A poor digital experience isn’t just frustrating—it directly affects enrollment and can even impact revenue. In today’s competitive landscape, where students have numerous choices, ensuring a seamless and satisfying digital experience for digital marketing in higher education is crucial. Learning to reach a diverse audience is essential for creating smooth digital journeys—from orientation to graduation.
A well-designed digital experience can be a deciding factor for prospective students choosing between institutions and for alumni deciding whether to stay connected. According to recent studies, 79% of students expect personalized experiences when they visit a university website—a seemingly impossible task with hundreds of program offerings, courses, and events, and multiple target audiences (prospective students, current students, alumni, parents, faculty, and staff).
This expectation for personalized content and streamlined navigation is only increasing. Students and alumni expect to find relevant information quickly and intuitively, whether they are exploring program options, checking enrollment deadlines, or registering for alumni events. Using a content management system (CMS) with integrated digital marketing to enhance personalization makes boosting engagement across every part of the student journey as easy as 1, 2, 3. Here’s how.
Reaching prospective students
The student journey starts even before admission—placing your marketing team in charge of recruitment and retention. First impressions are crucial, as prospective students often begin their exploration through digital channels. Marketers can begin by creating SEO-optimized content with target keywords to help students find exactly what they’re looking for. A content management system with SEO integration can simplify this process, ensuring that content ranks well in search engines and reaches students who are actively searching.
Marketers can also track and re-engage prospective students who abandon applications. A recent study found that one in four applications are abandoned by prospective college students. Without automated follow-ups, leads often slip through the cracks, resulting in lost enrollments.
Implementing a CMS with marketing automation capabilities can address this issue by enabling the automated sending of personalized reminders, offering solutions for potential application barriers, and promoting key opportunities such as campus events, deadlines, and registration reminders. These reminders can significantly impact enrollment numbers and build a sense of support for students—even before they set foot on campus.
Setting up current students for success
Your website should offer a clear path to essential content for students with timely updates. However, managing vast volumes of content and channels can quickly become disorganized without a centralized system, risking the loss of crucial information amid various campaigns.
A centralized content management system reduces duplicate efforts and simplifies updates, enhancing the user experience for both marketers and students. Organize content across departments with microsites, providing information from financial offices, student life, and other departments. This ensures that each department can efficiently manage its own information while maintaining a cohesive experience for students.
40% of undergraduate students in the United States now rely on mobile devices to complete coursework—making mobile optimization another crucial factor for your CMS. Students increasingly rely on mobile devices for daily tasks, such as checking schedules, accessing course materials, and staying informed on campus events.
Providing an organized, accessible, and personalized web experience available on desktop or mobile boosts student satisfaction and retention—helping your team achieve better results. Satisfied students are more likely to complete their programs, refer future students, and ultimately become active alumni.
Get alumni involved
Creating meaningful connections with alumni goes beyond regular updates; it’s about offering engagement opportunities that resonate with their desire to stay involved and give back to the university community. Providing alumni-exclusive areas for event registration, career counseling, and mentoring programs keeps alumni engaged and offers value that deepens their connection to the institution.
With user-friendly access to these resources, alumni stay involved and invested in the institution’s success, creating a supportive community that benefits students, graduates, and the university alike. By using their website as a hub for alumni engagement, universities can build lifelong connections that support their mission and strengthen their reputation.
What today’s students and graduates need from your website
Today’s students and graduates expect a website that offers a seamless, user-focused experience. Universities can meet these expectations by implementing a unified CMS with built-in digital marketing tools. A centralized CMS with integrated email marketing, personalization, marketing automation, SEO, mobile responsiveness and mobile channels, allows institutions to design intuitive, tailored experiences for each user group—prospective students, current students, and alumni. This approach not only enhances user satisfaction but also provides the flexibility needed to adjust content and services as expectations evolve.
Adaptability is essential in today’s fast-paced environment, where expectations for real-time, personalized interactions continue to rise. With the right CMS, universities can maintain a dynamic online presence that reflects their commitment to providing a modern, responsive digital experience.
To learn more about optimizing the digital experience, check out our ebook, Empowering educational excellence: 10 steps to a superior digital experience, for actionable insights on elevating your institution’s student journey.
