The higher ed recruitment game is changing fast. Fewer prospective students, changing search behaviors, and increasing competition mean schools can’t rely on the same old tactics anymore.
At Manaferra, we’ve seen firsthand how content marketing has transformed from a “nice-to-have” into an essential enrollment strategy. When 84% of higher ed marketing leaders identify prospective students as their top-priority audience, it’s clear that enrollment growth remains the foundation of institutional success.
This guide will walk you through practical strategies for using content marketing to boost your enrollment numbers in 2025 and beyond. No fluff, no jargon—just actionable insights based on what’s actually working for colleges and universities right now.
Why Content Marketing Matters More Than Ever
Traditional recruitment methods aren’t cutting it anymore. Purchasing contact lists has seen conversion rates fall from 0.13% to just 0.043% in recent years. Meanwhile, the pool of college-bound teens is shrinking, with hundreds of thousands fewer names expected by 2027.
Content marketing works differently. Instead of interrupting students with ads or emails they didn’t ask for, you’re creating valuable resources they actively seek out. When a prospective student finds helpful information from your school, they begin to trust you—and that trust translates into applications.
Take University of the Potomac as an example. After revamping their content and SEO strategy, they saw a 447% increase in organic traffic and a staggering 1,423% jump in SEO-driven leads, plus added $125,000 in monthly traffic value. That’s not just more website visitors—that’s more actual students in the pipeline.
Content marketing also creates what we call a “flywheel” effect rather than relying on a linear funnel. As one higher ed VP puts it, “advancing our institutions must start with enrollment, and end with engagement and philanthropy”. This approach focuses on continuous engagement rather than blunt outbound pushes.
The Student Journey and How Content Shapes It
Today’s prospective students experience a range of emotions throughout their journey—fear, excitement, doubt, and anticipation. As one higher-ed SEO expert notes, “marketers should provide them with good information so that… students will think, ‘That University is really helpful…’ This sets the stage for a more impactful brand impression at the consideration/decision stages”.
Creating content that answers students’ questions and eases anxieties positions your institution as a supportive authority when it’s time to choose a school. Content marketing is now seen as an essential strategy for driving enrollment and building your institution’s reputation, not just a marketing fad.
Georgia State University understood this journey when they created an AI chatbot for incoming freshmen. This “Pounce” chatbot exchanged over 50,000 messages with students, and the results were impressive: a 21.4% reduction in “summer melt” and a 3.3% increase in enrollment yield. What’s more, 94% of students recommended that the next year’s class also get the chatbot because they found it so helpful.
Content Types That Actually Drive Enrollment
Thought Leadership Content
Thought leadership content on your blog remains incredibly effective when done right. Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) built an extensive content library answering common student questions like “What is a BSN degree?” and “Is a BSN worth it?”—queries searched hundreds of thousands of times monthly.
This approach has helped SNHU generate over 1.3 million monthly organic visits, with approximately 77% coming from non-branded searches. That means people who weren’t looking specifically for SNHU found them through helpful content. In fact, SNHU’s organic traffic is so large that buying equivalent Google Ads would cost ~$5.7m per month.
Your blog strategy should focus on addressing real questions that align with your programs. When students start considering getting a degree, they don’t immediately search for specific programs like “master’s in cybersecurity” — they have tons of basic questions. By answering those questions, you bring students into your site and keep them engaged throughout their journey.
Video: More Than Just Campus Tours
Video has become non-negotiable for reaching today’s students. Research shows 82% of high school students watch videos on college websites, and 83% find them useful in their decision-making.
While virtual campus tours are important (73% of students have taken one, and 79% say it’s useful in their college search), don’t stop there. Short-form vertical video is now one of the highest-demand forms of content according to Inside Higher Ed.
Harvard’s admissions office uses TikTok for student Q&As about majors, accumulating tens of thousands of followers and likes. These brief, authentic videos create an emotional connection that polished brochures can’t match.
Harvard University’s Division of Continuing Education identified that adult students needed help with career changes, so they created a “How to Ace an Interview” video and blog post. That evergreen content has amassed over 2.5 million YouTube views in eleven years, demonstrating the long-term payoff of addressing student pain points with helpful content.
Student Stories That Sell Without Selling
Nothing resonates with prospective students like hearing from people like them. Student and alumni stories add emotional resonance and credibility that marketing copy alone can’t match. Their testimonials can be a powerful part of your content marketing message.
Washington University in St. Louis has students take over their TikTok accounts, precisely to leverage peer influence and reach prospective students authentically (Inside Higher Ed).
Interactive Content That Engages and Converts
Interactive elements transform passive reading into active engagement. Net price calculators address the primary concern of affordability—in fact, “results from a financial aid or scholarship calculator” ranked among the top five resources students use when researching colleges.
