How Community Colleges Can Maximize Perkins Funds with Smart Digital Strategies

With the end of the fiscal year coming up, now’s the time for community colleges to make the most of any remaining Perkins V funds. In higher ed, so many of us are being asked to do more with less, so its critical schools make the most of every funding opportunity available to them. 

Perkins funding is all about improving access to CTE programs, promoting equity, and making sure what you’re offering lines up with real-world workforce demands. Now is a great time to find creative ways to make full use of the money to prep for future programs set yourself up for more success in the future. 

Here are some digital tools and strategies that can help you hit those goals quickly, at scale, and with clear results.

Why digital investments are ideal for end-of-year Perkins spending:

  • Quick to launch: Digital campaigns and tools can be up and running fast—no long setup times needed.
  • Easy to scale: Reach the right audience without waiting on new infrastructure or resources.
  • Backed by data: Get real-time insights that not only show impact but also help make the case for future funding.

H2: Strategic Ways to Use Remaining Perkins Funds


H3: 1. Use Digital Outreach to Boost CTE Enrollment
If students don’t know about your CTE programs, they can’t sign up for them, so getting the word out is key. Targeted digital campaigns can help you connect with the right people at the right time.
By investing in digital outreach, you can:

  • Raise awareness about high-demand career pathways through tools like geofencing, search ads, and social media.
  • Re-engage students who’ve checked out your programs but haven’t enrolled yet.
  • Reach adult learners and underrepresented groups who are a great fit for workforce-driven programs.

Use Case: Use your remaining Perkins funds to launch CTE-focused digital campaigns now, helping drive student enrollment and show impact before the next funding cycle kicks off.

 

H3: 2. Use Enrollment Matching to Back Up Your Funding Requests
When you can show there’s real student interest in your CTE programs, it’s a lot easier to make the case for more funding. That’s where enrollment-matching tools come in—they help connect the dots between outreach and actual enrollment. With the right data, you can:

  • Pinpoint which students are most likely to enroll in high-priority programs.
  • Back up decisions to grow or adjust your CTE offerings with real insights.
  • Fine-tune your recruitment strategy to better match what the local job market needs.


Use Case: Pair your digital campaigns with enrollment-matching tech to show a clear return on investment. It’s a smart way to use your remaining Perkins dollars while also setting the stage for stronger grant applications down the line.

 

H2: Final Steps: Make the Most of Your Perkins Funds With Digital Marketing

The clock’s winding down on this year’s Perkins funding—don’t let those valuable dollars go to waste. By putting them toward digital strategies that boost CTE enrollment, improve workforce alignment, and deliver real data you can act on, you’re not just making an impact now—you’re also setting yourself up for even stronger funding opportunities in the future.

 

H2: Want to share this opportunity with colleagues?
We’ve made it easy. Download our ready-to-send email template to share with program directors, grant holders, or anyone on your campus who oversees Perkins funds. It outlines why now’s the time to invest in digital strategies that support CTE enrollment and workforce alignment—and how to get started.

 

Ready to get started? Start the conversation today about how you can put these digital strategies to work—boosting CTE enrollment and setting your college up for success in the year ahead.

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Breaking Through the Noise: Smarter Marketing for Community Colleges

Breaking Through the Noise: Smarter Marketing for Community Colleges

In today’s crowded higher ed landscape, standing out isn’t just important—it’s essential. Recent research from Westwood One reveals a key challenge: dull, uninspired ads require 2x to 2.6x more media spend to achieve the same impact as engaging, creative campaigns. For community colleges operating on tight budgets, ineffective ads limit reach and waste valuable resources.

But the solution isn’t spending more. It’s spending smarter. Colleges can drive enrollment without breaking the bank by refining audience targeting, crafting compelling messaging, and using full-funnel marketing strategies.

Refining Your Audience: Who Are You Really Trying to Reach?

Too often, community colleges rely on broad targeting—age, location, gender—without considering what truly drives student decisions. Instead, ask:

  • Where are they at right now? High school students? Some college, no degree? Workforce professionals looking to upskill?
  • What have they done before? Prior education? Industry certifications? Transfer credits?
  • What content are they engaging with? Social media conversations? Career exploration sites? College search tools?
  • What have they clicked on before? Prior ad interactions can inform personalized re-engagement.
  • What pages are they visiting? Financial aid? Program-specific details? Understanding this helps refine messaging.

Precision targeting means better engagement and optimized ad spend—ensuring the right message reaches the right student at the right time.

