Video Content Creation: Paid & Organic Strategies That Work
We’ve all seen the data: attention spans are shorter, competition for screen time is fierce and the Modern Learner expects a different kind of engagement. They crave content that’s authentic, dynamic and personal – and they’re scrolling past anything that feels like a generic ad.
EducationDynamics’ latest Engaging the Modern Learner Report confirms this: while platform preferences vary by age and learning style, the one constant is a demand for immersive, visually rich short-form video content. Most students engage daily across multiple platforms, drawn to experiences that are as dynamic as they are informative.
So, how do you cut through the noise and prove ROI in the digital environment that demands both innovation and efficiency? The answer is leveraging video marketing as a central pillar of your brand and reputation strategy to drive enrollment.
Explore how to create a strategic video marketing strategy that not only captures attention but also nurtures students from first impression to enrollment.
Why Video Marketing Works in Higher Education
Video is a fundamental part of how people consume information and make decisions. In 2024, the average user watched a staggering 17 hours of online video content per week and that number continues to climb. For higher education, this means meeting prospective students where they are—on platforms like TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.
These platforms are the new frontier for student recruitment, especially with the explosion of short-form video. With nearly 80% of U.S. consumers preferring to watch on their smartphones, the vertical format, quick entertainment and algorithmic reach of platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts make them ideal for grabbing attention in seconds.
Marketers are taking notice of video’s power. Data shows:
Short-form video delivers the highest ROI compared to other marketing trends.
It is expected to receive the most investment in 2025, especially in education, retail and tech industries.
Short-form video is one of the strongest tools in your marketing mix, capable of cutting through the noise and sparking genuine engagement. In a world where students spend 17 hours a week consuming video, grabbing even five seconds of their attention is a meaningful opportunity. The key is making that moment count.
According to our own analysis in the latest Landscape of Higher Education Report, 35% of education website visits start with organic search—proof that discoverability multiplies the value of your video. When short-form content is connected to both organic and paid strategies, it doesn’t just capture attention; it guides students from first impression to enrollment decision.
The Benefits of Video – Paid & Organic
Paid Video Content
Video ads stand out in crowded feeds. Unlike static images or carousel posts, video grabs attention through movement, sound and storytelling. With tools like Meta Ads Manager and TikTok Ads, brands can now target hyper-specific audiences with tailored messaging – delivered via immersive, full-screen video experiences.
Benefits:
Higher click through rates than static ads
Ability to tell stories, show product use, or highlight real people
Increase brand recall by using audio, visuals and emotions together
Great for retargeting campaigns, especially when optimized with engaging hooks and calls to action
Organic Video Content
Organic video content emphasizes authenticity and community. It’s less about polish and more about relatability — behind-the-scenes moments, student stories or candid campus life. These video marketing strategies build trust and long-term engagement, making them powerful tools for enrollment marketing and student recruitment.
Why it works:
Improves SEO by increasing time-on-page
Boosts algorithmic reach on platforms like Instagram and TikTok
Drives repeat engagement and builds emotional connection
Best Practices for Paid vs. Organic Video
Keep it short. People are scrolling fast; we want to make an impact quickly. Every second is geared towards driving action.
Brand quickly. Use your colors fonts and logo in the first few seconds. Viewers should recognize your brand immediately – even with the sound off.
Include a CTA. Every ad should include a direct action: “Apply Now,” “Learn More,” or “Sign Up Today”
Building a Video Marketing Strategy that Impacts the Entire Funnel
Video content marketing is one of the few tools that can guide a prospective student from first impression to enrollment decision. To maximize impact, institutions need a funnel built around higher education marketing strategies that meet students where they are.
Awareness: Sparking Interest
At this stage, students are just starting to explore their options and your goal is to spark interest.
Goal: Reach new audiences and build familiarity.
Content: Short, shareable videos that grab attention quickly.
Example: A trending audio track paired with clips of dorms, campus events and happy students. For a public university, this might be a 15-second TikTok showing the vibrant campus energy on a game day.
Consideration: Standing Out from the Competition
Now they’re weighing their choices and you want to stand out.
Goal: Educate and differentiate from competitors.
Content: Program highlights, student success stories and value callouts.
Example: A 30-second clip of a recent grad from your nursing program talking about how your clinical partnerships helped them land a job in a top hospital.
Pro Tip: EducationDynamics’ Engaging the Modern Learner Report shows that videos on TikTok and LinkedIn have a particularly strong influence on students’ school selection. Strategically placing content on these platforms ensures it reaches students at the moments that matter most.
Lead Generation: Driving Action
This is the moment to be clear and actionable.
Goal: Drive action.
Content: Deadline reminders, application steps and clear, direct messaging.
Example: A concise video ad titled “3 Days Left to Apply: Here’s How,” featuring a direct link to the application portal.
The key is sequencing: sharing the right type of video at the right time, on the platforms where your audience is most active. When done well, a video funnel doesn’t just catch attention. It builds trust, nurtures interest and guides students toward taking the next step.
Video Platform Tips & Attention Spans
Not all platforms reward video the same way and audience behavior changes depending on where they’re watching. To maximize results, adapt your video marketing strategy to each channel by tailoring both length and style. Here’s how to optimize:
Long-form videos perform well on LinkedIn.
Reels and TikToks should stay under 30 seconds.
On Facebook, the average attention span is 2 seconds – hook viewers immediately.
Use captions for accessibility and to reach viewers watching without sound.
Popular aspect ratios are 9:16 or 1:1.
Use trending audio when relevant.
Use engaging thumbnails and headlines.
A Word on Memes (for Organic)
Yes, memes. They might seem casual, but in the right context they can be powerful tools for connecting with students. Today’s learners are fluent in meme culture and meeting them where they are can make your brand feel more approachable and relatable.
Memes are effective because:
They feel familiar and fun
They increase watch time and engagement
They let you communicate messages (like deadlines or events) in unexpected ways.
When thoughtfully woven into your video marketing strategy, memes can add personality and make your institution feel more approachable — a subtle yet powerful way to support student recruitment. The key is staying on-brand and avoiding content that could be misinterpreted.
Tools for Video Creation
CapCut – Templates for quick, customizable videos.
If your university provides B-roll, use it—it instantly adds authenticity and grounds your content in your campus story. And before you hit publish, double-check each platform’s “safe zones” so headlines, calls-to-action and visuals land exactly where viewers can see them. Small details like this can be the difference between a video that blends in and one that captures attention.
Performance Metrics to Track
Whether running paid or organic campaigns, success in video content marketing depends on tracking the right metrics:
Views – How many people are watching.
Engagement – Clicks, likes and comments.
Watch Time – Are they sticking around?
Shares – A powerful driver of awareness.
Investing in your video strategy is an investment in your future students. Modern Learners expect content that is dynamic, engaging and tailored to how they explore, evaluate and make decisions about education. Short-form videos and authentic storytelling aren’t optional anymore. They are essential for capturing attention and building meaningful connections.
