Stand out from the crowd and attract the students you need to compete in the fastest-growing segment of higher education — online degrees.
With over a decade of experience in online higher education marketing, our time-tested, future-focused website and digital marketing services are specifically designed to build awareness, communicate value, and boost enrollment for both established and emerging online programs.
From the intricacies of technology integrations and eCommerce to the digital marketing best practices you need to generate leads and drive enrollment, we build sites that enable online degree programs to thrive.
Our innovative digital marketing strategies address prospective students other agencies miss, so your online degree programs can grow to their full potential.
To make sure your online programs get discovered by the right prospective students at the right time, we apply SEO best practices designed for evolving search behaviors.
Our team of online higher education PPC specialists design customized paid media strategies that drive transformational results.
Our brand strategists ensure that your digital presence communicates the unique value of your online degrees, so you can overcome misperceptions about online education, strengthen brand awareness, and maximize enrollment.
We apply our deep understanding of the needs and concerns of prospective online learners to produce valuable, search-optimized content that drives engagement and full-funnel leads.
From building your contact list to increasing open, click-through, and reply rates, our online degree-specific email marketing strategies enable you to convert more leads to applicants and enrollees.
We know that online degrees require a different approach to social media marketing. Our social media strategies are specifically designed to maximize engagement with your unique audience.
higher education institution
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programs in top 3 ranking on Google organic results
increase in PPC ‘apply now’ conversions
increase in leads for higher ed clients
What works for residential higher ed programs won’t resonate with the audience for online degrees. Higher education institutions need to develop marketing strategies that not only highlight the flexibility and convenience of online programs but also emphasize the quality, support, community, and outcomes that these programs offer. As an agency that specializes in marketing online degrees, we understand and address the specific concerns, preferences, and expectations of your audience, including:
Demographic Variability
Online programs often attract a broader range of students, including working professionals, parents, and international students who may not have the option to relocate or attend on-campus classes.
Technical Savviness
Online students need to be comfortable with technology. They are likely to be more receptive to digital marketing strategies and might have higher expectations regarding the online presence and digital resources of the university.
Learning Style Preferences
Online students often prefer or require the flexibility to learn at their own pace and on their own schedule. They might be more self-motivated and independent compared to traditional students.
Motivation and Goals
Online students may be more career-oriented, seeking specific skills or credentials to advance or change their career paths. They might prioritize programs that offer direct career support, networking opportunities, and practical skills over a traditional college experience.
Financial Considerations
Online students are often particularly cost-sensitive, as many are financing their education independently while managing other financial responsibilities. Transparent information about costs, financial aid, and potential ROI is crucial.
Expectations for Support and Resources
While online students expect flexibility, they also require robust support systems. They might have higher expectations for the availability and responsiveness of instructors, advisors, and technical support.
Vital provided my team with the guidance and expertise we needed in order to maximize synergies across our omnichannel network of digital transformative initiatives.
— Andy Kauffman
Digital Marketing Strategist, University of San Diego Online
Before Vital, we struggled to have the discipline to measure results and quantify our paid strategies. Now we know exactly what’s working. Better yet, Vital pushes us to continually improve, so we’re able stay competitive in a really tough enrollment market.
— Kim Downey
Digital Marketing Strategist, UMass
In an increasingly competitive online degree market, you need a digital marketing partner who understands that not all higher education institutions experience the same enrollment challenges.
#1. Perception of Quality
There’s often a perception that online degrees are less rigorous or reputable compared to traditional on-campus programs. In order to overcome this stigma and demonstrate the quality and equivalence of online programs, we’ve developed a holistic approach that integrates brand-building, thought leadership, and social proof and validation.
#2. Technology Accessibility & Literacy
Ensuring that prospective students have the necessary technology and skills to participate effectively in online learning is crucial. We understand that your marketing strategies must address and provide solutions for potential technological barriers.
#3. Personalization and Engagement
Creating a sense of community and engagement in an online environment can be challenging. To help address concerns about the potentially impersonal nature of online education, we develop marketing messages that highlight the interactive elements, real-time support, and other community-building aspects of your programs.
