Apply Now: The Higher Ed Marketing Podcast

The Google Search Ads Mistake Costing Universities Thousands of Applicants

Vital EDU — Tue, 28 Jul 2026 15:47:21 -0400

Julia and Chris discuss the in's and out's of branded search terms. Are you making this big search mistake?

Innovative strategies higher ed marketers can actually use — today.

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The Landing Page Mistakes That Are Quietly Draining Higher Ed Paid Ads Budgets

Vital EDU — Thu, 06 Aug 2026 10:13:39 -0400

Landing pages are an essential part of any paid advertising program. Quality landing pages can improve conversion rates, increase student application and enrollment rates, while poor landing pages can entirely dismantle a paid advertising campaign. In this podcast, the team discusses a framework to ensure your paid advertising landing pages are driving real results.

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5 Insights We Learned From Analyzing 50 Graduate PPC Landing Pages

Vital EDU — Tue, 18 Aug 2026 05:00:00 -0400

A successful higher education landing page needs F.O.C.U.S (and we recommend you go back and listen to episode 2 if you don’t know what that stands for!). In this episode, Chris and Julia draw parallels between their family vacations and higher education marketing, as well as dive into a study conducted by the team at Vital which analyzed 50 higher education paid landing pages to identify what’s working and what’s not. Did you know only 16% of higher education landing pages mention tuition? That’s a pretty important decision factor… Listen to the episode for more stats like that!

Visit our website: https://vitaldesign.com/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/vital_design/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vital-design/

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How Universities Should Nurture Prospective Students

Vital EDU — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 05:00:00 -0400

Welcome to #ApplyNow — a dating podcast! Wait… we’re still a higher education marketing podcast, but we ARE talking about ghosting this episode. Chris and Julia discuss how ghosting prospective students is all too common in higher education marketing and what universities can do to improve their follow-up. Our hosts also take a trip down memory lane to reflect on the effectiveness of B2B sales tactics and just how transferable those tactics are to higher education.

Visit our website: https://vitaldesign.com/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/vital_design/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vital-design/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Vital_Design

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VitalDesign/

Monthly Reporting: The Metrics Your University is Missing

Vital EDU — Tue, 15 Sep 2026 05:00:00 -0400

Good reporting should do more than tell you how much budget was spent and how many “conversions” that budget generated. In this episode, the team discusses the importance of connecting marketing spend to the outcomes that actually matter to your institution: inquiries, applications, admits and enrollments. Getting to that data can feel complicated, but the information you need likely already exists in your CRM. You just need to know what to ask for! Chris and Julia are here to show you exactly where to start.

5 Insights from 50 Graduate Enrollment Meta Ads

Vital EDU — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 05:00:00 -0400

We analyzed 50 graduate enrollment marketing ads from universities across the country and found a…moat? A competitive moat that is (if this is a new phrase to you, you’re in good company with Julia!).

In this episode, Chris and Julia break down Vital’s study of 50 university’s Meta ad campaigns and share 5 findings that they think higher ed marketers need to hear today.

An overwhelming use of “Learn More” CTAs (and a huge opportunity to stand out by offering an alternative!)
Stock photography that triggers ad blindness
Video is being under-utilized (only 16% of universities studied use video!)
Generic messaging around flexibility, online learning and rankings is burying actually distinct program differentiators
Specificity wins! Especially in the form of testimonials, social proof, rankings and alumni outcomes

If you’re interested in reading the full study, you can check it out here: https://vitaldesign.com/university-meta-ad-campaign-study/

Visit our website: https://vitaldesign.com/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/vital_design/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vital-design/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Vital_Design

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VitalDesign/

2 Reasons Why Your “Apply Now” CTA Isn’t Helping

Vital EDU — Tue, 13 Oct 2026 05:00:00 -0400

Welcome to #ApplyNow — the podcast literally named after the CTA we’re questioning in this episode.

Chris and Julia break down why “Apply Now” might not always be the right next step for prospective students. In a surprising twist, Chris champions lost tracking on third-party application portals (we thought Julia was the reporting nerd!) and Julia focuses on honing a university’s “right person, right time” messaging. They also dig into what marketers can do instead, including alternative landing pages, application checklists, deadline reminders and other ways to turn interest into action without jumping straight to the application.

Visit our website: https://vitaldesign.com/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/vital_design/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vital-design/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Vital_Design

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VitalDesign/

How to Master One Platform Before Expanding

Vital EDU — Tue, 27 Oct 2026 05:00:00 -0400

More platforms, more problems… Maybe!

It's easy to get caught up in the pressure to expand your advertising strategy to new platforms with new formats before you've even mastered the platforms that you’re on. In this episode, Chris and Julia discuss what a university’s first platform should be and how to know when it’s time to introduce a second. With metrics like Search Impression Share Lost Due to Budget on Google Ads and Reach on Meta, the data exists to help you decide when it’s the right time to expand to a new platform. But the question is - are you looking at that data? Let’s check!

How Much Should Universities Spend on Enrollment Marketing?

Vital EDU — Tue, 10 Nov 2026 05:00:00 -0500

There is a question that the Vital team hears on sales calls more than any other. "What should our enrollment marketing budget be?" On the surface, this is a straightforward question but below this question lurks all types of other metrics - cost per click, cost per inquiry, landing page conversion rate, inquiry to application rate, application to admitted student rate, admitted student to enrolled rate.

In this episode, Chris and Julia discuss industry benchmarks for cost per inquiry and cost per enrolled student, why those numbers vary by market and by program, and how to use conversion rates throughout the enrollment funnel to better understand the cost it takes to enroll a student.