At EducationDynamics, our marketing and creative teams specialize in higher education marketing strategies that integrate video content marketing across channels to boost visibility, engagement and enrollment outcomes. Whether you’re looking for a higher education marketing agency to manage a comprehensive video marketing strategy or simply seeking inspiration from the latest video marketing examples, we help institutions connect the right message to the right student at the right time.
Paid search marketing has always played a central role in how students find and engage with colleges and universities. But how students search and what they expect from the experience has fundamentally changed. Today’s Modern Learners are digital-first and highly discerning, which raises the stakes for any higher education marketing strategy, especially when it comes to search visibility. Modern Learners are not just typing in keywords; they’re asking complex questions and increasingly expect fast, relevant answers that feel tailored to their individual goals.
In this new reality, search is no longer just a tool; it is your institution’s reputational front door. For many students, the first impression comes from your search presence—whether your institution appears at all, and what shows up when it does. This moment shapes how they perceive your brand and can influence their decision to engage further.
With advancements such as Google’s AI Overview and AI Mode, the line between paid and organic results is disappearing. These features pull from multiple sources to deliver a single, curated response designed to satisfy intent rather than merely match keywords. This means your search strategy can no longer operate in silos. Paid and organic efforts must work in tandem, and both need to be structured around how students actually search, not how institutions are used to marketing.
Yet, many institutions still rely on legacy paid search strategies that are fragmented and overly focused on isolated keywords. These outdated tactics often miss the nuance of modern search behavior, leading to underperformance and missed opportunities.
This is especially critical during a time when marketing budgets are under pressure and visibility is harder to earn. To remain competitive, higher ed marketers need to reimagine paid search not as a list of bid terms or ad placements, but as a strategic channel that influences both enrollment outcomes and institutional reputation. What’s at stake isn’t just performance. It’s how your brand is perceived in the channels that matter most.
Intent Is the New Currency of Paid Search
Paid search has long been valued for its ability to deliver results quickly and cost-effectively. But in today’s environment, true efficiency means more than just driving volume through simply targeting the right keywords. Today, successful campaigns are built around understanding and aligning with the why behind a student’s search, not just the what.
That’s where intent becomes essential. Intent reveals what a prospective student is trying to accomplish, what stage of the decision process they’re in and what they expect from their educational experiences. With today’s AI-powered platforms, marketers can now interpret and respond to this intent with greater precision than ever before.
Modern tools like Performance Max—Google’s fully automated, goal-based ad campaign—and Broad Match—its flexible keyword matching option—draw from a range of real-time signals like device type, browsing behavior, location, and time of day. These platforms use that context to determine not just who to reach, but how and when to deliver the most relevant message.
This shift is especially important when engaging adult and online learners. These prospective students often search in short, focused bursts across devices and platforms. Intent-based targeting helps ensure your message appears at the right moment, when a prospective student is most open to taking the next step.
The benefit goes beyond smarter targeting. Institutions that embrace intent-based strategies often see improved efficiency, stronger lead quality and a higher return on investment. More importantly, they’re creating a search experience that meets students where they are.
For higher education marketers, this requires a mindset shift. Paid search is no longer about chasing keywords or building lengthy lists of terms. It’s about reading behavior, responding with context and building relevance. Those who adapt to this new model will be better positioned to influence outcomes and build lasting brand reputations.
Why Over-Segmentation Hurts AI Performance
Aligning with student intent requires more than new tools—it requires rethinking how campaigns are structured. That’s where over-segmentation becomes a critical barrier. Not long ago, higher education marketing professionals found success by keeping campaigns tightly focused. You’d build detailed audience segments, carefully tailor your messaging and control every aspect of targeting. It worked well in a time when more control often meant better results.
That playbook doesn’t hold up in today’s AI-driven paid media environment. In fact, over segmentation actively holds your campaigns back.
AI performs best when it’s given space to learn and optimize. It needs strong signals, such as first-party data, clear conversion goals and smart bidding strategies, to work effectively. Overly narrow targeting and rigid parameters create inefficiencies and limit performance.
That’s why marketers should focus less on segmentation and more on supplying clear, meaningful data that helps AI reach the right students and drive outcomes like increased inquiries and stronger application intent.
At the same time, student journeys have changed. Modern Learners aren’t moving through the funnel in linear paths. Ther research process is fast-paced and shaped by real-life pressures like work schedules, finances and family responsibilities.
Prospective students don’t just want more content—they want information that’s relevant to their needs and arrives when it matters most. Modern paid media strategies must move beyond simple demographics to focus on behaviors, intent and how students search.
Transforming Strategy Into Results
As search evolves, so too must the role of the higher ed marketer. In today’s AI-driven landscape, students are exploring their options in more nuanced ways. To keep pace, marketing strategies must shift from keyword-first thinking to approaches that prioritize context, content and the student journey. Here’s how forward-thinking teams are putting that into action:
AI works best when it has strong signals to learn from. That means it’s often more effective to group campaigns by intent rather than breaking them up by individual programs or markets. For example, grouping similar programs together can help your budget go further by focusing on where there’s actual search demand, even if it means less control over specific program-level results.
Content That Works Harder
When you’re working in a keywordless environment, your content does the targeting. Search platforms rely on your landing pages, headlines and descriptions to understand what you offer and who you want to reach. That’s why clear, relevant content is critical. The schools seeing the best results are the ones creating content that aligns with what students are actually searching for.
Making the Most of First-Party Data
Performance Max campaigns are especially powerful when they’re fueled by high-quality first-party data. Feeding in enrollment signals, audience segments and behavioral insights allows AI to deliver more personalized outreach across platforms. This enhances reach and efficiency without compromising targeting precision.
Scaling with AI Max and Broad Match
New tools like AI Max are opening doors to even more automation. AI Max combines broad match, keywordless targeting and AI-generated creative to help schools reach students in AI-driven placements. Paired with the right paid search strategy, Broad Match helps your content appear in the natural, conversational queries students actually use.
Aligning Paid and Organic Strategies
The strongest higher education marketing strategies bring paid search marketing and organic search marketing under one roof. When teams align on landing pages, keywords and messaging, both channels amplify each other—driving more qualified traffic, improving conversions and boosting visibility across search results. This gives AI clearer context and helps create a smoother experience for students.
Continuous Testing and Learning
AI doesn’t mean putting things on autopilot. The best results come when marketers stay involved—testing creative, improving landing pages and updating their audience signals. All of that helps the AI learn and get better over time.
When campaigns are built around clear intent and fueled by rich data and relevant content, AI moves beyond automation—it becomes a strategic partner. This empowers institutions to reach the right students with precision, reduce wasted spend and create meaningful connections that drive enrollment success.
Harness AI to Amplify Your Team’s Impact
AI isn’t here to replace your marketing team. Instead, it helps them work smarter and focus on what really matters. AI tools take care of the routine tasks like adjusting bids, testing creative and targeting audiences in real time. This gives your marketers more time to concentrate on strategy, keeping your brand consistent, understanding student journeys and improving conversions.
