Service Line: Digital Marketing

In July 2021, TikTok reached three billion downloads worldwide, a record only Facebook had broken. Higher education digital marketers should take note—especially since 47.4% of TikTok’s audience is comprised of teens and young adults, and the platform is currently neck-and-neck with Snapchat for US teens’ favorite social platform as of spring 2021, according to MarketingCharts.com. It’s even gaining steam among older users as well.

As a higher education–focused agency and Google Premier Partner, Carnegie has unmatched access to higher ed digital media data that allow us to see trends, form insights, then adapt our best practices or optimize our campaigns accordingly. Coming off the heels of a pandemic that greatly affected prospective student behavior and now facing user privacy headwinds that are guaranteed to only become more difficult to navigate, utilizing these data and trends is more important than ever.

Last year, Facebook implemented audience targeting restrictions for users under 18. As of March 17, 2022, additional overarching audience targeting policies are in full effect. Here’s a breakdown of these changes and how Carnegie can help you navigate them on the way to meeting your institution’s strategic goals.

International recruitment has been hit hard over the last five years, straining already lean international recruitment offices at colleges and universities. Open Door reports a more than 50% decline in new international student enrollment between 2016–2017 and 2020–2021. We attribute this decline to the pandemic first and foremost, as well as restrictive US travel policies, two formidable opponents to recruitment abroad. 

To advertise on Google products, brands must adhere to Google’s program policies—this is not news—but what we’ve recently noticed is Google has expanded its enforcement of these policies, which is having a real impact on religious-affiliated institutions’ digital marketing efforts.

Carnegie, a higher education marketing and enrollment strategy company, announced today that it has achieved 2022 Premier Partner status in the Google Partners program, which only three percent of Google Partners achieve.

Unfulfilled aspirations for website personalization are nothing new in higher education. For years, website projects have broached the topic of personalization during the planning stages only to encounter one of many barriers to implementation. How much content is needed to drive personalization? What technology is required? What does success look like?

Let’s face it: we live in a personalized world. Facebook ads appear for products you’ve Googled, Netflix recommends shows based on past viewing.

Google announced the Page Experience update toward the end of 2020, with the roll out slated for June 2021.

If you’re like me, the warmer weather is a friendly reminder to clean your dryer vent and replace your smoke detector batteries. But it’s also a great opportunity to implement a succinct housekeeping checklist for your college/university’s digital marketing campaigns.