#4. Demonstrating Value & ROI
Online learners are highly focused on the ROI of their education. We help you clearly communicate the career outcomes, support services, and other unique advantages of your online degree programs.
#5. Flexibility & Time Management
One of the major benefits of online education is the ability to fit coursework into a busy schedule. But to retain students and maintain positive outcomes, you also need to foster their dedication and work ethic. We help bridge the gap between intent and follow-through with marketing that communicates flexibility while appealing to the students most likely to succeed online.
#6. Support Services
Your prospective students need to know that learning online doesn’t mean going it alone. We ensure that your marketing messages highlight the availability and accessibility of support services, including career counseling, technical support, and academic advising.
What’s in the eBook? This 30-page guide is your digital marketing playbook for attracting more qualified applicants, building your academic brand, and bridging the gap between acceptance and enrollment to fill more seats and grow your school’s programs.
For over 20 years, we’ve been finding new ways to enable higher education institutions to achieve the goals that matter most to their success. When you partner with Vital, you get:
When it comes to online degree program websites, digital marketing strategy, SEO, and paid digital media, we have a lot to share about our unique approach.
We build websites to drive the results that matter to today’s online degree programs. From the plug-ins and integrations your site needs to function as a learning platform, to eCommerce-enabled course catalogs, to digital marketing best practices that attract and convert more prospective students, our specialization in online degrees ensures that your website project is a success.
We know that every online degree program is unique, so we work to deeply understand your institution and your audience in order to craft digital marketing strategies that enable you to connect, engage, convert — and ultimately enroll and retain — more right-fit students.
We leverage our deep insight into the online degree market and apply data-driven methodologies to ensure that your content ranks for high-intent searches and attracts more qualified traffic to your website.
We know that every online degree program is unique, so we work to deeply understand your institution and your audience in order to craft digital marketing strategies that enable you to connect, engage, convert — and ultimately enroll and retain — more right-fit students.
We apply proven, online program-specific strategies and AI-enabled continuous improvement to dramatically reduce costs and increase the effectiveness of your paid digital media campaigns.
With over a decade of specific experience in online degree marketing for some of the fastest-growing programs in the U.S., we apply a proven approach to attracting, nurturing, and converting leads in this unique space.
We make it our business to understand what your future online students need in order to make their lives easier. Then we make and execute a plan to consistently deliver helpful content, so your online degree programs are top-of-mind when it’s time to make the choice to apply and enroll.
We bake authentic social proof into every website and every content-driven digital marketing strategy we deploy, so your online programs can build trust and connect on a human level in an increasingly impersonal world.
We work with you to tell the story of how your online degree programs enable your students to accomplish their dreams, making it as easy as possible for prospects to choose you over the competition.
We apply a highly disciplined, data-driven approach to ensuring that your institution shows up at exactly the right time, in front of exactly the right audience, every time, so your online programs will thrive for years to come.
We combine deep expertise in online degree programs with a foundation in digital marketing for some of today’s most innovative higher education brands to create a proven approach to growing your programs’ enrollment and revenue.
Our higher education specialists take stock of your digital marketing performance with a baseline assessment of your current online presence and marketing activities.
We conduct a thorough discovery into your school’s brand, your digital marketing goals, your audience, and your major competitors.
Based on your goals and your budget, we create a plan for building your digital marketing foundation and a monthly calendar for tactical deployment, with key performance indicators (KPIs) to define and measure success.
Our team of strategists, designers, developers, and writers partners with your internal marketing team to create digital assets, build your content library, and execute your plan.
We measure and report on your customized KPIs weekly and use the data to adjust tactics and improve performance. Our expertise allows us to balance the patience necessary for long-term improvements with the agility to respond immediately to fast-moving metrics.
The Vital offices are filled with marketing nerds who can fill you in on the latest search engine algorithm updates, or wax poetic about the virtues of open source content management systems (CMS). We’re also home to some of the most innovative, creative minds in the business. More often than not, the nerds and the creatives are one and the same. We get a kick out of solving problems your competitors don’t even realize they have. And we love to talk shop.
Ready to start a digital marketing or website redesign project for your online degrees? So are we! Let’s get the ball rolling. Our team will be in touch within 48 hours.