This partnership between marketers and AI is the future of higher ed marketing. Adapting your strategy to today’s search landscape helps strengthen both your enrollment pipeline and your brand foundation.
At EducationDynamics, we think differently about AI’s potential to power higher education marketing teams by combining creativity, data-driven insight and technology to drive meaningful growth.
This is more than just a new way to run campaigns. It’s a shift toward meeting students more effectively—aligning enrollment and brand goals in a way that builds trust, boosts visibility and drives lasting success.
Colleges and universities continue to compete for attention across countless platforms; this scattershot approach often comes at the expense of cohesion. But simply adding more content—made easy within the decentralized environment of many campuses—isn’t a solution to deeper strategic and directional challenges. In the famous words of Merry Baskin, “Like a shark, brands must move forward or die.” For colleges and universities, that forward motion begins with centering courageous, strategic creativity as a core operating principle and with higher education marketing leaders creating a system to ensure all are moving in the correct direction.
I have argued that creativity continues to drive commercial value, however, investing in the intangible up front can be difficult when budgets remain static. So, our focus isn’t on only proving that creativity adds value but also showing how investing in it up front can maximize the value it creates. We need a framework for higher ed marketing leaders to establish a system for defining and embedding a culture of creativity across teams. This will help teams create more effective work and collaborate with agencies in support of institutional goals.
Modeled loosely on WARC’s creative effectiveness ladder, this three-phase framework should help marketing leaders not only spark creativity but also systematize it as a shared method. First, start by defining what creativity means within our unique institutional contexts instead of a loose collection of ideas. Then, develop the systems, roles and language that bring that definition to life. Finally, diffuse those practices across teams and departments to embed creativity into the fabric of institutional strategy.
Step 1: Define
Start by establishing the foundation for creative effectiveness by aligning on what creativity means, how it’s measured and why it matters. This will bring clarity to metrics, principles and strategic outcomes so creative work can be evaluated with purpose.
Create a shared set of key measures for creative effectiveness
Marketing leaders must establish clear, institution-specific indicators of what effective creativity looks like. No matter how rigorous the approach, consistent application and ensuring these measures are aligned are most important. Example measures include:
Brand recall: Did prospective students or alumni remember the name of the institution after seeing an ad? This indicates a clear connection to the brand.
Distinctiveness scores: In focus groups, ask audiences to compare your marketing to peer institutions—does your work stand out or feel generic? No matter the medium, attention is the first barrier to more effective work.
Determine principles of creative effectiveness
Determining principles of creative effectiveness means articulating the core beliefs and standards that guide all creative work across the institution. These principles serve as guardrails—ensuring that creativity remains consistent, purposeful and aligned with institutional values. When widely understood and adopted, they help teams evaluate work objectively and make more confident, collaborative decisions. Examples can be directional:
Brand prominence: Brand or branding must be present within the first three seconds.
Distinctive assets: Consistently use the school’s signature color palette, typeface and photographic style—even on social platforms—to maintain visual recognition. Stay on brand, not on trend.
Commit to creativity: Use longer durations, more media channels and consistent storytelling over time to drive cumulative impact.
Emotional truth wins: Campaigns should connect emotionally with audiences; stories of real students often outperform statistics.
Align key measures of effectiveness to marketing KPIs
Marketing leaders should evaluate creative work using engagement-based metrics—such as time on page, view-through rates, social saves and content shares. These go beyond impressions to signal true resonance and provide a shared set of indicators for what effective creativity looks like in practice.
Step 2: Develop
Once effectiveness is clearly defined, leadership should build the internal systems to support and scale it. This phase is about ensuring teams are equipped to execute in practice.
Identify critical roles within the institution
First develop a network of collaborators: content producers, enrollment leaders, advancement partners, institutional researchers and/or agency teams. Map out who holds creative influence across the institution and define the roles they play in shaping, supporting and evaluating creative work. Clarity will empower contributors and reinforce accountability.
Create a shared language for evaluation
Marketing leaders need a consistent, responsive way to evaluate creative work. By building in intentional check-ins throughout the creative process, teams can replace feelings with shared language that sharpens feedback and improves outcomes.
Leaders should consider three stages of evaluation:
Pretest: Introduce a lightweight, consistent method to test creative ideas before launch. This might include quick student feedback loops, internal scoring rubrics or pilot testing in key markets.
Platform: Centralize creative assets, guidelines and effectiveness learnings into a shared, accessible platform.
Pulse: Establish a regular cadence for reviewing the performance of creative work both in-market and in internal perception.
Step 3: Diffuse
With creativity defined and the right systems in place, the final step is to diffuse that culture across the institution. To drive real institutional value, creative effectiveness must be shared, socialized and scaled across departments, disciplines and decision-makers.
Identify key working groups to deliver creativity workshops
Start by identifying key teams or departments—enrollment, advancement, student life, academic units—that shape public-facing messages or student experiences. Bring them into the fold through collaborative workshops that unpack creative principles, show examples of effective work and introduce shared evaluation tools.
Develop measurement frameworks aligned to department-level KPIs
Creativity becomes powerful when its effectiveness is measured in context. That means helping individual departments or units tie creative performance to their own goals—whether it’s growing attendance at student events, boosting open rates on fundraising emails or improving reputation scores for a new academic program. By co-creating simple measurement frameworks with each team, marketing leaders position creativity as a strategic asset.
Build a best-in-class repository for cross-campus learning
Finally, celebrate and scale what works. Create a living archive of standout creative work, from bold campaigns to scrappy social posts that have delivered results. Share the backstory: What was the challenge? What was the idea? What impact did it have? This becomes a source of inspiration, a tool for onboarding new team members and a tangible way to reinforce these new values.
By defining what creativity means, developing the systems to support it and diffusing its value across campus, marketing leaders can turn creativity into a measurable, repeatable driver of effectiveness.
Christopher Huebner is a director of strategy at SimpsonScarborough.
As higher education navigates rapid change, the Meltwater Summit, held in New York City in May, was a gathering of creative minds, brand leaders and technology experts. The Summit made one thing clear: compelling storytelling, intentional branding and the thoughtful use of artificial intelligence are interconnected forces that shape lasting reputations. Institutions that invest in purposeful content and strategic technology integration are best positioned to lead with both credibility and measurable impact, connecting brand reputation and revenue growth as part of a unified strategy.
Meltwater is a leading platform in media intelligence, powering reputation management, press monitoring and social listening. At EducationDynamics, we use Meltwater to uncover trends, track brand perception and guide strategies across channels for our partners.
This year, I had the opportunity to attend the Meltwater Summit—a two-day event designed for marketing and communications professionals focusing on how data and creativity shape brand strategy. In my role as Senior Social & Visual Strategist at EducationDynamics, I was especially tuned into the evolving role of social media.
