Authentic Campus Tour Video – Bring Campus to Your Prospects
Summer is turning to fall as school starts back. This also means the start to another recruitment cycle in full motion for your institution’s office of admission. Whether your college primarily recruits traditional high school students, community college learners, transfers, military personnel, or other populations, this is also the time of year to get them invested in your campus. Many of your interested students can’t just visit your campus, though. Let’s discuss how important a campus tour video can be in the recruitment process when you personalize properly.
Create an authentic campus tour video
Most likely your institution has paid for a glossy, professionally shot overview video that is displayed prominently on your website. This is helpful to show the beauty and expansiveness of your campus experience. However, this video is experienced the exact same way by every student who comes across your website. You know that the key to engaging a prospective student is through personalization.
With video messaging platforms like Covideo, you can quickly record and send videos wherever you are with your favorite device. Capture a quick video at the on-campus coffee shop showing how to order off the “hidden” menu. Record an intramural flag football game on the quad. Show, in real-time, just how quiet the study rooms in the library are. These videos, which don’t need perfect staging, can encapsulate the true campus experience and you can deliver them specifically to a single student based on interactions you’ve had.
Take personalization to the next level
Most students have grown up immersed in email containing first name tokens and deliberate call-to-action buttons. Did you know that, according to research from Forbes, the top medium used by individuals under the age of 35 is video? Not only can you meet your intended population where they’re at, you can amplify the experience by sending individualized campus tour video messages uniquely created for them.
Ken Anselment, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at Lawrence University, tells Inside Higher Ed, “Some colleges, especially with test optional being in place, have seen applications just balloon. Since they’re not necessarily ramping up staffing, it makes it harder to give the kind of service you hang your hat on.” This makes personalization and attention-to-detail more important than ever.
Write their name on a white board, speak directly to them and reference ongoing topics you’ve communicated about, and then let the power of video strengthen your rapport (along with their affinity for your institution). Do something that a traditional campus tour video never could—zero the institutional experience down to one individual.
The Takeaway
When you are recruiting students, there are a number of different communicative tools you need in your toolbox: handwritten notes, current student interaction, phone calls, social media plugs, and personalizing a campus tour video should be one of the key features you turn to for emotionally powerful, fast-acting opportunities.
