There’s a lot of work that goes into recruiting potential students to your institution -- are you sure you’re hitting the right notes? One mother and advancement professional has some advice -- from just going through the recruitment life process with her son.

Denise Lamphier, executive director of communications and marketing at Central College and mother to E.J., who is a first-year college student, shares some lessons from going an intense, multi-year review of recruitment materials in a recent post in Higher Ed Dive:

1. Consider your vendors. Picking the right vendor for your outcomes is crucial, as some vendors may use campaign styles that are transparent and annoying to the potential applicant. In one case, Lamphier recalls a conversation with her son about refusing to sign up for additional recruitment materials from multiple institutions. They came anyway, without being requested, by more than a dozen institutions, and all bearing similar content.
2. Data and personalization are good. Personalization adds a, well, personal touch to outreach materials, but bad data can undo that positive work, writes Lamphier. If a postcard shows up with wrong information, or oriented toward an irrelevant program, you have a data problem that needs fixing. Keeping your data clean and not being lazy keeps your potential applicants focused on the message you’re sending them.
3. Put your brand forward. This is true for so much of marketing, but what makes your brand stand out should be front and center in these recruitment materials. Too many postcards and letters look the same, writes Lamphier.
4. Be authentic. Today’s prospective students have opinions around college tuition and cost and value, so being obscure about tuition offers and cost on your materials can be a turn-off. Lamphier shares another experience about following up with an admissions office about a tuition advertised on a postcard and how she didn’t really get a straight answer. Don’t let lack of understanding and transparency around cost be a reason you’re ruled out.
5. Have a plan. It doesn’t matter if you send 400 emails or five, if you don’t have an omnichannel plan with clear messaging, you’re sending a confusing message to your potential students.

“To rock it in this world, we must use all the tools — so many tools — all the time and use them well,” she writes. “An important part of a good recruitment strategy is for the admission and communications teams to be synchronized. Not reaching FAFSA filing goals? Change the messaging now. A little shy on a certain targeted demographic? Fine-tune the strategy promptly. Make sure the admission counselors see all the content that is being created so they can use it for every personalized interaction they need to have.”