How Can Universities Use AI for Marketing?
By Morgan Northmore, Digital Marketing Coordinator at Noetic Marketer. Morgan specializes in crafting digital content and social media strategies that help higher education institutions connect with prospective undergraduate students and drive enrollment.
Key Takeaways:
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is crucial for modern university marketing, enabling the hyper-personalization of student communications at scale to enhance engagement.
AI-powered tools significantly boost efficiency by automating repetitive marketing tasks, such as content creation and social media scheduling, freeing up valuable team resources.
Predictive analytics enable universities to forecast enrollment trends and strategically target high-intent students, resulting in more efficient budget allocation and higher-quality applications.
AI chatbots provide 24/7 engagement with prospective students, improving response times, answering common questions, and reducing administrative workload.
Measuring the impact of AI through advanced analytics is crucial for demonstrating return on investment (ROI) and making informed, data-driven decisions to optimize recruitment strategies.
Universities can utilize AI for marketing to personalize student communication, enhance efficiency through automation, make data-driven decisions using predictive analytics, and scale their recruitment campaigns. By leveraging machine learning, natural language processing, and data analytics, AI offers several key benefits that directly address common recruitment challenges.
According to Precedence Research, the AI in education market is projected to grow from $5.18 billion in 2024 to $88.2 billion by 2032, underscoring the rapid adoption of AI technologies across educational institutions. For universities, AI has become a powerful ally in the increasingly competitive landscape of student recruitment, offering innovative ways to engage prospective students, analyze data, and optimize marketing efforts.
This guide provides a practical framework for utilizing AI in a university setting. We will highlight the best AI tools available and provide actionable steps to implement them, helping your institution connect with students on a deeper level and achieve its enrollment goals.
How Should a University Begin Implementing an AI Marketing Strategy?
Step 1: Define Your Marketing Goals
The first step is to define clear and measurable marketing goals, as this will guide your strategy and ensure you select the right AI solutions for your specific needs. Common objectives for a university marketing campaign include increasing student enrollment, boosting alumni engagement, improving online reputation, and reducing the time marketing teams spend on repetitive tasks.
Clear objectives will guide your AI marketing strategy, ensuring you select the right tools for your needs.
Step 2: Choose the Right AI Marketing Tools
The second step is to select the appropriate AI tools that align with your marketing objectives. The most effective tools for university marketing are those that cater to specific functions within the recruitment funnel, from initial engagement to enrollment management.
How Do AI Chatbots Improve Student Engagement?
AI chatbots like Kampus and Futr enhance student engagement by offering prospective students instant, 24/7 responses to common questions about admissions, programs, and campus life, thereby freeing up staff time and improving response times.
Kampus: Utilizes content already available on your website; allows students to ask questions in natural language and receive answers without item-by-item navigation.
Futr: Combines live chat and chatbot functionality; supports “live chat handover” for complex queries, multilingual support, connects with many channels (website, messaging, etc.), and offers analytics.
Example: Georgia State University implemented a chatbot named Pounce, which increased enrollment by 3.3% and reduced summer melt by 21% in its first year of use.
What AI Tools Can Help with Content Creation for Universities?
AI is transforming the way universities create and share content. From quick social media graphics to full admissions campaigns, today’s tools can help higher ed marketers produce high-quality, engaging content in a fraction of the time. Here are some of the leading options to consider.
Canva (Magic Studio)
Canva’s Magic Studio features include AI-powered tools such as Magic Write (for drafting copy), Magic Design (for auto-creating layouts), and Magic Switch (for repurposing content into new formats). These tools allow marketing teams to:
Quickly design professional social media graphics, flyers, or presentations.
Draft website copy, email campaigns, or captions with AI assistance.
Translate and localize content for international audiences.
Repurpose lecture slides or event materials into brochures, posts, or blog articles.
Adobe Firefly
Adobe Firefly offers generative image and video tools designed to help teams produce high-quality creative assets without needing advanced design skills. With Firefly, higher ed institutions can:
Create consistent, branded visuals for recruitment campaigns and campus events.
Adapt imagery for multiple formats (posters, social, email headers) with ease.
Experiment with new creative concepts while staying true to your brand.
JustDone AI
JustDone AI is a content generation and editing platform that goes beyond drafting text. It includes tools for paraphrasing, plagiarism detection, and style adjustments. In higher ed, this means you can:
Draft polished blog posts, news items, or web copy.
Adjust your tone and style for different audiences, such as prospective students, parents, or alumni.
