Digital Marketing for Higher Education with Gordon College
Gordon College is a private, Christian college located on Boston’s North Shore, welcoming undergraduate and graduate students of faith from around the country. Gordon identifies as one of the nation’s top Christian colleges and is the only nationally ranked, multi-denominational institution of higher education in New England.
Photo credit: Mark Spooner
Why is Digital Marketing Effective for Higher Education Clients?
Digital marketing is a game-changer for higher education institutions, enabling schools to connect with prospective students in a more meaningful way. By using online and mobile digital tools and platforms, colleges and universities can attract and retain students, showcase the vibrancy of campus life, and promote their academic programs in greater detail. A strong digital presence allows educational institutions to meet and engage with prospective students where they spend most of their time—online. Targeted ads have been proven to lift brand awareness, guide students and families towards the admissions funnel and ultimately build deeper institution-applicant relationships.
Marketing for Colleges: Campaign Objectives
As the media agency of record for Gordon College since 2021, Richardson Media Group has planned and implemented paid media campaigns in both the traditional and digital advertising categories, both designed to support the school’s robust academic offerings and generate early-stage inquiries from prospective undergraduates, their parents and teachers, and graduate students.
Our Education Marketing Strategy
Our education marketing strategy for Gordon College involves identifying specific target audiences, determining clear key performance indicators (KPIs), and establishing measurable marketing goals. By aligning these objectives with a comprehensive paid media strategy, institutions such as Gordon College will gain a more accurate picture of the competitive marketplace, establish thought leadership, and earn Share of Voice while promoting a clear and consistent message. A well-executed education marketing strategy not only enhances brand visibility but also ensures accountability in regards to paid media delivery.
Campaign Outcomes
As of the end of the 2022-23 recruitment cycle, our advertising campaigns contributed early stage leads that eventually brought Gordon College over 300 additional student applicants. Digital campaigns delivered over 21 million impressions to prospective undergraduate and graduate students and their families. Additional traditional vehicles including outdoor billboards and terrestrial radio around the Boston DMA enhanced the comprehensive digital media campaign, significantly boosting brand awareness by increasing impression delivery in Gordon’s target geographic areas.
From the outset of the 2023-24 fiscal year’s paid media planning effort, our team, with agreement from Gordon’s internal marketing staff, decided to solidify our commitment to digital media, moving 100 percent of the media budget back into paid search, Meta, TikTok, Snapchat, retargeting and mobile geofencing. For fiscal year 2024-25, we’ve forayed into tactics such as mobile gaming, IP targeting, and A/B testing of video creative. Our premise for this admissions cycle is to see multiple layers of digital media work in tandem with one another to achieve higher reach and frequency of impression delivery and ultimately establish Gordon College as the four-year university of choice for students of faith.