The air is crisp, college football is back, you’ve got the Crock-Pot in the kitchen, and your counselors are back on the road.
It must be fall!
One thing I constantly heard from our counselors when I was on campus was that visiting high schools was, a lot of the time, a complete waste of time. Kids don’t show up, especially high-achieving students who can’t afford to miss half of AP chem to hear about how great your chem program is.
There might be some truth to that, but I think a big part of the problem with high school visits is that they are under-promoted. You can’t just count on the high school making an announcement or putting up a sign in the cafeteria. You have to make direct contact with your prospects, and sending an e-mail or a postcard just isn’t enough. You have to reach them everywhere they are so they can’t possibly not know you’re coming.
Digital advertising is a great solution.
Here are five targeted ways you can use digital to promote your counselor travel this fall, reaching the audiences you want to reach without breaking the bank.
- Mobile geofencing: Build an audience of students at each high school and promote the dates of your visits on their mobile devices.
- Geotargeting (domestic): Drop a three-mile radius around any high school you’re visiting and layer in behavioral data to ensure you’re targeting students (and parents) who are searching for colleges.
- IP Targeting: For larger markets, target your prospect list in the area by sending specific ads into their homes, reaching anyone using that particular WiFi.
- Geotargeting (international): Target international markets in advance of and following your visits.
- Rooftop targeting (transfer): Deliver ads to anyone using WiFi on a community college campus.
Time is too precious now for the fall travel season to be wasted showing up at high schools where there is no one there to see. Promote your high school visits as much as you can—you’ll have greater attendance and happier counselors as a result.
Follow Eric on Twitter @HigherEdEric