University Open Day Marketing: Digital Campaigns That Fill Seats

The student recruitment landscape has shifted dramatically. Traditional channels still play a role, but digital channels now drive the majority of open day registrations.

Organic SEO and Clearing deliver the best cost-per-application ratios, while Google Ads and social campaigns provide the volume needed to fill open day capacity. The most effective strategies combine multiple channels rather than relying on any single one.

Channel-by-Channel Strategy

• Instagram and TikTok — Primary discovery channels for 16-18 year olds. Student takeovers, campus tours, and "day in the life" content outperform institutional messaging
• Google Ads — Capture high-intent searches: "[university] open day", "study [subject] UK", "[city] university". Run campaigns 6-8 weeks before the event
• Meta Ads — Lookalike audiences from previous open day attendees perform well. Use video creative showing campus life
• SEO — Ensure open day pages rank for branded and generic terms. These pages should be live year-round, updated for each event
• Email — Nurture sequences for prospects who've shown interest but haven't registered. 3-5 email series with increasing urgency

Your open day landing page is doing one thing: converting visitors into registrations. Every element should serve this goal.

Essential Elements

• Date, time, location — Above the fold, unmissable. Include both in-person and virtual options
• One-click registration — Minimise form fields. Name, email, and subject interest is sufficient. Collect more detail later
• Social proof — "96% of attendees would recommend our open day" or student testimonial videos
• What to expect — Agenda highlights, facilities they'll see, who they'll meet
• Transport and logistics — Parking, public transport, campus map. Remove practical barriers

Personalisation by Subject

Create subject-specific landing page variants. A prospective engineering student needs different information than a prospective law student. Dynamic content based on ad targeting or URL parameters allows this at scale.

Urgency and Scarcity

• Capacity limits — "Limited to 200 places" creates genuine urgency
• Countdown timer — Visual countdown to registration deadline
• Subject-specific sessions — "Only 15 places remaining for Architecture workshop" drives immediate action

Paid campaigns for open days need to reach the right audience at the right time in their decision journey.

Audience Segmentation

• Prospective students (16-18) — Target by age, education interests, and geography. Parents are also a key influencer audience
• Mature students (21+) — Different messaging: career change, flexible study, professional development
• International students — Country-specific targeting with messaging about visa support, accommodation, and community
• Parents and guardians — Separate campaigns addressing parental concerns: safety, graduate outcomes, accommodation

Campaign Timeline

• 8 weeks out — Awareness campaigns. Video content showing campus life and student experiences
• 4-6 weeks out — Registration drive. Direct response ads with clear CTA to book a place
• 2 weeks out — Retargeting. Re-engage website visitors and email openers who haven't registered
• 1 week out — Reminder campaigns to registered attendees to reduce no-shows
• Post-event — Follow-up campaigns to attendees with application CTAs

Email is the most cost-effective channel for converting open day interest into registrations and registrations into applications.

Pre-Event Sequence (After Registration)

1. Confirmation email (immediate) — Confirm booking, add-to-calendar link, logistics
2. Subject deep-dive (1 week later) — Information about their chosen subject, faculty profiles, graduate outcomes
3. Student story (2 weeks before) — Personal story from a current student studying their chosen subject
4. Logistics reminder (3 days before) — Directions, parking, what to bring, weather forecast
5. Day-of reminder (morning of) — Short reminder with any last-minute information

Post-Event Sequence

1. Thank you (same day) — Thank them for attending, ask for feedback, link to photo gallery
2. Application prompt (3 days after) — Clear CTA to start their application, link to admissions page
3. Offer of help (1 week after) — "Have questions? Book a 1:1 with an admissions adviser"
4. Deadline reminder (as applicable) — UCAS deadline or rolling admissions prompt

Open day no-show rates typically range from 20-40%. Every no-show is wasted capacity and a lost conversion opportunity.

Tactics That Reduce No-Shows

• SMS reminders — Text message reminders the day before and morning of the event. SMS open rates exceed 95%
• Personalised agendas — When registrants choose specific sessions, they feel more committed
• Friend referrals — "Bring a friend" options increase attendance because social commitment is stronger than individual
• Waitlist visibility — "Your place is reserved. If you can't attend, please let us know so we can offer it to someone on the waitlist"
• Virtual alternative — Offer a virtual attendance option for those who can't make it in person. Some attendance is better than no attendance

Track the full funnel from ad impression to enrolled student to justify and optimise your marketing spend.

Funnel Metrics

• Cost per registration — Total campaign spend divided by registrations. Target: £15-40
• Registration to attendance rate — Percentage who actually show up. Target: 60-80%
• Attendance to application rate — Percentage who subsequently apply. Target: 30-50%
• Cost per application — Total spend divided by applications attributed to open day. Target: £40-120
• Cost per enrolled student — The ultimate ROI metric. Compare against lifetime student value

Attribution

Use UTM parameters on all campaign links, unique landing page URLs per channel, and CRM integration to track the full journey from first click to enrolment. The investment cycle is long (6-18 months), so set up attribution tracking before campaigns launch.

Our Paid Media services are built around this exact framework, designed for businesses that need predictable growth.