Full-Funnel Marketing: Meeting Students Where They Are

To move students from awareness to enrollment, colleges need a strategy that speaks to every phase of the decision process.
Key Strategies for Each Stage in the Enrollment Journey:

  • Discover – Create awareness with engaging social media, video, and email campaigns. Show the value of community college beyond affordability.
  • Learn – Nurture prospects with student success stories, financial aid guidance, and personalized follow-ups. Keep them engaged and informed.
  • Apply & Register – Drive urgency with clear calls-to-action, deadline reminders, and an easy application process. Remove barriers to enrollment.

When colleges align messaging with each phase of the student journey, they see stronger engagement and higher conversion rates.

Final Thought: Are Your Ads Helping or Hurting Enrollment?

If your ads feel generic or fail to connect, they may be costing more than they’re worth. But improving engagement doesn’t require a bigger budget—just a smarter, more student-focused approach.

By refining audience targeting, implementing full-funnel strategies to drive the right message at the right time helps community colleges maximize their impact, drive enrollment, and make every marketing dollar count.

Want to improve your community college marketing strategies? Start a conversation with Carnegie today.

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Five Digital Marketing Strategies to Kickstart Community College Enrollment in 2025


With 2025 already underway, community colleges have a unique opportunity to leverage digital marketing strategies to drive enrollment growth this year. As prospective students continue to rely on online resources to explore colleges and programs, it’s more important than ever that your institution meets them where they are. Here are five digital marketing strategies that will help your college engage students of today.

1. Personalized Digital Campaigns for Targeted Audiences

Community college attracts diverse students—high school seniors, adult learners, career changers—your campaigns should be as diverse as they are. Using pre-existing data, create personalized digital campaigns. Personalized ads and messages help capture the attention of prospective students, ultimately improving conversion rates and encouraging continued engagement.

For example, you could serve stopped out students ads encouraging them to return to campus. Applicants in progress could receive reminders about their application and offers to help them complete it.

Digital ads can be delivered directly in the apps and websites these audiences visit most—you’ll reach a lot of high school seniors on TikTok, but you won’t find too many of them on LinkedIn. This approach can be more effective than traditional emails or text messages.

2. Integrate GA4 and Google Tag Manager for Data-Driven Decisions

Integrating Google Analytics 4 (GA4) and Google Tag Manager (GTM) into your digital marketing strategy, you can gain valuable insights into how prospective students interact with your website and digital content. With it, you’ll be able to see which content is resonating with your audience, which channels drive traffic, and where students drop off in the process.
Google Tag Manager makes it easier to implement and manage tags for tracking user interactions across your website and marketing channels. With GTM, you can quickly add or modify tracking without having to rely on developers, enabling more agile campaign adjustments. Together, GA4 and GTM offer the powerful reporting and tracking tools needed to make data-driven decisions and maximize your digital marketing efforts.

3. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for Increased Visibility

Appearing in relevant search results is a great way to get noticed, SEO is the tool that gets you there. By optimizing your website with keywords that align with the searches students are making, you can ensure that your institution is easily discoverable.

Focus on creating valuable, informative content that answers prospective students’ common questions about programs, financial aid, and campus life. Implementing local SEO will also help you appear in searches for programs available in your region, bringing in students who are looking for education opportunities close to home.

4. Social Media Advertising to Expand Reach

Social media marketing is a powerful tool for reaching prospective students where they spend a significant amount of time. Paid advertising on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn allows you to target specific audiences based on interests, demographics, and behaviors.

Use social media to showcase the unique aspects of your college—whether it’s student success stories, virtual campus tours, or insights into academic programs. Engaging video content, interactive posts, and success testimonials can help establish an emotional connection with prospective students and encourage them to learn more about your institution.

5. Retargeting Campaigns to Nurture Leads

Not all prospective students will apply after their first visit to your website, but retargeting ads can help keep your college top of mind. Retargeting is a strategy where you show ads to users who have previously interacted with your website or digital content.

Retargeting ads encourages users to return to your site, whether it’s to complete an application, learn more about financial aid, or explore upcoming events. Retargeting allows you to stay engaged with prospective students as they continue their research, improving the likelihood of conversion.

Transform Your Student Recruitment in 2025

Digital marketing is a critical tool for driving enrollment growth at community colleges in 2025. By focusing on personalized campaigns, optimizing your use of data through GA4 and Google Tag Manager, enhancing your SEO strategy, utilizing social media advertising, and implementing retargeting techniques, you can connect with prospective students and guide them toward enrollment. With the data-driven insights provided by GA4, you’ll be able to continuously improve and refine your strategies to maximize success.

