The 6 second video and how it’s changing higher education marketing

In higher education marketing, video is a great medium to use. It provides a feel for the environment and student videos make the experience more real for prospects. And it works very well with the changes that we’re seeing in higher education marketing right now. For example:

1. Content consumption habits are changing: User generated content can provide a good feel for the campus environment. Prospects can view videos created and tagged by students just as easily as those that are produced by the school. And sometimes they may feel more connected with those that are produced by students.
2. Attention spans are shorter: In this world of Twitter and Instagram, attention spans of young people have become even shorter. To reach out to these millennials and make an impact, higher education marketers need to provide them with quick bursts of information to help them understand and connect with the core of the institution.
3. Fads of the moment are constantly changing: Teenagers and young people want to connect in ways that are current and trending. Colleges who want to reach them need to look for those emerging outlets as well.

Vine videos, just a few seconds long, are a great way to highlight student experiences and connect with prospects. With the constant availability of video-equipped smart phones, creating videos has never been easier. And with only 6 seconds of video recording and play time, Vine is a really quick way of creating videos straight from your smartphone. Or better yet, having students create videos straight from their phones.

Here are some great examples of how some higher education institutions are using Vine to promote videos and their campus culture:

Stanford Engineering:

UCLA Health:

Cornell University:

Be it video, images or any other type of content, college communicators have to find a way to work with user-generated content, not only accepting it but taking advantage of it and making it a part of overall strategy. Digital marketing will only get bigger and better as more and more people adopt emerging tools. In higher education marketing, it’s our job to help find the best way to use every opportunity possible to reach the prospects who will keep us on our toes.