The conversations throughout the Summit reaffirmed the importance of developing content strategies that are cohesive, intentional and fully aligned with broader brand goals. Explore the key takeaways we gathered from the event and how they can benefit higher education marketers.
Reese Witherspoon set the tone with a powerful opening session, delivering honest reflection on the nature of creativity. Creativity is constantly flowing but rarely on a set schedule. The challenge isn’t finding ideas—it is cultivating the environment and carving out dedicated time for them to flourish. The solution? Clear, consistent and intentional communication. Whether you’re bridging teams or brainstorming with collaborators, creating space for dialogue is what truly transforms good ideas into great ones.
What we learned about the creative process is clear: creativity is not merely a component but a foundational pillar of your university’s reputation. When internal teams collaborate, align and ideate together, they build a cohesive and authentic brand that shapes how your institution is seen from the outside.
Moreover, it is important to recognize that your organic social efforts, website content, press releases and all other communications are not isolated channels. They form an interconnected ecosystem. Each piece of content plays a role within a broader narrative of your institution’s reputation. Thinking holistically about how every element comes together and ensures that your university’s story is consistent and impactful at every touchpoint.
For university marketing leaders and content managers, content should do more than fill space—it should move the needle. Every asset should align with your broader strategy, reinforce your institution’s brand and serve at least one of the following purposes:
Educate: Share timely, valuable information your audience can trust.
Engage: Spark genuine conversation and connection.
Encourage: Motivate your audience to act, advocate, or explore further.
Today’s Modern Learners seek content that not only informs but also resonates with their experiences and aspirations. Whether showcasing everyday moments or navigating a crisis, having a clear plan—and a designated point of contact—ensures your team can respond with timely, thoughtful responses.
As you develop your content, ask yourself: Does this content deepen connection, build school pride or inform? Does it strengthen our institution’s reputation? If it does not accomplish any of this, you are just creating noise.
Success in today’s digital landscape demands intentionality. It is not just about telling stories—it is about using every piece of content strategically to shape perception, deepen engagement and build a brand that endures.
To build a brand that endures, every content piece should be seen as an opportunity to reinforce your institution’s voice and values. Strategic content creation, especially through organic social, plays a vital role in shaping how your audience connects with and trusts your brand.
When aligned intentionally, organic social media is a powerful channel that strengthens brand affinity while complementing awareness and digital marketing efforts across multiple channels. Creative content marketing, particularly in video, continues to grow in importance as a relevant medium for establishing reputation. Today’s audiences prefer content that feels authentic and emotionally resonant. To capture that depth, institutions should plan how content will be used across multiple channels. For example, to get the most out of every filming session, aim to capture:
A core message or question
Authentic behind-the-scenes footage
Action shots
Introductory context
Relatable soundbites
These assets do more than fill channels. They bring your strategy to life across multiple touchpoints in a format that is both attention-grabbing and engaging. When your content reflects lived experiences and community voices, it fosters trust and connection. In today’s crowded digital space, trust is a vital currency that drives reputation and results.
No conference in 2025 is complete without discussions of AI. Throughout the Summit, AI was highlighted as a powerful ally, particularly when leveraged within the content creation process. One key tactic shared was the “sandwich approach,” a straightforward framework for combining human creativity with AI support:
Draft with Intent: Outline your core message and ideas based on your expertise.
Expand with AI: Use AI tools to generate variations, improve clarity or explore new angles.
Refine with Purpose: Edit and polish AI-enhanced content to match your brand voice and audience.
Strong results also depend on clear, detailed prompts. Providing AI with context like tone, audience and format helps produce relevant output. Beyond content creation, AI can streamline workflows, freeing marketers to focus on strategy and adding creative touches.
At EducationDynamics, we view AI as a collaborative tool that boosts efficiency and creativity. It serves as a jump-off point, not the final destination, supporting the work driven by our team’s vision.
Meltwater reinforced that when AI is thoughtfully integrated into the creative process, it does not replace your unique insight. Instead, it amplifies it, freeing your team to focus on the meaningful and strategic work that shapes your institution’s brand.
If one message stood out at this year’s Meltwater Summit, it was that creativity and strategic content creation are essential to building a compelling strong and enduring reputation.
The institutions best positioned to thrive are those that engage their audiences intentionally, invest in the right technologies and meet the Modern Learner where they are.
Purposeful creation begins with understanding your community, amplifying their voices and delivering value through every interaction. As a higher education marketing agency, we empower institutions to transform attention into enrollment and inspire students to become advocates.
Your institution already has the foundation: vision, community and purpose. With the right tools and the right partner, you can turn that foundation into measurable growth that aligns with your goals. If you are ready to grow with intention and engage on a deeper level, EducationDynamics is here to support you.
In an era where higher education faces unprecedented challenges and opportunities, the recent Meltwater Summit offered crucial insights for leaders navigating a rapidly changing landscape. This gathering of creative minds, brand leaders and technology experts explored the critical intersection of compelling storytelling, branding and the power of artificial intelligence. Explore strategic takeaways poised to reshape how institutions connect with prospective students, build brand equity and harness AI to drive creative processes.
Creativity Flows with You
Reese Witherspoon set the tone with an honest reflection on the nature of creativity: it’s constantly flowing but rarely on a set schedule. The challenge isn’t finding ideas—it’s cultivating the environment and carving out dedicated time for them to flourish. The solution? Clear, consistent and intentional communication. Whether you’re bridging teams or brainstorming with collaborators, creating space for dialogue is what truly transforms good ideas into great ones. At EducationDynamics, we aren’t just completing tasks; we are constantly collaborating with each of our partners to ensure we produce the best content possible. Our solutions span creative services, brand strategy, awareness marketing and more—turning inspiration into action and strategy into results.
AI: A Teammate, Not a Replacement
AI emerged as a powerful ally throughout Meltwater Summit sessions, particularly when leveraged for the content creation process. One standout tactic shared was the “sandwich approach” to content creation, a straightforward framework for combining human creativity with AI support:
Draft with Intent: Begin by outlining your core message or ideas. This first layer is where your expertise and objectives take shape, setting the foundation for compelling content.
Expand with AI: Use AI tools to build upon your draft—generating copy variations, enhancing clarity or exploring new angles you may not have considered.
Refine with Purpose: Continue to refine and rework AI-enhanced content through your own lens. Strengthen the structure, sharpen the voice and align it with your audience and brand tone. Great content takes more than one pass; it’s built through deliberate iteration.
The takeaway was clear—AI isn’t here to replace your creativity. It should be used to to amplify it. When used intentionally, it becomes a partner in the process, helping ideas take shape faster than before.
At EducationDynamics, we embrace AI as a collaborative tool that helps streamline ideation and improve efficiency. It should be a jump-off point, not a final destination, supporting the creative process without replacing the human insight that drives it.
Prompt Writing with AI
AI can be an amazing content marketing tool, especially when used to generate fresh ideas, streamline workflows, and tailor messaging for specific audiences. In order to achieve these goals using AI, effective prompt writing is also a critical asset.
