylvania came to us looking for a strong winter push for Fall 2020 applications. We quickly launched our Supplemental Senior Search Program, which features a personalized letter and tip-in card, delivered in a branded envelope, as well as an accompanying e-communications nurture stream. Because all of the messaging prominently promoted an application deadline that was set for just a few weeks after we launched (and we tied in some special incentives), students immediately took action. In just a few short weeks, the effort provided a 27% lift in applications.

At this point, your team has likely just finished launching your initial Senior Search campaign, and you’re starting to see your efforts roll in, so you’re probably wondering why you should even consider a Supplemental Senior Search. The short answer: Because now is the time to make sure all your bases are covered to ensure a successful year.

Supplemental Senior Search is a proven tactic for eliciting additional applications from those in your search pool who are actively engaging with your institution, or who have a high likelihood to apply.

At Spark451, we have conducted many successful Supplemental Senior Search campaigns— both for longstanding partnering institutions as well as new-to-us schools that have needed a late-stage push to increase their incoming classes. In fact, we’ve observed that students who receive these Supplemental Senior Search packages are twice as likely to submit an application than those who don’t receive the mailings.

To help our partner raise awareness of the program among qualified undergraduate students, and drive them to apply, Spark451 developed a combination of digital communications, including:

• A robust series of search emails
• Facebook and Instagram ad creative for a digital lead-generation campaign
• A dedicated inquiry-capture landing page
• A downloadable fact sheet (which the school ultimately used as a printed handout as well!)
• An informational marketing video
• A compelling series of prospect nurture emails

While adhering to the school’s larger brand, these materials built upon and expanded an existing marketing framework and helped refine key messages about the program’s unique benefits. In select instances, the materials were delivered by third parties as needed. For example, the emails were built and deployed from the school’s existing CRM, and the digital media ads were launched by the institution’s existing digital advertising partner agency. Regardless of how the materials were delivered, Spark451 ensured that the messaging and look was unified and suited for the niche audience.

Ultimately, the program’s administrators reported the following results for the 2020 cohort:

• A 64% year-over-year increase in started applications
• A 76% year-over-year increase in submitted applications

While we were all still working remotely during the COVID-19 shutdowns, Sparklers from every discipline and department got together for virtual brainstorming sessions, during which all participants were encouraged to share their ideas. The only rule—that there were no rules!

After we generated a lengthy list of ideas for potential products, technological tools, and infrastructural improvements, participants voted to select four ideas to pursue further. Once the finalists were selected, the individuals who had proposed the ideas were each allowed to recruit two other employees to help them flesh out their ideas and prepare presentations to “sell” their ideas to the entire company. (Think “Shark Tank,” or as some of us came to call it, “Spark Tank!”)

Following the presentations this summer, the entire company was asked to rate each idea according to the following metrics:

• Spark451 integration (how it aligned with our culture and mission)
• Higher-education integration (how well does it solve a problem in our industry?)
• Attainability
• Stability
• Usability
• Marketability

Curious as to how hot TikTok actually is right now? With more than 63.3 million installs in August 2020 alone, TikTok was the most downloaded social media app (excluding games) that month, according to data from Sensor Tower.

You might be wondering if your prospective student audience is giving TikTok enough attention to justify spending ad dollars on a new channel, and the answer is a resounding yes! Not only does Hootsuite show that 69% of the app’s monthly active users are between the ages of 13–24, but our own recent mini-research experiment showed that teens spend several hours per week on the platform.

Interested in TikTok advertising? Here are a few things you need to know:

1. TikTok is ideal for Gen Z: As mentioned above, the majority of TikTok users are under the age of 24, which makes the platform ideal for reaching prospective undergraduates, transfer students, or recent graduates who may be considering graduate school.
2. TikTok is well-suited for branding efforts: TikTok is an upper-funnel method of advertising that can help you build brand awareness with your target audience.
3. TikTok users are engaged: According to TikTok, the average user spends over 71 minutes a day on the app and opens it more than 14 times a day.
4. Targeting is key: TikTok offers robust targeting opportunities, allowing us to reach users by demographic, interests, geographic location, and more. Additionally, we can leverage first– and third-party data, in addition to retargeting and lookalike audiences, to ensure you can deliver your content to users with whom it’s most likely to resonate.
5. TikTok requires its own unique creative: Your ad creative on TikTok needs to be mobile-friendly video and appear to be native to the platform. Animation, music, and authenticity are key. Plus, TikTok ads need to be refreshed regularly to avoid ad fatigue within the quick-moving platform.

More than half of those I spoke with discussed some level of mental paralysis in their division or within their campus. COVID’s forced shift to working remotely since March (which still continues for many of you throughout the nation) has resulted in a state where long-term strategic planning has fallen in priorities. Senior leaders on campus were forced to work on the urgent as opposed to the important for too long, and now everyone’s having a hard time getting back on track. Let’s face it, it’s easy to procrastinate the tough decisions.

If you can relate to this sentiment in some way, I would suggest you check out this quick article from Psychology Today, titled: How To Get Unstuck From (almost) Anything.

I’m equally excited to report that, in spite of all the challenges over the last several months, the vast majority of you remain fiercely proud of your campus, your colleagues, and your students. So many of you defend your campus’s decision to open or close as an effort to balance safety with the importance of your school’s role in fostering a productive future for our world.

You all also have a wide range of stories, from herculean efforts to deliver exciting virtual visits, to assisting families impacted by COVID-19. Those examples are incredibly relevant to our world of enrollment, and I know there are a multitude more that touch almost every corner of campus. It makes me wonder why more of these stories are not in the media each week.

I’m sure you have a cool “campus story” to shout about. Guess what? It’s worth it and it will make you feel great. So use the hashtag #ProudCampusMoment and get the word out on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

This one seems unavoidable. Beyond COVID-19, there is so much happening in the world now, and it has us all on edge. But I like to keep these blog posts directly related to our industry. This is normally a celebratory time in our cycle with classes starting, admissions recruitment travel kicking off, national conferences for rekindling professional relationships, and so much more. However, like most of 2020, this September is quite different and many of us are feeling anxious as a result. It’s important for you to know that this is a very common feeling among your colleagues, and I believe your strength and professionalism will carry you through.

In the meantime, allow me to share a low-commitment method for reducing stress at work. Check out Entrepreneur’s 5 Science-Based Tips for Reducing Work-Related Stress.