Campaigns and drip marketing help your team send timely, targeted communication to students over a defined period.
To keep students engaged throughout their academic journey, communications and advising teams should define the audience and message goal first.
They should also define timing and personalization before the campaign starts. Once the process is established, students receive consistent nudges and resources while staff monitor engagement without sending every message manually.
Guiding principles
Use these principles to keep campaigns focused and useful:
Purpose: Each campaign should support a specific student action or outcome.
Audience fit: Messages should reflect why the student belongs in the campaign audience.
Personalization: Use details such as the student's name or assigned staff member when they make the message clearer.
Brevity: Keep each message short and focused on one main idea.
Timing: Space messages so they guide students without overwhelming them.
Measurement: Review engagement and outcomes so campaigns can improve over time.
Step 1: Define the campaign goal
Start by defining what the campaign should accomplish. A strong campaign goal is specific enough to guide message writing, audience selection, and success measurement.
Common Student Success campaign goals include:
Encouraging first-year students to complete onboarding tasks.
Reminding students to register, clear holds, or submit required forms.
Connecting transfer or graduate students to relevant resources.
Following up after early alerts, missed appointments, or incomplete actions.
Step 2: Build the recipient audience
Define the student group that should receive the campaign. The audience should be narrow enough that each message feels relevant.
Common audience sources include:
Populations for groups that should remain current over time.
Query results for one-time or highly specific recipient lists.
Rules that add or remove students based on events, milestones, or student data.
Assigned staff or caseload data for advisor-specific messaging.
Action item: Review Queries and Populations before deciding how to define the campaign audience.
Step 3: Map the drip sequence
Plan the sequence before writing individual messages. A drip campaign should build toward the goal instead of repeating the same reminder.
For each message, define:
When the message should send.
What the student should do after reading it.
Which resource supports that action.
What should happen if the student completes the action or does not respond.
For example, a registration campaign might start with a general reminder. Later messages can address unresolved holds and route unregistered students to advisor outreach.
Step 4: Write and personalize messages
Write each message around one action. Use personalization when it helps the student understand why the message applies to them.
Useful personalization can include:
The student's name.
The student's program, population, or cohort.
The assigned advisor or success coach.
A specific deadline, requirement, or next step.
Hi
{{Preferred}}, your registration checklist still includes one open item. Complete it today so your advisor can review your schedule before the deadline.
Action item: Use Deliver when you build campaign messages and manage mailing configuration.
Step 5: Automate triggers and follow-up
Automation helps campaigns run in the background while still responding to student behavior.
Use rules and campaign logic to:
Add students when they meet campaign criteria.
Stop or change messages when students complete the intended action.
Trigger staff follow-up when a student does not respond.
Route students to the appropriate resource or support office.
Action item: Review Rules when campaign membership or follow-up should change automatically.
Step 6: Measure performance and refine
Use engagement and completion data to understand whether the campaign is working. Campaigns should improve as you learn which messages, timing, and audiences drive action.
Useful measures include:
Open rates and link engagement.
Completion of the expected task, such as a form submission or appointment.
Response rates by population or audience segment.
Students who still require staff follow-up after the sequence ends.
Recommendations
Well-designed campaigns help students receive timely, relevant guidance while giving staff a repeatable communication process that can be measured and improved.
Start with the outcome: Decide what the student should do before drafting messages.
Keep messages focused: Each message should ask students to complete one primary action.
Use segmentation: A smaller, better-targeted audience usually performs better than a broad message.
Automate thoughtfully: Stop or adjust messaging when the student completes the goal.
Review analytics: Use results to refine timing, language, and follow-up rules.