The right mix of education marketing videos can build trust, boost enquiries, and help prospective students choose you with confidence.

Education marketing videos have become one of the most powerful tools that schools, colleges and universities can use to attract, engage, and convert prospective students.

At VideoHQ, we’ve been working closely with the education sector for a number of years, and in that time we’ve found five video styles which we keep coming back to when organisations want to get more prospective students to open days, and ultimately boost their admissions.

If you want our insights in which one would be most effective for you, you can book a free 30 minute video marketing review with us.

 

School, college and university promotional videos

This is the first thing anyone thinks of when they think of ‘education marketing videos’.

They’re often the top of the list for schools to produce, and they tell the story of the organisation to anyone landing on the website for the first time.

And while they’re incredibly effective content for promoting you to prospective students and parents, there’s a massive trap to avoid:

Don’t make it generic.

I cannot tell you how many school promotional videos I see where it begins with either a drone shot or footage of pupils walking in greeted by the headteacher; followed by a montage of footage from the school day.

Yes it’s footage of your school. But what are your values? What makes you different to your competitors?

When we started working with Newbridge Prep School in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, the one thing headmistress Nicky Burrows-Berry was determined was that their video would capture the pupils’ personalities.

So we set creative writing exercises for them to share their personal reasons they loved the school; and wove this into a script which was voiced by the children themselves.

Find out more about how we produced Newbridge Prep School’s promotional video.

 

Student and parent testimonial videos

While we probably spend the most time producing the style of school promotional videos mentioned above, student and parent testimonial videos are actually our favourite type of education marketing videos.

These are interviews with your current students or their families, where they authentically share their experience of studying with you.

The reason they work so well is because they’re really relatable; they’re told from the perspective of the person who is viewing your content.

If a student is sharing in their testimonial how they were nervous about returning to study after time away from education – that might be the exact situation that someone considering booking an open day

Such reassuring content really helps to reassure and convince prospective students and families that you’re the place for them.

And with your interview questions, you can really hone in on what sets you apart from your competitors.

That’s what we did for St Augustine’s College of Theology, based in London and Kent, with their college promotional video –  which is made up entirely of testimonials from their students.

We focused on some key points: the campus itself; the friendliness of the students; and the supportive atmosphere.

Having so many students talk about those points makes this really trustworthy content – it’d take a lot of money to bribe that many people to say nice things! They’re speaking from the heart.

Read more about what went into producing the student testimonials.

 

Headteacher welcome videos

This style of education marketing video is the one to go for if you want to add the personal touch, and personally welcome prospective students and parents.

They’re great if you’ve got a really charismatic leader heading up your school, college or university; and they can reassure nervous prospective students that they’d have a good experience on an open day.

Edenhurst Preparatory School in Staffordshire wanted to get more prospective families along to their open events in order to ultimately boost admissions.

The school is a small and friendly community, so we decided that a headteacher welcome video was the perfect video style to get across the family feel.

And you’ll notice with this video that the headteacher Emma is only in view a couple of times. Although she voices the video, it’s most effective to use footage of the school day to bring her words to life.

Find out what went into producing this headteacher welcome video.

 

Education marketing videos for social media

We can’t talk about the videos in a student recruitment strategy without talking about social media – it’s one of the best places for reaching a new audience.

But like with the promotional videos, it’s really important that your social media videos aren’t generic.

We worked with Grange Primary School in Shrewsbury to produce their school promotional video – and we used the footage captured as part of that shoot to also create a series of social media videos.

These focused on key themes such as learning outdoors; their bespoke curriculum; and the comprehensive after-school care offered.

In order to stand out, you’ve got to set yourself apart. Discover what makes you different, and produce short videos specifically tailored to those marketing messages.

Find out more about the Grange Primary School promotional video project here.

This video was produced as part of our work partnering with the Marches Academy Trust in Shropshire. If you’re a Head of Marketing at a trust and need specialist video support, you can find out why multi-academy trust’s choose to partner with us for video production.

 

Alumni success story education marketing videos

One of the most under-utilised marketing resources for education providers is their successful former students.

Maybe you use their results, a quote from them, or get them along to an awards evening.

But not many schools, colleges and universities use alumni testimonial videos in their marketing.

These are absolute gold dust, because they’re the proof of all of the promises you make in your marketing.

If you’re shouting about your industry connections, then share a testimonial with a student who works in that industry about how studying with you set them up for success.

Whether you’re a prep school sharing how many of your students get scholarships or places in grammar schools, or a university talking about great employability statistics, alumni testimonials convince prospective students that you deliver on your promises.

 

If you’re looking at incorporating education marketing videos into your student recruitment strategy, then get in touch to book a free call, where we can share our industry insights, and help develop a plan for how to boost your admissions through video.