It’s no secret that many students opt to start their higher education journey at community colleges or smaller institutions before transferring to larger universities or specialized programs. A well-defined transfer marketing strategy means helping students transition from their community college to your campus, and digital marketing tactics—like blueprinting—can help make that smooth transition happen.
In this blog post, we'll explore the concept of blueprinting, including what it is, plus the benefits of using it as a transfer strategy.
What’s the Difference Between Geofencing and Blueprinting?
You’ve probably already used or heard of geofencing at some point in your digital strategy and are likely familiar with all that it can offer.
Blueprint mapping is unique from geofencing because blueprinting uses mapping to create a perimeter around a specific location rather than using a radius to reach an audience. Blueprinting maps the precise boundary based on satellite images to ensure that the exact location of the community college is being targeted.
Geofencing and blueprinting are both effective location-based digital marketing tactics, and when used together or separately, helps institutions reach students on and off campus.
The Benefits of Blueprinting as a Transfer Recruitment Strategy
Community college students spend minimal time on campus—sometimes only visiting once per week. Since blueprinting uses a 90-day look-back window, if a student is on campus just once in those three months, a blueprinting campaign can continue serving your institution’s unique messages to them despite their limited time on their campus.
Encoura’s digital team works with this pre-built audience—like the above-mentioned past campus visitors—to serve them your ads regardless of their current location. This means an opportunity to reach this segmented group of prospective transfer students while they’re at home and on the go.
Your institution can also continue to engage this group of prospective transfer students with targeted and personalized information based on their engagements with your ads. This enhances the transfer process by providing interested students with messages they’re likely to be interested in and engage with.
Small Private University in the Southeast Sees Record Transfer Applications with Blueprinting
Problem: This institution was experiencing a historical decline in transfer enrollment and was looking for a quick-to-market solution.
Solution: Implemented a three-month mobile blueprinting campaign to drive transfer enrollment.
Outcome: The mobile blueprinting campaign for this institution ran for three months, driving 2,964 unique clicks to the institution's website and 12,038 verified actions. This institution experienced the most significant bump ever experienced to their transfer page and received a record number of transfer applications.
| Campaign Group | Start Date | End Date | Delivery Status | Impression Goal | Impressions Delivered | Clicks | CTR | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mobile BP - Transfer :: 17832 | 2023-05-02 | 2023-07-31 | 100.05% | 700,000 | 700,330 | 2,964 | 0.42% | 12,038 |
Blueprinting community colleges as a transfer strategy is a forward-thinking approach that benefits students and institutions and serves as a valuable tool in supporting student success, and ultimately, your enrollment growth.
Our Digital Solutions team is ready to partner with your institution to help you learn more about executing blueprinting as a transfer strategy. Choose a time to meet with one of our experts to chat more about identity graphing, plus how to use this vital information to reach students.
Discover turn-key solutions and targeted digital media strategies in addition to your traditional engagement methods to help you navigate the ever-changing digital landscape.
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