A prospective student visits your university’s website at 11:23 PM. She’s trying to figure out which majors match her career goals, whether scholarships are available for out-of-state students, and how soon she can apply. She opens the chatbot. It responds with a list of links and a vague answer. She clicks away. You’ve just lost a potential applicant—not because of your programs or reputation, but because the digital experience didn’t meet her expectations.

Today’s students are digital natives, raised on seamless, on-demand experiences. They expect the college search process to feel intuitive, personal, and immediate. Yet, most admissions and marketing teams are operating with tools designed for a different era—forms, drip campaigns, and FAQs that assume students will do the work to find the information they need. In an increasingly competitive enrollment landscape, that assumption is costing institutions real prospects.

That’s where next-generation AI comes in—not as a flashy gimmick, but as a strategic extension of your admissions team.

Meeting Students Where They Are

AI isn’t just about automation—it’s about amplification. With the right AI tools, colleges can engage students through intelligent, real-time conversations that feel personal, responsive, and helpful.

Imagine and AI assistant that:

• Speaks Multiple Languages: Supports first-generation and international students
• Answers Nuanced Questions: About programs , scholarships, deadlines, or housing—24/7
• Collects Insights: What prospective students are most curious about
• Proactively Nurtures: Interest by sending reminders, content, or guidance based on behavior and questions
• Integrates with your CRM: Tailors conversations to individual students—so when the high school star quarterback asks about athletics, the AI highlights your championship-winning football program, game day tailgates, and the community pride behind your team

Instead of static chatbots, we’re now seeing dynamic AI tools that act more like student concierges—offering not just answers, but direction.

A Force Multiplier for Admissions and Marketing

Admissions offices are under pressure to do more with less. Fewer staff. Fewer visits. More scrutiny. AI offers an opportunity to scale your outreach without sacrificing personalization.

• Increase inquiries and applications by giving students instant answers—24-7.
• Identify trends in student interest, allowing marketing teams to adjust messaging in real time.
• Reduce call volume to overburdened admissions teams.
• Improve equity by ensuring consistent access to information, no matter when or where a student asks.

It’s not about replacing staff—it’s about freeing them up to do what they do best: build relationships.

What This Means for the Future of Recruitment

The most competitive institutions tomorrow won’t just have the best programs. They’ll have the best experiences. AI allows schools to create friction less, student-first journeys that meet modern expectations. The future of enrollment isn’t just digital—it’s intelligent.

As we look ahead, colleges that integrate AI thoughtfully into their recruitment strategies will stand out not just for what they offer, but for how they make students feel seen and supported from the very first interaction.

master video ads in 2025

At Central States Marketing, we work to keep a clear outlook on how consumers are viewing video content as the year 2025 continues to take off. The number of choices for streaming and video placement can continue to be overwhelming when deciding where the best audiences are for your digital marketing efforts.

Sprout Social, a social media management platform, recently shared insights on streaming and video placement.

When considering the different types of videos, it’s essential to understand whether your marketing plan requires short—or long-form video content.

Short-form videos typically last less than 60 seconds and are better for engagement. However, if your company is focused on more detailed and informative content, you may want to consider long-form videos.

On average, people watch at least 16 seconds of a video in under 1 minute, that is 27% of the overall video. Compare that to a 60-minute video, which would get an average watch time of 16 minutes. The choice between the two is dependent on your planning strategies.

Short-form video will continue to be a strong tactic in 2025, with 30% of brands using it for their marketing. 44% of people say they prefer watching a short product or explainer video rather than a longer one.

youtube – streaming video & ‘shorts’

YouTube could be considered the first hub for viral video content. The platform helps harness the power of video and is the world’s second-largest search engine.

For many businesses, YouTube is an ideal platform for digital advertising because many people search for entertaining content daily. 40.9% of YouTube watch time is done on mobile devices.

Ideally, YouTube ads are between 15-30 seconds.

In 2020, YouTube introduced ‘Shorts’. It is a short-form section of the platform. YouTube Shorts focus on vertical videos that are less than 180 seconds and offer features for user interaction.

meta – stories & reels

By the end of 2024, 50% of the time spent on Facebook is used to view video content. Vertical videos that feature audio have a 35% higher click-through rate (CTR).

Meta video ads can range from 1-120 seconds. The most successful video ads range between 5-30 seconds on the platform.

Instagram and Facebook are both platforms under the Meta umbrella. When an ad is placed on Meta Ads Manager, it will optimize between these platforms unless manually set to do otherwise. Out of both platforms, Instagram is well-known for their Reels and Stories.

Reels is a section of the Instagram platform where viewers can swipe up and down to view short-form vertical view content. This is one of the most popular user functions for the app. Like TikTok, media consumers will scroll through organic content and be exposed to advertising consistently. Reels have a 22% higher chance of engaging users on Instagram compared to a standard video post.

Instagram Stories can be both images and videos. They are profile bubbles at the top of the home screen where users will click to view daily content from friends and people that they choose to follow. When tapping through Instagram Stories, an ad will be shown every 2-3 organic views.

tiktok – ‘for you page’ (fyp)

TikTok is purely made for video content. It’s one of the most popular social media platforms in the world. Despite the 14-hour ban in the United States in mid-January, the platform returned to active with an extension on the ban to give the parent company the opportunity to share the venture with a new, American business.

