The future of campus tours is trending virtual:
In the 1990s, before YouTube, Instagram, smartphones with unlimited storage, and handheld video cameras, few could predict the power of video in college student recruitment. Not only is Generation Z the most tech-savvy generation in history, but many of them also visit college campuses with more advanced video technology in their pocket than may be available on campus.
Virtual tours may not have the same impact as seeing a campus in person, but they are about as close as one can get to the real thing with today's advanced digital technology.
Benefits of a virtual tour:
You probably have an email campaign to attract prospective students from early high school engagement to first-year enrollment. Is the "visit now" message enough, or would you benefit from a virtual-tour-specific marketing strategy?
The only way to bring students to your campus is to communicate through various channels. Email campaigns, digital ads, blogs, tour guide stories, visitor reviews, and campus updates in the news are all a part of virtual tour engagement. Here is some messaging to consider when attracting students to a virtual visit:
Families save money
Travel expenses like food and gas can get costly for families touring multiple college campuses. Tack on airfare and multiple nights in a hotel for long-distance domestic families or international students, and now the college visit can be as expensive as the first-semester tuition.
A+ tour guides
Use only the most enthusiastic and experienced campus representatives. While current students commonly give on-campus tours, virtual tours can be flexible, allowing various community members to play a role. Choose from the campus president, deans, professors, mascot, or famous alumni.
Perfect weather
There is no need for visitors to bring an umbrella, wear multiple layers, and cover themselves with sunscreen on a virtual tour. A single forecast can ruin a college search. Plan your pre-filmed virtual tour on a picture-perfect day, or pivot live tour sessions inside.
Proximity
Where there is a laptop, there is a tour. This is particularly exciting for international students that couldn't see their future campus otherwise.
Visitor flexibility
Families won't need to take off work to schedule a specific date and time. Pre-filmed and interactive virtual tours are available 24/7.
One behind-the scenes-benefit is the ability to capture prospective student data. Give a survey at the end of each virtual tour and make sure every family is registered through an online form. This is not always the case for an on-campus tour giving to a last-minute visitor.
The 2021 virtual tour landscape:
Virtual tours in 2021 are not one-size-fits-all. Here are a few styles of virtual tours to consider depending on budget, production time, campus update frequency, and campus representative availability.
Pre-shot campus tours
YouTube and Vimeo are fantastic platforms to us at the introductory level. They're free. Videos are easily sharable. And you can see how many people commented on and watched your video. Embedding a link in your social media post, school-branded website, or outreach email is also a breeze with a simple copy/paste.
Advantages:
Disadvantages:
Point-and click tours using 3D mapping and 360° filming:
Sites like eCampus Tours are now home to nearly 1,300 college and university tours. The popular YouVisit site hosts 1,000s of schools, and Concept 3D is solidifying its place in the higher education virtual tour space. Sites like Kuula allow you to host your virtual tours, and Google Tour Creator can help you build them. It seems like every day, new virtual tour companies are signing up institutions, and it is only a matter of time before every college on the planet has a 3D interactive map or 360° view of the entire campus.
Advantages:
Disadvantages:
Virtual tours in real-time.
Outside of mobile live streaming apps like Instagram Live, Facebook Live, and PopLive, companies like Live Campus Tours directly target higher education marketers. Created by Nylie, this platform offers a "totally different kind of tour experience." This highly personalized approach to virtual visits puts you front and center with a current student on the go.
Advantages:
Disadvantages:
Advancements in technology, comfortability with digital communication, and visit-from-home visit present many questions for virtual campus tours. What role will virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) play in the future of virtual tours? Can students expect a hybrid virtual experience while visiting campuses in person? Will video and production quality make or break college decisions soon? When will we start seeing 24/7 live streams of campus from a drone view?
One thing is for sure; prospective student preferences will continue to inform enrollment marketers' decision-making. As the world awaits the next big trend, there are some campuses to visit. Here is Princeton Review's list of Colleges and Universities That Offer Virtual Campus Tours.