In the increasingly competitive landscape of higher education, branding has never been more important in winning over students. Today’s students are not just choosing a college based on its academic reputation or campus amenities — they are looking for institutions that align with their values, aspirations, and sense of identity. This evolving expectation places branding at the forefront of a college’s ability to attract, engage, and retain students.

This blog explores the importance of branding in higher education, challenges in a diverse landscape, how to engage with a broad spectrum of students, and key elements and strategies for success.

Why Brand Matters More Than Ever

The higher education landscape is facing unprecedented challenges, making strong branding more crucial than ever before:

1. Declining Enrollment: Since 2010, undergraduate enrollment has been steadily declining by about 2% per year. This trend has created a highly competitive environment where institutions must work harder to attract and retain students.
2. Increased Marketing Spend: In response to enrollment challenges, universities are significantly increasing their marketing and advertising budgets. Some institutions are spending upwards of $1-2 million per month on digital marketing campaigns alone.
3. Digital Saturation: With approximately 5.17 billion social media users worldwide, the digital space is more crowded than ever. Students today are digital natives, constantly bombarded with information and advertisements.
4. Shifting Student Values: Gen Z and Gen Alpha aren’t just looking for a place to earn a degree. According to a study by Forbes, 82% of Gen Z pay attention to principles like social advocacy, data protection, and employee treatment when deciding where to spend their money.

These factors underscore a fundamental shift: colleges are no longer just educational entities — they are brands that students actively choose to affiliate with. Your brand encompasses everything from campus life and academic reputation to digital presence and community engagement. Understanding and leveraging this shift is key for marketing professionals in higher education institutions.

By investing in a strong, distinctive brand, colleges and universities can not only weather the challenges of declining enrollment and increased competition but also create lasting connections with students that extend far beyond their years on campus.

Navigating A Diverse Student Spectrum

Now, here’s the hardball. While we can make informed marketing decisions based on these generational behaviors, colleges and universities must account for many types of students within these generations. Each type of student has distinct needs and expectations, making it imperative for institutions to craft a multifaceted brand that resonates across varied audiences. 

Traditional Students

Traditional students often decide based on campus culture, location, and personal interactions, looking for an authentic and immersive college experience. They value the tangible aspects of campus life and seek environments where they can thrive both academically and socially.

Nontraditional Students And Online Learners

For nontraditional students — such as online learners, adult learners, and career changers — the priorities shift toward flexibility, accessibility, and support. Online education removes geographical constraints and campus experiences, making digital branding crucial. The institution’s online presence becomes its primary touchpoint, requiring a user-friendly, informative, and engaging digital experience.

Case Study Highlight: University of Cincinnati Online

UC Online’s branding campaign by Oodle™ highlighted the flexibility and support offered to online learners, focusing on authentic stories from current students and alumni. This approach led to a 23% increase in enrollment leads, demonstrating how tailored higher education branding strategies can effectively engage nontraditional students.

Learn more

Key Elements Of A Compelling College Brand

Developing a college brand strategy is perhaps the most challenging aspect of higher education marketing. In an industry dominated by data-driven decision-making, it’s easy for marketers to focus solely on “ROI” activations — those measurable, short-term tactics that drive immediate results. However, this approach often overlooks the foundational importance of brand building.

The truth is, that a strong brand combined with targeted activations makes everything cheaper and more performant in the long run. It’s the synergy between brand and activation that creates truly effective marketing. Here’s why:

1. Brand as a Force Multiplier: A strong brand acts as a force multiplier for all your marketing efforts. When people already know and trust your brand, they’re more likely to engage with and respond positively to your targeted activations.
2. Lower Customer Acquisition Costs: Over time, a well-established brand can significantly reduce customer acquisition costs. People are more likely to choose a brand they recognize and trust, requiring less convincing (and less ad spend) to convert.
3. Increased Lifetime Value: A strong brand fosters loyalty, which can increase the lifetime value of each student. This could mean they’re more likely to complete their degree, recommend the institution to others, or engage as alumni.
4. Resilience in Challenging Times: In times of crisis or negative publicity, a strong brand provides a reservoir of goodwill that can help an institution weather the storm.

With these benefits in mind, let’s explore the key elements of a compelling college brand in the digital age:

1. Authenticity and Transparency: With information abundance comes authenticity as currency. Students value honesty and transparency more than ever. They want to see real stories of students, alumni, staff, and faculty, highlighting their different experiences and achievements. Authentic branding fosters trust and builds a connection with students, encouraging them to become part of the institution’s narrative. Building authenticity checklist:
   • Share real stories from students, alumni, staff, and faculty across digital platforms.
   • Highlight behind-the-scenes content that offers a glimpse into campus life operations, financial aid, and support services.
   • Be open about challenges and how the institution is addressing them, especially on social media where real-time engagement is expected.
2. Inclusive and Diverse Representation: Representation matters, particularly in the digital space where visual content is king. Your branding materials should reflect your student body’s true diversity and the campus’s inclusive nature. Highlighting different backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives shows prospective students how they will be welcomed and valued.
3. Community and Engagement Building a sense of community is at the heart of any student experience, and this extends to the digital realm. Showcase how your institution fosters connections among students, faculty, staff, and alumni with opportunities like student organizations, campus events, and community service. This encourages engagement and belonging within the brand identity. Creating a community checklist:
   • Showcase student organizations, campus events, support networks, and more through engaging digital content.
   • Highlight close-knit relationships between students, faculty, staff, and alumni on social media platforms.
   • Promote opportunities for student engagement and leadership in both physical and virtual spaces.
4. Consistent Omnichannel Presence: Your brand needs to be consistently represented across all channels — from your website and social media to email communications and virtual events. This consistency helps reinforce your brand identity and makes it easier for prospective students to recognize and connect with your institution wherever they encounter it.
5. Emotional Resonance: While data-driven marketing is important, don’t forget the power of emotional connection. Your brand should evoke feelings and aspirations that resonate with your target audience. This emotional connection can be the deciding factor when students are choosing between institutions with similar offerings.
6. Adaptive Storytelling: The digital landscape is constantly evolving, and so should your brand storytelling. Be prepared to adapt your brand narrative to new platforms and formats as they emerge. This could mean creating short-form video content for platforms like TikTok or leveraging augmented reality for virtual campus tours.
7. Value Proposition Clarity: Your brand needs to clearly communicate your institution’s unique value proposition. What makes your college or university different? Why should a student choose you over other options? This should be crystal clear in all your branding efforts.