There’s huge potential in using data visualizations and interactive content alongside text. Webinars and virtual events are also booming, with the virtual events market projected to grow ~30% by 2027 .
SEO Strategy: Getting Found When It Matters
Understanding How Students Actually Search
Search engines are often the first touchpoint between a prospective student and a university’s content. “Most students make their way to your website via search engines,” an EAB report emphasizes.
A 2024 survey of 6,000+ graduate and adult learners by EAB found the top five information sources were all digital (e.g., search engines, school websites, online directories, etc.). This reflects a broader trend of “stealth shoppers” — students who independently research schools without ever contacting admissions until they apply.
What’s particularly interesting is the emergence of social media as a search tool. According to Google’s own research, around 40% of Gen Z will use TikTok or Instagram to search for things instead of Google. This shift means universities need to consider how their content appears on these platforms too.
Beyond Branded Search Terms
Most schools focus primarily on branded search terms—their own name or programs tied to their school. While ranking for these terms is important, they typically only reach prospects who are already aware of your institution.
The real opportunity lies in non-branded search terms that capture prospects early in their journey. SNHU’s success story is telling: 77% of their organic traffic comes from non-branded searches. In SEO, this is the traffic you want… new audiences that haven’t engaged with your brand before.
For most higher ed institutions, the majority of organic traffic is branded traffic, meaning they’re mainly getting visitors who already know the school. This represents a missed opportunity to reach new prospects through non-branded content.
Technical Considerations That Matter
Even great content won’t perform well if technical SEO fundamentals aren’t in place. Having your main (root) website serve primarily as a marketing asset can do wonders for your SEO. SNHU’s blog lives under snhu.edu, which concentrates SEO authority and is one reason their site performs so well in search results.
Beyond site structure, page speed, mobile responsiveness, and technical SEO hygiene (proper redirects, meta tags, schema markup) are all increasingly part of content strategy in higher ed. University of the Potomac once experienced a 70% drop in organic traffic after a website redesign disrupted their SEO, until we fixed the issues (read the full case study here).
Creating Content That Actually Converts
Value-First Approach
Today’s students are savvy consumers who can detect marketing-speak a mile away. They’re also making one of the most significant investments of their lives, so building trust is essential.
Google’s guidelines explicitly reward content that is “people-first” and useful. Universities should make sure their content provides genuine value rather than feeling like an ad.
National University’s blog articles, for example, often include data, statistics, and detailed pros/cons — like one post that shares NCES data on online enrollment growth and a list of benefits and considerations of online vs. in-person learning. This kind of depth not only engages readers but signals to search engines that the content is thorough and authoritative.
Strategic CTAs and Personalization
Every piece of content should include calls-to-action that guide prospects toward the next appropriate step.
One practical example is using dynamic content on “thank you” pages after a student requests info — instead of a generic thank you, the page might display a tailored next step based on their interests.
The rise of AI and personalization is dramatic in higher education, with 93% of higher ed staff expecting to expand their use of AI in their work over the next two years. AI is helping institutions connect more effectively with their audience, and make informed decisions, reshaping how they engage prospects in a competitive market.
Measuring What Matters
Without measurement, you can’t improve your content strategy. According to HubSpot, education industry customers see an average 215% increase in website traffic after 12 months of inbound marketing implementation. They also report a 310% increase in inbound leads during the same period.
University of Wyoming increased lead volume by 26% and achieved an 18% conversion rate to enrollment after refining their inbound content strategy. These metrics demonstrate the tangible impact of content marketing on enrollment outcomes.
A classic statistic in the field is that content marketing generates 3x as many leads as outbound marketing at 62% lower cost. For higher education, this means content (largely owned media) can reduce reliance on expensive paid student search.
The Future of Higher Ed Content Marketing
As we look toward 2025 and beyond, content marketing will only become more central to successful enrollment strategies. The challenges are real: Bain & Company found that organic traffic could drop 15-25% due to the rise of AI answers on search pages. This “zero-click” trend means universities will need to optimize not just for clicks, but for visibility within AI-generated answers.
According to Inside Higher Ed, “it’s getting more competitive in the digital space to reach a dwindling pool of students… efforts will take 3-5 years to take hold”. This means colleges must invest in long-term content assets now to secure their pipeline in the future.
The institutions that thrive will be those that view content not merely as marketing materials but as valuable educational resources that genuinely help prospective students navigate their decisions. By focusing on student needs first and institutional promotion second, you build the trust that ultimately drives enrollment choices.
Ready to Transform Your Higher Ed Content Marketing?
At Manaferra, we specialize in helping higher education institutions develop and implement data-driven content strategies that drive enrollment growth. Our team brings deep expertise in higher education SEO, content creation, and digital marketing.
Contact us today for a free content marketing assessment and discover how we can help your institution achieve its enrollment goals through strategic content marketing.