While a typical Google search might consist of just a few words, an effective AI prompt can span hundreds. The more detail you provide, the better your results will be. Don’t hesitate to ask AI to evaluate or improve your original prompt; collaboration is your asset when using AI. Treat an AI assistant as a teammate. Work with it, and understand it is there to work the foundation, not complete it.
Important Tip: Protect your data. Avoid sharing sensitive information with public AI tools, and use secure, private systems that align with your institution’s compliance and governance policies.
Smarter Workflows with AI
AI isn’t just for writing. It can streamline your entire workflow. From summarizing analytics and setting alerts for media mentions to helping coordinate across teams, AI is becoming an indispensable partner in day-to-day operations.
The takeaway: AI won’t take your job—but it might take over the tasks that are holding you back from your best work.
Content That Captures and Connects
Creative content marketing has the power to elevate your institution’s voice and drive meaningful engagement across platforms. Today’s most effective content does more than inform; it creates an emotional connection. That means capturing content that feels real, engaging and multi-layered. Even one filming session can yield a wealth of valuable content. In each filming session, aim to produce the following:
A core message or question
Authentic behind-the-scenes footage
At EducationDynamics, our creative services span the full content spectrum—including Organic Social strategies designed to help institutions tell their stories in ways that resonate and inspire, reaching students right at their fingertips.
Strategic Content Planning
For university marketing leaders and content marketing managers alike, every piece of content should align with your larger content calendar and overarching brand goals. Don’t post just to fill the gap. Each piece should serve one (or more) of three purposes:
Educate: Deliver useful and relevant information.
Engage: Spark genuine conversation and connection.
Encourage: Motivate your audience to act, advocate, or explore further
In higher education, for example, students crave content that both informs and resonates emotionally. Whether highlighting everyday moments or preparing for crisis communication, a plan—and a designated point of contact—ensures you can respond quickly and effectively.
Always ask: How does this content deepen connections, build school pride or inform? You’re not just telling a story—you’re shaping your institution’s impact.
Build With Intention
From AI integration to authentic content creation, one message echoed throughout this year’s Meltwater Summit: success in today’s digital world means being intentional.
The institutions that thrive are the ones building with purpose, thoughtfully engaging audiences and effectively leveraging technology. They listen, adapt and invest in strategies that meet the Modern Learner where they are, contributing to overall brand health and engagement.
Purposeful creation begins with understanding your community, amplifying their voices and delivering value through every interaction. As a higher education marketing agency, we empower institutions to transform attention into enrollment and inspire students to become advocates.
Your institution has the foundation: vision, community and purpose. With the right tools and the right partner, you can turn that foundation into measurable growth that aligns with your goals. If you are ready to grow with intention and engage on a deeper level, EducationDynamics is here to support you.
The year is 2025, and the influence of a rapidly evolving social media space in shaping education marketing campaigns is as critical as ever. While it has undoubtedly brought up several opportunities for those in the picture, it has also thrown up a few challenges that require the right gears to navigate. The stats are quite interesting: An increasing number of Gen Z users now turn to TikTok and Instagram as search tools, often preferring them over Google for quick information and exploration. This simply means that having a social presence for your school is no longer open to debate, it is an absolute necessity.
Today’s prospective students spend a lot of time browsing through multiple social media platforms. They make key decisions about their academic future based on what they see on these platforms. This is why an active social media presence is a key part of today’s educational marketing campaigns. However, beyond being active on these platforms, it takes a deliberate and strategic social marketing strategy to curate and create winning margins in this space.
At Higher Education Marketing Agency, we have several years of experience helping schools navigate the social space, converting interest into enrollment, and producing positive outcomes for many schools. Our personal, tested, and tried social media playbook for education marketers combines insights from leading education marketing experts with real-world examples. This playbook is designed to help your institution not just survive but thrive in today’s digital ecosystem. Read on to find out how.
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The New Social Landscape: Multiple Platforms, Multiple Touchpoints
With social media evolving and becoming even more powerful, it is no longer a good idea to focus all your school’s attention on one platform. Today’s prospective students split most of their time among different platforms, and that’s why schools must be visible everywhere.
Prospective students might discover your school through a friend’s TikTok, research your programs on Instagram, watch alumni testimonials on YouTube, and check what parents are saying about you on Facebook, all before visiting your website. Your presence on each of these social media platforms will offer you unique opportunities to engage with different audiences.
Here’s a brief outline of the roles that different social media trends and platforms can play in your education marketing efforts.
Instagram: Great for visual storytelling, event promotions, and engaging reels showing student experiences.
TikTok: Ideal for short, fun, and informative content that drives brand awareness among younger audiences.
YouTube: The best place to show long-form videos, student testimonials, virtual tours, and other educational content.
Facebook: Essential for connecting with parents, alums, and local communities.
LinkedIn: Great for professional connections and showing academic credibility, targeting parents and graduate prospects.
While having a presence across key platforms is essential, mastering the content formats that resonate most, particularly short-form video, has become equally critical.
Example: John Cabot University offers virtual tours of its campuses, some of which you’ll find via its social media pages, YouTube, and straight off its website.
The influence of short-form video in shaping social media trends is at an all-time high today. Gen Z and Gen Alpha consume information fast, they don’t want to watch traditional ads or sit through long videos all day. Prospective students want to see what life at a school looks like in under 60 seconds.
A large number of these students now turn to TikTok and its bite-sized videos for everything from study tips to campus tours. This is why things like TikTok and Instagram Reels have become key for student recruitment, school branding, and engagement.
“Your goal is to freeze the thumb,” as one marketing expert puts it, creating content compelling enough to make someone stop scrolling.For best results, it is crucial to create educational short-form videos along these lines:
1. Day-in-the-life glimpses: A student takes viewers through their campus routine
2. Quick tips/educational snippets: A professor explaining a complex concept in 30 seconds
3. Behind-the-scenes peeks: Showing areas of campus rarely seen on official tours
4. Celebration moments: Capturing authentic reactions during events like graduation or move-in day
5. “Did you know” facts about your institution’s unique features or history
How can schools use short-form video to attract students? The key to creating winning short-form videos is to go for authenticity. Start by identifying what makes your institution stand out, whether it’s a unique program, a beloved campus tradition, or exceptional career outcomes.
You can then showcase these elements through quick, visually engaging stories highlighting your unique value proposition.
The Authenticity Advantage: User-Generated Content
The content created by your existing community is a powerful tool for building trust and driving engagement. User-generated content (UGC) from students, faculty, and alumni offers authentic perspectives as it comes from a real person, hence its effectiveness. Research shows that 84% of consumers trust UGC more than polished advertisements.
How can we get user-generated content from students? One proven strategy in this line is to allow a student to manage your school’s Instagram Stories for a day, sharing their authentic campus experience. These glimpses into real student life help prospective students envision themselves at your institution in ways that traditional marketing cannot achieve.