Remember, while ROI-driven activations are important, they should be built on the foundation of a strong brand. It’s the combination of both that will drive long-term success in higher education marketing. By focusing on these key elements, you can create a compelling college brand that not only attracts students but also creates a lasting connection that extends far beyond their years on campus.

Strategies To Build A Resonant Brand Identity For Colleges

Now, we get to the fun part. How exactly do we create engaging college branding? The secret sauce is leaning into the elements of authenticity, inclusivity, and community while checking out these strategies.

1. Leverage Digital Storytelling

Incorporate compelling narratives across digital platforms. Use videos, social media, and blogs to tell the stories of your institution’s impact on students’ lives. This approach, known as digital storytelling, is a powerful tool in creating engaging college branding. It allows you to share authentic, relatable stories that resonate with your target audience, extending your brand’s reach and influence. And the proof is in the pudding — according to a case study by Search Engine Watch, storytelling can boost conversion rates by 30%.

Additionally, when crafting these stories, ensure you’re representing both traditional and non-traditional students. Highlight stories of adult learners balancing work, family, and education, or online students leveraging technology to achieve their goals. This inclusive approach helps your brand resonate with a broader audience.

2. Engage With Prospective Students Early

Start building your relationship with students before they even apply. Use targeted content marketing and personalized outreach to connect with prospective students. Provide valuable resources and information that guide them through their college decision-making process so that they’ve already cultivated a positive view of the college’s brand when they get to you.

For non-traditional students, this early engagement should emphasize flexibility, career advancement opportunities, and support services. Create separate content streams or landing pages that speak directly to the needs and concerns of adult learners, online students, and career changers. Highlight how your programs can lead to tangible career outcomes and showcase the value of the degree in the job market.

3. Use Testimonials And Reviews

According to Gen Z Insights, 41% of Gen Zers will read at least five online reviews before making a purchase. And if they’re reading that many reviews for a consumer product that might be $10s or $100s, you bet they’re doing their due diligence for a $40,000+ investment. Testimonials and reviews are powerful tools in establishing trust. You’ll build credibility and appeal by encouraging current students and alumni to share their positive experiences and highlighting these stories prominently on your website and marketing materials. To make this more effective:

• Implement a robust review collection system across various platforms.
• Showcase a diverse range of testimonials that speak to different aspects of the college experience.
• Use video testimonials for added authenticity and engagement.
• Include stories from non-traditional students who have successfully balanced their education with other live commitments. 
• Feature success stories of alumni who have successful career transitions, appealing to career changes and/or adult learners.

4. Partner With Alumni

Alumni are invaluable ambassadors for your brand. Many students plan to network with alumni to get jobs and other opportunities more quickly and easily. Because of this, partnering with your alumni community in your branding efforts is a great way to attract new students and increase your institution’s reputation. They can play a positive role in influencing your brand with success stories and testimonials. Consider:

• Creating an alumni mentorship program for current and prospective students, including specific support for non-traditional students.
• Featuring alumni success stories in your marketing materials and on social media.
• Involving alumni in recruitment events and campus tours, including virtual events for online learners.

5. Cohesive User Experience 

A laser-refined user experience is crucial in driving enrollments. This means eliminating all barriers to entry, regardless of where the student is coming from, and creating cohesive experiences across all touchpoints. Your brand should be consistently represented and easily navigable whether a prospective student is exploring your website, social media, or campus tour.

6. Full-Funnel Approach 

While immediate ROI is important, brand building is a long-term investment that pays dividends throughout the student journey. A full-funnel approach guarantees a more robust and sustainable marketing strategy, where brand awareness and consideration are given as much importance as conversion.

Future-Proofing Your Brand

As the landscape of higher education continues to evolve, so should your college brand strategy. Stay informed about the shifting preferences and values of new generations of students. One of the easiest ways to kill a brand is to continue doing the same things because that’s how it’s always been. 

To future-proof your brand:

• Regularly conduct market research to understand changing student needs and preferences.
• Embrace emerging technologies and platforms where your target audience spends time.
• Develop a flexible brand framework that can adapt to new challenges and opportunities.
• Focus on all the outcomes of having a clear brand to make informed decisions now and in the future.

Build Higher Education Brand Equity and Differentiation 

Crafting a college brand that students will love is more than just about the aesthetics. It’s about creating a meaningful, authentic connection that resonates across student types and caters to their values, aspirations, and digital preferences. Higher education institutions can build a brand that attracts and retains loyal students by focusing on authenticity, inclusivity, and engagement.

In an age where digital marketing often takes center stage, it’s crucial to remember the power of brand building. A strong brand combined with targeted digital activations creates a synergy that makes all marketing efforts more effective and cost-efficient. By investing in your brand, you’re not just attracting students; you’re creating a lasting impression that will serve your institution for years to come.See how Oodle did just that in our recent campaign with the University of Cincinnati Online. Check out our brand case study for more insights into how effective branding can transform your institution too.