Newsletter #187: Students don’t understand the language we’re using to sell courses; The full impact of AI on student search is hidden; TikTok rolls out Campus Hub
📝 From the Education Marketer desk
Students don’t understand the language we’re using to sell courses. Read
The full impact of AI on student search is hidden. Read
Why you should halve the amount of content you publish. Read
📰 HE news
If a falling graduate premium wasn’t already an existential problem, higher ed is now contending with a decline in the number of university spin-out companies and start-ups created by recent grads. Data from HESA reveals that 141 spin-out (university IP-based) companies were formed in 2024-25, down from a peak of 202 in 2020-21. But what’s most shocking is that of the 2,537 active companies, 509 were created at Oxford or Cambridge. That’s two universities responsible for creating 20% of the sector’s companies, with the Russell Group responsible for over 65%. Indeed, spin-out businesses might be a hard nut to crack for non-Russell Group universities, but student start-ups are a different story. In fact, the no.1 producer of student start-ups is UAL (an arts institution!), responsible for creating 479 businesses last year. There’s nuance in how much value those companies create. But in terms of accessible entrepreneurship, there’s a good story to tell. Read
📊 Marketing and media news
Marketing spend on creators is slowing. Based on its current trajectory, IAB predicts 18% growth year-over-year, falling from last year’s 26% growth and the previous year’s 34% rate. Most enterprise creator programmes are still scaling, with Dove having 300,000 people recommending its products, up from just 10,000 two years ago. However, universities can’t operate on that kind of scale, so you’d expect to see a more differentiated approach, building student creators who are solving niche problems for their audience. But that’s rarely the case, and we often default to day-in-the-life content or generic top tips for the application cycle. Instead, what about a student creator who specialises in helping students plan for a life overseas? What about a creator for someone who wants to study and build a career locally? What are the most urgent problems your students want solved? Build a creator obsessed with solving them. You’ll have a differentiator. Read
TikTok is rolling out a new feature: Campus Hub. It’s US only right now, but will enable students to join shared group chats and content feeds - like if Facebook were launching in 2026. The biggest sell is a “personalised feed” that shares content from verified students and groups, so think “discovery” but within the context of a community where you have existing relationships and a personal stake. Of course, I’m old enough to remember YikYak, an app predicated on sharing updates from people within a mile of your location, which was shut down due to bullying and doxing. But what’s old is new again. Last week saw the rerelease of Vine as Devine, which will boast the Vine archive (content from 2013 - 2017), be “AI-free” and, I assume, exist for all of 5 minutes. Nostalgia is a powerful drug and the window for feeling it is narrowing. Prediction: NFTs make a comeback by the end of the year. Read
🏫 What unis are doing
University of Buckingham, known for its 2-year degrees, shared details and images of its applicant pack. It’s a tidy design, but the thing that struck me most was the framing of the 2-year degree benefit - “What will you do with the extra year?” Benefit first. Feature second. Look
University of Warwick went all out with its Star Wars day content. It demonstrated how blasters in the Star Wars universe aren’t laser guns, but gas-powered weapons. And when I say demonstration, I mean the professor shot a bolt of heated plasma for a live audience. Look
TUS ran an employability campaign, sharing that it has the most employable grads in Ireland. It’s risky to run campaigns on survey results (they go up and down like stocks), but TUS focuses on consistency, i.e. it’s been top for Grad Outcomes three years in a row. That’s a message worth sharing. Read
🧑🎓 What students are saying
“I’m at a point where I’m thinking if I can’t get a job being a data scientist, I might as well pursue art. Because if I’m going to be unemployed, I might as well do something I love.” Students share how they are thinking about AI and, honestly, reveal that universities have a hell of a gap to fill when a) educating them on the technology and b) how AI is actually creating opportunities for employment, rather than shutting them down. Read
👾 Culture shock
Facebook is inserting Gen Z slang into your posts. Read
ChatGPT thinks all nerds love globlins. Read
