Information about career outcomes has quickly become one of the most important factors for prospective students and their families in the college search and decision process. These audiences are actively seeking content that demonstrates the value of your institution in the form of quantifiable data on job outcomes, graduate school placement, and salary information, but also student testimonials and alumni success stories.
Given just how critical this type of information has become for traditional prospects, adult prospects, and parents, you need to reach beyond the viewbook and website homepage and integrate this type of content across key channels as a regular part of your content strategy. Here’s how a handful of colleges have approached it.
- American University’s interactive microsite offers an in-depth look at where AU students land after graduation. Users can filter by various majors and schools to track placement rates, salary information, employers and other information. It is a nice feature that adds value for both adult and undergrad prospects who are eager to understand more about potential career paths.
- Northeastern University also developed a microsite dedicated to preparedness. The thoughtful user experience design does a nice job of taking the user through Northeastern’s approach to experiential learning and co-ops. And the use of interactive features and graphics helps showcase the key data points and results of a recent survey of employers.
- Colgate University used social media to congratulate students on their job and summer internship accomplishments. The social shout-outs, photos, and short testimonials from students added a personal touch and showed successful collaboration between the main Colgate social accounts and the Career Services office. This is a relatively easy way to integrate information on students’ careers and academic success that doesn’t require a ton of research and can be quickly worked into your editorial calendar.
- Butler University clearly articulates its strong 95% placement rate on their website homepage, but couples the hard data with a selection of prominently displayed student and alumni success stories. This combined approach meets a parent’s need for data, but also offers prospects an inside look at the Butler experience from the student and alumni perspective.
- Bentley University does a fantastic job of articulating their “Prepared” brand consistently through their integrated marketing efforts. PreparedU View serves as the hub of their marketing ecosystem and a powerful storytelling platform that features a continual rotation of fresh content such as news articles, white papers, infographics, and video.
