3 must-dos to make your higher ed.’s student testimonials hit home.

You can’t read a new book, try a new restaurant or buy a new lawnmower without checking the reviews. It’s only natural to want to know that wherever you’re going to invest your money, time and energy, it first needs to be worth it. 

Your prospective students are no different. And to them, peer influence is everything. 

They want to know the real story of what it’s like to attend your institution — and they can sniff out a manufactured testimonial faster than the time it takes to watch a TikTok. 

If your student testimonials don’t stir something inside them or show them what they want to see, that’s a big strike against you as their top choice. 

It’s time to turn your run-of-the-mill testimonials into referrals that resonate.

Prioritise authenticity for a truly effective higher ed. student testimonial.

For decades, student testimonials have followed a formula: Identify an eager straight A student on their way to law school. Sit them in front of a camera to read from an approved, polished script. Don’t forget some nice b-roll showing a trio of diverse students sitting under a tree.

An effective endorsement is hard to achieve if you’re going by an old school student testimonial playbook. After all, if these student recommendations don’t get you excited, how can you expect them to work for your prospective students?

Today’s higher ed. testimonials and endorsements must be infused with authenticity if they’re going to have any chance at striking a chord with GenZ. This means asking students to share their stories and experiences. It means capturing what it’s really like to attend at your institution, in their own words.

Capturing authenticity for your student testimonial interviews.

There’s no one way to evoke authenticity from your students, just like there’s no one way to capture what it’s like to be a student at your institution. To kickstart your quest, take inspiration from these ideas. 

1. Seek out students in groups. Most students typically don’t jump at publicising their feelings for your school, no matter how much they might adore it. But there’s strength in numbers. Approach a group of students and you’ll likely have better luck in finding a few willing to share their story — right then and there. You might find them hanging out in the lounge. Maybe they’re playing basketball in the courtyard. This is where prospective students want to see themselves, so seeing students provide testimonials in those situations will better allow them to answer questions like, will I feel comfortable? Will I fit in?
2. Go without a script (and bring two cameras). Interview students to get their genuine and unrehearsed take. Two camera interviews can further enhance the candidness of the interview. Your subject will likely meander before getting back on topic, or, perhaps because of nerves, make a goofy face. There will be awkward pauses, filler words, and slang. Having another camera angle to cut to allows the interview itself to continue, no matter what. Because if you stop and ask them to repeat what they just said, they’ll either get nervous or it will start to feel rehearsed. Keep in mind, however, the right amount of candidness and goofy faces can add to the authenticity of the testimony.
3. Go without a script (but with a purpose). Even the most gifted orators sound stilted when they’re given words to say that aren’t their own. So instead of making students memorize or read your pre-approved script off a teleprompter, let them be themselves. That doesn’t mean it’s a free for all. Give them guidance to focus their testimonial on something specific, like what the atmosphere on campus is like, or the value of student support services you offer. Make sure you capture their thoughts on that topic, but don’t stop them from exploring tangents – there may be gold in those hills.
4. Ensure the interviewer does the heavy lifting. If the interviewer and/or producer is doing their job to ensure the student feels comfortable and can speak freely, then they should be able to draw out the most authentic voice from the student, blemishes and all. Don’t pressure the student to say anything that, although positive, is really designed to please your other internal stakeholders (hint: an administrative agenda). And most of all, make sure everyone has fun.

If you don’t aim for authenticity from the start, you’re going to get the same forgettable result — every time.

Think beyond the traditional higher ed. testimony by looking to social media.

Student testimonials are easier to garner than ever. Skeptical? Just open up any social media app. Find your students. What are they sharing about your school?

That’s a testimonial. Because what they’re talking about in their own social channels is what they actually value in the experience.

• Sharing a day in the life on your campus? Testimonial.
• Talking about the friends they’ve made through the clubs they’re in? Testimonial. 
• Posting about their favorite study spot on campus? Testimonial.

An endorsement of your school can look different than what you think. It doesn’t have to be a buttoned up overview of your programs, research labs, or tenured professors. It can — and should — include what prospective students want to know about outside of academia. 

So, what are your current students sharing about higher ed. life on their social channels that could resonate with a prospective student? And how can you capture and leverage that for your own higher ed. marketing strategy? 

First, your communications team must include social media-savvy staff adept at identifying student influencers. And, they need to have a keen eye for opportunities to leverage the shared opinions. 

Whether the content is positive or negative, clever social media-focused teams can turn negative tides and earn positive testimonial fodder simply by engaging effectively. The fact that you’re paying attention to what’s being said and commenting (tactfully!) goes a long way to earning props from influencers. And if your president is active on social media, even better.

In addition to the obvious social influencers, don’t overlook the quieter gems among your student population. Talk to professors, resident counselors, and support services to cultivate suggested students who would represent specific perspectives and experiences.

Stretch your testimonial strategy to reach all of your prospective students. 

You have a bigger recruitment audience outside of your A+ students and the parents with their eye on a Rhodes Scholarship offer. Therefore, you need different strategies to reach the other 90%. You know, the ones who can’t relate to the polished high-achiever who spends their Friday nights studying.

The vast majority of your recruits are looking for what kind of overall experience the university will offer. What it’s like to make a whole new group of friends. How it feels to be away from home for the first time. Success stories of sharing a dorm room.

So, approach your student testimonial strategy the way you would a digital marketing strategy. Different audiences, different goals, and different KPIs. 

Based on who you’re targeting as a right-fit student, your testimonials need to have a certain flavour. Yes, they need to positively reflect your brand. But they should also accurately reflect the variety of experiences that the many different types of students will go through at your school.

Turn your higher ed. testimonials into catalysts with help from ED.

Your students have stories to tell. But getting them to actually share those stories and turn them into effective marketing tools can be a feat.

We know how to identify the stories on your campus — the testimonials in disguise — and turn them into compelling calls to action. We successfully harnessed grad students’ stories as testimonies to spearhead a financial campaign. And we know how to mine for the gems on your campus, too.
Whether your higher ed.’s student testimonial strategy needs a boost or an overhaul, we can lighten the load.