When it comes to motivating high school graduates to enroll in a college or university, Gen Z is proving to be the toughest generation yet. According to a 2023 Gallup and Walton Family Foundation study, Gen Z teens are less likely to say they want to attend college than millennials did when they were their age.
So, it is more important than ever for you and your team to develop an omnichannel marketing campaign utilizing multiple tools to engage and educate these skeptical prospective students about your institution. An omnichannel campaign that integrates direct mail with digital marketing will create a seamless experience for your targeted students, delivering multiple touches while staying consistent to your brand.
Why direct mail, when Gen Z has grown up fully immersed in the digital world and the internet of things?
Studies have shown Gen Z’ers are excited about receiving direct mail. Not only is it a rare experience for them, it looks and feels like something of value!
The key is to use Variable Data Printing (VDP) to personalize each piece of direct mail with specific details like the prospect’s first name and intended major, along with images of students participating in that course of study on your campus, along with your prospect’s favorite sport or activity. For example, you could send a student interested in theater studies photos of a recent college production or send a would-be biology major images of your state-of-the-art labs. The more personal and relevant you make the direct mailer for that particular individual, the more it is likely to boost engagement.
After your prospective student receives the personalized postcard, flyer or other printed piece in the mail, it’s time to follow up with digital marketing such as emails, social media ads and SMS messages that not only reinforce the same themes, but also amplify your message with further information and guidance. Through multiple print and digital touches, your omnichannel marketing campaign can build a strong narrative with prospective students, answer their questions and help to guide them through their decision-making process.
Utilizing data effectively is crucial to effectively personalizing the communications integral to your omnichannel marketing campaign. Be sure to partner with a company with strong data analytics capabilities that can track prospective students’ interests and interactions, enabling you to tailor your communications to be more relevant. Additionally, tracking engagement across multiple channels throughout the campaign can help you identify the most effective tactics and refine your strategy in real time.
At Southeastern, we have found that omnichannel direct-mail campaigns with supplemental digital marketing are 23 to 46 percent more effective for our customers than stand-alone direct mail campaigns. That is why we developed our robust boombox direct mail solution to amplify their marketing strategies and increase ROI.
Boombox begins with our team working with you to create a VDP postcard or other mailing piece to send to targeted mailing lists of prospective students. Direct mail campaigns can be run to demographics such as location, special interests, and other criteria to curate an ideal mailing list. If you are concerned about losing control of your data, don’t be. With Southeastern, you will have complete visibility and control over the process. We use collaborative tools and regular updates to keep you informed and involved at every step.
With boombox, you can choose from a suite of powerful tools to engage your prospective students with multiple print and digital touches while you stay on top of their engagement throughout the campaign. These include Informed Delivery, Social Match, Mail Tracking, Call and Text Tracking, Online Follow Up, Social Media Follow Up and LeadMatch. Visit Southeastern’s website at www.seprint.com to request a boombox demo from our team.
By combining VDP personalization with the power of omnichannel marketing, you will create unique and memorable experience for your strategically targeted prospects, ultimately increasing the chances of turning them into enrolled students – and helping them achieve their dreams.
Source: 2023 Gallup and Walton Family Foundation survey
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