Start a conversation with us and begin integrating these digital marketing strategies today to boost your enrollment and ensure your college’s success in the year ahead.

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Understanding ROI in Higher Education Marketing: The Power of Enrollment Matching

The Power of Enrollment Matching

In higher education, it’s essential to understand how marketing efforts translate into student enrollment. For community and technical colleges, the challenge isn’t just about attracting students—it’s about ensuring those potential applicants actually enroll in courses. That’s where Enrollment Matching comes in. It’s a way for marketing teams to show how their campaigns directly connect to enrollment numbers and prove their return on investment (ROI).

What is Enrollment Matching?

Simply put, Enrollment Matching ties marketing efforts to actual enrollments. By Enrollment Matching, you are able to track how students move from seeing a campaign to enrolling at the college. It gives schools a clear picture of how effective their outreach really is.

What makes Enrollment Matching stand out is its focus on what really matters: enrolled students. These are the people who ultimately drive academic success and financial stability for the institution.

Measuring Enrollment Outcomes

Enrollment Matching works by breaking down key metrics related to students who’ve enrolled. By analyzing the students who were geofenced and served an ad and enrolled, colleges can learn:

  • Which marketing campaigns successfully attracted and engaged enrolled students.
  • How much tuition and fee revenue these students contributed to the institution.

This info helps colleges design smarter marketing strategies that get results.

Understanding Student Impact Through Real-Life Results

Want proof that Enrollment Matching works? Take a look at Pueblo Community College’s experience:

  • 2K Students Enrolled: All who were geofenced, received ads, and followed through to enrollment.
  • 12K Credit Hours Registered: Showing their academic involvement.
  • $3.6 Million in Revenue: A direct financial benefit from those students.
  • 52K% ROI: An incredible return on the investment in marketing.

Focusing on enrolled students shows how a well-executed campaign can have a big impact on both enrollment numbers and financial health.

Why ROI Matters

In any marketing effort, ROI is key, and that’s especially true for enrollment strategies. Enrollment Matching makes it easy to see how each enrolled student contributes to the college’s bottom line. This data lets schools decide what’s worth continuing, expanding, or tweaking in future campaigns.

For example, by analyzing which programs, locations, or types of ads perform best, colleges can make decisions that maximize their impact and efficiency. Check out this article from Community College Daily to learn more about how Kansas City Kansas Community College has utilized data-driven ROI to make better marketing decisions.

Learn More

If you want to dive deeper into strategies like these, check out our ROI Reimagined: Tracking An Ad Driven Application Through To Enrollment … And Beyond! presentation. Learn the processes, tools, and metrics to track the performance of your college’s advertising efforts.

Partner with Us to Achieve Your Enrollment Goals

Focusing on enrolled students is just the beginning. Let us help you take your digital marketing efforts to the next level. At CLARUS, we specialize in strategies like Enrollment Matching to connect your marketing campaigns directly to measurable enrollment outcomes.

Our team brings years of expertise in higher education marketing and data-driven insights to help your institution achieve its academic and financial goals. Whether you’re looking to increase enrollments, boost ROI, or refine your outreach, we’re here to guide you every step of the way.

Contact us today to learn how we can support your digital marketing needs and help your college reach new heights in enrollment success. Together, we can make your campaigns more effective and impactful than ever before.

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Crafting Effective Paid Search Campaigns for Niche Educational Programs

The marketing landscape for higher education institutions has drastically changed over the years. Where students once primarily relied on viewbooks and in-mail brochures to make their decisions, many now turn to online resources as the first step in their college search process. This is where the power of Paid Search campaigns comes in.

But what if you’re looking to promote niche programs, degree programs with a unique-to-your-institution name, or other niche educational programs? Here are three actionable steps to help you navigate unique Paid Search campaigns.

1. Know and Understand Your Audience

The first step in navigating unique PPC (pay-per-click) campaigns is to gauge search volume using tools like Google’s Keyword Planner. Keyword Planner allows you to either input your own list of keywords or discover new ones using your landing page or website, while also providing forecasts for how they may perform within specific geographic areas.

Unique educational programs are often estimated to have low search volume. Figuring out why this might be the case for your particular program will help you find ways to both craft and optimize your campaign. You can then use this information to better inform your keyword strategy and ad copy.

