Weathering the Storm
Challenge
Already challenged by aging systems and processes, the University of Houston’s admissions department was further challenged when Hurricane Harvey hit the city. Applications and campus visits were well below its goal and the previous years’ benchmarks as students weren’t able to think about college when recovering from the natural disaster’s toll on their families and homes. The University of Houston team knew that they had their best chance at still reaching their enrollment goals if they could work quickly with a reliable partner who had proven success.
Solution
Encoura quickly came alongside the University of Houston as their partner to support the enrollment team with student connections and marketing strategy following the storm. The university needed a way to connect with students who were no longer in high schools and who needed support personally.
Together, Houston and Encoura identified students most likely to enroll and reached out to these students and their families digitally to combat the images frightening them of the storm and remind them of the promising future that awaited them at the university.
Strategic Enrollment Consulting
Funnel & Market Analysis
Custom Audience Targeting
Custom Landing Pages
Segmented Email Campaign Development
Campaign Performance & Recommendations
Results
Despite a hurricane that threw doubt into the minds of students considering college life in Houston, the University of Houston reached students on their mobile devices to support them through their hardships and ended up increasing applications from specifically targeted cities. After successfully supporting concerned students and boosting applications, the University of Houston team learned that it could overcome any challenge with the right messaging to the right students at the right time.
Read More Case Studies
Cairn University: On a Mission to Serve Better
Cairn University strategically targeted best-fit students with geofencing. This empowered the team to use funnel data more effectively and led to an increase in enrollment over the last two years—including 17% in the first year.
Randolph—Macon College: Connection with Students in a Pandemic
Randolph—Macon pivoted their focus to digital marketing, allowing them to interact with students on their mobile devices and social media. This not only led to an increase in first-year student applications, but also in overall enrollment from the previous year.
Anderson University: Engaging Students in a Digital World
Graduate/Adult COVID-19 required Anderson University to re-evaluate their marketing strategy, which meant shifting their digital efforts to Custom Audience Targeting, social media, and TV ads. This led to increased 2020 numbers for non-traditional and graduate enrollment— 23% in summer and 16% in fall.
University of Houston: Weathering the Storm
Post Hurricane Harvey, the University of Houston’s admissions department utilized digital solutions to reach out to and stay connected with students. Their package of solutions resulted in an increase in applications in both Dallas and Austin.
Get Started
Encoura Digital Solutions is ready to connect with you to get started on your best digital undergraduate marketing strategy. Stop looking for enrollment marketing agencies for undergrad programs, and schedule a meeting today!