In the midst of the uncertainty brought on by the coronavirus, certain truths remain:

• This, too, shall pass, and
• You still need your Fall class!

It’s possible to generate leads and drive yield during this time of social distancing, but it won’t be “business as usual.” We can no longer rely on the traditional face-to-face events like admitted student receptions, open houses, and college fairs.

Instead, we need to shift our focus and resources to online strategies. Here are some recommendations and ideas:

1. Generate new leads (yes, they’re out there!) with a Spring-to-Summer online campaign that:
    
   • Sells your institution’s specific success
   • Utilizes the words of students and alumni (authentic peer-to-peer marketing)
   • Reaches students and parents on social (Facebook, Instagram, e.g.), search (Google Ads), and programmatic (geofencing and data targeting) platforms
      
   We’ve seen strong activity this year with Spring campaigns. At Wells College in upstate New York, our campaign has generated 86 direct leads (via 71 forms and 15 phone calls) in 7 weeks. It continues to produce an average of 12 direct leads per week, along with hundreds of indirect leads, including 230 clicks to the website and 6 requests for location details.
   
   Get ahead of the competition. With the uncertainty of coronavirus, it’s likely that most colleges will be recruiting through the summer.
    
2. Drive up Yield with a campaign that reaches your accepted students directly on their mobile devices. Ads that feature personal messages of success (from students and alumni) inspire engagement.
   
   Supplement the campaign with a series of 3-5 yield emails. Again, these should feature the worlds and experiences of students and alumni. They should also center on key institutional selling points (career/life success, affordability, community, e.g.).
    
3. Launch a Close to Home campaign for spring-summer that sells the value of your school to this particular community. The campaign can be designed to reach traditional-aged and adult learners. It should be comprehensive in scope (social, search, and programmatic), but limited in its geographic reach.

If you’re interested in pursuing any of the above, let us know. I’d love to hear your ideas, too!