By Jeremy Tiers, Senior Director of Admissions Services
1 minute read
With this generation of students, consistent (and timely) communication throughout the college search – at all stages – is a sign of interest.
That means when you’re sporadic with your messaging (or when it takes you a while to respond to a student’s email or text message), many take that to mean you don’t like them as much in terms of being a good fit for your school.
When students start to misinterpret a college’s interest level, they tend to focus more of their attention on schools that are consistent (and towards people who respond faster) even if they aren’t as interested in those schools.
The good news is fixing inconsistent communication doesn’t take long. It just takes a mindset as well as an intentional game plan that’s backed by data.
Communicating a story about some aspect of your college and the student experience, or creating an opportunity for personal engagement every six to nine days, is a data-driven formula that works. You match what your audience is comfortable with during the college search process, and that frequency gives them a predictable flow of information.
Even if you repeat topics (once they’ve been admitted or deposited), that’s okay. Students need reminding just like they need regularity.
Being consistent also does the following:
- It makes them feel less stressed.
- It makes them feel more important.
- It helps to build trust.
- When you do it in a conversational tone and ask a direct question as your call to action, it makes it easier for them to respond (and increases the likelihood of that happening).
- When you do it with parents, it makes them feel like you understand the important role they play in the decision-making process.
And last but not least, consistency fits into everyone’s budget.
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