Here are some possible considerations:

  • Who is your target audience? Craft your campaign from their perspective. What information should you include in your ad copy, on your landing page, or in your keyword strategy?
  • Conduct a quick search for the name of the program you are looking to promote. Is the name consistent with how other institutions are promoting this degree? How can you position your program to be more appealing?

2. Craft an Effective Keyword Strategy

Now that we’ve covered a few reasons your campaign might be experiencing low search or conversion volume, we can use that information to better align your campaign’s keyword strategy with your audience or program.

Developing an effective keyword strategy is the foundation for a successful Paid Search campaign. You can read about the basics of performing keyword research in this article, “A Higher-Ed Marketer’s Guide to SEO Keyword Research and Strategy,” written by our SEO experts at Carnegie. Though this article is from an SEO lens, we employ most of the same tactics for PPC campaigns.

With a foundational understanding of what keywords are and how to begin your research, let’s dive into some additional considerations when creating your keyword strategy for programs with low search volume.

Implement the Takeaways from Analyzing Your Audience

Once you’ve identified the limitations your campaign might be experiencing, determine how you can incorporate those takeaways into your keyword strategy.

For example, if your institution wants to promote a degree called The Art of Criminal Justice Around the World, it’s likely that prospective students aren’t using those same words to search for this type of degree.

Instead, you can position your program to better align with how students are already searching and what programs they are already familiar with. Keywords like “criminal justice degree,” “cj programs,” or even “police officer degree” will better position your PPC ads to get in front of the right audience.

Once you’re in front of the right audience, you can then use your ad copy to tell prospective students more about what makes your program stand out.

Leverage Broad Match Keywords & Question-Based Queries

With the introduction of Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) and new products like Google Lens, queries are becoming more question-based, and searches are becoming more conversational. Check out this article for more insights about how the introduction of AI Overview is changing the Paid Search landscape.

You can use a similar approach in your keyword strategy by incorporating long-tail keywords and question-based queries as Broad Match keywords. If you haven’t started leveraging Broad Match keywords, this is an easy way to expand your campaign’s reach and find additional converting users. Broad match keywords use a variety of signals present at auction time to help capture high-intent queries that you might not have otherwise been able to reach.

For example, we have found a lot of success with “how to become” keywords, such as “how to become a police officer” for a criminal justice program or “how to become a teacher” when promoting an alternative teaching program.

Analyze Organic Traffic

Tools for Search Engine Marketing (SEM) keyword research, like Semrush, are great for analyzing organic traffic trends and gaining insights into how users arrive at a particular landing page. Answer the Public is also a great resource for determining what prospective students are searching in relation to your program or institution.

You can use these insights to round out your keyword strategy by incorporating questions users are asking as additional long-tail keywords or topics surrounding the program you’re promoting into your ad copy.

Bonus: Collaborate with Your SEO Team

Aligning the keywords used in your Paid Search campaigns with those being used for your institution’s Search Engine Optimization (SEO) efforts can help boost your institution’s overall online presence. To learn more about leveraging SEO and PPC tactics together, check out Carnegie’s article, “The Power of Search Engine Marketing: How SEO and PPC Work Together.”

3. Craft Compelling Ad Copy

Let’s return to our unique degree called The Art of Criminal Justice Around the World. We included additional keywords to help us better reach prospective students, but now we have to encourage those users to click on our ads.

The final step involves figuring out how to differentiate this program from all of the other communication programs by determining what information is valuable for your audience. You can click on the following article to learn more about tailoring your messaging: Tailor Copy to Different Audiences.

Incorporating unique value propositions in the headlines and descriptions, like program cost, financial aid, or graduation rate, can help make your program stand out from the competition and encourage users to interact with your ad.

Here’s a helpful tip: analyze how your ad visually appears to prospective students by reviewing your ad combinations. In the Google Ads platform, navigate to the Ads section, click on View Asset Details under each ad, and then select Combinations. This gives you a glimpse into what headlines and descriptions appear most often and what your headline combinations look like to prospective students.

If you find that your ads are not conveying the right information, they sound repetitive, or you want to ensure a specific value proposition always appears as a headline, try pinning headlines in your Paid Search ad so you have more control over how your ads appear to users.

PPC campaigns for community and technical colleges already come with their own unique set of limitations, like budget constraints and increased competition against larger, four-year institutions. But even when promoting programs with low search volume, it’s possible to craft an effective keyword strategy and run a successful campaign. Reach out to us so we can help you navigate these challenges!

