High school students are all about becoming independent — learning to drive and working their first job. But when it comes to considering colleges, the average student relies heavily on their parents and families to help guide them into their next phase of life. After all, the adults in the house have already spent nearly two decades making decisions for their students, so they aren’t likely to sit idly on the sidelines here.
Two Ocean Education Partners, the enrollment marketing services division of MARKETview, emphasizes the importance of engaging with the parents of your prospects. They’re a huge influence on where their students end up applying; and in many cases, they’re the ones paying the tuition bill.
Powerful Returns on Your Investment
MARKETview data reveals that the best engagement metrics come when both students and parents engage with an email. 86.9% of students submit an application when both audiences click/scan. Both parents and their students read about your school, prompting a discussion about applying to college. That’s one of the best returns on your investment you can count on.
Creating these conversations with your email campaigns can be a powerful predictor that will help you feel confident in your next recruitment class — while helping your readers create memorable moments together.
Comparing Students Versus Parents
Breaking the data down further, when just parents click/scan an email, 52.5% of their students submit an application; compared to a 27.2% application rate when only the student clicks/scans. This is likely because parents are thinking more about their students’ future, while students are focused on their grades and enjoying their senior year. When parents receive an email, they’re likely to talk to their students about following through and applying to your school. If your team has the bandwidth, finding additional ways to engage parents can pay dividends.
The Passive Benefits of Emailing Parents
When marketing to parents, you don’t even need them to click or interact with an email — just getting your name in their inbox will increase the likelihood their students will apply. The data backs this up: 10.3% of students will still apply when their parents receive an email but don’t engage with it, compared to an application rate of only 1.4% from student communications that don’t receive engagement. That’s almost 10x more applications when a parent simply just receives an email.
In conclusion, we can see what the data is telling us: connecting with parents and families leads to strong outcomes for your student application goals. If you want proven results from your email campaigns, make sure you’re investing in reaching parents too.
Interested in enrollment marketing that more deeply engages students and parents? Two Ocean takes advantage of custom multi-channel programs for Student Search, Application Marketing, and Deposit/Yield Marketing.
Learn more about Two Ocean or schedule a MARKETview demo today.