There was a time when selecting the perfect college after high school was a completely in-person affair. Students would explore different campuses physically, soak in the vibes, admire picture-perfect lawns, and assess the majors and facilities, before taking a decision. However, now, college virtual visits are slowly but surely replacing in-person visits, especially owing to the pandemic. Plus, it’s helping students to save time, money and energy too, since they can explore, compare and decide from the comfort of their home. So, if you want to make your college virtual tour truly meaningful, here are a few tips.
- Give it a professional touch – Amateurish virtual tours are completely passé, since every other college is trying out this strategy to hook applicants. Which is why, one of the best college virtual visit tips are to hire professionals to create a tour that is informative, creative and engaging. They will know what to highlight, what kind of angle and lighting to use, which lenses will be perfect, and how to edit the tour for the best impact. They will also know when to shoot your campus, after considering the natural lighting. Most importantly, professionals will have the right equipment and software solutions to customize the tour as per your taste and business objective. You can discuss the narrative or script with them too or seek suggestion on where to include other visual elements like videos, memes or screenshots.
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- Prove what you claim – It is not enough to claim that your college is the best, has the top programs, or the placements are smashing. Get your past and existing students to create short videos where they actually say how they benefited from your institution, bagged a great scholarship, or job, pursued a major that is not offered by most colleges, or got the chance to play and excel at a sport they loved as a child. By inserting these videos in your college virtual tour, you can boost your college’s credibility. You can also include crucial statistics in the tour, like percentage of students who got placed last year, how many applied, how many students received financial aid, how many wins your basketball team had, and so on.
- Become more approachable – The ultimate aim of a meaningful college virtual tour is to get more students to apply, right? So, just having a smashing tour is enough. You need to drive the conversion as well. For that, insert buttons that let them call an admin staff, talk to a student counselor or faculty member, get answers to frequently asked questions, attend an introductory session, or sign up for emails. These buttons should be bright and placed strategically in the tour, so that a prospective student can click on one easily whenever they feel the need. You can highlight numbers for WhatsApp messaging or texting too. Make sure that your tour also gives a clear picture of your location and the neighborhood, so that if someone chooses to visit in-person can easily do so.
Read – 5 Creative Ways to Increase College Enrollment - Make it easy to view and share – Remember that a student isn’t necessarily at home when they are viewing your college virtual tour. So, make sure it can be viewed and explored smoothly across devices. This way, a student can get the “big picture” on their desktop or laptop when at home and get a quick idea on their mobile or tablet when they are on the go. Also include buttons for social sharing in the virtual tour, and make them prominent, so that interested students feel the urge to share the tour with their parents or peers. This will help them get a second opinion and boost your brand awareness at the same time.
- Promote and stay ahead of competition – A beautiful tour is as effective as the promotion strategy you follow. So, one of the top college virtual visit ideas is to make sure it appears on the landing page of your website, as well as the admissions page and contact page. Share the link and screenshots of your social media pages. When you send marketing emails, paste the tour link at the end of your signature. Also check out what your competitors are doing and brainstorm on what you can do differently. Highlight the special features of your institution, which might not mean a mammoth pool, upscale library or manicured lawns. Showcase the culture of your college, the diversity, the openness and the energy. You can share flashback images of live classrooms or bustling sports grounds or a cheerful cafeteria, for example.
Long story short, with every other college trying to draw students with virtual tours, it is essential that you make yours meaningful and exclusive. For that, crafting a customized college virtual visit and keeping the above pointers in mind can help. So, email us at info@massinteract.com and let us know what you have in mind.
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