Universities can increase their brand presence and student inquiries by creating diverse and engaging content.
To be different from other universities and appeal to students, universities need to have strong content creation and marketing plans.
Why is it important for universities to have a content marketing strategy?
Nowadays, your university’s first point of contact with prospective students is likely to be online. Prospective students will most likely find your university through a social media post, a blog post, or a digital display ad.
It is very important to have high quality content on your website when you are marketing your university to prospective students. This content can attract the right students to your website and provide them with the information they need to decide if your university is the right fit for them.
Content marketing in higher education is a creative process that is being made easier by technology. This allows for less time to be spent on content creation and marketing.
In this guide, we will teach you how to create a higher education content marketing strategy and also share with you some of the best strategies for content marketing for universities in 2022.
Let’s get started…
How to Create a Higher Education Content Marketing Strategy
To be successful in content marketing for your higher education institution, you need to put in time and effort to research what strategies will work best.
To create a content marketing strategy for your university, you should first understand your audience and what kind of content they would be interested in. You should also consider what kind of content would be most effective in reaching your goals. Once you have a good understanding of your audience and your goals, you can start creating content that will help you achieve your objectives.
Step #1: Identifying opportunities for content creation
When you create content, you should have a purpose or goal in mind for what you want to achieve with that content. Don’t just rely on assumptions.
Understanding your audience and what they want is key to success. To come up with content that will engage your audience, you will need to think about what kinds of things they search for online. An effective content marketing strategy begins with research to understand your audience and what they are looking for.
There are a few different ways that you can go about researching keywords that prospective students are using. You can either use free tools, or paid tools. Whichever route you decide to go, you will need to take a look at what keywords or questions students are typing into Google, as well as what they are searching for on your website. Additionally, you will need to determine which content pieces on your website are doing well, and which ones are not.
Perform Keyword Research
When it comes to increasing the visibility of your content, keyword research is essential. Researching keywords can help you not only optimize your existing content, but also create new content.
If you want to do keyword research for your Ph.D. program, you can look for related keywords or key phrases to write content on.
If you research broadly for a keyword like “Ph.D.”, you may find that prospecting students search for the following search phrases:
- Which universities offer part-time Ph.D. programs?
- Is a Ph.D. degree worth it?
- What careers can I get with a Ph.D. program?
- Can I complete my Ph.D. while working?
After coming up with a list of relevant keywords, you can create content that address the needs of potential students.
If you include the right keywords in your content, you can also rank in Google’s featured snippet, which is a special spot on the search engine results page (SERP) that is above the first position.
Ahref, Answer the Public, and Google Keyword Planner are all great tools you can use to help you figure out what content would be great to write.
Step #2: Deciding a content type you want to cover
Conducting keyword research is just the first step in a larger process of creating content. Once you have a list of potential keywords, you need to brainstorm ideas for actual pieces of content. It’s important to keep in mind that some keywords will be more appropriate for certain types of content than others. For example, a blog post, an article, or a guide.
You can find a list of the 10 best universities that offer part-time Ph.D. programs below.
If you want to target specific keywords on your university website, you need to choose different types of content and use different promotion strategies for each one.
Content-type: Blogs
Blogging is a great marketing strategy for colleges and universities.
Wanna know why?
The reason blogs are so effective is because they allow content creators to go in-depth on a topic. This is perfect for answering questions that potential students typically have. Blogs can be long or short, and they can also be written in a list format – the possibilities are endless.
For example, blog posts can be great to cover topics that prospective students searched on Google, like “Can I complete my Ph.D. while working?” This gives higher ed marketers a great opportunity to cover the topic in detail and drive traffic to your website.
Content-type: Articles
Articles are better than blogs for giving detailed coverage of news, research, and interviews. With articles, you can cover research that your university conducted and published, or interviews with students, faculty, or alumni. For example, you could cover an interview with an alum about their experience in your Ph.D. program and how they’re applying their knowledge at work.
Content-type: Web page
Web pages are best for giving out information about a topic, but not for blogging.
Confused?
This website software is beneficial for universities in regards to providing information on academic topics. For example, a website can be created specifically for explaining the details of a Ph.D. program. This main page can then be linked to other pages which provide information on aspects such as the Ph.D. coursework, fees, and faculty.
The web pages for universities should contains extensive details about every university program offered as well as how students can go about enrolling in them. By providing this valuable information, universities can ensure that they are providing adequate resources for students who are interested in attending their school.
Step #3: Write SEO optimized content
If you want to improve your ranking on search engines, focus on creating more content for your website. The more topics you cover, the better your chances will be of appearing in search results.