Ensure originality and quality across team-generated content.
ImagineArt (Vyro.ai)
ImagineArt expands AI creativity into multimedia production, offering tools for generative images, voice, video, and even music. For higher education, this opens new possibilities:
Producing short, eye-catching videos for TikTok, Instagram, or recruitment campaigns.
Creating visuals to showcase campus culture, research, or student stories.
Enhancing digital storytelling with voice or music elements.
How Does AI Simplify Social Media Management?
AI simplifies social media management by using tools like Hootsuite Insights, Sprout Social and Ocoya to schedule posts for maximum engagement, analyze campaign performance, and track audience sentiment. These platforms use AI to determine the best times to post and provide in-depth analytics.
Hootsuite Insights: Provides real-time analytics, audience insights, and performance tracking to help brands plan and optimize their social media strategy.
Sprout Social: Enables social listening, sentiment analysis, and interaction management to improve engagement and brand awareness.
Ocoya: Uses AI to generate multilingual posts, automate scheduling, and streamline social media content workflows.
Example: King’s College London used Unibuddy to allow prospective students to chat with current students through social media. This approach helped the university increase its social media engagement, providing prospective students with authentic insights into campus life.
How Can You Use Analytics for Enrollment Management?
You can utilize analytics for enrollment management by leveraging predictive models to forecast trends and identify high-intent students, as well as by using measurement tools to track key metrics and calculate the return on investment (ROI) of your marketing campaigns.
The role of predictive analytics is to utilize AI tools, such as HubSpot, to analyze historical data, forecast student enrollment trends, and identify students who are most likely to accept admission offers.
Step 3: Integrate AI into Your Existing Marketing Strategy
Once you’ve chosen your specific AI tools, it’s time to integrate them into your existing marketing strategies. This involves training marketing teams to use the new digital marketing tools effectively, setting up automated processes, and continuously monitoring performance to ensure the tools deliver the desired results.
Keep in mind that the learning curve may be high here. New tools take time to get used to, so exercising patience and having a well-designed plan is key.
Step 4: Monitor and Optimize Your AI-Driven Campaigns
The fourth step is to continuously monitor the performance of your AI-driven campaigns and make data-driven adjustments. An AI tool is only as effective as the data it is given, so regular optimization is crucial for success.
How Can Universities Measure the ROI of AI Marketing?
Universities can measure the ROI of AI marketing by using analytics tools like HubSpot and Google Analytics to track key metrics such as return on investment (ROI), user behaviour across channels, and campaign conversion rates. For example, a long-term Noetic Marketer partnership with an Ontario-based business school used advanced analytics to track and optimize campaigns, contributing to a 119% increase in total domestic applications over four years.
What Are the Main KPIs You Should Target for Universities?
To measure success in AI-driven university marketing, use these key KPIs with realistic benchmarks:
Email Open Rate: Universities should aim for open rates around 40-45% in the education sector, which is above the general industry average.
Click-Through Rate (CTR): A target of ~2.5-3% CTR is reasonable for higher education email campaigns.
Click-To-Open Rate (CTOR): Once people open emails, the CTOR is typically around 5-6% for educational offers.
Cost Per Inquiry / Cost Per Lead (CPI/CPL): For professional, continuing, or online (PCO) education programs, the average price per inquiry is approximately $140 USD, but this can vary significantly depending on the program type.
Cost Per Enrolled Student: Universities report average costs per enrolled student ranging from $2,800 to $3,800 USD for graduate students, with undergraduates being somewhat lower.
Step 5: Scale Your Efforts
The final step is to stay informed about the evolving landscape of AI in marketing. This includes understanding future trends to maintain a competitive edge and addressing the ethical considerations of using AI.
How Can Universities Use AI to Improve Social Media Marketing?
Universities can use AI to improve social media marketing by automating content creation, optimizing post schedules for maximum reach, and analyzing performance data to refine their strategy. While social media is a critical platform for engaging students and alumni, it can be time-consuming. AI tools streamline this process, enabling your team to focus on strategy rather than manual tasks.
Automating Content Creation
Tools like BuzzSumo and Lately can generate social media content based on trending topics, hashtags, and keywords. These tools ensure that your posts are relevant and engaging, increasing the likelihood of likes, shares, and comments.
Example: Lately uses AI to analyze long-form content, such as blog posts or speeches, and create multiple social media posts that are optimized for engagement.
