Get prospective students to visualise their future success at your college or sixth form by filming video testimonials with your success story students
Most sixth forms and colleges do not fully utilise their one of their most valuable assets: their successful former students.
You know the ones: they went to Oxbridge, or did a respected degree like medicine or law. (I’m actually also a big fan of highlighting the students who made loads of progress, even if the final outcome isn’t quite as ‘grand’.)
Sure, you might pop a few quotes from them on your school website. Or perhaps you’ll even bring them in for an industry day, or to speak to some Oxbridge hopefuls.
But are you filming video testimonials with them?
Why video testimonials with former students give your admissions marketing firepower
It’s common to see stats and figures on college websites about ‘XX percentage of our students go on to university’.
But even if you know that means your chances are good, it’s really hard for students and their parents to connect with numbers.
Hearing directly from a former student makes their success seem far more relatable and achievable – especially when you start hearing how the college directly contributed to that accomplishment.
If a former student puts their success down to the support and inspiration of a brilliant maths teacher, and that teacher is still there, then why shouldn’t a new student see the same outcome?
Video testimonials like these get prospective students visualising the life your college could help them to achieve.
Which former students should you try and interview?
This all comes down to the target market of your college.
If you pride yourself on academic achievement in the STEM subjects, go down this route.
But if you’re a more creative institution, find a student who is really successful in this area.
You want prospective students to really connect with the people you’re interviewing.
And speaking of connection – finding someone who is the right age is key.
Obviously they’ve got to be long enough out of school to have achieved some success, but not so long out that they’re too old(!) and students can’t relate to them anymore. I’d say early twenties is a good age to fit those criteria.
Plus if they’ve been away from your school for too long, they might not be able to remember the specifics of their experience. I know how fast teachers’ names drifted from my own memory!
When is a good opportunity to film video interviews with former students?
A lot of schools and colleges offer industry days, to give current students an insight into the world of work.
If you’re bringing in former students to talk about what their careers are like, then you’ve got a great opportunity to capture lots of interviews in one day, without putting extra inconvenience on them.
Similarly, a lot of colleges bring in previous sport stars to present at awards evenings. Again, this another great chance to interview a former student on a day when they’re already coming to your college.
Interested in adding video testimonials to your admissions marketing? Get in touch for a free 30 minute video marketing review. Or find out more about the videos we can produce for schools, colleges and sixth forms.