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Mitigating the Impact of the 2026-2027 Enrollment Cliff: Strategic Solutions for Community Colleges

As we approach the 2026-2027 “Enrollment Cliff,” with high school graduate numbers peaking in 2025, community colleges across the country are preparing for a shift in enrollment trends. With fewer traditional-age students on the horizon, it’s becoming clear that adapting strategically will be key to maintaining—and even growing—enrollment in the years ahead.

At CLARUS, we work closely with community colleges to help navigate these challenges. In this post, we’ll explore how your institution can focus on attracting non-traditional students, expanding dual enrollment programs, growing online offerings, and strengthening community partnerships to minimize the impact of these changes and set your college up for success.

Targeting Non-Traditional Students: A Growing Opportunity

With over 37 million Americans between the ages of 18 and 64 who have some college experience but no credential (SCNC), community colleges have a tremendous opportunity to reach adult learners looking to advance their skills, shift careers, or finally complete that degree they started. These students typically need flexibility, additional support, and clear pathways to help them achieve their goals.

What We Know About Adult Learners:

  • Age Range: Generally 25-54 years old, many are juggling work, family, and other responsibilities.
  • Motivations: They’re often driven by career advancement, changes in the job market, or the desire to boost their earning potential.
  • Challenges: They need programs that fit into their busy lives—affordable options, flexible schedules, and a clear return on investment for their education are essential.

Successfully reaching this audience requires a strategic approach that includes building personas, tapping into your institution’s data, and using targeted marketing campaigns. For example, we worked with Anoka Technical College, which saw a 17% increase in core headcount and a 50% jump in non-degree-seeking students after focusing efforts on attracting adult learners.

Enhancing Dual Enrollment Conversion

Dual enrollment programs are a fantastic way for high school students to earn college credit before graduating, giving them a head start on their degrees. But we all know the challenge doesn’t stop there—getting these students to convert into full-time enrollees requires a focused strategy.

Proven Marketing Tactics:

  • Targeted Campaigns: Engage not just students but also parents and key influencers who are part of the decision-making process.
  • Messaging That Resonates: Emphasize the cost savings and faster path to degree completion that dual enrollment offers.
  • Digital Outreach: Use tools like addressable geofencing and social media to reach students and their families where they spend time online.

We’ve seen firsthand how effective these approaches can be. Anoka-Ramsey Community College, for example, saw a 47% increase in postsecondary enrollment options from 2019 to 2024 after implementing these tactics.

Expanding Online Program Enrollment

The pandemic completely changed how many students view online education, and community colleges have adapted by expanding their online program offerings. These programs appeal not only to adult learners but also to traditional students who want more flexibility in their schedules. Recent studies have shown that many community colleges are continuing to offer at least half of their courses online in response to student demand. Even if your college doesn’t have fully online programs, it’s still valuable to highlight which courses can be completed online.

To stay competitive and continue growing online enrollment, it’s important to focus on a few key areas:

  • Boosting Perceived Quality: Ensure that potential students see online programs as just as valuable and robust as in-person options.
  • Broadening Your Marketing Reach: Highlight the flexibility and convenience of online learning in your outreach, making sure students know it can fit into their busy lives.
  • Targeting Returning Students: Reach out to students who paused their education because of life or career changes—online programs can offer them the chance to get back on track.

We’ve seen many colleges find success by refining their online program marketing. By showcasing flexibility and a commitment to quality, community colleges can better serve a wider range of students.

Building Strong Community and Employer Relationships

Building strong partnerships with local employers can truly be a game-changer for community colleges. When you offer tailored training programs, internships, and stackable credentials that align with the needs of local industries, you’re not just driving enrollment—you’re setting your students up for long-term success. Stackable credentials, in particular, are an effective way to engage current students, attract new ones, and even bring back former students who are looking to enhance their skills in a flexible manner.

Key Strategic Initiatives:

  • Develop programs that provide ongoing learning opportunities for local professionals looking to upskill or reskill.
  • Offer flexible learning formats that cater to working adults and fit into their busy schedules.
  • Use data to identify local industry needs and develop programs that meet those demands, ensuring you’re preparing students for the right careers.

At CLARUS, we’ve seen firsthand how effective these strategies can be in strengthening both enrollment and community ties. By focusing on employer relationships and relevant program offerings, your college can become an even more valuable resource for both students and local businesses.

Navigating the Cliff with Data-Driven Strategies

The upcoming enrollment cliff doesn’t have to mean a downturn for community colleges. By focusing on non-traditional students, improving dual enrollment conversions, expanding online learning opportunities, and building strong community and employer partnerships, institutions can continue to thrive and support their communities. The key is having a clear, data-driven marketing strategy that aligns your goals with the needs of today’s students.