Scheduling and Optimization
AI-powered social media management tools, such as Buffer and Later, can schedule posts at optimal times, ensuring maximum visibility. These tools analyze when your audience is most active and adjust your posting schedule accordingly.
Example: Buffer allows universities to schedule posts across multiple platforms, ensuring a consistent online presence without the need for manual posting.
Analyzing Performance
AI tools like Brandwatch and Sprinklr provide in-depth analysis of your social media performance. These platforms track engagement metrics, audience sentiment, and the effectiveness of different content types, helping universities to refine their social media strategies.
Example: Brandwatch offers sentiment analysis, allowing universities to gauge how their social media posts are being received by the audience.
How Can AI Enhance University Email Marketing Campaigns?
AI can enhance university email marketing campaigns by personalizing content for different student segments, optimizing email send times for higher open rates, and automating A/B testing to improve engagement. Email remains one of the most effective channels for higher education, and AI tools can significantly boost its performance.
Personalization
Tools like Mailchimp and Marketo use AI to personalize email content based on recipient behaviour, preferences, and demographics. This ensures that each email resonates with the recipient, leading to higher open and click-through rates.
Example: Marketo can segment email lists and create personalized email sequences that target different groups of prospective students, such as high school seniors or transfer students.
Optimizing Send Times
AI tools can analyze recipient behaviour to determine the best times to send emails. Tools like Brevo and ActiveCampaign use machine learning to optimize send times, ensuring your emails are opened and read.
Example: Brevo offers a "best time" feature that automatically sends emails when recipients are most likely to open them, increasing engagement.
A/B Testing and Campaign Optimization
AI tools like Optimizely and VWO can automate A/B testing for email campaigns, allowing you to experiment with different subject lines, content, and layouts to determine what works best.
Example: Optimizely can run multiple A/B tests simultaneously, providing insights into which email variations drive the most engagement.
What Role Does AI Play in a University's Content Marketing Strategy?
AI plays a significant role in a university's content marketing strategy by assisting with content creation, improving search engine optimization (SEO), and automating content distribution to reach a wider audience.
Content Creation
AI writing tools like WordHero can help you create and streamline content that resonates with your university's target audience. From web pages to blog posts, these tools analyze trending topics and audience preferences to generate content ideas and drafts.
Example: WordHero uses AI to analyze social media conversations and generate content ideas based on what’s trending in higher education.
Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization (SEO) is non-negotiable if you want your university to rank highly in search engine results. AI SEO tools, such as Surfer SEO and Moz, can analyze your website's content and suggest optimizations to enhance your SEO ranking.
Example: Surfer SEO provides real-time content analysis and optimization tips. It takes into account similar, competing content that has ranked well, helping you create assets that rank higher on search engines.
Distribution and Promotion
AI marketing applications, such as Outbrain and Taboola, can automate distribution, ensuring your university’s content reaches a broader audience. These tools use AI to recommend your content to users who are most likely to be interested, making your efforts more targeted. The result is often increased visibility and engagement.
Example: Outbrain uses AI to place content recommendations on popular websites, driving traffic back to your university’s website.
How Can Universities Measure the Impact of AI Marketing?
Universities can measure the impact of AI marketing by utilizing advanced analytics tools to track return on investment (ROI), analyze campaign performance across various channels, and pinpoint areas for strategic improvement.
Tracking ROI
AI tools like HubSpot and Google Analytics can track the return on investment (ROI) of your marketing campaigns. These tools analyze data from multiple sources, providing a comprehensive view of your marketing efforts.
Example: HubSpot provides detailed ROI reports that demonstrate the revenue generated from various marketing campaigns, enabling universities to allocate their budgets more effectively.
Performance Analysis
Measurement tools like Kissmetrics and Mixpanel offer in-depth performance analysis, tracking user behaviour across different channels. These insights enable universities to understand which strategies are effective and where improvements can be made for more successful marketing campaigns.
Example: Kissmetrics tracks user interactions across multiple touchpoints, providing valuable insights into the customer journey and helping universities optimize their marketing strategies to enhance engagement and improve conversion rates.
Identifying Areas for Improvement
AI-driven analytics tools, such as Tableau and Power BI, can help you visualize data and identify market trends that may not be immediately apparent. By leveraging these insights, your university marketing team can refine their strategies. This may include focusing on areas that need improvement and/or scaling successful campaigns.
Example: Tableau offers powerful customer data analysis and visualization capabilities, enabling universities to create detailed dashboards that track marketing performance metrics in real-time. This allows for quick adjustments and ongoing optimization of marketing efforts.
