It’s May, Be Creative!
Capture stories before graduation empties campus.
May is a weird, transitional month on campus. Everyone is either exhausted from yield season or mentally already on summer Friday time. But before the campus completely empties out, there is a narrow window to do something we almost always forget to do: talk to the graduating students before they leave.
Instead of agonizing over your summer lead-gen campaigns, shift your focus. Go get the raw, real reflections, photos, and video clips that will actually make next year's campaigns worth experiencing.
Ditch the Script
Let's be honest: your prospective students don't want to hear from us. They want to hear from the people who just survived the experience. According to a 2024 article from the American Marketing Association (AMA), engaging with influencers like alumni or current students enhances credibility because they can promote your programs to their networks with unmatched authenticity.
The tradeoff? You have to let go of the slick, highly produced studio videos. Accept the slightly messy reality of a student talking to AI for their college search. According to EAB's 2024 Adult Learner Survey, this is critical because mega-stealth shopping makes your website and the content being pulled for Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) the biggest recruitment risk.
Stop the Silo Madness
You can't do this alone in the marketing suite. Capturing these moments requires a true partnership with admissions and student affairs. If we don't align, we stumble right into what EAB accurately calls the "Bermuda Triangle" of Summer Melt. As EAB’s 2022 State of the Sector report points out, admissions usually steps back after the deposit, and student affairs doesn't really say hello until orientation.
This 2025 SimpsonScarborough report shows that mature institutions are actively moving away from department-siloed digital presences, resulting in a 59% drop in departmental, fragmented websites in favor of centralized storytelling. When we stop fighting over who "owns" the student and just coordinate the digital handoff, the whole journey gets faster and a lot less frustrating for the applicant.
Quick Tips for Your Next Check-In
Managing these stories is mostly about protecting the truth of the student experience. Here are five quick things to remember at your next team check-in to keep things moving:
Find a friend in student affairs. They know who the standout students are. Ask them for the names of recent grads who have a story.
Don't hand students a script. Just ask them what surprised them the most about their time here.
Ask yourself (and the students): if we printed our ads and hung them in the student union, would people roll their eyes or would they feel proud?
Keep the camera rolling. The best quote usually happens right after you say, "Okay, we're done.
Share Your Thoughts, Let's Connect!
It is incredibly easy to let May slip by without capturing the energy of graduation. If you have found a simple, low-stress way to grab these stories before the students leave town, I'd love to hear what works for your campus. Connect with me on LinkedIn to swap ideas.
Read More
The following pieces of research, web pages, and organizational data were used to create this article, providing transparency and allowing you to explore the findings further:
American Marketing Association (AMA). "Top 7 University & College Marketing Tactics." November 4, 2024.
EAB. "Adult Learner Survey." Washington, DC: EAB, 2024.
EAB. "Growing Amidst the Great Opt-Out: State of the Sector for Small and Regional Universities." Washington, DC: EAB, 2022.
SimpsonScarborough. "Website & Marketing Technology: The State of Higher Education (2025 Edition)." Alexandria, VA: SimpsonScarborough, 2025.
Borrow My Notes
I’ve collected observations and reflections on marketing, communications, and recruitment for more than 20 years. That archive inspired me to share these insights through this blog. Here are my own thoughts from the collection that helped shape this article:
"If our ads were inside the building, would they tell the truth, and would they say something interesting?"
"You cannot build a true connection if students feel like they are hearing from five different offices."
"Authenticity isn't manufactured in a studio; it's captured in the hallways before the semester ends."