DOI: 10.7910/dvn/taxbis
title: Higher Education Digital Marketing Trends During COVID-19

description: The global pandemic has affected almost all industries and changed many of the usual rules. The field of higher education is no exception, and this applies both to changes in the education system and their marketing approaches. Educational institutions need to accept the rules of the online world to compete and attract future students. The reputation of an educational institution is no longer enough today, so it's time to pay attention to higher education advertising. There are new trends in higher education that are must-follow when developing winning marketing strategies. Top 5 Digital Marketing Trends During COVID-19 Modern conditions force the need for the higher education industry to implement marketing to college students to attract them. If you are looking for the best ideas for your education marketing, then you should pay attention to the latest digital marketing trends in the promotion. Below you will find 5 main trends for universities branding strategies that you should pay attention to. Emphasize Virtual Content If you have not yet integrated online application systems and knowledge databases into your business processes, then it's time to start digitalization. Both students and applicants should have access to important information at any time and any place. For example, visiting campuses for future students is not currently an affordable option for foreign students. For example, some are unable to come and see the campus due to international travel restrictions. The new technologies are able to create virtual tours and this can solve such problems in the lockdown period. Also, students should receive updated information promptly. This applies to information regarding enrollment, exams, and all changes in the context of COVID-19. It is also worth preparing content that will fully answer the most popular questions of students and applicants. Research the most popular queries and prepare quality content based on those audience requests. Tailor Your Marketing Campaigns to New Market Conditions Since the pandemic forced the digitalization of education, it became possible to recruit students from absolutely anywhere. Therefore, it is important to adapt your strategy to the mass scale. Here are some tips to keep in mind in both highly competitive and crowded markets: Don't expand your geographic presence. Focus your marketing strategy on the home market. This will keep your budget for your advertising strategies. It is recommended that you stay within your country. Create quality content and stop focusing on learning anytime, anywhere. Firstly, almost all competitors use it. Secondly, online learning implies having all of this. Therefore, choose other triggers to attract potential users. Using specialized tools will simplify many processes, get a clear picture of what is happening with your site, and track the SEO activities of competitors. Create Video Content Today, video content is an integral part of an effective marketing strategy. For example, YouTube allows you to increase brand awareness and even boost the effectiveness of SEO. Will video content help in a higher education niche? According to the study, YouTube videos influenced the decision of 27% of teens about their future place of study. For this reason, creating video content is a good opportunity to reach key audiences. How to make it? You can use short video clips about the university, show the life of students, highlight the features of educational programs, or simply answer the most popular questions. At the same time, it is not always necessary to attract people to shoot a video; you can use interesting infographics, data visualization, and animation graphics. Regardless of the video production approach, you choose, integrating video content is a must for digital marketing in higher education. Use Modern Marketing Tools For proper and effective promotion, it is also important to get started with specialized tools that will reinforce your main strategy. Pay attention to tools such as: Google Search Console: This tool will allow you to monitor the ranking of your website in search results. That is, you will be able to see how your users and the search engine evaluate your site, which will be the basis for optimization. Linksmanagement: This platform provides backlinking services, plus, it is a convenient marketing and SEO tool for launching your campaign in this direction. On the platform, you can download the software for free. Ahrefs: With this tool, you can find keywords, measure your site's strengths and weaknesses, and even identify your competitors' backlinks. Focus on Local SEO Promotion Due to the pandemic, it may seem that the local SEO is no longer as relevant as it was before. However, the emphasis on local SEO is something that can bring meaningful results. The situation with the pandemic is very changeable, so there is no guarantee that in the future, most of the usual work will return to the previous mode. Current travel restrictions mean that the local market may be the target audience for you. What is it about? An active online presence in the local market is more promising than targeting an international one. The Bottom Line Getting used to new conditions is a forced measure for the education sector. Online presence and proper promotion will allow to stay afloat and bypass competitors. Use the above trends for your marketing strategy, and keep one more point in mind. Your educational institution should follow the best digitalization practices in education itself as well. Think about offering a flexible learning mode and using the top apps in the process. Otherwise, sophisticated online promotion tactics may look weird to the students.