What Are the Future Trends of AI in Higher Education Marketing?
Future trends of AI in higher education marketing include hyper-personalization at scale, more advanced predictive analytics for enrollment forecasting, and the integration of AI with virtual and augmented reality to create immersive campus experiences. The AI in education market is projected to reach $88.2 billion by 2032, and universities that adopt innovative strategies will gain a competitive edge.
AI-Powered Personalization
According to a study by Salesforce, 84% of customers (including students) say being treated like a person, not a number, is very important to winning their business. This type of personalization is increasingly desired, and AI plays a key role in achieving it at scale.
While a significant amount of personalization can already be accomplished with AI, the level is expected to grow in the coming years.
Universities will be able to deliver highly targeted content and experiences based on real-time data provided by AI marketing platforms. It's expected that this will better target prospective students, ensuring they receive the information and support they need when looking at potential schools.
Advanced Predictive Analytics
The use of predictive analytics in AI-driven marketing is becoming increasingly prevalent, with more than 80% of marketers worldwide integrating some form of AI into their online marketing activities. Universities are leveraging these capabilities to forecast enrollment trends and refine their recruitment strategies more effectively.
These predictive analytics will become even more powerful as AI algorithms continue to improve.
It's suggested that universities will be able to predict not only which students are likely to enroll but also which marketing channels and messages are most effective for different segments of their audience. This will enable a more precise and efficient allocation of marketing resources.
AI in Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality
Virtual reality is already starting to make an impact in the higher education marketing scene, and its influence is expected to grow. SNS Insider reports indicate that the global AR & VR in education market was valued at approximately USD 4.7 billion in 2024 and is expected to exceed USD 14-28 billion by 2028-2032, reflecting strong growth in immersive learning.
These technologies can/will provide immersive campus tours, interactive learning experiences, and more!
Institutions are exploring ways to establish a deeper connection with prospective students before they even set foot on campus.
What Are the Ethical Considerations of Using AI in University Marketing?
The primary ethical considerations of using AI in university marketing involve ensuring student data privacy, avoiding algorithmic bias in recruitment, and maintaining transparency in all AI-driven decision-making processes.
Forbes found that 76% of consumers (including prospective students) expect companies to take a stand on data ethics, particularly in the use of AI. Universities will need to consider these expectations as they implement AI-driven marketing strategies.
Those who prioritize ethical AI practices will build trust with their audience and set themselves apart as leaders in responsible marketing.
Final Thoughts
From chatbots that engage prospective students to predictive analytics that inform enrollment strategies, AI is revolutionizing how universities connect with their audiences. By understanding how to utilize AI for marketing, selecting the appropriate tools, and continually optimizing your strategies, your university can stay ahead of the competition and effectively achieve its marketing objectives.
Ready to Integrate AI into Your University's Marketing Strategy?
Let's talk. Book a free, no-obligation consultation with our higher education marketing experts today.
Don’t miss our other posts on higher education digital marketing.
How Can Universities Use Video Content to Boost Student Recruitment?
What Are 5 Effective Marketing Strategies for Recruiting Undergraduate Students?
What Are the 7 Key Challenges in Higher Education Digital Marketing and How Can They Be Solved?
Key AI Marketing Terms
AI (Artificial Intelligence): The simulation of human intelligence in machines, enabling them to learn, reason, and perform tasks such as data analysis, natural language processing, and trend prediction.
A/B Testing: A method of comparing two versions of a webpage, email, or advertisement against each other to determine which one performs better in achieving a specific goal.
Chatbot: An AI-powered program designed to simulate human conversation and provide automated, instant responses to user inquiries online.
Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO): The process of increasing the percentage of users or website visitors who complete a desired action, such as filling out a form or applying to a program.
Machine Learning: A subset of AI where algorithms are trained on large datasets to identify patterns and make predictions without being explicitly programmed for the task.
Natural Language Processing (NLP): A field of AI that gives computers the ability to understand, interpret, and generate human language, powering tools like chatbots and content generators.
Predictive Analytics: The use of data, statistical algorithms, and machine learning techniques to identify the likelihood of future outcomes based on historical data.
Return on Investment (ROI): A performance measure used to evaluate the efficiency or profitability of an investment. In marketing, it measures the revenue generated against the amount of money spent.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO): The practice of increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to your website through organic search engine results.
Sentiment Analysis: An AI technique that uses natural language processing to identify and categorize opinions expressed in text as positive, negative, or neutral.
