Between declining enrollment numbers and challenges surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic, admissions teams have been tasked with finding creative ways to engage with prospective students. 

Rather than relying solely on traditional outreach like phone calls and emails, forward-thinking admissions teams are adapting with a new form of communication: video email and messaging. 

Margaret Henney from Covideo and Karen Dunton and Chelsea Scarpati from Fisher College presented on the power of personalized video and how it’s transforming communication and connections with students at this year’s Engage Summit 2022.

What is Personalized Video? 

When we talk about personalized videos, we mean videos crafted to connect one-on-one with a student, usually coming from a counselor or someone the student is working with on their academic journey. There’s no need for your media department or marketing team to produce anything shiny and new. 

Really, these videos should be another way to enhance personal communication with each student, similar to how you might shoot off a quick email or send a reminder text. 

Personalized video is:

• Asynchronous communication—happens on your own time
• Delivered via email, text, or social media DM
• One-to-one or one-to-few
• Authentic/stripped down
• Hyper-personalized to the person(s) and/or situation
• Can be watched/shared over and over

The Power of Video to Make Connections

Video adds a human touch which helps schools gain credibility and earn trust. We can’t promote our small class sizes and tight-knit community feeling if we are not showing that personalized attention from the very beginning. The best way to do it? Meet students where they are:

• 80% of internet traffic is watching video right now
  
• 95% of a message is remembered when in a video vs. 10% in plain text
  
• The average teen watches 68 videos a day

If our core target audience spends their time creating and consuming videos, it’s a no-brainer that we would speak to them in the language and environment they prefer. Beyond just being more accessible and engaging to students, videos show them that you care about their preferences and that their individual journey matters.

Seventy percent of students are likely to stay on campus if someone at the school knows their name or has a personal connection with them. What better way to create that personal connection than with an authentic, quick, and powerful personalized video at the start of their recruitment journey? Plus, videos can keep students engaged from the time they’re admitted to orientation to fight summer melt.

How Fisher College Uses Videos to Personalize the Student Journey

Fisher College in Boston, MA has been using the Covideo integration through Element451 to create short, informative videos as a way to strengthen relationships and engage with potential students. Some of the personalized videos they've created include:

• Thank you for attending
• Walking through Parent-Plus loan application explanation
• Congratulations on submitting your application/deposit
• Reminder videos for upcoming events
• Requesting missing documents for an application
• Connecting with counselors from schools to set up visits

Due to their use of personalized videos, the Fisher team has seen an open rate increase of 67.6%, and individual videos like “Thank you for attending Accepted Students Day!” saw an open rate of 75%.

From Plain Text Emails to Personalized Videos

When we put a plain text email and a personalized video message side by side, the difference is clear. Instead of reading an essay-length email with multiple calls to action and tons of embedded links, students receive a short and clean email that right away shows personalization and intention through:

• A familiar, engaging, and smiling face
• One clear call to action with an engaging thumbnail and play button
• Personalization via a whiteboard showing their name

The difference is immediate. In a short 1-minute video, a student feels seen, heard, and special with a dedicated, personalized message. 

Students are very adept at figuring out what's mass-produced and what isn't. You can stand out by showing that each student is an individual by sending a message that’s crafted just for them and their specific journey.

Using a Personalized Video Strategy to Increase Engagement

Videos pique interest and allow students to engage with you and your school in a way that text and graphics can't convey. Plus, recording yourself adds a human element that can’t be replicated with even the best copy and photography. 

• Email click through rates tend to be higher with clickable thumbnails vs links
• Videos engage students to respond to messages more effectively
• Even just knowing there's a video embedded can increase open rates; having the word “video” in a subject line boosts open rates by 19% and reduces unsubscribe instances by 26%.
• Response rates can even increase 200% with a personalized video
• You create a highly personalized enrollment journey
• Save time that can be dedicated to other projects
• Ensure students feel seen and valued
• Build loyalty from the start
• Gain a competitive edge in a crowded market
• Quantify student interests and prioritize outreach with analytics

To truly connect and engage with today’s students, we need to put them in the driver’s seat and this starts by meeting them where they are. With quick, easy-to-record personalized videos, we can actually make a difference in a student’s academic decisions and build affinity for our institutions.

To learn more about Covideo, book a personalized demo to see how our integration makes it easy to record and share videos from right inside Element451.