At CLARUS, we specialize in helping community colleges develop these tailored strategies. Let’s connect and explore how we can work together to help your institution successfully navigate these changes and continue growing.

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Post-Term Action Plan: Optimizing Your Digital Campaigns for Future Success

As community and technical colleges move past their peak enrollment periods, now’s the perfect time to fine-tune marketing strategies for the next term. Here’s how you can leverage the time right after the Fall start to enhance your digital campaigns and set the stage for Winter or Spring enrollments.

1. Shift from General to Programmatic Campaigns

Instead of sticking to broad calls-to-action like “Apply Now” or “Learn More,” now is the time to focus on specific programmatic pathways. By tailoring your digital campaigns to highlight specific academic pathways, you can create more meaningful connections with prospective students.

Why Focus on Programmatic Pathways?

  • Extended Runway: Starting these targeted campaigns early gives you a head start on building awareness and refining your audience well before the Winter or Spring starts.
  • Enhanced Optimization: With a longer campaign window, you have more time to test and tweak your targeting, leading to better engagement and conversions as you figure out what really resonates with your audience.

By concentrating on pathways that align with various academic programs, you can create campaigns that speak directly to the interests and needs of potential students, making your marketing efforts more effective and efficient.

2. Implement Always-On Tactics

Even after the Fall term begins, prospective students are continually searching for educational opportunities. To keep your college top-of-mind, it’s essential to have core digital strategies in place that run year-round.

Key Tactics to Consider:

  • Retargeting: One of the most effective always-on strategies is retargeting. If you’re not already leveraging retargeting, now’s the time to start. This approach focuses on targeting individuals who have already visited your website, allowing you to reconnect with them through relevant and personalized content.
  • Optimizing Retargeting Efforts:
    • Ensure your retargeting campaigns are segmented and tailored to match specific audience interests, such as different program pages or application actions.
    • Evaluate and adjust your retargeting strategies to drive higher engagement and conversion rates, ensuring they effectively encourage visits and applications.

By continuously engaging with your website visitors through retargeting, you can keep their interest alive and nurture potential students through the decision-making process, even after the initial enrollment push has quieted down.

3. Evaluate and Adjust Your Campaigns

Now is also a good time to take a closer look at how your current campaigns are performing. Check out your targeting parameters and creative assets to see what’s working well and what might need adjustments.

Steps for Evaluation:

    • Analyze Performance Data: Look at metrics such as click-through rates, conversion rates, and engagement levels to gauge how effective your campaigns are.
    • Test and Refine: Use the insights from your performance analysis to test new strategies and fine-tune your approach. Play around with different targeting parameters and creative elements to see what drives the best results.

By continuously evaluating and refining your campaigns, you can improve their performance and ensure they align with your goals for future enrollment periods.

Impacts of Election Season

As an election year unfolds, it can have a big impact on digital advertising, even for businesses outside the political sphere. Political events and campaigns can change user behavior, media consumption habits, and even advertising costs. To stay on top of these shifts and maintain a strong digital presence, consider implementing these three strategies as you are evaluating and adjusting your campaigns this fall.

Conclusion

Post-term periods are an invaluable opportunity for community and technical colleges to prepare for future enrollment cycles. By shifting to programmatic pathways, implementing always-on tactics like retargeting, and continuously evaluating and adjusting your campaigns, you can build a strong foundation for sustained success.
Make the most of this time to optimize your digital marketing efforts and position your institution for future success. The steps you take now will pave the way for increased awareness, engagement, and ultimately, enrollment in the months ahead.

Ready to take your digital marketing to the next level? Let’s start a conversation about how we can help you optimize your strategies for future success.

And don’t miss my upcoming webinar, Boosting Adult Learner Enrollment at Community Colleges, where I’ll explore the current landscape of adult learners and provide actionable strategies for effectively reaching and engaging this growing population in your specific service area!

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Benefits of Utilizing Social Media Retargeting Strategies to Boost Enrollment at Community Colleges

Social media retargeting is a potent marketing strategy for re-engaging users who have previously interacted with your institution or visited your school’s website. It’s a method designed to remind prospective students about your college and encourage them to take further steps in their enrollment journey.

By keeping your institution top-of-mind, retargeting campaigns help move potential students through the enrollment funnel toward actions like enrolling or attending an event. Keep reading to learn about types of retargeting audiences and some of the many benefits of using retargeting in your institution’s digital marketing strategy!

