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Higher education digital teams face unique challenges and opportunities.
It’s always been critical for higher education marketers to stay ahead of the curve, and there’s no sign that this is slowing down. The strength of a solid marketing team can make a huge impact on student recruitment and engagement.
In our time over the last 20+ years, we’ve seen a lot of variety in how universities and colleges organize their higher education marketing team.
But while some digital teams flourish, others struggle. What sets them apart?
This week, we look at several key success factors that drive high-performing digital teams that we’ve come across in the higher education space.
1. Strategic alignment and clear goals
Successful digital teams in higher education align their efforts closely with the institution's overall strategic goals.
This alignment ensures that every digital initiative—from website updates to social media campaigns—contributes meaningfully to the institution’s mission and vision. F
Take universities like Harvard and Stanford as prime examples, that we often reference on this blog.
Their strategic digital marketing efforts consistently reinforce their global brand identity.
These institutions understand the importance of aligning their digital strategies with their core objectives, ensuring that every campaign or content piece serves a larger purpose—be it driving enrollment, promoting research, or enhancing global recognition.
When digital teams are strategically aligned, their efforts become more targeted and impactful, driving greater brand presence and student recruitment success.
2. Effective resource allocation
Resource allocation plays a crucial role in determining the effectiveness of digital teams.
Digital marketing teams can vary from the ‘army of one’ to entire teams with individuals responsible for specific digital marketing activities.
Resource allocation should never be arbitrary.
Whether it’s budgetary resources, staffing, or technology investments, successful teams prioritize resources based on data-driven insights and a clear understanding of return on investment (ROI).
For instance, a mid-sized public university may choose to invest in a new Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to better manage student leads and improve conversion rates. By strategically allocating funds to technology that enhances recruitment efforts, this university could see significant gains in both lead nurturing and student applications.
By being deliberate with resource allocation, digital teams can focus their efforts on initiatives that drive the greatest impact, ensuring that their resources are used effectively to achieve the institution’s goals.
3. Collaborative culture and cross-functional teams
Digital marketing in higher education rarely succeeds when done in isolation.
Success often hinges on collaboration across departments and disciplines within your school.
The most successful digital teams foster an environment where marketing, admissions, IT, and academic departments work together seamlessly.
This collaboration not only enhances the quality of digital initiatives but also ensures a consistent brand experience for prospective students and stakeholders and quality in digital initiatives.
When departments collaborate, digital campaigns have a more holistic and unified approach, ensuring a seamless experience for prospective students.
For example, marketing teams can work with admissions to optimize the student journey, ensuring that every touchpoint—from a website visit to an email campaign—feels aligned with the institution’s values and messaging.
Collaboration not only enhances the quality of digital initiatives but also strengthens the institution’s brand experience, providing a more cohesive narrative for potential students and stakeholders.
4. Data-driven decision making
Data is one of the most valuable assets available to higher education marketing teams. But it’s the quality of the data and how it’s interpreted that will make the difference.
Successful teams use analytics to guide their decisions and refine strategies.
They track metrics such as website traffic, conversion rates, engagement levels on social media, and applicant demographics to refine their strategies continually.
For example, one liberal arts college we worked with used data analytics to personalize email campaigns, resulting in a 20% increase in applications from targeted regions. By analyzing prospective students' interests, geographic locations, and behaviors, the college crafted more targeted messages.
This level of personalization can lead to increased engagement and a higher volume of applications.
By leveraging data to guide decision-making, digital teams can optimize campaigns in real-time, fine-tuning efforts to achieve higher conversion rates, increased engagement, and better overall performance.
5. Agility and adaptability
Whether it’s new developments in SEO best practices, the rise of new social media platforms, or unexpected challenges like a global pandemic, the ability for marketing teams to pivot and adjust is critical.
During the pandemic, for example, many of our university clients had to quickly adapt to virtual tours and online webinars to maintain engagement with prospective students.
Universities that embraced these changes quickly were able to keep up with their recruitment targets and continue to foster student interest.
So remaining adaptable, learning new technologies, and staying ahead of trends is really important.
What does your team need to do that? Maybe individuals need training. Maybe they need a little time to try out new technologies and get comfortable with them. Maybe it’s about fostering a culture of adaptability and agility. Or collaborating with colleagues in other departments to spot changing trends in student behavior.
Whatever way you do it, staying agile allows digital teams to remain relevant and continue driving engagement.
The successful digital marketing teams in higher education that we’ve seen all have this in common: they’re rooted in a combination of strategic alignment, effective resource allocation, collaboration, data-driven decision-making, and agility.
So if you can align these key factors, it makes it that much easier to overcome challenges and seize opportunities in what truly is a highly competitive higher education digital landscape.
Our best advice: Stay informed, stay adaptable, and continue innovating to meet the evolving needs of your audience and institution.
What do you feel makes a digital marketing team successful in 2024? Share your thoughts with us on social media.