6 common grad and adult lead gen sources, demystified

Across the last year, I have spoken to an increasing number of institutional leaders who have come from the undergraduate terrain and are trying to find their footing in the graduate and adult space. One theme that has connected each of these conversations is that in comparison to the myriads of sources institutions can turn to for undergraduate names, trying to determine how best to utilize different strategies for unearthing prospective graduate and adult students is challenging.

To combat this challenge, you must be implementing and taking advantage of a variety of sources in your lead gen strategy. The questions that remain are: How do they fit together? What is the difference between all of these options, and how can I incorporate them into my existing lead generation strategy? Read on for quick explanations of six popular lead gen sources, plus a few tips on how to use them effectively.

1. Paid search

When enrollment leaders talk about paid search, they are typically referring to sponsored search engine results. To ensure your site is seen using paid search, you have to bid on relevant keywords that your prospective students are searching for. Depending on the competition you face, paid search can become costly given that it costs more to bid on popular keywords. However, these leads are considered “high intent,” since they’ve displayed interest in finding a program by clicking on your link.

To be certain you are optimizing your paid search use, become familiar with both informational and transactional search terms that your audience use. This will help you capture students at multiple stages throughout their student journey.

2. Organic leads from your .edu site

Given that adult learners rely heavily on independent research, it’s important to have a strong strategy for capturing interest from students browsing your .edu. Names can be gathered from lead generation forms on pages throughout your program’s website. We recommend placing these lead generation forms on enrollment-critical pages, like program overviews, tuition breakdowns, and event sign-up pages. This can be low-cost but high effort, as your IT or web team will typically need to get involved to embed these forms. However, the leads you receive will be high intent, since you can safely assume their interest in your institution or program.

To optimize this process, your web or marketing team can help you take action on SEO best practices and make sure your site is easy to navigate. This can increase your organic traffic, hopefully increasing the volume of names you’ll receive from your site’s lead gen forms.

Learn how to optimize your enrollment-critical webpages

3. Known lead sources

“Known lead sources” refers to institutional inquiry and application starter lists, in addition to current undergraduate and alumni lists. As these individuals are already familiar with your institution and, most likely, your programs, they are considered high intent. You won’t need to establish institutional awareness with them, so it’s easy to funnel them directly into your program’s marketing campaigns.

One of the challenges with these audiences is that while alumni can be a great source of prospective graduate students, it’s hard to keep alumni contact databases up to date. It might be necessary to reach out to students directly to maintain list hygiene. However, it’s worth the extra effort—EAB data has shown that after receiving marketing outreach, institutions’ current seniors and alumni apply at two times the rate of leads from other digital sources. Optimize this source by creating tailored marketing content and messaging to engage these students.

4. Digital ads

Display and banner ads can be used to generate institutional awareness among new leads or to re-engage cold leads. These ads can appear on a variety of different websites, including on social media, and most platforms have a step-by-step ad targeting guide to help you engage your preferred audience.

Digital ads can often be expensive because they are pay-per-click. Make sure you are tracking digital ad leads throughout your enrollment funnel—if they aren’t converting well, it may be time to adjust your strategy. It’s also important to test ads on different sites, especially ones that your target audiences use.

Are you monitoring and reporting on your lead performance?

5. Test-taker lists

You’re likely already very familiar with test-taker lists—lists of students who have taken a graduate test such as the GRE or GMAT. Test-taker lists have historically been a traditional lead source for institutions and were effective at delivering a high volume of names. However, when the COVID pandemic hit, many programs became test-optional and test-taker lists stopped yielding the results they once did. Many programs have kept these testing policies in place, and the impact is clear: from 2017 to 2021, the number of domestic students taking the GRE decreased by 44%, while the number of domestic GMAT test-takers has fallen by 54%.

This drastic decrease in available names means that, while test-taker lists remain a critical source, you must also balance them with other high-volume lead sources.

6. Student search platforms

Student search platforms come in many different forms, but they all typically require prospective students to complete a lead generation form to get more information about specific institutions, programs, or career types.

There are many benefits to marketing your program on student search platforms. One of the greatest is that leads generated by these services are typically high intent, given they have expressed interest in your institution, program offerings, or both. Student search platforms also front the initial marketing cost of sourcing prospective students. For instance, Appily Advance uses a diversified lead generation approach to source names from your region who are interested in returning to school. We are then able to deliver customized, high-quality leads in real time. This allows institutions to quickly integrate them into their program marketing campaigns, effectively reaching prospective students in a timely manner.

In addition to the sources above, it’s also important to continually test new sources and make sure you are optimizing your current sources. I know that understanding the graduate and adult lead generation source landscape is just the first step to optimizing your lead generation strategy, and that this process can feel complex. But by understanding more about the distinct advantages and limitations of your options, you’re one step closer to better tailoring your strategy to meet your institution’s unique needs and goals.