Types of Retargeting Audiences

Effectively engaging potential students requires understanding the different methods used to create retargeting audiences. Here are some of the most effective types:

Web Retargeting

Imagine reaching out to users who have previously visited specific pages on your school’s website. Web retargeting makes that possible! If a prospective student visits your admissions page or looks at specific programs, for example, you can remind them of what your community college offers and inspire them to take the next step.

Lead Gen Form Submitters

Think about the users who requested more information from you during your last Meta or LinkedIn campaign. You can serve them ads promoting the next step in the enrollment funnel, such as signing up for a course. This method ensures that you stay connected with prospects who have already shown interest in your school and its program offerings.

Inquiry Lists

These lists contain prospective students’ contact information, such as phone numbers and email addresses. By uploading them to social media platforms like Meta, Snapchat, TikTok, and LinkedIn, you can encourage prospective students to visit or enroll. You can even target those who started but never completed their application or enrollment process!

Note: your list size may vary by platform. The larger your list, the better, as larger lists increase the match rate!

Benefits of Utilizing Retargeting

Capture the right crowd at the right time! Social media retargeting campaigns are transformative in higher education marketing because they specifically target users who have already shown interest in an institution. For community colleges like yours, leveraging these campaigns also means tailoring messages to users at different stages of their enrollment journey. Here are some other key benefits:

  1. Personalized Engagement: Retargeting allows you to craft messages that resonate with where a student is in their decision-making process. Whether it’s highlighting upcoming enrollment deadlines, showcasing scholarship opportunities, or providing insights into specific programs, your ads can be highly relevant and timely.
  2. Enhanced Recruitment Efficiency: Focusing on prospects who have already shown interest allows you to allocate your marketing resources more efficiently. This targeted approach ensures that your messages reach those most likely to convert, improving overall recruitment ROI.
  3. Increased Enrollment: Tailored retargeting campaigns guide prospects through the enrollment funnel, from initial interest to final decision. This persistent engagement keeps your institution top-of-mind, making it more likely that students will choose your community college.
  4. Stronger Community Connections: Retargeting fosters stronger connections within your community and service area. By continuously engaging with potential students, you build a sense of familiarity and trust, which is crucial for community colleges aiming to serve local populations.

Ready To Elevate Your Enrollment Game?

The strategies outlined here are just the beginning of what social media retargeting can achieve for your institution. If you’re interested in learning how to implement these tactics effectively, our team at CLARUS is here to help!

Start a conversation to discuss how we can tailor a retargeting strategy to meet your specific needs and goals!

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Google Tag Manager 101: Learn the Basics to Optimize Your Digital Marketing Efforts

Google Tag Manager is a powerful platform capable of redefining how digital marketing campaigns are run. With all that power, learning Google Tag Manager can be a daunting task, but at its core, Google Tag Manager is designed to make digital marketing efforts easier, and with a basic understanding of the fundamentals, you can make it do just that.

What is Google Tag Manager?

Google Tag Manager (GTM) is a tag management platform designed to streamline and optimize digital marketing efforts by simplifying the process of managing and deploying marketing tags. A tag is a snippet of code added to your website for various purposes, such as audience building or conversion tracking. Advertising platforms like Google Ads generate these tags. GTM manages these tags in one place, so you don’t have to manually embed them into your site’s code — a great option for those not versed in web development or HTML.

How Does GTM Work?

GTM works by having a single piece of code — a GTM container — placed across your entire website. Google has in-depth resources about how to place the container code here. From there you can add any tags to any page across your entire site.

Placing tags is only part of what makes GTM such a powerful tool. You can also control exactly what pages each tag will be placed on and under what conditions each tag will fire. These conditions are called “triggers”. The combination of a tag and trigger is the bread and butter of GTM. The tag sends data off to a platform, while the trigger tells the tag under what conditions to send that data. Triggers can be configured by a near-infinite number of different variables. Some common ones are page URLs, button click text, and form IDs.

How Does GTM Work?

Any institution running a digital marketing campaign can find some use for GTM. Once set up, GTM will make campaigns easier and more effective. Having all your campaigns’ remarketing and conversion pixels in one place will save time and keep everything organized. In addition, GTM can act as a launching point for more tools like Google Analytics.

GTM also offers an easy way to track conversions. Conversion tracking is essential for measuring the effectiveness of a campaign and better understanding your users. Without GTM, setting up conversion tracking can be tedious, and results might not be accurate. The key to effective tracking is ensuring that your conversions are only firing on specific actions, GTM makes this easy by using triggers. If you want to dive deeper, the blog post “The Ins and Outs of Conversion Tracking” breaks down exactly how conversion tracking can impact your campaigns.

