Higher Ed Marketing Insider
Higher Ed Marketing Insider is your go-to podcast for actionable strategies, expert insights, and real-world analysis tailored for today's higher education marketers. Whether you're managing digital campaigns for a university, leading enrollment marketing at a college, or supporting higher ed institutions through an agency, this show helps you stay ahead of the curve.
Hosted by virtual experienced education marketers and featuring guests from across the industry, each episode dives into topics like:
- SEO & content strategy for higher ed
- Paid media and enrollment marketing
- Brand storytelling in competitive markets
- Analytics, automation, and marketing tech
- Trends shaping the future of higher education
If you want to drive results, justify your budget, and build a smarter marketing strategy in the rapidly evolving world of higher ed, Higher Ed Marketing Insider is your edge.
🎧 Subscribe and join a community of marketing pros making an impact in higher education.
Episodes
43 episodes
From Rankings to AI Citations: How to Win the AI Shortlist
UPCEA & Search Influence 2026 Report: 54% of prospective students now use AI-powered search, with 64% saying AI citations increase their trust in an institution.
Enrollment, Engineered: AI Signals Meet Authentic Personalization
Why AI is now the front door for student discovery How to engineer signals that both search engines and students trust Metrics that matter: moving from traffic to qualified demand and conversion Turning program ...
Signals, Outcomes, and AI: What Actually Moves Enrollment
Why the traditional enrollment funnel is broken Signal Engineering: what it is and why it matters (EducationDynamics, Sarah Russell) Offline conversion tracking for paid ads (HEM, Aug 2026) AI search visibility:...
Win 2026 Enrollment: AI Findability, Mobile UX, Human Stories
Why AI answer engines are the new front door for prospective students Structuring content for discoverability (and what "canonical" actually means) Mobile program pages: what makes them scan-friendly and what still fails...
Clicks to Campus: AI, UX, and Segmentation Powering 2026 Enrollment
AI and zero-click search: How discovery and consideration now happen before prospects ever reach your website. Segmenting parent and student funnels: Why mixing audiences wastes budget and erodes...
Trust, Relevance, ROI: This Week in Enrollment Strategy
Why trust, relevance, and ROI are now the core of enrollment growth (HEMI) How University of Florida ...
AI, Proof, and People: The New Rules of Enrollment and Expertise
AI has shifted, not erased, the role of expertise in higher ed marketing (Holly Leach).Purdue Daniels School boosted domestic apps 40% by doubling do...
AI-Ready, Student-First: This Week’s Higher Ed Marketing Moves
Why AI visibility is now table stakes for higher ed marketers How to audit and fix your program pages for both AI and student clarity (Advance Education, EAB) Agile campaign less...
AI Is the Front Door, Humans Close the Deal: The New Higher Ed Enrollment Playbook
AI as the new campus front door: How answer engines and AI assistants are changing student discovery (
AI Search, Human Touch: The New Higher-Ed Enrollment Playbook
AI search has changed the front door to enrollment: Prospects now get answers from AI, not blue links. Institutions need to be the trusted, structured source AI chooses to cite. Structured, machine-readab...
AI Answers, ChatGPT Ads, and Frictionless Enrollment: The New Higher Ed Marketing Playbook
AI answer engines now set the first impression for most prospective students—long before they reach your homepage. (Source: Higher Education Marketing Institute) Canonical, machine-readable content
From Answer Engines to Enrollments: The New Playbook for Higher Ed Growth
AI is now the first touchpoint for prospective students—your homepage is no longer the front door. Precision, canonical content is essential for both machine and human trust. Mob...
Winning the AI Front Door: Trust, Personalization, and Measurable Growth
AI is the new front door: 46% of high schoolers use AI as a primary college search tool (EAB
Trust, AI, and Personalization: This Week in Higher Ed Marketing
This episode of Higher Ed Marketing Insider from the Higher Education Marketing Institute covers trust, AI visibility, personalization, and the operational handoff between marketing and admissions. Takeaways Trust...
Own the Beachfront: Research-Grade Content in an AI-Driven SERP
Why AI Overviews are compressing the SERP and making SEO 'beachfront property' How to escape commodity content and win AI citations What research-grade content looks like in practice for higher ed Metrics that m...
Higher Ed Marketing Insider - May 28, 2026: Upstream Wins
This Higher Ed Marketing Insider episode is based on HEMI's May 28, 2026 article, Upstream Wins: AI Discov...
AI Search Changes Visibility as Under-16 Social Bans Spread
This week on Higher Ed Marketing Insider: discovery is changing fast, and the schools that win are the ones showing up in AI answers, not just search results.What we cover:AI search and zero-click answers — w...
SEO, AI, and Shifting Landscape - Higher Education Marketing Blogs Roundup
🌟 Episode OverviewIn this episode, we explore the fast-changing world of higher education marketing, diving deep into the latest trends, strategies, and tactics to connect with Gen Z and beyond. Leveraging insights from a wide range of r...
Higher Ed Communication Trends Email, AI, and Texts - Higher Ed Marketing Blogs May 15, 20225
This episode is designed for higher education marketers navigating the evolving communication landscape. We dig into how to better connect with students, drive enrollment, and improve retention—no matter your team size or resources.We ki...
Strategic Partnerships, Influencers, and Student Success - Trends in Higher Education Marketing
📌 Episode Description: In this episode, we explore the fast-evolving landscape of higher education marketing. Discover how top institutions are staying competitive through strategic partnerships—like Carnegie’s collaboration with Fou...
Social SEO, Grad Enrollment, and CMS Strategy Updates - Higher Education Marketing Trends May 1, 2025
Social SEO, Grad Enrollment, and CMS Strategy UpdatesWhat’s new in higher ed marketing this month? This episode covers:TikTok, LinkedIn, and Instagram strategies that move the needleWhy student-generated conte...
How Schools Are Rethinking Marketing, SEO, Branding & AI - Blog Roundup April 24, 2025
This week's blog roundup: How Schools Are Rethinking Marketing, SEO, Branding & AIThis episode shares practical marketing strategies for colleges and universities. Learn how schools are adjusting to changes in student search behavior...
Reaching Students - Texts, Stories, and SEO in Higher Education - Higher Ed Marketing Blogs April 11, 2025
🎙️ Navigating Education Marketing: Strategies that Connect and EngageIn this episode, we examine the shifting landscape of education marketing and provide actionable strategies designed to help institutions strengthen student enga...
The Enrollment Squeeze - April 3, 2025 Higher Ed Marketing Blogs Roundup
Higher education is in flux.On this episode, we dig into what’s working—and what’s not—as colleges and universities face shrinking enrollment, rising competition, and shifting expectations.We break down the big trends shaping 2025...
Branding, Bots & Burnout: What’s Working in Higher Ed Marketing
The reputation of a university used to rest on academics alone—but in 2025, brand perception is just as important. In this episode, we explore the changing landscape of university branding and marketing, from the rise of dedicated brand manager...