10 Ways Admissions Offices Can Use Personalized Video

10 ideas to help you stand out with personalized video

Admissions offices have their work cut out for them. With an abundance of options, prospective students now expect to be courted in a unique way. It’s no surprise that admissions offices are feeling the pressure to stand out.

Gratavid is here to help. Here are a few personalized video ideas for admissions offices.

We’ve all experienced an awkward first date. “I’ll meet you at the clock. I’m wearing a red shirt.” 

Stop the nonsense. Send a pre-visit personalized video introducing yourself, admissions officers, and/or tour guides. A personalized video will make your prospect feel welcomed, relieve pre-visit nerves, and skip the awkward introduction.

Thank campus visitors with a personalized video from the tour guide, teachers, coaches, staff, and friends they met along the way.

Here is a great example from All Saints’ Episcopal School school that includes the history teacher, dean of students, volleyball coach, and head of school.

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TIP: mix in personalized videos with generic ones. We know your head of school can’t thank every visitor personally, but you can :)

You’ve qualified a prospect, had a great visit, coached them through the admissions, and now it’s time to tell the student they’ve been accepted! 

Now the reality kicks in. What other schools are you competing against? Personalized video is a great way to stand out and truly show what makes your school unique.

For more inspiration, read How Milligan University Utilizes Gratavid to Personalize the Admissions Process and How an Admissions Office Got a 70% Click-Through Rate With Personal Video Emails.

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Similar to #3, except this time notify students if they have been awarded a specific scholarship! Include testimonials from past scholarship recipients and more information about the scholarship. One bonus is Gratavid makes it easy to include call-to-action buttons as the next steps. You can drive the prospect down the funnel with buttons such as “Next steps” and “Learn More” which link to your scholarship landing page. 

Here is a great example from Marian University.

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Use video to provide a virtual tour of campus, buildings, and facilities. Your virtual tour might be a highly produced video from your marketing team, but add a quick personalized video to the front to make the prospect feel like it was made just for them.

The ability to collect videos via email and text is one of Gratavid’s greatest features. Use the video request feature to collect videos from current students asking them to share their experience about a specific degree, scholarship, or program.

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“The students mean a lot to us as well as their journey as they navigate the college search process. We are very aware of how stressful it can be, and we are glad to be able to connect face-to-face, even when we can’t be in the same room."

Alex Kees
Milligan University Admissions

Use the Gratavid video request feature to collect video testimonials from alumni sharing their experiences. Create a video bank from alumni in your top recruited cities, and then pair alumni with a prospect from the same city.

Give the prospective student a true feel for what it would be like to be a student for a day. Highlight their major, the dorm, the student union, the classroom, and all of those places that make your school unique.

Show your applicants you truly hear their questions by responding with a personalized video. Have an expert on your team answer the most common questions, and just add your personalized video at the front. Include links to FAQ and other material directly on your Gratavid landing pages.

The hard work is done. You’ve done a great job stewarding your prospects throughout the admissions process and the first week of school is finally here! Send a personalized video to all your new students welcoming them to the school. Include videos from your staff, directions on where to park/meet in the morning, and include links making sure your students have completed all their tasks.

So there you have it, 10 ideas to get you started with personalized video and Gratavid. 

“

We love that Gratavid brings the human connection without making our students feel like another name on a spreadsheet. The overall Gratavid experience has been revolutionary for our admissions team."

Danny Curtin
Archbishop Riordan High School

If you are ready to add a personal touch to your admissions process make sure to check out Gratavid. Setup is easy and you’ll be recording video and getting incredible results in no time. Set up a 30-minute demo to see how.

Have fun!