The engagement on TikTok is excellent for local businesses, ecommerce, and higher education to name a few. The largest audience group is Gen Z – being those between the ages of 18 to 24.

On average, 63% of TikTok videos that highlight a company’s key message in the first 3 seconds get a higher click-through rate. Users can discover new content by scrolling through what is known as a ‘For You Page’ or FYP. This is what makes TikTok customizable. They offer new content to users, if they view or interact with the video, that platform continues to learn about their unique interests.

On average, ads are shown on the FYP between 2-4 organic content swipes. TikTok video ads can be 5-60 seconds in length. Although, TikTok recommends 9-15 seconds to grab the attention of the viewer quickly.

snapchat – stories & spotlight

Snapchat is a place where both static image and video ads can have a place to thrive. The average Snapchat user spends over 30 minutes on Snapchat every day and opens the app more than 30 times.

On this platform, ads can be shown to users who are scrolling through stories, which are posts made by their friend connections. Another section of Snapchat is known as ‘Spotlight’ where short-form vertical content is quick to view and easy to thumb through.

64% of all ads on Snapchat are viewed with sound on. The addition of sound on both static images and videos is valuable to how the viewer received the ad. The platform recommends having the company name or key message shared within the first 2 seconds of a video to increase the chances of conversion.

Snapchat video ads can be 3-180 seconds long. It’s recommended to keep Snapchat Story ads between 5-15 seconds.

So you just started a new online ad campaign – paid search, display, video, or social media – and you’re understandably excited! But then you notice that you’re not seeing your ad. Is something wrong with your campaign?

Probably not. It’s not unusual to not see your own ad, for a number of reasons. Let’s take a look at why this might be happening.

Paid Search

Your paid search campaign started and you keep searching for your business name or industry keywords, but your ad isn’t appearing. Why? Search engines are designed with in-depth, algorithm-based rules and preferences to determine intent and what ads to serve – and those algorithms undergo some amount of change almost every day! Since paid search is an auction system with real-time bids, a search that happens now will show different results than a search that happens five minutes from now.

There are many factors that will affect whether an ad will show such as day of the week, time, device type, bid, competitor bid, etc. If you’ve previously searched and your URL has come up organically and you did not click it, or clicked it and closed quickly, the search engines think that you’re not interested in that site so they won’t show it to you in a paid ad.

Additionally, if you do see your ad after searching on it, clicking on it will cost you money (since it’s a pay per click product). If you leave your site right after clicking the ad, the search engines will think your ad is less relevant, which negatively impacts your campaign’s performance. However, seeing your ad and not clicking it also hurts the campaign, because it thinks your ad is less relevant. As tempting as it is, it’s best to refrain from trying to find yourself on paid search.

Display and/or Online Video

The main reason why you may not see your display or video ad is the size of the Real Time Bidding environment. Our ads and videos run across 20+ ad exchanges – that’s thousands of sites and streaming platforms. Think of it like running TV commercials on every single channel at random times throughout the day. Grab a remote and start channel-surfing, and it’s still unlikely to find your ad, even though we know that it is running.

Many of our campaigns use layered targeting to serve your ads to the right audience. Maybe your profile falls outside that target demographic, or you’re not considered in-market for a product or service because you haven’t shown a historical interest in it.

Social Media

Social media uses detailed algorithms to determine what ads to serve to which audience. At the heart of the algorithm is the ad auction, a real-time bidding process that determines which ads will be shown to users and in which order. The platform evaluates eligible ads based on three factors – advertiser bid, estimated action rates, and ad quality and relevance.

Ads are targeted by demographic and geography; however, even users who meet that criteria may not see your ad, depending on their personal details and previous behavior with content. The goal is to match ads with relevant users who are likely to engage with the content and take action (clicking, liking, sharing, etc).

Influencer Marketing has been a buzzword for a while now, but what exactly is it all about?

This marketing strategy uses content creators to increase brand awareness, increase traffic, and market a company’s products or services. By combining the power of social media with the time-tested longevity of word-of-mouth marketing, influencer marketing is a hybrid of old and new marketing tools.

The campaigns are collaborations between brands/companies and influencers. Endorsements and product mentions from influencers are commonly utilized.

Let’s take a step back – what is an influencer?

An influencer is someone who has:

– the power to affect the purchasing decisions of others because of his or her authority, knowledge, position, or relationship with his or her audience
– a following in a distinct niche, with whom he or she actively engages. The size of the following depends on the size of his/her topic of the niche.

Influencers can be anyone, anywhere.

They’re influential because of their followings on social media and the web. There are influential people within every industry – you just have to find them. Some may have followings in the hundreds of thousands or millions. Some may have 10,000 followers or less. But the key is that they have developed a reputation for being experts in their field, and have a dedicated fanbase.

Social media is growing

Social media is growing – an estimated 4.9 billion people use social media globally as of 2023, and that number is expected to climb to 5.86 billion by 2027. Influencer marketing had a projected growth of 29% in 2023. It’s about demonstrating authority, credibility and thought leadership within your industry – it’s a slow-and-steady approach as opposed to a quick-results tactic. Influencers have spent time building their own brand and audience, so they’re naturally protective of their reputation.

Social media and influencer marketing is a direct line to Gen Z, a generation of diverse, socially conscious, and online-savvy consumers. A recent survey showed that 38% of Gen Z-ers spend more than 4 hours a day on social media apps.