In an increasingly competitive market, higher education (HE) institutions face continued challenges around engaging and recruiting the right students. Earlier today, UCAS published its applicant figures by the January deadline in the 2025 applicant cycle. While the figures generally paint a positive picture of recruitment to UK HE, the data highlights areas for potential growth.

The figures found:

• An overall increase in the number of applications to UK HE, with the total number of applicants increasing by 1% compared to January 2024 to more than 600,000.
• A record number of 18-year olds applying to university, in part due to a growing 18-year-old population, rising from 316,850 in 2024 to 323,460 in 2025.
• More applications from students from disadvantaged backgrounds, including an increase of 1.4% in the number of applicants from areas of most disadvantage (Indices of Multiple Deprivation Quintile 1) in England compared to this time last year.
• A 2.7% increase in the number of undergraduate applicants from overseas , including from key markets like China and the United States.
• Regional participation gaps as 58% of 18-year-olds in London made an application to university compared to just 32% of those from the North East, marking a decrease from January 2024.
• The number of mature applicants has decreased compared to this time last year, dropping by 6.4% which raises concerns for courses with a larger mature student population.

As universities now gear up for the 2025 UCAS exhibition cycle and are seeking to engage with thousands of prospective students for 2025 and 2026 entry – universities can further maximise their engagement with prospective applicants by utilising digital marketing tactics. By embedding digital marketing into student recruitment campaigns, universities can secure widespread interest and support engagement throughout (and beyond) UCAS exhibition season.

Traditional recruitment strategies such as simply attending exhibitions or recruitment fairs, direct mail campaigns and print advertising aren’t sufficient to meet the expectations of the digitally driven school student generation. Here are my top five tips on how digital marketing can revolutionise student recruitment and increase visibility, engagement and conversion rates.

1. Use data to drive your recruitment campaigns

A significant advantage of using digital marketing tactics is being able to gather data to create highly targeted and bespoke recruitment campaigns. For universities, they have the opportunity to gather insights from interactions on social media, analytics from the institution’s website and internal CRM systems to understand the interests, behaviour and engagement of prospective students. Universities can then create and deliver targeted messages via email, chatbots and advertising to ensure the right student receives the right content at the right time.

2. Understand the social media activity of prospective applicants

Recent research found that 18-29 year-olds are most likely to use Snapchat (41%), TikTok (35%) and Instagram (32%), compared to older cohorts who favour LinkedIn (25%), Facebook (22%) and X/Twitter (21%). These platforms all provide a unique function in the student recruitment cycle and allow an institution to add a human element to recruitment campaigns. This can include live Q&A sessions, user-generated content and reels about the student experience or application process which create a sense of authenticity and excitement for prospective applicants.

3. Utilise student ambassadors

For prospective applicants, being able to see the real-life experiences of peers is paramount to addressing their concerns and uncertainty about the student experience compared to university-led messaging. Universities often have hundreds of student ambassadors at their disposal who can speak about their experiences at the university. Promoting this on social media, particularly Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, will support institutions to reach their target audiences and make their content more relatable.

4. Targeted digital advertising

It is essential that institutions invest in paid digital advertising to reach as many prospective students as possible. This includes ads on the main social media channels used by your target audience, such as Snapchat, TikTok and Instagram, as well as wider platforms such as Google Ads.

Digital ads can be finely tailored based on the demographic characteristics of a university’s key target audience, as well as their location, interest and online behaviour on their website. Geo targeting can also be particularly useful when targeting prospective applicants to visit a recruitment fair in a key region. Targeting can allow universities to stay relevant on the feeds of prospective applicants who have engaged online but not yet made an application.

5. Market your open days and virtual events

To engage students who perhaps cannot make a UCAS exhibition or recruitment fair, marketing other opportunities to visit or interact with the university is essential for reducing the possibility of an applicant dropping off during the recruitment cycle. Universities can host virtual events, such as online Q&As, which are particularly useful for international recruitment. Importantly, open days should be promoted consistently and clearly across all digital platforms used by the university to allow prospective applicants to explore courses, meet members of staff and interact with current students beyond the parameters of a recruitment fair.