Boost College Applications By Reducing Friction In Your Youtube Titles
When you want someone to take an action—submit an application, request information, start an inquiry, or simply watch a video—the last thing you want to do is add unnecessary friction.
Yet many colleges unintentionally make their content harder to engage with, especially on YouTube.
Friction slows people down.
Friction increases uncertainty.
Friction reduces clicks.
And in higher ed marketing—where every micro-action supports enrollment goals—friction is a silent killer of performance.
One of The Most Common Sources of Friction: Vague Video Titles
One of the biggest and easiest-to-fix problems across higher ed YouTube channels is unclear, “mystery box” titles.
These are titles like:
“Meet Sarah Brenarde ’26”
(name changed)
For a prospective student, this raises more questions than it answers:
Who is Sarah?
Why would I want to meet her?
Does she represent a program I care about?
What perspective will she offer?
How is this relevant to my search?
Every unanswered question adds friction—and friction reduces the likelihood of a click.
This “blind box” approach works great for surprise toys.
It does not work for marketing content.
Your Titles Need to Be “Slippery”
A strong video title should make it effortless for a stranger to know exactly what they’ll get if they click. No mystery. No guessing. No cognitive load.
The goal is clarity.
If the earlier example simply added the student’s program name, friction would immediately decrease:
“Meet Sarah Brenarde ’26 — Environmental Science”
This at least signals relevance.
But the real improvement comes when you answer three key questions.
Use This 3-Question Test for Every Video Title
Before you publish, make sure your title clearly communicates:
Who is this person?
What program or area do they represent?
What is their point of view or story angle?
With those questions answered, the title becomes:
“How an Environmental Science Student Found Her Calling in Climate Policy | Sarah Brenarde ’26”
This tells the viewer:
The topic
The program
The story arc
Whether it aligns with their interests
A relevant user is far more likely to click because the title creates a clear expectation.
Don’t Let Confusion Be a Weighted Vest
Your team already put significant time and money into creating the video.
A confusing title acts like a 50-lb weighted vest—unnecessary load that makes it harder for someone to take the action you want.
Remove the weight.
Make the title clear.
Make the click easy.
One More Way to Reduce Friction: Playlists
Titles matter, but playlist organization is just as important.
A well-structured playlist:
Groups related stories
Reduces decision fatigue
Helps viewers find what’s relevant faster
Improves watch time and retention
Creates context for your content ecosystem
St. Olaf College provides a strong example of playlist organization that immediately reduces friction upon landing on their YouTube channel. Check out their playlist titled “College Search 101.”
If you want to dive deeper into Youtube optimization tips like playlists, check out this episode of the Higher Ed Storytelling University podcast - How to Grow on Youtube—Strategies For Higher Education - with Matt Hames from 3 Enrollment Marketing.
Want to Remove Friction From Your Email Nurture Campaigns Too?
Email is another high-friction area for higher ed, especially when guiding prospective students through early decision stages.
In a recent episode of the Higher Ed Storytelling University podcast, Cory Glover (Marketing Cloud Manager at University of Michigan-Dearborn) breaks down simple changes their team made to reduce friction in nurture emails—and saw measurable improvements in results.
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