Service Line: Digital Marketing

In higher education marketing, it’s all about meeting prospective students where they are and guiding them every step of the way toward enrollment. That’s the heart of full-funnel marketing. It’s not just a buzzword; it’s a strategic way to nurture prospects from first touchpoint to final decision.

TikTok might have started as a space for viral dances and trends, but that’s not how prospective college students use it anymore. Today, TikTok is influencing real decisions, and that includes where students visit, apply, and enroll.

Reddit awarded Carnegie with a prestigious Reddit Sales Partner Badge. The Sales Partner Badge is awarded to marketing agencies with exceptional achievements and expertise in leveraging Reddit’s advertising solutions to drive impactful results for our higher education clients.

Higher education websites are always evolving—whether you’re adding a new program, updating enrollment deadlines, or tweaking a form field. But many institutions still rely on fragile front-end code that wasn’t built for frequent change. Even small updates can cause big problems, especially when changes happen directly inside the CMS (content management system).

In today’s digital landscape, prospective students aren’t just skimming your website or reading brochures; they’re scrolling through your social media, looking for proof of what your institution is really like. They want to see real stories, genuine experiences, and student voices, not just polished ads. That’s why the most effective higher ed marketing strategies strike a balance: organic content that builds trust paired with paid campaigns that expand reach.

In the constantly evolving world of digital marketing, higher education professionals are always searching for platforms that meet students where they are. Reddit offers a compelling mix of authenticity, community, and search intent that makes it uniquely powerful for higher education marketing.

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is up and running, but do you know how to get data to share with your institution’s stakeholders? There are many standard reports and Explorations in GA4 that can be helpful for higher education marketers, but don’t always answer all the questions you may have.

Reaching today’s prospective students means meeting them in the digital spaces they enjoy most, and doing so with experiences that feel personal, interactive, and fun. For colleges and universities, Snapchat’s augmented reality (AR) ad formats—Filters and Lenses—offer a dynamic way to become part of those everyday moments.

This spring, Meta officially rolled out advertising capabilities on Threads, its new text-based social platform built by the Instagram team. While the rollout is still limited, this marks a major milestone for brands looking to connect with Gen Z audiences in fresh, authentic ways. For colleges and universities, it’s also a signal: now is the time to start thinking seriously about using Threads to support your social media marketing strategy.

Understanding how seasonality shapes the undergraduate enrollment funnel is critical to building effective enrollment marketing strategies in higher education. Each year, student behavior follows a predictable cycle aligned with academic calendars and application deadlines, driving shifts in search volume, intent, and conversion actions across the funnel. From early exploration in the fall to decision-making in the spring, these fluctuations signal when prospective students are researching, applying, or confirming their enrollment.