However, you’ll need to cover content that is optimized for search engines for your university. Don’t worry about the word count – if your content isn’t optimized for search engines, you won’t get any visibility.
In order to generate interest in your degree program, you will need to create content that covers all aspects of the program in detail. This content should be linked back to a central, primary page. By doing this, you will be able to answer many of the prospective students’ questions and encourage them to choose your degree program.
When we talk about SEO optimized content, you must:
- Perform proper keyword research related to your target audience and align your target keywords with how your audience is searching online regarding a given topic.
- Write keyword-focused headings, headlines, meta descriptions, and alt text to attract the right audience to your content.
- Keep track of your content ranking in the SERPs to gauge the health of your content marketing efforts.
- Perform SEO for not just Google, but also for other organic marketing platforms like YouTube. For example, you must optimize your video titles and descriptions for YouTube, which by the way is the 2nd most used search engine right after Google.
- Focus on internal and external linking. Linking to someone else’s content or your own site content, keeps users engaged and helps them find more information they might be looking for. Focusing on linking will bring you more page views across your site, which will really help your SEO.
Step 4: Leveling up your content with thoughtful research and case studies
Universities can use their academic programs and the impact they have on their community as examples when developing high-fidelity content. For example, the research being done at the school can be used to attract and engage prospective students who are interested in conducting similar research.
Your school’s research can be used to create content for your school’s website that is engaging and informative. This can be a great way to showcase your faculty and research experience to prospective students.
The University of Bristol has a research section on their site that showcases different research stories. In each category, viewers can explore various research initiatives that make an impact on the community. The University of Bristol showcases various faculty members and their publications to appeal to dedicated readers.
This text is saying that a blog post with in-depth information on a specific topic can be more engaging than a regular blog post, and can be useful to your audience and your school’s marketing strategy.
If you want to create content that is realistic and lifelike, you can try interviewing thought leaders or students. You could ask them about their stories or what makes them unique. This type of content can be shared in different ways, such as videos or info-graphics.
Step 5: Producing engaging videos as part of content marketing for universities
If you’re a university marketer, you should know that videos are a big part of successful content marketing, and that a video content strategy can really improve your efforts. According to HubSpot, 59% of marketers say that video marketing is at least somewhat effective for reaching their company’s business goals. These videos can help you get your prospects’ attention quickly and show off your school’s unique selling points in a more creative way.
If your school wants to make videos a part of its content marketing strategy, there are a few ways to get started. One is to create and share videos on various school channels. Another is to curate videos created by others that are relevant to your school, and finally, to promote videos through marketing and advertising. All of these approaches can help to create a regular stream of videos that will engage and inform your audience.
The HubSpot research mentioned above shows that 77% of marketers use YouTube to host their marketing videos. Your school can use YouTube, as well as other video platforms, to showcase your videos and invite new prospects to explore your content.
It’s important to remember that creating interactive content is another way to develop high-fidelity content. Your school can produce videos that also use interactive technology to create an even better experience for viewers. This can also encourage them to tell others about your school.
Step 6: Exploring the potential of podcasts in your school’s content marketing strategy
Approximately 62% of Americans have listened to an audio podcast and 79% are at least familiar with them. The same research also predicts that the number of podcast listeners will exceed 160 million in 2023. More and more people are listening to podcasts every year, so it may be worth considering starting one.
As part of content marketing for universities, finding ways to allow your target audience to better engage with your school and its community can be incredibly beneficial. Something as simple as a podcast can enable visitors to hear directly from potential professors and classmates, and in doing so they can learn about exiting research or academic opportunities while also getting a taste of your school’s vibrant student life experience.
The University of Toronto has a page on its website where it shares three different podcasts that appealed to its students.
Higher education podcasts are a great way to engage with your target audience and show them all that your school has to offer. By creating different episodes with various topics, you can demonstrate your expertise and build a sense of community among your prospects, helping you to win more leads.
Step 7: Developing compelling digital guides when embracing content marketing for universities
Digital guides are a great way to interact with your target audience and provide prospects with more value. By creating creative layouts and approaches, your school can produce compelling digital documents, such as brochures, career guides, program outlines, and viewbooks.
You can easily connect with Bishop’s University and explore its publications by going to its website. There, you can access the school’s Viewbook and read the school magazine.
Universities and colleges that want to develop high-quality content can learn from this example. However, before starting new initiatives, it’s beneficial to assess your needs and current performance. This is where a content audit can be helpful. It can provide insights that can improve your school’s content marketing, leading to better student recruitment.
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