About the Episode
The Future of Student Search Pulse Check Series is sponsored by Carnegie.
In their podcast episode, "The Future of Student Search: The Human Connection," Trent Gilbert and Dr. Alejandra Sosa Pieroni delve into the crucial role of human interaction in the future of Student Search. They argue that institutions must possess a deep understanding of their own unique qualities and values to effectively connect with prospective students. By tailoring their communication to meet the specific needs and preferences of their target audience, institutions can foster personalized relationships and create a welcoming environment.
Key Takeaways:
- Self-awareness: Institutions must have a clear understanding of their unique identity and values.
- Audience understanding: Tailoring communication to the specific needs and preferences of prospective students is essential.
- Supportive infrastructure: A positive workplace culture and well-trained staff are crucial for fostering human connections.
Episode Summary
How Does Human Connection Influence Student Recruitment?
Trent and Dr. Alejandra Sosa Pieroni begin their conversation by discussing the importance of human connection in student recruitment. For Georgia Southern University, this connection starts with authenticity—a key theme in their approach to enrollment marketing. Dr. Pieroni explains that understanding "who we are" as an institution is crucial before communicating with students. She highlights the role of Georgia Southern’s mission and vision in driving their strategy, which emphasizes knowing the needs of their students and taking action to build connections.
At Georgia Southern, they focused on a few key elements: knowing their audience, being true to their purpose (serving students), and developing an infrastructure that supports personalized communication. Dr. Pieroni emphasizes that this starts with truly understanding the institution itself through branding exercises, workshops, and perception studies.
What Branding Exercises Help Universities Understand Themselves?
In response to Trent's question about how schools can get to know themselves, Dr. Pieroni shares that Georgia Southern undertook a significant rebranding exercise when she arrived. This involved engaging over 900 internal stakeholders—including staff, students, and alumni—in focus groups to better understand the institution’s identity. Additionally, they conducted perception surveys with over 1,500 external participants to get a clearer picture of how outsiders viewed Georgia Southern.
The results revealed some misalignments between perception and reality, particularly regarding outdated views of the institution as a "party school." Through this process, Georgia Southern identified its unique strengths and how to authentically present itself to prospective students. By aligning its brand with these findings, the university was able to more effectively communicate its values, which Dr. Pieroni describes as being more focused on leadership, influence, and innovation.
How Do Institutions Tailor Recruitment Strategies to Different Student Generations?
Dr. Pieroni highlights the generational differences in prospective students and the importance of creating personalized recruitment strategies that resonate with each group. Gen Z students, for instance, expect seamless, personalized experiences—something universities must deliver in their recruitment strategies. Georgia Southern is adapting to this by leveraging data analytics, AI, and predictive modeling to meet students where they are, offering information that is relevant not just to their academic interests but to their personalities as well.
The university’s new search strategy goes beyond generic recruitment messages by targeting specific personality traits and interests. For example, students interested in leadership roles may be shown content about honors programs, while those more socially oriented may see information about Greek life or campus events. The approach is about making a large institution like Georgia Southern feel personal and approachable.
How Do Institutions Engage Parents and Supporters in the Enrollment Process?
In addition to students, Dr. Pieroni explains that Georgia Southern actively involves parents and other supporters in the recruitment process. Recognizing that today’s college decisions are often made collectively by families, the university uses the term “supporters” to acknowledge the broader role that parents, aunts, uncles, and even grandparents play. Their communication is geared toward helping these supporters guide students through the application and selection process.
Looking forward, Georgia Southern plans to offer even more resources to help supporters, particularly as Gen Alpha—with Millennial parents—begins approaching college age. The focus will shift toward helping families make informed decisions and ensuring that supporters have the tools to assist students in navigating the higher education landscape.
How Can Institutions Build a Culture That Supports Their Strategy?
Finally, Dr. Pieroni emphasizes the role of organizational culture in successful student recruitment and enrollment management. At Georgia Southern, her team has focused on three core values: service, collaboration, and excellence. These values help drive everything from recruitment efforts to student success initiatives, ensuring that every interaction a student or supporter has with the university reflects the institution’s mission.
Building a culture that is responsive to changes in the higher education market is key to maintaining a successful strategy. As Dr. Pieroni points out, even the best tools and strategies won’t work if the culture isn’t aligned to support them.
Enrollify is produced by Element451 — the next-generation AI student engagement platform helping institutions create meaningful and personalized interactions with students. Learn more at element451.com.
Element451 is hosting the AI Engage Summit on Oct 29 and 30. Register now for this free, virtual event.The future of higher ed is being redefined by the transformative power of AI. The AI Engage Summit brings together higher ed leaders, innovators, and many of your favorite Enrollify creators to explore AI’s impact on student engagement, enrollment marketing, and institutional success.
Experience firsthand how AI is improving content personalization at scale, impacting strategic decision-making, and intuitively automating the mundane tasks that consume our time. The schedule is packed with real examples and case studies, so you leave knowing how to harness AI to drive meaningful change at your institution.
Whether you’re looking to enhance student outcomes, optimize enrollment marketing, or simply stay ahead of the curve, the AI Engage Summit is your gateway to the next level of higher education innovation. Registration is free, save your spot today.
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