How an Admissions team utilizes Gratavid to personalize the admissions process
Admissions video ideas for prospective students
Milligan University was looking for a way to connect with students personally. They didn’t want to send a generic note or automated email when someone new visited campus. They wanted something genuine that would truly make that student feel welcome. They needed admissions video ideas to make their welcomes more engaging.
Enter Gratavid from Gravyty.
Gratavid is a tool that allows organizations to create personalized videos at scale and send them via email or text. Universities use Gratavid to personally connect with students, welcome them to campus and make them feel like part of their school community.
Milligan University Admissions partnered with Gratavid to create personalized videos to send to new students coming to campus for a tour, welcoming newly admitted students, and thanking students for making their deposits. The campaign exceeded their expectations and set them apart from other universities.
Campaign objective
Milligan University needed a way to connect with students on a personal level in a way that would appeal to them. They were looking to stand out against other vying universities and truly provide a personalized experience for prospective students. They had the idea of creating admissions videos to welcome students.
The students mean a lot to us as well as their journey as they navigate the college search process. We are very aware of how stressful it can be, and we are glad to be able to connect face-to-face, even when we can’t be in the same room.
Alex Kees, Enrollment Communications Coordinator, Milligan University
The solution
To bring their idea of admissions videos to fruition, Milligan University turned to Gratavid.
They needed a way to connect with potential students to let them know how grateful they are for their interest in Milligan, notify them of their acceptance to the university and say thank you when they make a deposit.
Gratavid seemed like the perfect way to personally connect with each student because it created an easy way to communicate with them via email or text.
Gratavid has been fantastic and very integral in our admissions process. We send Gratavids to a variety of students in a variety of situations. We want to make sure that they feel very special and not just like another number.
Alex Kees
Results
Alex and the Admissions team worked together to collect videos to store in their video asset library. They recorded generic videos of the athletic director, coaches, the university president and admissions recruiters so that when it came time to send out these videos, they were all set to go.
Campus tour thank yous
For campus tour thank you videos, the first video is always a personalized video from the student who gave them a campus tour.
In that video, the student tour guide mentions the student’s name and adds in fun references from the tour. Then if the student was interested in athletics, they would also add in the generic videos from the athletic director and coach.
Admissions congratulations videos
For the congratulation admissions videos on being admitted to the university, they receive a video from the admissions recruiter, the president, and the athletic director and coach if they are an athlete.
Deposit thank yous
Lastly, they also send out videos to students who have made a deposit. This is a generic video from the school president saying thank you and that he can’t wait to see them on campus.
Gratavid makes it super easy to add personalized videos in front of more generic videos utilizing the task list. The initial video is always personalized, then we add the more generic videos following it to match their interests. It makes the students feel so special.
Alex Kees
Here are some of the fantastic replies they have received from students.
- “This is so incredible!!! Seeing things like this really makes me keep Milligan near the top of my college list.”
- “Thank you for the videos! I loved them, and they made me feel welcome.”
- “Thank you so much for the warm welcome! I am so excited to have been given this opportunity! I look forward to attending Milligan this Fall and experiencing all that it has to offer!”
- “Thank you so much! I’m beyond excited to begin my new journey at Milligan!”
Top admissions video ideas from Milligan University
1. Start small. We started by just thanking students who visited campus. Once we got more comfortable with that, we decided to send videos for other occasions.
2. Get people in the university involved. We tracked down coaches, athletic directors, the university president and all admissions recruiters to make each Gratavid unique.
3. Prep ahead. We went around and recorded as many videos as we could and built out templates for each occasion. Once you have your videos and templates built, the process is super simple to send out videos to new students each week.
4. Communicate with the team. Communication for us has been critical in ensuring that the process runs smoothly. I put in contact information for each student at the start of each day and then I check in with the visit coordinator at the end of the day to ensure everything ran smoothly.
Enrich your admissions experience with personalized video
If the Milligan Admissions team inspired you to take the admissions process one step further and personalize each experience for every student, schedule your free consultation.
