Proven Video Communication Strategies for Higher Education in 2025

With the start of the 2025 academic year, institutions continue to face familiar yet complex challenges in communicating effectively with a new generation of students. 

From standing out in a crowded education market to ensuring seamless onboarding and sustained engagement, the pressure is on to connect in meaningful ways. 

As digital transformation accelerates, video has become the gold standard for making information engaging, memorable, and impactful.

In our recent webinar: Proven Education Communications – Video for Enrolment, Retention, and Engagement, we explored how educational institutions—and even businesses in other industries—can harness video to boost enrolment, enhance student experiences, and deliver high-impact campaigns efficiently.

This blog recaps five key challenges facing educational institutions today and shares practical strategies, real-life examples, and best practices to help overcome them.

Missed the webinar? You can watch the full recording here.

Challenge 1: Standing Out in a Crowded Market

The Problem

Educational institutions face an oversaturated market, making it difficult to differentiate from competitors. Students struggle to assess facilities, faculty quality, program offerings, and student outcomes based on brochures or static websites alone. Additionally, demonstrating a commitment to diversity and inclusion can be challenging without authentic storytelling.

Why Video?

• 80% of students say a video influenced their decision to apply to an online university (Google).
• 68% of prospective students highlight videos showcasing campus life and program details as a critical factor in their final choice (educations.com).
• 69% of prospective students said that videos showcasing campus life and program information were key factors in their choice of university (Unibuddy).

Video Showcases Your Unique Value Proposition

In a crowded market, capturing and holding attention is key—not just to stand out, but to help prospective students make informed decisions about their future. A well-crafted animated video sets the perfect tone—engaging, modern, and dynamic—while maintaining a pace that keeps viewers interested without overwhelming them.

But a great video doesn’t just inform—it drives action. Through movement, storytelling, and an action-driven script, it encourages prospective students to see why your institution is the right choice and motivates them to take the next step.

To create a script that captures attention and drives action, follow this structured approach:

1. Quick Intro: Start with a brief introduction that sets the stage
2. Premise / Problem: Identify the challenge you’re addressing or situation you’re about to change
3. Solution: Present you solution clearly and confidently
4. Justification: Explain why your solution is the right one – Will take the most time!
5. Objection Handling: Anticipate and address resistance and provide reassurance
6. Conclusion / Wrap Up: Ensure audience leaves with a clear understanding
7. Call to Action (CTA): End with a strong CTA that guides your audience on what to do next

If you’re looking for more insight into creating high-impact video scripts, download one of our Punchy Video Starter Packs. This 4-in-1 resource includes examples, guides, and templates to help you get started.

Challenge 2: Simplifying Student Onboarding

The Problem

First impressions matter. A complex or overwhelming onboarding process can lead to confusion, disengagement, and drop-offs at a critical stage in a student’s journey. Text-heavy brochures and dense websites often fail to engage prospective students, making it harder for them to navigate course selection, registration, and key institutional processes.

Why Video?

• 95% of information is retained when watched in a video, compared to just 10% when reading text (Forbes).
• 83% of students prefer learning through video, making it the most accessible and engaging format for onboarding (TechSmith).
• 87% of consumers say the quality of a video influences their trust in a brand—meaning a professional onboarding video can reinforce your institution’s credibility and professionalism (Vidico).

Using Video to Streamline Onboarding

A well-structured onboarding video ensures students receive clear, engaging, and easy-to-follow information. Video has the ability to make onboarding seamless, repeatable, and accessible, ensuring key messages are delivered consistently across multiple platforms.

Example: Unique Student Identifier (USI)

This onboarding video has amassed 139,000 views on the client’s YouTube channel, proving its effectiveness in guiding students through the registration process. Here’s a breakdown of why it works.

• Easily accessible and repeatable – Can be posted on websites, shared via email, or hosted on social media for on-demand access.
• Simplified information – Breaks down complex processes into bite-sized, easy-to-digest segments, reducing confusion.
• Real-time live demos – Shows exactly how to complete tasks, such as registering for classes or navigating student portals, ensuring clarity and eliminating ambiguity.
• Easy to update – As websites and processes change, video content can be quickly adjusted to reflect new information, keeping onboarding materials up to date.

By incorporating onboarding videos, institutions can improve student experiences, reduce confusion, and increase engagement from day one.

