Gen Z has changed the college search process, challenging institutions to adapt their recruitment strategy. This generation of digital natives brings increasingly high expectations and a new set of standards when it comes to digital content. They have a low tolerance for inauthentic messaging, and they want to access information on their own time as they try to make one of the biggest decisions of their life.
Building affinity with an athletic program takes time and resources, and with recent staffing shortages impacting admissions offices across the country, many athletic departments are turning to new digital tools, such as the YouVisit Virtual Tour, to scale their recruitment effort. A high-quality virtual tour provides an alternative way to engage prospective athletes—especially as a student is starting their college search or during periods where you have limited contact with students.
4 Ways a YouVisit Virtual Tour Can Help Your Institution Compete for Top Athletes:
1. Stand Out from the Competition
A YouVisit Virtual Tour allows you to go beyond static images and two-dimensional videos in order make students feel as though they are on campus. You can communicate your value and showcase what makes your offerings unique through a fully immersive virtual experience that includes engaging, interactive elements.
Click the virtual tour to sit on the front row during all the action at US Airforce
2. Recruit the Whole Student
Prospective athletes care about your training facilities and resources you provide to help make them better athletes, but they may also care deeply about student life and academics. You can use an immersive virtual experience to convey the culture of your athletic program(s), student life, and academics, all in one place.
Click the virtual tour to step into the middle of Yale’s Ingall Rink
Click the virtual tour to explore the walkable city of Yale’s campus
3. Give Students Control
A YouVisit Virtual Tour allows prospective athletes to take control of the college-search process at their own pace. Your college website is a key source of information for students who want to learn more about your athletics program, and you can embed your tour directly on your athletics pages to make it as easy as possible for students to access relevant information.
4. Make It Easy to Plan a Visit
YouVisit has been helping institutions secure in person visits for over 10 years. You can provide just enough to leave students wanting more and make it easy for prospective athletes to plan a visit—both unofficial and official—through built in calls-to-action.
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