Are you wondering what the best law school recruitment strategies are for 2024? We can certainly understand why. Law school admissions statistics show that the number of applications to the most famous institutions like Columbia law school, for example, keeps increasing, and their acceptance rates are more competitive than ever. Meanwhile, enrollment for many other law schools either stays the same or gets lower. If you want to be a competitive law school, you need to implement new recruitment strategies that will give you a strategic advantage and improve those numbers. In this blog, we're going to discuss the importance of having established law school recruitment strategies and which strategies can help your institution stand out.
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Students who are hoping to get into law schools in the US or Canada search for schools that not only offer the best law school programs, but that will give them the best chance of thriving academically, personally, and eventually, professionally. As a law school, you also want to attract and admit students who will be able to get the most out of your program and go on to get great internships and employment afterward, thus improving the quality of the education you provide and the school's reputation.
The challenge in this increasingly competitive crowd is finding the best ways to reach those students and convince them that your institution is the right place for them. Recruitment is essentially marketing! Your marketing strategies are supposed to communicate the features of your product or service ( in this case, that is your law school programs), and explain to students how they will benefit from them. It is important to have a plan for advertising your school to students in a way that is both authentic and compelling. You need to know which platforms to use in order to stand out, which of your school's unique features to highlight, and how to connect with students so that they are receptive and willing to find out more about your institution.
This is where having the right law school recruitment strategies comes into play. Let's talk about some of those strategies and how they can help you increase student enrollment in your college or university.
- Use social media
- Improve your website content
- Don't forget offline recruitment
- Offer unique programs
One of the unique programs you can offer is through BeMo's university students benefits program. Getting into law school is highly competitive, and with BeMo's help, your students will have unlimited access to not only law school admissions consultants but to academic support and career coaching sessions, anytime and anywhere. Read more about BeMo's student benefits on our university partnerships page.
1. Get creative with social media
According to the Global State of Digital Report, 58 percent of the world's total population - approximately 4.62 billion people - use social media. We can guarantee that prospective law school students are among them. In other words, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, etc., should definitely be a part of your law school recruitment strategy. You most likely already know how powerful social media can be for marketing so we won't talk about the numbers too much, but we will remind you that it's important to have the best strategies that will allow you to take full advantage of what social media platforms have to offer.
You can certainly use social media platforms for advertising using the traditional sponsored posts and banner ads, but there is so much more your institution can do to reach more law school hopefuls. Law is a relatively conservative profession, so many schools are unsure of how creative they can be on different platforms.
Our first piece of advice is to embrace your student's creativity by using student ambassadors. Encourage students to post about their experiences and tag the school or use the school's hashtag to showcase your campus culture. Look for particularly interesting content and relatable content, such as video footage of fun events on campus by students and get their permission to reshare it on your official pages. This will not only encourage more students to get involved, but it will also get the attention of prospective students.
Additionally, you can enlist students and alumni to create content specifically for your official accounts. Current students and recent alumni can talk about your school and showcase its features in a way that is more relatable to prospective students. Students who are more active on platforms like Instagram and TikTok can generate content that will not only be authentic but more likely to appeal to the younger group of students looking for their future law school.
Social media marketing, especially when utilized regularly can be used to not only tell your law school's story and promote its programs, but also to offer value to students and drive up engagement. For example, you could offer advice on how to study for the LSAT or tips and strategies for studying in law school. Students would be more likely to engage with you, and it might make them curious about your institution and programs.
You can also use social media to notify prospective students of upcoming recruitment events or actually host virtual events to provide valuable information. For example, virtual recruitment events, live sessions, and Q&As are a great way to find out what prospective students are looking for, answer their questions, address their concerns, and provide them with additional information about your program.
2. Optimize your website’s content
When students first start wondering which school would be best for them, they usually turn to Google. Many prospective students already have an idea of where they want to study - a specific country, city, or region. So, they will typically look at the law schools in the desired geography and develop a short list based on rankings and other factors. Put yourself in the shoes of a prospective college student for a second and think about what those factors might be and what questions you would have.
You probably thought about some or all of these questions and many others. Your website should be designed in a way that allows students to find the answers to this question easily. So, make sure that your website does more than highlight your curriculum options. You should also communicate the student experience through your law school's website and provide information about networking and internship opportunities, as well as other programs that you have that can help with placements or future employment. It is also best to address the cost and financial aid programs head-on to ensure students have as much information as possible.
3. Don’t ignore in-person recruitment strategies
Having online student recruitment strategies is important and necessary considering the amount of time that we spend online, but it is also not enough to reach as many prospective students as possible. Like traditional customers, students tend to choose the brand ( in this case, the school) they feel connected to. This means that the more familiar they are with your school, the higher the chances of them applying to your law school program.
One of the best ways to make sure that a prospective student is familiar with your institution is to make sure that you are engaging with them in multiple ways. The truth is that even though much of our world has gone digital, human interaction and physical handouts still have a place in your law school recruitment strategy. Many students appreciate the opportunity to converse face-to-face with recruitment personnel, instructors, alumni, and current students. This allows them to ask questions and interact with a personified representation of your law school. It also gives you a chance to form that human connection through the representatives and provide more personalized information about your program. Make sure you have good practices for student retention and satisfaction if you're going to use this strategy. You want prospective students to hear good things about your institution from their peers as that will help them feel more confident and comfortable making these life-changing decisions.
