Enrollment Managers: 3 Recommendations for Building an Influencer Marketing Campaign

According to the Digital Marketing Institute, half of consumers depend on influencer recommendations, and 40 percent have made a purchase after seeing a product on social media. 

Students, like consumers, are looking for authentic reviews of what it’s like to attend a particular institution, and they're searching for current student accounts to learn more. In response, more higher education institutions are enlisting their students to be social media ambassadors. As a graduate student completing Northwestern University's Master of Science in Higher Education Administration and Policy and an admissions and financial aid professional, I have found two pieces of content that provide great insight into influencer marketing campaigns in higher education.  

In her Chronicle of Higher Education article “Colleges Find a Low-Cost Marketing Tool: Social-Media Influencers” author Grace Elletson highlights how influencer marketing campaigns are being used by a few dozen institutions around the country. She highlights an influencer-produced video series from the University of Central Florida, as one example, with student ambassadors providing advice to prospective students on the campus' best study spots and how to best transition to college. Elletson discusses how some campuses are leveraging their students' current social media following - a key player behind the "Campus Knights" video series is Sonali Prabhu, a student who entered UCF with 10,000 YouTube subscribers to her channel.

Photo by Rowen Smith on unsplash.com

Megan Rolfs recently launched the second iteration of #YourRedbirdLife, a social media influencer campaign, at Illinois State University. She discusses the challenges of launching the program, how students are compensated and the results of her program in Episode #100 of HelixEducation’s “Enrollment Growth University: Higher Education” podcast. As the director of marketing and communications for the student affairs division at Illinois State, Megan leverages influencers to spread the news of her division on campus. While some colleges offer swag or special perks as compensation for student influencers, Illinois State pays students for five hours a week. The school also requires students to produce a report on their social media activity and to sign an agreement outlining their expected social media conduct.

For higher education institutions considering launching their own influencer marketing campaigns, I would suggest three recommendations.

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•       Address Your Gaps - When choosing a diverse group of influencers, consider which audiences you’re not currently reaching, and strategically choose students who help you address those gaps.
•           Set Expectations - Now that you have your influencing team in place, clearly communicate what you expect of them, and compensate them to maintain their buy-in.
•           Let Authenticity Reign - Give your influencers guidelines, but lean into your students’ authentic voices.

If you’re thinking of taking the plunge and starting your own influencer marketing campaign, keep these three recommendations in mind to better structure your program.

Melissa Sersland is the associate director of graduate admissions and financial aid at Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University. She holds a bachelor's and master's degree in journalism from Northwestern. She is also completing a master's in Higher Education Administration and Policy from Northwestern. Melissa enjoys leveraging her journalism background to help higher education institutions more effectively communicate and engage their audiences.