Boosting University Recruitment: The Power of the Campus Tour Video
Imagine a prospective student, thousands of miles away, making the pivotal decision to join your university—all thanks to a compelling campus tour video. In the competitive world of higher education marketing, universities are constantly seeking innovative ways to attract and engage prospective students. One highly effective asset all marketing managers should have in their collection is a professionally produced campus tour video.
These videos are not just informative; they are a powerful tool to enhance engagement and drive conversion rates. It is a benefit not only for those that can’t come to visit, but for any prospective student considering their options. Not having such a video can put you at a major disadvantage against your competitors in convincing prospective students to choose your institution for their education.
"One highly effective asset all marketing managers should have in their collection is a professionally produced campus tour video”
The Impact of Campus Tour Videos on Student Recruitment
Campus tour videos are a key conversion piece for marketing and recruitment for any university. With a focus on your state-of-the-art facilities, unique campus features, and the vibrant student life, this type of video can play a key role in any prospective student’s decision-making process.
Students in the consideration stages want to not only see what the facilities are like, but also if the environment feels welcoming and a good fit for them. Visually showcasing the campus and student life not only helps prospective students envision themselves at the university—a critical factor in their final choice—but also differentiates the institution from its competitors by offering a visual and emotional connection to the campus itself.
According to the 2023 National Prospective Student Survey and 2023 National Admitted Student Survey by Hanover Research, campus tours play a significant role in influencing students’ decisions. These findings highlight the critical impact of campus tour videos in the overall recruitment strategy
According to Hanover Research "Campus tours play a significant role in influencing students' decisions”
What Makes a Great Campus Tour Video?
The content of the video is crucial. Highlighting those key facilities such as libraries, laboratories, and sports centres can capture prospective students’ interests. It’s always good to include broader features such as historical buildings, green spaces, and campus traditions to add distinctiveness and help you stand out.
If you’re considering a single, central tour, it will likely feature your flagship areas, communal spaces, and overall atmosphere, so can act as both a tour and brand piece. However, it’s worthwhile considering producing more focused tours at a subject or school level which can offer more detail.
A bio-medical science student will want to see very different things to someone studying sports management, and likely will be a different target or demographic. As such the videos can better reflect this. If you do look at more specific courses, the videos can still feature the same common areas but deviate to showcase those specific facilities of the subject area itself.
How to Approach It?
The benefits of creating a professional-looking video cannot be overstated. High-definition visuals, clear audio, and expert editing ensure that the video is not only visually appealing but also maintains the viewer’s interest. It can be a key asset, which could have a long life, so warrants a certain level of investment and quality.
There are many ways you could approach this from a technical perspective. It could be shot on a traditional camera – this could be a narrated tour or just with music and graphics; 360-degree video is also a popular way to let people explore the spaces at their own pace and became popular a number of years ago; alternatively, a user-generated approach can work well, particularly for more social or subject-focused tours; and finally, if you have the budget filming with drones can add gravitas and impact.
Adding a personal touch by featuring relatable and authentic experiences can significantly enhance the video’s effectiveness. Personal stories, whether from students or staff, resonate well with viewers and make the content more engaging and persuasive. A well-crafted script that flows seamlessly and features your key USPs can make a lasting impression on the audience. The approach you take ultimately comes down to the style that works best for your institution, and of course, the budget available.
Different Types of Campus Tours
Below are some examples of different approaches you could take if you’re considering a new campus tour.
The Campus Fly Through
This video from Cambridge is a really engaging and dynamic example that shows us a real cross-section of areas within the university campus. Aimed as a higher-level piece for all students, it injects energy and interest, and keeps the viewer hooked throughout.
A Curated, Presenter-led Tour
If you wanted to take a more narrative-based approach, you could consider having some current students fronting the video. This video from The University of Westminster does an excellent job in this regard, showing a more personal and welcoming side to the university as well as a bit of personality.
Combining Visuals and Text
Campus Tours don’t need to be overly complex or expensive. Prospective students want to get information about where they will study and an idea of what they will see when they arrive. Filming cutaways of the campus with text to accompany is a proven way to approach this type of video. One of the benefits is that you can stretch your budget further, and make individual tours for each of your schools or departments and can focus these towards those specific students. Below is a video we created for ESCP Europe that takes this approach, showing their London Campus
Taking a User-generated Approach
Although the quality won’t be as high as working with a professional agency, you can also consider working with students to create more natural, user-led pieces. These might be better suited to more focused tours rather than a flagship piece, but the lower costs can still mean the video returns a solid ROI. Below is an example from London-based UEL which gives a more whistlestop showaround of their Docklands campus.
If you don’t have the in-house editing skills to do this, there are options to take a hybrid approach to UGC. We have our own video capture app, Recordr that combines user-gen filming, with professional editing and producing. It ensures your videos stay on-brand and on-brief whilst maintaining that natural and trusted feel. Students would shoot the tour based on a number of questions we set out, and our team can edit the final video for you.
We've developed a unique User-gen filming app that can help your institution produce on-brand and on-brief UGC with ease.
Using Drones
Drones could just be a feature in the video, showing off the wider campus and buildings; however, there are some interesting examples which only use drones to take you on a journey flying through the various facilities at speed. This is a great example from Dehong (Beijing) School, which also features the campus with an informative voiceover.
Why stop with just the Campus?
If your location or city is a key USP, why not also consider a wider tour of the local city or area. The University of Sheffield have put together this great student-led piece that does just that, and gives real insight on what it’s like outside of the campus grounds.
Conclusion
Campus tour videos are an essential tool for any modern university’s marketing. They offer a unique opportunity to connect with prospective students, showcase the university’s strengths, and provide a vivid glimpse into campus life. By investing in high-quality video production, universities can significantly enhance their appeal and drive recruitment success.
Marketing managers looking to boost their institution’s recruitment efforts should consider a campus tour as a key part of their strategy, leveraging their ability to engage, inspire, and convert prospective students into enrolled students.
"Marketing managers looking to boost their institution’s recruitment efforts should consider a campus tour as a key part of their strategy"
If you’re interested in discussing how best to produce a campus tour for your university, feel free to contact us and we’d be happy to offer a free consultancy call or any advice we can.
Want to create more effective and engaging video for your institution?
At h10 agency, we specialise in creating video content for higher education marketing. This ranges from higher end promo videos, through to user-gen and social.
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If you’d like to chat about producing videos for your institution, we’d be happy to have a call to chat. Drop us a message below.
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