Marketing + Enrollment Strategy for Recruitment Success

+86%

Increase in new website visitors

15%

Of net deposits sourced via CollegeXpress

A data-driven marketing and enrollment strategy accelerates recruitment success.

To activate its strategic plan for enrollment growth, Gettysburg College partnered with Carnegie to align market intelligence, digital marketing, and student search into a unified, performance-driven recruitment strategy.

The Challenge

When Gettysburg College needed a marketing and enrollment strategy partner to mobilize its strategic plan for enrollment success, they looked to Carnegie.

Our Approach

Gettysburg, a long-time partner of Carnegie, sought to better understand its market and more effectively communicate the value of a Gettysburg education as part of a new strategic enrollment plan. Together, Carnegie and Gettysburg launched a custom research project to evaluate competitive positioning and uncover opportunities for differentiation. These insights informed a new messaging campaign launched in fall 2022, supported by an expanded paid digital strategy that included SEO, PPC, IP Targeting, and social media across platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, and OTT. The implementation of GA4 and Carnegie Clarity enabled precise measurement, attribution, and personalization, driving an 86% increase in new site visitors—69% of which were directly attributed to Carnegie-Gettysburg campaigns.

A central component of the multi-layered enrollment strategy was inquiry generation through CollegeXpress, Carnegie’s student search and lead generation platform, which accounted for 10% of admitted students and 15% of Fall 2023 net deposits. Further integration through Gettysburg’s Slate instance enabled Sophomore, Junior, and Senior Student Search campaigns, delivering real-time performance insights and behavioral data. Together, Carnegie and Gettysburg used this data to continuously optimize campaigns for engagement and conversion, fueling growth across the awareness, inquiry, and applicant stages while setting the foundation for even more data-driven decision-making in 2024 through new Admitted Student Research.

The Results

Carnegie’s partnership helped Gettysburg reach and engage its prospective student audience, as demonstrated by digital, communications, and inquiry-sourcing outcomes. Overall, Gettysburg saw a 4% increase in YOY inquiries, a 23% increase in submitted applications YOY, and a 3% increase in admits YOY. Gettysburg also saw an 86% increase in new website visitors, with 69% of website traffic through marketing campaigns attributed to Carnegie.

CollegeXpress generated strong engagement as demonstrated by its role in Gettysburg’s inquiry pool, with CollegeXpress leads making up 10% of admitted students and 15% of net deposits for Fall 2023.

+86%

Increase in new website visitors

15%

Of net deposits sourced via CollegeXpress

+4%

Increase in year-over-year inquiries

+23%

Increase in submitted applications year-over-year

+3%

Increase in admits year-over-year

Student Search through Carnegie gives us consistency of message, creativity, flexibility, and knowledge of best practices and insights about what’s working and what’s not. We love that everything is in Slate, and while we have plans outlined, we can also pivot and adapt when needed.

Gail Sweezey Dean of Admissions Gettysburg College