On this episode, John Azoni was a guest on the Higher Ed Demand Gen podcast with Shiro Hatori. We talked about telling compelling student testimonials.

Key Takeaways:

• Higher ed provides ample opportunity for meaningful, transformational stories that don't exist in the same way in other contexts

• Strong student testimonials have an arc - an "old normal," a turning point, and a "new normal"

• Getting specific in student stories, especially around the turning point, allows prospects to relate on an emotional level

• Authentically communicating student mental health struggles and support services can be powerful storytelling

• Students crave specific content around day-to-day experience, dorm life, food, "day in the life" videos

• Consider leveraging student-generated content for relatability, not just official marketing videos

• Video length is less important than providing value and "resolving something in the viewer's brain"

• Hook the audience by conveying what they'll learn or how they'll relate vs. just introducing the subject

• Repurposing video content into shorter clips, stills, ads etc. can fuel years of content vs. one-off approach

Your audience sees your content far less than you think - don't be afraid to repurpose frequently

LINKS:

Check out the Higher Ed Demand Gen podcast: https://concept3d.com/higher-ed-demand-gen-podcast/

Check out Concept3D: https://concept3d.com

My guest today is Shiro Hatori, Director of DemandGen at Concept3D. In this episode, we discuss data from Concept3D's survey of 500 recently admitted college students that can inform your higher ed storytelling and content creation efforts.

Shiro shares insights on the communication channels students prefer, the importance of virtual tours, addressing students' enrollment fears, and leveraging commencement to capture compelling student stories. If you want to make more data-informed decisions in your higher ed marketing, this episode is for you.

Key Takeaways:

• Students prefer email communication (45%) more than schools expect. Consider increasing use of SMS/text messaging, which students find helpful but schools underutilize.

• 52% of students said virtual tours were very important in their enrollment journey. Virtual tours help students remotely experience your campus before visiting.

• Students' biggest fear is making the wrong choice about where to enroll. Create content to boost their confidence in choosing your school.

• Capture video content and student stories during commencement week to highlight outcomes and plug into your summer melt campaigns.

• Create interactive campus maps to help students and families navigate your campus easily, especially on commencement day. Highlight key locations like parking.

Connect with Shiro:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shiro-h-685a2885/

Higher Ed Demand Gen Podcast:

• (Spotify) https://open.spotify.com/show/3NLyDFcj1AiM5OyzrCNsJE

• (Apple) https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/higher-ed-demand-gen-podcast/id1640562803

Connect with John:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnazoni

• Website: https://unveild.tv

• Newsletter: https://unveild.tv/newsletter