Dive Brief:
- Inside Higher Ed profiles the importance of segmenting audiences for higher education marketing, specifically, with emphasis on student types seeking entry-level credentials, students looking to change or earn upward mobility in careers, and those still seeking professional or academic purpose.
- Marketing officials must understand the varying needs of these groups, and avoid catch-all approaches in recruitment and awareness building.
- Similar approaches can be applied to alumni engagement, donor cultivation and corporate investors.
Dive Insight:
Higher education is a unique industry in that most people, even casual observers, believe that they know what institutions do, who they serve, and how they impact the community. However, the general public is not nuanced in the political, social and economic drivers which impact research, student demographics or academic development strategy.
While it is important to engage varying types of students based upon professional interests, it is also beneficial to consider race, ethnicity and social background of communities from which these students are coming. Everyone wants to earn a degree and to get a job, but more than that, students of all ages and races and pursuits want to feel like they are part of a unique community working towards a common objective for everyone involved.