Here are some ways to incorporate UGC in your education marketing efforts:
Find your existing ambassadors: Search your school’s hashtags and location tags to find students already creating content about your institution. These natural enthusiasts often make the best collaborators.
Create participation opportunities: Develop challenges, contests, or hashtag campaigns encouraging content creation. For example, a “#MyFirstDayAt[YourSchool]” campaign can generate authentic content while welcoming new students.
Feature diverse voices: Ensure your UGC represents various perspectives, undergraduate and graduate students, international students, faculty members, alumni at different career stages, and parents.
Provide gentle guidance without controlling: When working with student content creators, provide general themes or questions but allow their authentic voice to shine through. Over-scripting defeats the purpose.
Amplify and appreciate contributors: Always credit creators when sharing their content and express genuine appreciation. This encourages continued participation while signaling to others that their contributions are valued.
Example: Harvey Mudd College frequently posts user-generated content of its students on its social media pages, like this one featuring a day-in-the-life of a sophomore engineering student posted on TikTok.
Social Media as Search Engines: Optimizing for Discoverability
Today, social media platforms are increasingly taking on the role of search engines for young people. Two-thirds of Gen Z use social platforms to research topics, including potential schools. A teenager is more likely to find your school by watching videos and posts on TikTok or Instagram than by visiting your website or Googling the school. This brings us to Social SEO, a way to optimize your content to be discoverable via social media platform searches.
What is social SEO, and why is it important? Social SEO is the practice of optimizing your content to be discoverable through social media platform search functions. It’s important because younger audiences now use platforms like TikTok and Instagram as search engines. Optimizing SEO for visibility on these platforms helps schools reach and engage prospective students where they’re already searching.
Here are some key steps to improve your school’s visibility in social media searches:
Profile optimization: Treat your social profiles like mini homepages. Use clear, keyword-rich descriptions, consistent branding, and up-to-date contact information across all platforms.
Content that answers questions: Create videos and posts that address common queries, such as “What’s the student-faculty ratio at [Your School]?” or “What’s housing like at [Your School]?” These directly match what prospective students search for.
Strategic hashtags and keywords: Research what terms and keywords your target audience uses when searching for educational content. Incorporate these naturally into your posts, captions, and hashtags.
Geo-tagging: Always tag your location in posts. Many users search by location when researching schools in specific areas.
Consistent posting: Regular activity signals relevance to algorithms, improving your visibility in search results.
It is important to note that these social platforms have different search algorithms; a hashtag strategy that worked on Instagram may need to be adjusted for TikTok or LinkedIn. To make your school more discoverable, explore and learn what best practices apply to each platform and what topics drive current conversations.
Example: Randolph-Macon College frequently posts social media content featuring catchy headlines and hashtags, such as the one seen here promoting its athletics team, the Yellow Jackets.
Although maintaining a presence across multiple social platforms is great, using a tailored approach for each one is even better. Here’s how you can leverage the strengths of major platforms.
Facebook
Often dismissed as an “older person” platform, Facebook continues to be key to reaching parents who double as key decision-makers for many prospective students. It is great for community building and event promotion. Here’s how to successfully use Facebook marketing for schools in your social marketing campaigns:
Use Facebook Events for open houses, application deadlines, and virtual info sessions
Create targeted ad campaigns using Facebook’s detailed demographic filters
Establish groups for admitted students or parents to foster community
Share longer-form content like student success stories and program highlights
Instagram
Instagram is a predominantly visually driven platform favored by people of different age groups. It is great at showcasingcampus aesthetics and student experiences.
Post high-quality photos showcasing campus beauty and student life
Use Stories for day-in-the-life content, quick announcements, and behind-the-scenes glimpses
Create highlight collections for key topics (Admissions, Student Life, Athletics)
Utilize Reels for short-form video marketing
Leverage the Explore page for discovery by new audiences
TikTok
TikTok, the fast-growing epicenter of youth engagement and viral content, is important for reaching Gen Z. Some students now select schools based on how the schools will look on TikTok.
Create authentic, entertaining content that aligns with platform trends
Feature charismatic students or faculty who connect naturally with viewers
Participate in challenges relevant to education (with your institutional twist)
Use TikTok’s native editing tools and popular sounds to boost algorithm visibility
Don’t be afraid of humor and personality. TikTok rewards authenticity over polish
YouTube
YouTube for education favors long-form content and resources that can be searched.
Produce both longer videos (3-10 minutes) and YouTube Shorts
Optimize video titles and descriptions with relevant keywords
Use cards and end screens to guide viewers to related content
Consider hosting live Q&A sessions during key decision periods
LinkedIn
LinkedIn is an underutilized tool that can help shape your education marketing. It is great for engagingparents, graduate prospects, and professionals.
Share thought leadership from faculty and administrators
Highlight alum success stories and career outcomes
Post about research innovations and academic achievements
Engage in industry conversations relevant to your programs
Encourage faculty and alumni to mention your institution in their profiles
Example: The University of Connecticut regularly posts news about its recent graduates, alumni, and students on its LinkedIn page. The LinkedIn post below highlights the success of its recent graduates.
Education marketing should be serious and informative, but serious does not mean bland and uninspiring. This is where gamification comes in, for fun and engaging learning. With gamification, you incorporate game-like elements and interactive content into your school’s content, effectively turning passive scrolling into active participation. Here are some gamification content and approaches:
Instagram Story quizzes about campus facts or traditions
TikTok challenges that showcase student creativity
Digital scavenger hunts across your website and social platforms
“Day in the life” simulation content where viewers “choose their adventure”
Trends are the main driver of conversations across social media. Connecting your content to a broader cultural conversation can give your school more relevance in the social space. Follow these three trends to place your institution in a position of opportunity.
Nostalgia Marketing: For institutions with some history to draw from, using content that brings back some memories of the past can provoke nostalgic feelings and add value to social marketing campaigns. This is nostalgia marketing. For best results, share throwback campus photos, compare “then and now” scenes, or invite alumni to submit memories. This content typically generates high engagement and shares.
Values and Social Impact: Today’s students care deeply about the position their schools take on issues of social and environmental relevance. To leverage this situation, highlight your school’s sustainability initiatives, community service programs, or research contributions. Point students to recycling initiatives and green campus programs via your social media videos and blogs.
Wellness and Mental Health: Any content that addresses student well-being will resonate strongly with prospects and parents concerned about support systems. This is why you must ensure you share resources from your counseling center and feature student wellness initiatives in your content. Also, create content acknowledging the stresses of academic life and how your institution helps students manage them. A student testimonial about how a mentor or counselor helped them thrive can help humanize your brand, so consider it.
Example: The University of Illinois runs a mental health and awareness program with a full complement of staff and resources committed to student and staff welfare on campus.
Successful social media marketing calls for consistency in learning and adaptation. Platform algorithms are subject to regular changes that affect content visibility and engagement. Here’s what you can do to stay visible and ahead of the curve:.
