It’s no secret educational institutions at every level are facing serious challenges in 2024. 

Declining enrollment rates are forcing institutions to make tough decisions around staffing and shutting doors. Frozen tuition fees, dwindling numbers of overseas students, and lack of government funding are leaving universities and colleges in dire straits. Some schools and universities are even trying to restructure bank borrowings to put them in a better financial position.

A part of the remedy for these problems is simple in theory but difficult in practice; use less money to bring in more students. 

There’s one proven way to do this. By switching student marketing content from print to digital. Transitioning from static printed content pieces to dynamic digital formats lowers costs, boosts sustainability efforts, and showcases institutions’ innovation and responsiveness to student needs. 

Let’s delve deeper into how digital transformation in education can help institutions safeguard their future.

How does switching from print to digital save money?

In an environment where program cuts, redundancies, and closures are becoming the norm, every penny saved counts. Costs of printed prospectuses and brochures vary depending on factors like ink color and paper quality, but paying $50 per copy is not unusual. Print 100 and you’re looking at $5000. But with the right marketing tool, educational institutions can save big.

Creating digital brochures, prospectuses, and other marketing content lowers – and in some cases eliminates – costs associated with traditional print materials:

• Printing and paper costs: Digital materials get rid of the need for printing and paper services, which notoriously come with bills.
• Distribution costs: Distributing digital materials through email, websites, and social media not only widens your reach across the globe, but it’s also much more cost-effective than shipping and postage.
• Updating and revisions: Making changes to digital materials is quick and easy and lets institutions avoid the costly process of reprinting traditional materials when it’s time to refresh out-of-date info.

On top of high prices, print formats give zero indication about who read it, what information they found useful, if they’re interested in learning more about you, etc. That’s not a lot of bang for your buck.

How going digital helps sustainability-conscious institutions

Beyond financial savings, digital transformation in education helps institutions boost their sustainability profile in some key ways: 

More appealing to Gen Z Students
Today’s students are more environmentally conscious than ever – no wonder given the bleak global environmental outlook they’ve grown up with. Gen Z expects (if not demand) institutions to take their environmental responsibility seriously. Digital materials respond to their values and preferences, making institutions that go digital more attractive.

Less environmental impact
The importance of going digital in education shouldn’t be underestimated when it comes to attracting students. Printing and paper consumption contribute to deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions – serious concerns for today’s youth. Reducing reliance on print materials helps institutions drive down their environmental footprint.

Better sustainability rankings
Sustainability tables, like Times Higher Education Impact Rankings and QS World University Rankings: Sustainability 2024, are growing increasingly popular as institutions’ sustainability practices come under the microscope. Adopting digital formats can enhance their rankings and reputation as environmentally responsible.

More sustainable, cost-effective, and engaging – it’s no wonder so many future-focused educational institutions are turning to digital formats for their marketing content.

5 steps to creating compelling digital content

If you want to boost enrollment rates, compelling content is a must-have. Here are 5 steps for  content that’ll bring all the students to the yard:

1. Analyze your audience

Use data and analytics to get deeply familiar with the needs, interests, and aspirations of your target students. Data-driven content marketing makes sure you’re sending out the right message that resonates with the right people.

2. Showcase real-life stories and reviews

Social proof is incredibly important. Include student testimonials, case studies, and success stories in your content to back up your offerings and build trust in your institution.

3. Make it interactive

Unlike static print materials, online prospectuses and brochures can feature videos, virtual tours, and interactive quizzes. These elements immerse potential students in your content and leave a lasting impression.

4. Create personalized content

Today’s students expect personalization – fail to deliver it and you risk letting them down. Tailored brochures or prospectuses can cater to individual interests, increasing the likelihood of landing new students.

5. Monitor performance and make optimizations

Most digital content platforms (like Turtl) come with analytics tools to track content. Use these to measure content performance and implement data-driven improvements.

Check out this example of top-class content from Kelly Education.

Click to read Kelly Education – K-12

Hear from our digital transformation expert, David Burbombe:

David, our Strategic Account Executive, shares his insights into how educational institutions – like all other organizations – can meet modern preferences and make a positive impact on budget and growth by going digital.

Educational institutions are facing the critical need to stand out in an increasingly competitive landscape. Traditional print materials, like brochures and course guides, fall short. They’re static, expensive, and unaligned with modern students’ needs. Sounds like plenty of reasons to hunt for an alternative, right?

In education and beyond, we’re seeing many of our customers make significant cost savings as a direct result of retiring print materials. Doing away with printing, shipping, and design outsourcing costs frees up much-coveted budget for areas that reap greater rewards than a stack of paper likely ending up in the trash.

We’re also noticing a pattern with the educational institutions coming on our books. For years, they’ve used print-first marketing strategies but are eager to pivot and prioritize digital approaches (with many acknowledging that PDFs don’t cut it on the engagement and analytics front). 

Reasons for digital transformation in education have a common theme; modernizing institutions’ communications and brand image. Whether it’s initiative/program reports or prospectuses and brochures, they want fresh materials to meet and exceed students’ and staff’s needs and expectations. 

Some have taken the first steps to go digital by moving to PDFs, only to be disappointed by the results. PDFs’ poor accessibility and mobile-responsiveness cause problems and a lack of detailed insights prevents good lead management and nurturing. 

Platforms like Turtl allow institutions to go a step further and create interactive, exciting digital content that delivers data to guide strategies and initiatives –  and ultimately bring in more students.