We recommend reviewing your physical marketing materials such as handouts and flyers to make sure that they are optimized for recruitment. In order for an in-person recruitment strategy to be effective, it needs to include eye-catching, informative handouts that will make it easier for students to learn more about you later when your representative is not there. These brochures should be as informative as possible -including information about your law school programs, faculty, fees, financial aid, extracurriculars, and any additional perks that your campus offers that could be enticing.
Additionally, online and in-person recruitment are not mutually exclusive. In fact, we recommend merging the two by making it clear to students that you can communicate and engage with them in whichever way they prefer. For example, as mentioned earlier, your website can give students the option of connecting with a current student in person at the school. On the other side of that coin, your brochures should include a prompt for students to connect with you online using a QR code, easy-to-recall web addresses, and social media information.
Furthermore, in-person events like Open Days and Applicant Visit Days are among the most effective tools for conversion, so you do not want to miss out on those. Plan to have one or two every year or reach out to a local community college and have a representative provide information about your law school at a recruitment event. These events can lead to significant results. You can also make it possible for other prospective students to join these events by making it possible for them to join virtually.
Virtual events were already replacing and complementing many in-person events in various industries, but over the past few years, they have become even more popular. We have seen that they can deliver the same in-depth information and personalized experience as in-person events when done well. So, this would be a great way to interact with prospective local students and those who may not be close to you. In other words, if you are still working on your international student recruitment strategies, this is something that you definitely want to include.
4. Offer and highlight unique programs
You have probably already spent a lot of time optimizing your law school programs and curriculum, but the reality is that there are a lot of good law schools out there with great programs. To stand out, you need to present students with unique programs outside your regular curriculum that offer a different kind of value. Students look for schools that will give them the knowledge and qualifications needed to enter the workforce, but they also want schools that will set them up for success. This is why we recommend offering programs that help students prepare for their future.
One of the programs that you can offer is academic consulting. Academic consultants help students with an array of things, and one of the main things they do is give students the skills that they need to succeed in the job market. One particular type of academic consultant that would be helpful to law school students is the law school advisor. Law school advisors can be an invaluable resource for students, but they don't always know how and when to reach out to an advisor. By working with an academic consulting firm, you not only make expert advisors available to your students, but you also make it easier for them to use their services and improve their own chances of success.
Law school advisors can play an essential role in students' personal, academic and professional development, especially when it comes to graduation planning and career exploration. They can also work with students to teach them better high-yield study techniques and improve their communication and interviewing skills. All of which would lead to better grades and more placements for your students, thus helping students successfully enter the workforce after attending your law school and simultaneously improving your school's reputation.
Conclusion
Student recruitment can be challenging, but having the right law school recruitment strategies can make a huge difference. Having a clearly defined plan for attracting and communicating with students who are a great fit for your school can not only help your student recruitment efforts, but it can also improve your institution's overall reputation. We recommend that you start by looking for more unique perks and programs that you can offer, optimizing your website for the student experience, using in-person and virtual recruitment events, and using social media creatively.
FAQs
1. Why is having a law school recruitment strategy necessary?
Establishing law school recruitment strategies is the best way to ensure that you are attracting the right kind of students to your institution and increasing the number of students enrolling in the program.
2. How do I know which law school recruitment strategies would work for my institution?
You should take the time to look at your current strategies and how they are performing. This will give you a good idea of what is working and what needs to be changed.
3. What is the best way to make my law school stand out?
You can make your law school stand out by offering different student support programs that will help students do well in law school and after graduation. Access to a law school advisor or an international student advisor, for example.
4. What is a law school advisor?
Law school advisors are professionals who guide students on students on their journey to becoming a lawyer. This includes preparing for law school applications, but also teaching them valuable employment skills such as how to structure answers for interview questions. Their services can help improve placements for your students, which in turn improves the school’s reputation.
5. Why is student-generated content ideal for social media?
Student ambassadors can produce content that is more relatable to their peers and speak to campus life in a way that faculty or other school staff wouldn't be able to.
6. Which social media platform should I focus on for law school recruitment?
Ideally, you want to use all of them. Many prospective students live online, in different corners of the internet, so you need to make sure that you can engage with them and respond to their inquiries on different platforms. Over time, you will notice which platform seems to get more engagement from your target audience, and you can focus your efforts there.
7. How can academic consulting firms help law schools with recruitment?
Academic consulting firms work with law school advisors and other professionals who specialize in assisting students to achieve their goals. They do this by providing a variety of different services, such as preparing students for things like interviews and helping them craft their resumes. These services can help students get better placements and internships faster, thus improving your school's reputation and credibility.
8. How do academic consulting agencies improve law school grad placements?
By teaching students how to write and format their resumes, teaching them interview etiquette, how to sell themselves as candidates, and other skills that will help them navigate the hiring process more effectively.
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