Monitor metrics to identify which content types perform best
A/B test different formats and approaches
Stay alert to algorithm changes and platform updates
Focus on generating quality engagement (comments, shares)
Adopt new platform features early for visibility boosts
Although social engagement is key to positive brand building, it’s not the ultimate goal. That would be converting interest into action, from website visits to inquiries or applications.
To effectively bridge the gap between interest and action, here are a few tips worth considering:
Optimize your social profiles: Link every platform you’re active on to relevant landing pages. Consider using “link in bio” tools that offer multiple destination options (Apply Now, Virtual Tour, Financial Aid, etc.).
Strategic calls to action: Not every post needs a CTA, but regularly include invitations to learn more, especially on high-interest content. For example, after sharing a student success story, add something like “Discover how you can follow in Sarah’s footsteps—check out our Business program (link in bio).”
Track and analyze traffic sources: Find out which social platforms and specific posts drive the most valuable traffic using resources like UTM parameters. With this information in hand, you can refine your strategy toward what converts.
Amplify high-performing content: When a post generates strong engagement organically, extend its reach to similar audiences by allocating an ad budget to it. By putting out content that resonates with your existing community, you can reach prospects who share similar interests and achieve the desired engagement result.
Align social and search strategies: While many prospects might discover your school on social media, they often go on to later search your name on Google. This is why you must ensure that your search engine marketing complements your social strategy for a seamless user journey.
Building Your School’s Social Media Playbook
As social media continues to evolve and draw more prospective students, today’s schools have to target it with intentional and strategic content. The most successful education marketers approach social media as conversations with future students, current community members, parents, and alumni.
The goal of these conversations goes beyond promoting your institution, it involves bringing its unique culture and value to life in ways that traditional marketing can not achieve. This is why schools must develop an effective social media marketing strategy that factors in all the essentials and adds some extras. While at it, remember a few things: authenticity resonates, visual content engages, and genuine connection converts.
By embracing short-form video, leveraging user-generated content, optimizing for social search, and maintaining a strategic presence across platforms, you create multiple pathways for meaningful connection. Add gamification elements and cultural relevance, and you have a formula for visibility and genuine engagement that drives enrollment outcomes.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Question: What is social SEO, and why is it important?
Answer: Social SEO is the practice of optimizing your content to be discoverable through social media platform search functions. It’s important because younger audiences now use platforms like TikTok and Instagram as search engines. Optimizing for visibility on these platforms helps schools reach and engage prospective students where they’re already searching.
Question: How can we get user-generated content from students?
Answer: One proven strategy in this line is to allow a student to manage your school’s Instagram Stories for a day, sharing their authentic campus experience. These glimpses into real student life help prospective students envision themselves at your institution in ways that traditional marketing cannot achieve.
Question: How can schools use short-form video to attract students?
Answer: The key to creating winning short-form videos is to go for authenticity. Start by identifying what makes your institution stand out, whether it’s a unique program, a beloved campus tradition, or exceptional career outcomes.
You can then showcase these elements through quick, visually engaging stories highlighting your unique value proposition.
Remember when SEO was all about keywords and metatags, fueling now-defunct search engines like Yahoo, AltaVista and early Google? Those were the days of “keyword stuffing,” where quantity trumped quality and relevance, delivering poor search results and frustrating users. Google’s PageRank algorithm changed everything by prioritizing content quality, giving birth to the “Content is King” mantra and improving the user experience.
Fast forward to the Era of the Modern Learner, where digitally astute users demand fast and accurate information at their fingertips. To keep up with their heightened expectations, search engine algorithms have evolved to become more sophisticated, focusing on the intent behind each search query rather than simple keyword matching. This shift has led to the emergence of AI-powered search engines features like Google’s AI Overviews to provide an AI-powered summary which now command prime real estate on the search engine results page.
In response, Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is emerging. AI-powered search engines are moving beyond simply ranking websites. They are synthesizing information to provide direct answers. In this fast-paced environment, delivering the right information at the right time is critical now more than ever. All marketers, regardless of industry, must adapt their strategies beyond traditional SEO.
What is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)?
Artificial intelligence is rapidly infiltrating tools across every industry, fundamentally reshaping the digital landscape. Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is emerging as a new approach to digital marketing, leveraging AI-powered tools to generate and optimize content for search engines. GEO is a catalyst, driving a fundamental shift in how search engines present information and how users consume it
GEO leverages machine learning algorithms to analyze user search intent, create personalized content, and optimize websites for improved search engine rankings. This advanced algorithmic approach delivers contextually rich information from credible sources, directly answering user searches and proactively addressing related inquiries. A proactive strategy that goes beyond traditional SEO ensures that a school’s information is readily discoverable, easily digestible and favorably presented by AI-powered search engines such as Google’s AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini.
How GEO Works
At its core, Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) uses artificial intelligence to bridge the gap between user needs and search engine performance. GEO tools go beyond traditional SEO by harnessing AI to deeply understand user behavior and generate content that’s not only relevant but also personalized and performance driven. Here is how it works across four core functions:
Analyzing User Intent: GEO starts by analyzing user intent. AI models examine search queries, website behavior and browsing patterns to uncover what users are specifically searching for. This helps marketers develop content strategies that directly align with user expectations and needs.
Generating Content: Using these insights, GEO tools generate original content tailored to meet the precise needs of the target audience. The result is content that answers user questions and aligns with how modern search engines evaluate relevance and quality.
Optimizing Content: GEO then optimizes the generated content for performance. AI refines readability, integrates keywords and enhances structural elements for improved visibility in search results, which ensures that content performs well in both traditional and AI-powered search environments.
Personalizing Content: Where GEO truly shines is in content personalization. By leveraging data like demographics, preferences and past interactions, GEO delivers tailored experiences that feel more relevant and engaging to individual users.
Comparing SEO and GEO
While SEO and GEO may seem like competing strategies, they actually complement one another. Both aim to improve visibility in search results and drive meaningful engagement but do so through different methods. Understanding how they align and where they diverge is key to developing a modern, well-rounded digital strategy.
Ways GEO is Similar to SEO
Despite their difference in execution, SEO and GEO share a common goal: delivering valuable content to users and meeting their search intent. Both SEO and GEO strategies contribute to:
Improving website visibility and search rankings in the search engine results pages (SERPs).
Driving organic traffic by making it easier for users to discover relevant information.
Boosting user engagement and conversion rates through informative, well-tailored content.
Ways GEO is Different from SEO
Where SEO and GEO begin to diverge is in their focus, tools, and content strategy:
Focus: Traditional SEO emphasizes keyword optimization, meta tags and technical structure. GEO, on the other hand, focuses on understanding user intent and creating dynamic, personalized content that adapts to evolving needs.
Tools: SEO relies on tools like keyword research platforms, backlink analysis, and manual content audits. GEO uses AI-powered platforms to analyze data, generate content, and automate optimization based on real-time user behavior.
Content: SEO often produces static, evergreen content that ranks over time. GEO enables the creation of responsive, personalized content that can shift based on user preferences, past interactions, and demographics.
