A M A R I L L O  C O L L E G E ' S 
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D I G I T A L  M A R K E T I N G  P R O G R A M

Amarillo College is a minority majority community college with a higher than average student age, lower than average student income level, and 70% first-generation college students. As such, our institution has struggled to convey the accessibility and affordability of Amarillo College, while also demonstrating the excellence of our academic programs and faculty. To overcome this challenge, we needed to create content that felt aspirational yet relatable, academic yet unpretentious, elevated yet approachable, and inspiring yet empathetic. 

G O A L

The goal of our 2018-2019 digital marketing campaign sought to address the challenges of our institution by fostering a feeling of connection with the institution and promoting the benefits of learning from our high quality faculty. To do this, we had to create an online presence that is encouraging, inviting, and engaging while addressing the barriers to our students' success and connecting them to resources and opportunities. 

At Amarillo College, we have created a hypothetical amalgamation of our student demographic averages which we refer to as "Maria". Maria is a 28 year old female first generation college student with ≈2 children who attends part time. In addition to prospective students similar to Maria, we also sought to reach a younger generation of future college students and their parents.  

This younger audience has recently become more important than ever due to a groundbreaking new local scholarship program offered through a collaboration between AC and several other local organizations which offers all new graduating seniors from Amarillo Independent School District the opportunity to take 60-hours of course work at AC without paying a penny toward tuition, books, or fees regardless of family income. Since many of these students come from higher income-earning families with more of an ability to afford tuition at a 4-year institution (without a scholarship) than our average student, the perception of quality and academic rigor are particularly important in encouraging these students to attend AC. 

We used social media as the primary means of communicating our messages digitally. In addition to more traditional posts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube, we also made liberal and consistent use of avenues like Instagram/Facebook stories, event filters, live video, and Snapchat geofilters. Creative paid advertising strategies were also employed on social media. Leveraging our access to student information, we crafted timely paid ads that were more personalized and relevant to the individual, their interests, and their specific situation. In all aspects of our social media presence, we continued our conscious shift toward quality over quantity and rejected the common long standing practice of valuing volume output and "reach" over genuine engagement. 

B L O G

On our blog platform, we highlighted meaningful stories that celebrated the successes of our students, faculty, and the institution as a whole. We also consistently added depth to our written content by often supplementing stories with accompanying video content. 

A P P

We recently launched a new app as another means of connection to our students. With the app, students can access class schedules, grades, virtual ID card, calendar of events, important institutional contact info, student email, and more. The app also connects to our Instagram, Twitter, & Facebook profiles with just a click. However, one of the most impactful features of the app is the capability it gives students to view their planned course timeline a year or more in advance, then register for the desired sections from their phones on the first day registration opens. The app has also been used as a tool for disseminating important or time sensitive information to students through calculated and moderate use of push notifications. We also promoted this student-planning/scheduling feature on social media and our website. 

D I G I T A L  O U T D O O R  A D V E R T I S I N G

We continued our mission of fostering a feeling of connection with the institution along with increasing awareness of our top-notch faculty using strategic messaging and imagery on outdoor digital billboards. We also repurposed these graphics for use on social media and website use. 

D I S P L A Y  A D V E R T I S I N G

We also utilized targeted PPC display advertisements across several ad auctions and media platforms – including traditional banner ads and in-stream video marketing pieces. 

The vast majority of all of our digital content – including blog posts, video production/editing, graphics, animations, and photography – is created by a small in-house team of two designers, a writer, and a part-time content producer which is then published and analyzed by our digital communications coordinator. The small size of our team, however, gives us the ability to communicate our message efficiently without losing focus on our objectives. 

C R E A T I V E  C O N T E N T 

A C C E S S I B L E  +  E N G A G I N G   C A M P U S

A B O U T  U S
Amarillo College is a vibrant, comprehensive community college profoundly focused on helping lead our students to success.

AC features a compelling blend of quality and affordability, typically enrolling approximately 10,000 students in academic classes at six campuses within in three counties – at approximately one-third that of the cost of a public university in Texas.

Additionally, more than 20,000 area residents regularly take advantage of AC’s plentiful assortment of professional development and personal enrichment courses under the umbrella of Continuing Education.