An Example of What GTM Can Do

Let’s put everything we learned together with an example:

Scenario: You want to run a campaign targeting students who have visited your website but haven’t applied yet. To measure the success of this campaign, you want to track whenever a student applies.

Steps:

  1. GTM Container: Create the container and place it on your website.
  2. Remarketing Tag: Create a remarketing tag in the advertising platform and place it via GTM. Target users who visit specific pages, such as admissions, application deadlines, and how to apply pages.
  3. Conversion Tag: Create a conversion tag called “Application Submission” and place it using GTM. Set a trigger to fire this tag when the URL matches the confirmation page after an application is submitted (e.g., examplecollege.edu/application/confirmation).

Now, whenever a student who interacted with your ads submits an application, the “Application Submission” conversion is recorded.

Next Steps

Understanding Google Tag Manager and its capabilities is a journey, but with the right approach, it can significantly enhance your digital marketing efforts. By organizing your tags, improving conversion tracking, and leveraging the full power of GTM, you can take your campaigns to the next level. Embrace the learning process, and take the next step. Create your GTM container and get to tagging!

As a Google Premier Partner, Carnegie is uniquely suited to help you unlock the full potential of Google Tag Manager. If you need assistance or are interested in working with us, reach out to start a conversation.

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How AI Can Transform Marketing for Community Colleges

Marketing has always been about connecting with your audience at the right time and place. Today, that means meeting them where they spend most of their time: online. In line with this, the recent advancements in AI have transformed how we approach marketing. AI is not just a buzzword—it’s a game-changer, especially for community colleges looking to engage prospective students more efficiently and effectively.

The Markets Are Changing

Community colleges serve a diverse demographic, not limited to any one age group. However, it is Gen Z, born between 1997 and 2012, who are currently experiencing the most significant impact of our ever-evolving tech-centric world. As true digital natives, Gen Z’s interaction with content is distinct—they typically have an attention span of 8 to 12 seconds and are accustomed to multitasking. This generation favors visual and personalized content, making them much more responsive to marketing strategies that are customized to their preferences, from tailored emails to individualized course suggestions. This is why it’s more important than ever to begin harnessing powerful AI tools that can help you stay ahead of the changing markets and better serve the demands of your audiences, who expect personalization at every turn.

How AI Can Help

AI is a powerful ally in understanding and better serving your audience. Here are a few examples of how AI tools are already enhancing marketing efforts in significant ways:

  • Automated Content Creation: AI can help create compelling content quickly. It can draft initial text, edit for clarity, and ensure the tone matches what your students relate to.
  • Optimizing Campaigns: AI can analyze large amounts of marketing data to see what’s working and what’s not.
  • Predicting Trends: AI can look at past data and predict future trends, like which programs might see a spike in interest.
  • Engaging with Students 24/7: AI-powered chatbots can provide real-time answers to prospective students’ frequently asked questions, day or night. This round-the-clock availability helps in building a stronger connection with potential applicants.

AI Tools You Can Start Using Today

To help you get started, here are a few examples of AI tools you can begin using today to enhance your marketing efforts:

  • Copywriting: Need help getting past a blank page? OpenAI can help you create copy for emails, social media posts, and promotional materials quickly.
  • Grammar, Tone, and Style: Grammarly checks your writing to make sure it has no mistakes and sounds clear. WordTune gives you tips to make your writing easier to read and sound better, helping you show off your school’s unique style.
  • Landing Pages: Mixo and Archer make creating web pages that attract and engage potential students faster and less labor-intensive. These tools can help you test different layouts and content to see what performs best, making sure the first point of contact is impactful.

Challenges AI Can Help Overcome

Many community colleges face similar challenges: limited budgets, understaffing, and the need to adapt to rapidly changing technology. AI can alleviate some of these pressures by automating routine tasks, helping your staff focus on more strategic activities like relationship building and student services.

Ready to Take Your Marketing Efforts to the Next Level?

You’ve seen how AI can enhance your marketing efforts by allowing for greater personalization and efficiency. Now, imagine taking those capabilities even further with our tailored digital marketing and predictive modeling services. Our services fine-tune your marketing efforts to ensure you’re reaching the right students—those most likely to apply and thrive at your institution—with personalized messaging that resonates with them.

Contact us today to learn more about how our tailored solutions can help you harness the full potential of AI-driven marketing.

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