Could the ZeeMee App be a secret weapon for your higher ed social media strategy? You should at least consider it!
Unfortunately, in the work we do as higher ed marketers, connecting with Gen Z students has become increasingly complex.
Traditional communication methods are proving less effective, and the unpredictability of enrollment cycles, exacerbated by issues like FAFSA delays, adds to the challenge.
The Growing Challenges of Gen Z Marketing
Traditional methods like emails and texts are often ignored by Gen Z, leading to decreased engagement.
This leads to reduced interaction and increased difficulty in maintaining interest throughout the enrollment process.
As digital marketing continues to evolve, enrollment steps and funnel metrics are less reliable indicators of student interest.
Consequently, institutions struggle to predict student behavior and engagement levels, leading to ambiguity in planning and outreach.
More and more, Gen Z students want to feel a sense of connection with the schools they’re looking at.
Unfortunately, they often feel disconnected and anxious before they arrive on campus. This increased anxiety has a negative impact on initial engagement and retention.
As a general rule, Gen Z students prefer interactive, social engagement over traditional communication methods.
Of course, that means our traditional outreach methods fail to resonate, leading to missed opportunities for meaningful connections.
Too often, our marketing efforts can feel impersonal and transactional, failing to build genuine relationships.
As a result, there is a lack of trust and weaker emotional connections with prospective students, impacting enrollment decisions.
Introducing the ZeeMee App
With all of the bad news stacking up, it’s hard to see the way forward.
Fortunately, the ZeeMee app is emerging as a solution to these pressing problems, offering a platform tailored to the digital habits of Gen Z.
By leveraging the ZeeMee app, your school can overcome the challenges we just talked about, fostering authentic connections and creating a vibrant, engaging community for prospective students.
ZeeMee is a social media app specifically designed for students exploring colleges.
It’s a digital watering hole where students discuss their college plans, share experiences, and build community.
Right now, the ZeeMee app is the 16th or 17th most popular social media app among traditional undergrad students, and it’s solely focused on their college journey.
This is not a technology blog, but from time to time, I come across a new platform or technology that higher ed marketers like you should at least take a look at.
The ZeeMee app is one of these tools.
It’s always better to learn how others have benefitted from tools such as this, so we invited two guests to The Higher Ed Marketer podcast to talk about their experiences and opinions of the ZeeMee app.
Here are the highlights of our conversation with Olivet Nazarene University’s Executive Director of Traditional Enrollment, Luke Franklin, and Asbury University’s Vice President of Enrollment & Marketing, Jennifer McChord.
In this conversation, we break down many reasons why you should give ZeeMee a try.
The Power of Authentic Connections
When we asked Jennifer McChord how ZeeMee was helping her team at Asbury University, she shared how the app is helping them to build authentic relationships between students before they even arrive on campus.
Oh, I absolutely think the ZeeMee app is helping our enrollment cycle.
It’s working on building the community on the front end before the students actually get here.
Once we started using the ZeeMee app two years ago, our whole team [began] overhearing squeals of joy as students saw their ZeeMee friends in person for the first time.
It is such a joy to watch these relationships develop before they get to campus and then connect in person!
What that has done for our freshman class this year has been incredible. To see how connected they are even at welcome weekend, all because they’ve spent months before getting to know each other in a place that is really comfortable for them.
[Social media] is how they want to be communicated to and how they’re building community anyway. So it’s been a huge benefit for us.
Oh, I absolutely think the ZeeMee app is helping our enrollment cycle. This pre-arrival engagement has proven invaluable for Asbury University in creating a sense of belonging and excitement among prospective students.
Higher ed marketers should definitely take notice.
Impact on Enrollment Cycles
Both Jennifer and Luke discussed how ZeeMee has become a crucial tool in managing the often unpredictable enrollment cycles, especially with challenges like FAFSA delays.
Luke started off by saying that ZeeMee has helped make conversations with students more productive by providing data on what students are concerned about.
[The big advantage here is that] if we answered it for those ten students [in the ZeeMee app], then probably 400 students saw that and needed to have that response.
ZeeMee, from a pure data standpoint (which I love—I’m big on the data), has been really helpful… It gave us this opportunity to step in and go, ‘Hey, we’re so glad you guys are talking about FAFSA. Can we summarize in three quick points what we want everyone to know right here?’ As you know, the enrollment cycle is not always predictable, although there are parts of the journey that we can map out fairly accurately.
For Jennifer, this predictive season is at the beginning of the calendar year.
Our normal enrollment cycle—February, March, April—is really predictive. You do the same thing. You’re having lots of phone conversations. We’ve trained our counselors to spend the spring talking about financial aid and how can we help?
According to Jennifer, the ZeeMee app allows her to bridge the gap between the predictable and unpredictable.
It does so by giving her information on how to move the conversation forward even when there is a “lull in the enrollment cycle.”
[ZeeMee] has allowed us to fill what we’re calling a lull in the enrollment cycle.
So we’ve been able to organically and strategically go in and start conversations with our student ambassadors, our influencers, and with current students [even during the lulls].
[For example], “So sorry you all are having the FAFSA delays, but let me tell you what’s going on here on campus, and those [conversations during the lulls] are happening peer-to-peer, organically.
So it’s really helped the lull of the enrollment cycle by continuing the conversation, without spending lots of money on postcards and without adding more email drip campaigns.
To me, this is a huge advantage for higher ed marketers!
By monitoring student conversations on the ZeeMee app, they can gauge engagement levels and address concerns in real-time, ensuring no prospective student feels left out.
The ZeeMee App Can Be a Game Changer
The ZeeMee app is revolutionizing college recruitment by meeting Gen Z students where they are—online, in an environment they trust and enjoy.
By fostering authentic connections and community building, Olivet Nazarene University and Asbury University are seeing significant benefits in their enrollment processes.
And if it’s working for them, it can definitely work for you.
It’s worth at least a few minutes to go and check it out for yourself. 😊
Listen to our full interview with Luke Franklin and Jennifer McChord to get even more insights into:
- Building a brand narrative to find your prospective students
- Being authentic and distinctive in your messaging
- The importance of the enrollment journey
Need help taking your social media strategy to the next level?
In today’s digital-first world, a robust social media strategy is essential for higher ed marketers looking to enhance engagement and boost recruitment.
At Caylor Solutions, we specialize in crafting tailored social media strategies that resonate with your target audience.
Our expert team can work closely with you to develop and execute campaigns that not only increase your institution’s visibility but also foster authentic connections with prospective students.
Whether you need a comprehensive strategy to get started or ongoing management to maintain and optimize your social media presence, we have the expertise to ensure your message reaches the right people at the right time.
Contact us today to learn more about our Social Media Strategy/Planning & Management services!
Let’s work together to make your social media channels a powerful tool for your institution’s growth.
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Featured image via olivet.edu
