With YouTube being the second most popular search engine in the world, your educational institution should take advantage of the available real estate on the platform. There are so many ways to utilize YouTube to elevate your brand and keep your audience engaged. Check out some of our advice below:
Showcase your uniqueness
This is a great way to stand out from the crowd on YouTube, especially since so many educational institutions are already on the platform. Maybe you are known for your theatre program, or have one of the prettiest campuses in the state. Make your uniqueness known and show it off to potential students! Highlight your popular programs, unique events, state of the art technology, etc. Think of your YouTube content as one big sales pitch and put yourself in the shoes of a prospective student. What would they want to see from your institution on YouTube?
Emulate relevant trends
Trends and social media go hand in hand these days; one cannot thrive without the other. So when it comes to creating your YouTube content, browsing popular trends is one of the first things your team should do. Of course, not every trend will be relevant to your educational institution but also don’t be afraid to get creative and have fun. For example, makeup and beauty videos are very popular on YouTube, but how can your educational institution join in? Well, do you have a theatre department where students have learned how to do some impressive hair and makeup? Next time they plan on prepping for a dress rehearsal, film the process! Not only is this an easy way to follow a trend but is also perfect for students who might be looking for a theatre program.
Appeal to the right audience
Did you know 77% of Generation Z visit YouTube daily? Generation Z covers kids who are currently in the age range of 6-24. With more and more younger people spending time on YouTube, why not take advantage of targeting your key demographic. YouTube allows you to target your audience by age, household income, gender, interests, and more. You also have the ability to target people who have watched your videos before, visited your website, or are similar to your current viewers.
There are a variety of YouTube ad formats:
- Skippable video ads: Viewers are allowed to skip after 5 seconds.
- Non-skippable video ads: Viewers must watch the full ad before returning to their content.
- Bumper ads: These are short ads that can be up to 6 seconds long. Viewers cannot skip bumper ads.
- Overlay ads: These are image or text ads that are placed on the lower 20% portion of the video the viewer is watching.
With YouTube being free and right at your fingertips there’s no better time than now to put your educational institution on the map in order to elevate your brand and entertain the right audience.
If you would like help with your YouTube content and strategy or marketing for your educational institution, feel free to contact us. We offer a variety of services like social media marketing, digital marketing & analytics, marketing & brand strategy, and more to small and large companies.
