An institute of higher education is nothing without its students, but how do you get students to enroll? In a world of near-infinite opportunities and distractions, how do you get someone to not just notice your programs, but commit to studying there? The best way to go about it is to know your audience and appeal to them. To this end, major companies and institutions of higher education alike can use a tool called the AIDA framework to help them create content that relates to their ideal audience, captures their attention, and gets them to engage. So, let’s do a deep dive into what the AIDA framework is, how to use it, and how it can help you boost enrollment rates!
What Is the AIDA Framework?
The AIDA model is an enrollment marketing framework that many academic institutions follow. In essence, it’s used to grab people’s attention and turn that attention into your action of choice (in this case, enrolling in your program). Each letter in the acronym represents a phase in the process, which is as follows:
- Attention: Here, you’ll want a snappy, visually interesting message that encourages viewers to click through and learn more about your program. This can be in the format of a social post, landing page, paid ad, blog post, billboard, or even a flyer.
- Interest: Once you’ve gotten them to click through, provide them with appealing facts and information that leave them wanting to learn more. This is a great opportunity to utilize the Storybrand framework to invite them into a story and lead them on to the next stage: Desire.
- Desire: Having learned all there is to know about your programs, you can present the viewer with statements, statistics, and testimonials about how your program can meet their needs. This turns their interest into a desire to enroll. (check out this free resource here!)
- Action: Finally, direct the viewer to a place where they can enroll, and streamline the enrollment process to make it as quick and simple as possible.
AIDA for higher ed is effective for a reason; it’s a comprehensive start-to-finish process that ensures you’ll attract students who are passionate about their goals and ready to take the next step in their higher education journey. Now that we’ve gone over the basics of the process, let’s talk implementation.
How to Grab Attention
The first step in the process is to grab your audience’s attention. Keep in mind that most people have fairly short attention spans, so you only have a few seconds to grab your would-be student’s attention through a combination of interesting text and visual appeal. One of the best ways to do this is, again, utilizing elements of story.
- Check out this Forbes article about the “debunked” goldfish attention span stat and the power of story.
- Download our ebook “The Story that Students Buy” which provides 7 elements you can use to capture the attention of potential students!
Come up with a brief bit of text that sums up your institution’s main pull factor, and use dynamic, punchy (but true) wording to keep things interesting. Take, for example, an institution that wants to advertise its robust financial aid options. Which would you find more appealing: an institute that presents itself as “an affordable institute to get your degree” or as “the place to achieve your dreams– 100% debt free”? Most people would go with the latter, a more memorable tagline that is likely to draw their interest.
Next, think about the visual elements. It’s best to go with something that will not only capture the viewer’s attention but also tell them a bit about who you are as an institution. If you want to appeal to a wider audience, include something generally appealing like pictures of students enjoying your campus. If you want to appeal to a specific group of people, you could get more specific by showing pictures of your different programs and the students who have enrolled in them.
Turning Attention Into Interest
Once you’ve caught the reader’s attention, provide a link that directs them to your institute’s social media pages or website where they can learn more. From there, they’ll be able to read up on your institution and all it has to offer.
If your viewers have clicked through the advertisement to visit your website, they’re looking for something– what is it? Maybe they’re looking to enter an entirely new field of study or enrich their skills in a current one. They’ve likely faced challenges throughout their life, and want to attend an institution that understands those challenges and appreciates what they have to bring to the table.
Try sharing stories and testimonials from students who have overcome such challenges, and how their education from your institution helped them do so. If other students with similar backgrounds have thrived at your institute, the viewer will be able to do the same. By doing this, you’ve shifted your institution from a simple point of interest to an actual, serious possibility for the viewer’s higher education needs.
Use Interest to Create Desire
Of course, there’s a fair chance that you’re not the only serious possibility to your viewer. If you want your viewer to enroll with your institute, you’ll have to make it seem not just interesting, but desirable. Student and alumni testimonials are once again useful during this stage. By showing the positive impact that you’ve had on past and current students, you show your viewers the kind of supportive environment that they can expect if they choose to enroll with you.
I’m sure you’re probably thinking of using social media for this – and yes, you should! Posting student-centered and even student-created content is a great way to build community and attract new students. But, you should also consider nurturing your audience through a regular email cadence as well. Sending regular emails to your leads with student testimonials, program information, alumni impacts, and other valuable data can make a big difference in your enrollment numbers.
Anyone who has gone through higher education will tell you that it’s not just about the education itself, it’s about the community you become a part of and the people you meet along the way. For your institute to be desirable, you need to show your viewers that this community is alive and well, and that countless students and alumni from all walks of life have gathered here to learn and form connections.
Of course, the education isn’t to be discounted, either. You can very easily make your institute more desirable by offering viewers a list of well-known past alumni. This shows that you don’t just make cubicle workers, you make thinkers and doers that are ready to go out into the world and make a name for themselves. For someone looking to chart the course of their future, few things could be more appealing than that.
Close the Deal With a Call to Action
You’ve caught your viewers’ attention, held their interest, and created desire; now all that’s left to do is get them to take action. The most important thing here is clarity. Don’t tiptoe around the issue– you don’t want them to “check out [your] site if they want,” you want them to “get in touch today and take the next step towards [their] future career.” A strong, decisive call to action is often the push that a viewer needs to apply and enroll with your institution.
Speaking of enrollment, try to make the process as quick and straightforward as possible. You want your viewers to fill out their applications and enroll while they’re still riding the high of possibilities. If they get bogged down in the application process, there’s much more time for them to get frustrated and start having second thoughts. By removing any opportunities for hesitation, you ensure that your current viewers are your future students.
The AIDA framework gives you an effective tool for creating content that engages readers and turns prospective learners into dedicated students. Simply put, understanding AIDA allows you to understand your audience, making them feel seen and heard, encouraging them to inquire, apply, and eventually enroll in your program.
Do you need help creating a content strategy that attracts your ideal student audience and converts more leads into enrolled students? Greenstone Media would be happy to help. Get in touch with us today!