While SEO has historically focused on driving clicks to websites and increasing rankings, GEO recognizes the increasing prominence of zero-click searches—where users find answers directly within AI-powered search overviews. In this new reality, GEO ensures your content remains visible and valuable even when the traditional click doesn’t occur. It does this by optimizing for how AI synthesizes and presents information in search results.
Is GEO Replacing SEO?
The rise of GEO has sparked an important question for marketers: Is SEO dead? The short answer is no. Rather than replacing SEO, GEO enhances it.
GEO builds a foundation of traditional SEO by leveraging artificial intelligence to automate time-consuming tasks, deepen audience insights, and elevate content quality. A strong SEO strategy remains essential, and when paired with GEO, it becomes even more powerful.
To support marketers in building that foundation, tools like EducationDynamics’ SEO Playbook offer actionable strategies for mastering SEO fundamentals while staying adaptable to innovations like GEO. As the higher education marketing landscape evolves, institutions are reaching a critical inflection point: the status quo no longer meets the expectations of the Modern Learner, and a more dynamic, data-driven approach is essential to stay competitive.
Here’s how GEO supports and strengthens traditional SEO efforts:
Smarter Keyword Research and Optimization: GEO tools analyze search intent more precisely, allowing marketers to choose keywords that better reflect how real users search, creating content that directly answers those queries.
More Personalized Content Experiences: By generating dynamic content based on user behavior, preferences, and demographics, GEO helps ensure the right message reaches the right audience at the right time.
Streamlined Workflows: GEO automates content generation and optimization processes, making it easier to keep web pages fresh, relevant, and aligned with evolving search behaviors—all while saving time and resources.
SEO is far from obsolete; however, relying solely on traditional SEO tactics is outdated which is no longer sufficient in today’s evolving higher education landscape. To truly transform their marketing approach, institutions must embrace innovative solutions.
As generative AI becomes increasingly embedded in how people search, marketers must adapt. While traditional SEO tactics like on-page optimization, site structure, and link-building still have a role to play, GEO provides the bold innovation needed to drive impactful outcomes. By pairing SEO strategies with GEO’s AI-driven insights and automation, institutions can achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness in their marketing efforts.
Together, SEO and GEO provide a holistic, future-ready framework to engage the Modern Learner, enhance digital marketing efforts, and drive both reputation and revenue growth, which are essential for long-term success.
Integrating GEO and SEO in Your Marketing Strategy for Higher Education Marketers
As the digital landscape evolves, one thing remains clear: SEO is still essential for institutions looking to connect with today’s students. With the rapid adoption of AI in everyday search habits though, SEO alone is no longer enough.
According to EducationDynamics 2025 Engaging the Modern Learner Report, generative AI is already transforming how prospective students evaluate their options. Nearly 70% of Modern Learners use AI tools for generative chatbot platforms like ChatGPT, while 37% use these tools specifically to gather information about colleges and universities in their consideration set.
This shift signals a clear need for higher ed marketers to adapt their digital strategies. GEO provides a pathway to do that while better serving today’s students. By combining the proven fundamentals of SEO with GEO’s advanced AI capabilities, institutions can engage the Modern Learner more effectively at every stage of their decision-making journey.
Reaching Modern Learners: Integrating GEO and SEO Strategies
Speak to What Modern Learners Search For: Modern Learners expect content that speaks directly to their needs and interests. Use GEO tools to identify the actual search terms prospective students use, such as “flexible online MBA,” or “how much does an online degree cost.” Then, develop SEO-optimized pages, blog posts, and FAQs that address these specific questions. Incorporate schema markup, structured headings, and internal links to boost visibility while keeping content informative and student focused.
Personalize the Journey for Every Modern Learner: GEO enables marketers to go beyond generic messaging. Use behavioral data, such as which pages students visit, how long they stay or what programs they explore, to personalize touchpoints across channels. Personalization builds trust and shows Modern Learners you understand what matters to them.
Deliver the Seamless Digital Experiences Modern Learners Expect: Today’s students want fast, seamless experiences. Use GEO insights to identify where users drop off, then optimize navigation and page speed accordingly. Implement clear, scannable layouts with prominent CTAs to enhance your website’s structure and user-friendliness. Consider adding AI-powered chatbots to provide real-time support for everything from application steps to financial aid inquiries.
Use Data to Stay Ahead of the Modern Learner’s Needs: GEO tools give you visibility into what students search for, which content they engage with, and where they lose interest. Regularly review search patterns, click paths, and drop-off points to identify gaps in your content or barriers in the enrollment funnel. Use these insights to refine headlines, adjust keyword targeting, or introduce new resources that better align with what students care about.
As prospective students increasingly turn to AI tools to explore their options, higher education marketers must evolve their strategies to keep pace with changing search behaviors. While Search Engine Optimization remains essential for visibility and reach, it no longer fully reflects how today’s students search and engage online. GEO bridges that gap by adapting to real-time behaviors and preferences. To effectively connect with Modern Learners and stay competitive, institutions must evolve their digital strategies to include GEO.
The Future of SEO and GEO in Higher Education
The future of enrollment will be shaped by how well institutions adapt to evolving digital behaviors. GEO is one of the many new components at the forefront of this shift. As AI continues to reshape how students interact with institutions and search for information, GEO will become an instrumental tool for delivering personalized, real-time information to meet their expectations.
Traditional SEO will still play a vital role in ensuring your institution is discoverable, but GEO takes things further by extracting and tailoring relevant content to meet the specific needs of each user, creating dynamic, intent-driven engagement. With more students using generative AI tools to guide their enrollment journey, institutions must embrace strategies that reflect this new reality.
Looking ahead, AI-powered SEO strategies will empower higher education marketers to create adaptive content that speaks directly to individual student goals and behaviors. These tools will also make it possible to deliver faster, more relevant information across platforms, often surfacing answers before a student ever clicks a link. With deeper access to behavioral data and user intent, marketers can refine messaging in real time, ensuring they’re reaching the right students with the right information at the right moment in their decision-making journey.
Unlocking the Power of GEO with EducationDynamics
As the digital landscape continues to shift, it can be challenging for institutions to keep pace with rapid change—especially when it comes to reaching the demands of today’s students. GEO empowers institutions to transform their digital engagement strategies, moving beyond outdated tactics to cultivate meaningful connections with the Modern Learner.
As a leading provider of higher education marketing solutions, EducationDynamics specializes in helping colleges and universities stay ahead. Our team brings deep expertise in foundational SEO and is actively embracing the next wave of digital strategy through Generative Engine Optimization (GEO). We understand what it takes to create meaningful engagement in a competitive enrollment environment and we’re here to help you do just that.
Connect with us to discover how we can support your team in building personalized digital strategies—whether it’s laying the groundwork with SEO or embracing innovative approaches like GEO. We’re here to help your institution succeed in today’s ever-changing digital world.
