The new academic year is right around the corner. Enrollment is teetering, and the pressure is on to make a big splash. Marketing teams hunker down with the enrollment office, and they develop a master plan: a messaging campaign that is a surefire way to drive applications, get butts-in-seats and reverse downward trends.
Unfortunately, there’s one problem: That flawless messaging campaign looks and sounds just like everyone else’s. It falls flat, the needle doesn’t move and the institution becomes part of the collective wallpaper in higher education advertising.
In the modern world of community college marketing, fortune favors the bold. Community colleges are no longer competing against other higher education institutions only: They’re competing against everything in the marketplace of attention.
To truly thrive, community colleges must consider different communication strategies that break through the noise.
Take big swings with confidence
Imagine the classic higher education radio commercial. In 30 seconds, prospective students are regaled by the college’s vast array of academic programs. By the many scholarships and financial aid opportunities available. By the small class sizes. And, of course, by how they can start there and then go anywhere.
“In a world where every college is shouting the same promises louder and louder, the goal isn’t to turn up the volume,” said Alex Karvounis, creative services lead at MiraCosta College in California. “It’s to say something so distinct, it makes people stop scrolling, stop walking and actually listen.”
This is an opportunity unique to community colleges, especially when weighed against the landscape of large four-year colleges and the ever-growing presence of online mega universities. Recruitment messaging, and establishing a sense of belonging and community, allows community colleges the flexibility to be bold in their messaging.
What sets one college apart from another is their students’ “why.” It’s what gets them to the front door, Karvounis said. When students feel seen, welcomed and understood, they’re more likely to remember when it’s time to enroll.
“When purpose becomes the message, it stops sounding like marketing and starts feeling like belonging,” he adds.
Consider this a collective opportunity to zig when the competition zags: Messaging can be loud, funny or just outright different. Most importantly, community colleges can communicate in ways that ensure their messages are heard loud and clear.
Marketing gets them in the door. Enrollment closes the deal
Advertisers often have 30 seconds — or less — to tell their story. On social media, even five seconds is considered long-form these days. That’s hardly enough time to explain the complexities of college enrollment.
It’s why getting marketing teams on the same page with enrollment is critical, so expectations about messaging are clear, and colleges can see sustained enrollment growth, said Jamie Cole, integrated marketing communications manager for Community College of Beaver County in Pennsylvania.
“When the message students see in our advertising aligns with the experience they receive after they inquire, we reduce friction, build trust and create a clearer path to enrollment,” she said.
Advertising can’t, and shouldn’t, solve student readiness. Students will still need personal guidance once they arrive. A marketer’s job is instead to understand their audience and use clear, compelling messaging to spark that first response. Ensuring that the entirety of enrollment — which includes financial aid and registration teams — understands the implications of advertising goes a long way in keeping the onboarding process smooth.
‘One campaign to rule them all’ isn’t the norm anymore
The beginning of any good marketing campaign starts with a strong understanding of its audience. For community colleges, this is tricky because the audience range is so broad.
For a long time, the answer to this messaging conundrum was to develop one sweeping brand messaging and recruitment campaign that would cover just about everything. In the marketplace of attention, however, this strategy just scratches the surface.
“A strong brand identity gives us consistency, but our messaging has to reflect the distinct motivations of adult learners, dual-enrollment students, career-changers and everyone in between,” Cole said. “In a market saturated with the same talking points, such as affordability, accessibility and transfer pathways, blending in is easy. Unique storytelling is what sets us apart.”
The most successful marketing campaigns now have so many different audience-specific messages that they hardly seem coordinated, if studied closely. It takes teamwork among admissions, marketing and even institutional research to analyze enrollment data, identify audiences and enrollment trends, and develop audience-specific campaigns with particular messaging points about the college.
“Knowing your audience isn’t just smart marketing — it’s applied social science,” said Jonathan Fonseca, assistant director of digital marketing and creative services for Cape Cod Community College in Massachusetts. “When we segment, we stop guessing and start connecting with real people, in real ways, based on what actually drives them.”
People are listening. Know how to talk to them
Nationally, community colleges are seeing modest enrollment gains. This is welcome news as institutions collectively face an enrollment cliff predicted for 2026 that ties back to declined birthrates from the 2008 recession. With these challenges on the horizon, establishing a creative, different and effective voice remains more important than ever.
It all means that now is the time for community colleges to assess or reassess their marketing messaging, strategies, brand voice and relationships between departments.
“Your college voice should reflect who you are and who you’re trying to reach,” Fonseca said. “As your audience changes, your voice has to adapt. When it does, your messaging hits harder and builds real trust.”