Challenge 3: Supporting Student Wellbeing

The Problem

Building on the previous challenge, a crucial part of instilling confidence in new and prospective students is ensuring access to wellbeing support. For many, transitioning to university can be overwhelming, and academic, emotional, or personal challenges can lead to feelings of isolation and disengagement. Without clear and accessible support services, students may struggle in silence, which can negatively impact their mental health, academic performance, and retention rates.

Using Video to Foster Connection & Support

A well-crafted video can humanise support services, making them approachable and accessible. Rather than overwhelming students with dense information, video delivers messages with warmth and clarity, ensuring they know where to turn for help. Animation, in particular, creates gentle, engaging visuals that break down stigmas, provide reassurance, and encourage students to take that crucial first step toward support.

Example: QUT HiQ Student Health & Wellbeing

Here’s a breakdown of why this examples works:

• Gentle and approachable – Animation softens the anxiety-inducing topic of seeking help by creating a safe and non-threatening way to engage.
• Emotive and reassuring – Warm visuals and expressive characters build trust, making students feel seen, heard, and supported.
• Relatable and engaging – Character-driven storytelling fosters connection, showing students they’re not alone and encouraging them to seek support.

Challenge 4: Reigniting Student Engagement

The Problem

Students often disengage due to outdated content, information overload, or a lack of personal connection with their institution. With mobile devices dominating content consumption, institutions need to adapt their approach. If your content isn’t captivating, easy to digest, and accessible on mobile, students won’t engage with it.

Why Video?

• 88% of education professionals agree that video improves student engagement (Sony).
• 75% of viewers consume short-form content on their mobile devices, making vertical video the preferred format (HubSpot).
• Video helps viewers learn in 40-60% less time compared to traditional classroom methods (Codeless).

Mobile-First, Interactive Video Content

To engage students effectively, institutions must optimise video for mobile-first viewing on platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts. Short, high-impact videos—such as quick tips, behind-the-scenes clips, and student testimonials—hold attention without overwhelming viewers. Furthermore, Interactive elements like quizzes and polls encourage participation, while authentic, lo-fi content feels more relatable. Embracing these strategies helps universities create engaging, student-friendly content that drives real connection.

Example: Queensland University of Technology (QUT)

By adopting short-form, vertical, and interactive video content, institutions can increase student engagement, improve communication, and foster a stronger sense of connection.

Challenge 5: Maximising Impact with Limited Resources

The Problem

When budgets and resources are tight, every investment needs to count. Many institutions believe that high-quality content requires significant funding, but strategic planning and smart content repurposing can stretch resources further.

Why Video?

• Video content can be repurposed across multiple platforms, increasing ROI without additional production costs.
• Scalable and reusable—one video can serve multiple purposes, reducing long-term expenses.
• Animated videos can be more cost-effective than live-action, requiring fewer resources while remaining adaptable.

Take a Proactive Approach to Video Campaigns

A well-structured video production plan ensures your project stays on time, within budget, and aligned with your goals. Without a clear strategy, projects can suffer from scope creep, unnecessary revisions, and missed deadlines.

The key elements you want to set in place before starting a project are:

• Clear Brief – Define your objectives, audience, and messaging.
• Timeline & Milestones – Map out deadlines and stakeholder review points.
• Stakeholder Collaboration – Use online tools like frame.io to streamline feedback.
• Format Selection – Choose live-action or animation depending on your message
• Content Longevity – Use templates and repurposable assets to extend video lifespan.
• Brand Alignment – Ensure consistency across all video content.

For a deeper dive into these crucial elements of video production, check out our blog: 7 Lessons from Producing 1,000+ Minutes of Public Sector Video in 2024. It breaks down each step to help you stay on track, on budget, and aligned with your goals.

Final Takeaways & Next Steps

If you want to boost enrolment, engagement, and retention, video needs to be a key part of your strategy. It’s not just about creating content—it’s about crafting stories that connect, inform, and inspire action.

To make getting started easy, we’re giving you access to our Punchy Starter Packs, a resource packed with everything you need to create impactful videos:

• Briefing Template – Nail down your objectives from the start.
• Expert Scripting Guide & Template – Craft compelling, action-driven messages.
• Production Workflow Guide – Keep your project on track.
• Best-in-Class Video Examples – Get inspired by top-performing campaigns.

Download yours here!

Ready to bring your education videos to life? Request a free quote or download our pricing guide today.