As some of your personal New Year’s resolutions may look similar year on year, so too will your university’s resolutions – which could be a good foundation for your goals and KPIs for the year.
1 – Lose weight
While many of us look to shed some pounds after the season of excess, universities will be looking to save some pounds (or dollars, euros, yen, etc). 2016 is the ideal time to drop some of your ineffective approaches to student recruitment and slim down your student marketing efforts to focus on those that really work.
With a new set of goals to strive for, it can be tempting to throw your energy into everything as soon as you get back to work in January. However, taking the time to cut out what was not effective in 2015 will mean that your marketing and recruitment efforts will be more efficient and far more effective in 2016.
Look at content that failed to engage your students, applicants and alumni, as well as promotions or hashtags you ran that didn’t cause much of an increase in traffic or engagement on social media. This will give you a clearer idea of how to slim down and where not to focus your efforts in 2016.
2 – Get fit
Keeping with the gym analogy for a moment, your second New Year’s resolution should be to get fit. Adding strength to your university marketing is best achieved by using the right equipment, such as targeted display advertising and personalised communication via email and social media campaigns. In order to achieve your goals you’ll need to market and evaluate constantly, adapting your workout strategy regularly in order to see the best results. It will be hard work, but as they say: no pain, no gain.
3 – Quit bad habits
Whether you’re looking to give up smoking in the new year or want to stop biting your fingernails, bad habits are hard to shake and you often need some help to quit. Asking for help from an outside agency or consultant can make all the difference when you’re looking to quit the bad habits that are harming the health of your marketing and student recruitment efforts.
4 – Learn something new… this is higher education after all
Learning is at the heart of the higher education industry, and you don’t have to stop learning just because you’re not a student. There will always be new technologies, new trends and new reports produced that will help you learn more about marketing your university to students and growing your pool of applicants.
Make a resolution to sign up to webinars and download reports on industry trends to keep your knowledge up-to-date.
Whatever New Year’s resolutions you make, you’re always welcome to contact us for advice, inspiration or tips.
From everyone here at QS, we wish you a very happy 2016.
