Branding for Higher Education Institutions: Understand the importance of managing your brand

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There is so much information out there today about educational offerings, programs available, financing plans, and more, that competition between institutions to stand out is ever-increasing.

This is why branding for universities is increasingly seen as an indispensable marketing tool.

People want to study a university degree, expand their knowledge and obtain tools that allow them to grow economically and professionally.

But to achieve these goals, students must choose the right option and are interested in checking that their university has a good reputation and is recognized nationally and internationally for the quality of its training programs and services to the student population.

That is why it is so important for institutions to make efforts to canada mobile number database support their brand, through the good use of advertising , marketing, content generation and with campaigns that generate identity and memory in the public.

This is what Branding is all about and below we will see in more detail why it is so important.

Why is Branding so important for universities?
We know how important education is for society. More and more people are thinking about the possibility of taking a university course that will help them lay the foundations for their future.

In this sense, universities take part to offer the best options within the market and thus manage to fill their classrooms. After all, it is a business and they must ensure its stability.

So, what are the reasons for applying branding strategies in universities?

1. Generate presence
If you are not present and visible , no one may know you. That is a maxim that applies to everything.

Universities must work to attract the attention of prospective students, but also to keep those who are already part of the institution satisfied .

The name of the institution must be present before its potential audiences, every time they search for any type of information related to their professional training.

Having presence means making an impression on the public and also generating distinction from the competition.

2. Awaken stimuli in the target audience
People generally buy experiences, not products.

That is why it is so important to know how to manage a brand and make it more recognizable , which is achieved when you can attract the user and generate identity links that help generate desires.

These stimuli not only have to do with continuing to consume a product or service , but also generating the desire to recommend it to third parties.

3. Increase brand value
Working on brand positioning is a project that can take some time, but it generates positive results.

When seeking the sustainability of a business, branding strategies help to increase the value of the brand and, therefore, to better position it.

Good positioning also translates into an attractive business for investment.

If a university is recognized and accepted, it will have a greater chance of establishing agreements with other companies to offer better services to its students. For example: a scholarship program or financing plans.

4 key factors for a good university branding strategy
For an institution to create a brand identity, it must work on highlighting the things it does or offers to students that are positive and, above all, different from what the rest offer.

Creating an effective brand goes beyond working on the design of a logo or a slogan. Brands speak of the identity of an institution , in this case the university, its history, its values ​​and its most important characteristics.

To develop a strong branding strategy capable of representing the university's goals, it is necessary to take into account some key factors.

1. Understand your audience
In order to implement a good branding strategy, it is necessary to research your potential students , understanding what their preferences are, what aspirations they have and what goals they hope to achieve. This could help you highlight the university's strengths.

Conducting surveys on brand perception can also help you understand your audience and, above all, design strategies that meet those needs.

2. Align the university's strengths, according to the students' preferences
A brand's identity should always focus on highlighting strengths and values, which is why the Marketing team must work on defining the institution's positive attributes and how they align with the aspirations and preferences of potential students.

To highlight these strengths in an aligned manner, it is advisable to list the main valuable characteristics of the institution and direct them consistently towards the audience's demands.

3. Use impulse channels consistently
The marketing tools used in a branding strategy for universities must be used consistently and coherently.

It is no secret that access to the Internet and the use of social networks represent a constant challenge in the commercial field, which is why it is necessary to apply them well.

It is not just about modifying a logo, but rather creating a quality image, supported by visual tools such as videos with slogans and messages well-targeted to the university population.

In addition, it is important to ensure that these introductions create a sense of belonging, familiarity and trust, especially for new students.

4. Critically study the competition
Looking at the competition is also part of the strategy, especially if they offer similar study programs or seek to attract a similar audience.

Critically examining how your competition is presenting itself in the market will help you find elements that you can perhaps use to your advantage to establish those connections that they may not be able to achieve.

In this free e-book you will find super interesting information on how to analyze your competition on the Internet to better guide your decisions:


2 successful examples of branding in universities
As we have seen throughout this post, doing branding in universities could be a challenge in terms of obtaining good results because many elements must be taken into account and, above all, work towards a satisfactory end for everyone.

Let's look at some examples of universities around the world that have put forward interesting branding proposals that have helped create new perceptions of a brand, boosting their businesses and generating greater recognition and authority for them.

1. New York University
One of the most recognized universities in the United States had to create an identity campaign for the headquarters that would be established in Abu Dhabi and the Middle East.

Playing with the logo and the emblematic colors that characterize the institution, they created a corporate image that they visually combined with very characteristic elements of the culture, such as its mosaics and crafts.

This image was used in all formats of the Marketing strategy they carried out, such as email, posters, brochures and videos for social networks.


Incorporating cultural elements of a city in which they are going to be established is an interesting strategy, since it generates public recognition.

He feels identified, but at the same time he is able to recognize that it is the same educational institution that is even famous in hundreds of Hollywood movies.

2. The Northern School of Art
For many years, this institution was known as the Cleveland College of Art and Design, but the brand wanted to give it a boost and position itself as the main specialized art school in the area, to be recognized and lead the way among other universities.

To this end, they focused primarily on refreshing the name of the institution, which had lacked recognition from the public for many years, but above all on promoting the values ​​and principles that represent it as a specialized educational institution with many years of experience and tradition.


How to measure the success of branding actions at your university
After everything we have reviewed throughout this post, the evidence is clear: companies must invest in Branding because it is the most efficient way to sell, develop and remain competitive in the market.

But now let's see how the success of branding actions is measured. What metrics should we apply in the higher education sector?

1. Brand value
In more technical terms , Brand Equity seeks to evaluate how users perceive a brand, based on their reactions, for example, logo recognition.

2. Engagement
Depending on brand perception, there will be a higher level of engagement and interaction with the brand across different channels.

Engagement is the indicator that allows you to understand how attentive and active the community that you form around your university is with the content you share and the actions you take.

This is a fundamental metric in digital marketing, a key tool in branding for universities.

3. Referral traffic
In the technological era, presence in the virtual world is essential. Even more so in the case of Branding.

Visits to websites, the use of social networks and the Internet in general allow us to apply this metric with which we can determine the origin of those who visit the website and the impact that your publications have on a given site.

In the case of referral , it is a relevant source of traffic to measure Branding because it addresses visitors who arrive at your website through links from other domains.

That is, if your referral indicator is high, it means that relevant websites are mentioning you as an authority on the topic of the linked content. And better yet, users are interested in what you have to offer, as they actually click on those links.

This metric can also be analyzed by Google Analytics in the "Acquisition" report:


4. Brand mentions
How many times has the university been mentioned online? How many conversations are there on social media related to the university?

There are many tools to measure brand mentions, such as Google Analytics , Buzzsumo or Facebook Insights.

Conclusion
Creating a valuable link between a brand and the consumer public is a focal point for building an effective strategy, and in this sense, Content Marketing could be a great ally to gain presence on the networks, which is precisely where students do the most research to make decisions about their future.

If you want to learn how to create a good Content Marketing strategy for educational institutions, I invite you to download our complete guide in which you will find detailed information on how to use the methodology to boost the organic presence of your brand in the digital environment.