you know how colleges are always trying to get more students? That’s called “lead generation” and it’s basically how they find people who might be interested in going to their school.

I was doing some research on this because you know I’m thinking about college and I came across some super cool strategies that I wanted to share with you.

They’re all about using the internet to find and convince people to consider your school.

Tired of your school’s lead gen being as stale as day-old pizza? 🍕 Want to make your school the hottest commodity on the internet? 🔥 Check out these killer lead gen strategies to turn your school’s online presence from a snoozefest to a raging party 🎉

Table of Contents

3 Lead Generation Strategies For Higher Education

The main idea is to build a “lead generation funnel” which is like a step-by-step system to get people interested and then guide them towards applying to your school.

Think of it like a game where you need to level up! It’s way more efficient than just randomly hoping someone stumbles upon your website.

1. Find Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

The first thing you gotta do is figure out what makes your school special.

What are you offering that other schools don’t? You gotta be unique you know? This isn’t about just saying “we have a great education” because everyone says that.

For example there was this school called Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) that was struggling to stand out.

They were mainly targeting traditional students like people right out of high school but then they realized a lot of people are going to college later in life.

So they completely revamped their online program making it super awesome for these “non-traditional” students.

They made it super convenient added a lot of support and boom they had something unique!

You gotta find something similar for your school something that makes it the best choice for a specific group of people.

It’s like figuring out your superpower – what sets you apart from the rest?

2. Understand Your Potential Students Better Than They Understand Themselves

Once you know what makes your school special you gotta figure out how to tell people about it in a way that makes them excited.

And to do that you gotta understand your target audience better than they understand themselves.

Think about it: If you’re trying to sell something to someone you gotta know what they want what their problems are and how your product or service can help them.

It’s like being a mind reader but for marketing!

You can do this by asking questions:

What are their goals? What do they want to achieve in life?
What are their challenges? What are they struggling with?
What are their hopes and fears? What are they excited about and what are they scared of?
What are their values? What’s important to them?

You can get these answers by talking to people in your target audience doing surveys and even analyzing online data to see what they’re searching for.

You gotta know what they’re looking for to show them how your school is the perfect solution.

3. Create a Killer Lead Magnet

Think of a lead magnet as a freebie you give people in exchange for their email address.

It’s a way to get them hooked and let them know you’re offering something valuable.

This could be anything from a downloadable guide to a free webinar a free course or even a physical product.

You could offer a free e-book with tips for getting into college or a free online workshop about different career paths.

Here’s the cool thing: You can even offer a “FREE + shipping” lead magnet where you give them a physical product but they just pay for shipping.

Imagine giving away a cool guide about college life in exchange for a few bucks for shipping.

It’s like saying “Hey I’m so sure you’ll love this I’m willing to give it to you for just a little bit of shipping.”

How to Promote Your Lead Magnet

Now you gotta get people to see this awesome freebie right? You need to advertise it! There are a few ways to do this:

Paid Advertising: This is the easiest way to reach people fast. You can put ads on Facebook Instagram YouTube or even Google to target people who are looking for information about colleges.
Niche Website: Build a website dedicated to your target audience. For example if you’re targeting non-traditional students you could create a website with resources and advice for adults going back to college. Use this website to get free traffic from Google search by writing articles and optimizing it for search engines (SEO).
YouTube Channel: Create a YouTube channel with videos relevant to your target audience. You can share tips success stories or even behind-the-scenes content.

The Value Ladder Sales Funnel

you’ve got people interested and giving you their email addresses.

Now it’s time to convert them into students! The best way to do that is by using a “Value Ladder Sales Funnel.”

Think of it like a staircase.

You start by giving them free value (the lead magnet) then you gradually introduce them to more valuable products and services leading them towards applying to your school.

This is where it gets really fun and strategic.

You can use email marketing webinars and other tools to keep your audience engaged and slowly guide them through the funnel.

It’s about building trust and showing them how your school can help them achieve their goals.

Conclusion

Lead generation for higher education is all about using the internet to connect with potential students and show them why your school is the best choice.

It’s about being creative understanding your audience and building a system to guide them through the decision-making process.

If you use these strategies and put in the work you’ll be able to attract more students and create a brighter future for your school!