Meeting the Modern Learner Where They Scroll
Driving Enrollment Impact Through TikTok
This case study focuses on a small, sustainability-focused institution that is not trying to be everything to everyone. It is a sharply defined, mission-driven institution that unapologetically owns its position in the market. Its programs are designed for applied, career-aligned environmental fields and delivered through flexible online and in-person formats that meet Modern Learners where they are. While the institution benefits from strong mission clarity and accessibility, recent program expansion and accelerated formats created pressure to prove awareness, relevance and enrollment performance in a highly competitive digital landscape.
But in a market flooded with generic messaging and copy-and-paste performance strategies, even strong brands get buried when they rely on the same channels as everyone else.
Shattering the Ceiling of Traditional Marketing
This institution reached a breaking point where traditional higher ed marketing could no longer deliver growth on its own. Core undergraduate programs had effectively hit a ceiling across traditional platforms. At the same time, this institution was launching new and highly specialized emerging programs such as Environmental Engineering, Sustainable Horticulture and Agribusiness & Culinary Entrepreneurship. These programs entered the market with little existing awareness and limited historical demand. Recognizing that paid search volume alone could not support the next phase of growth across inquiry, application and enrollment goals, the institution worked with EducationDynamics to expand beyond legacy channels and activate new ways to reach untapped audiences.
Growth Requires Evolution, Not Just Optimization
Our shared objective was clear: prove that growth does not come from optimizing harder, but from thinking differently. We focused on expanding visibility, engaging Modern Learners earlier in their journey and translating attention into applications and enrollments through a full-funnel approach.
- Break through saturated performance channels that had stopped producing growth.
- Reach new student audiences beyond saturated paid search environments.
- Test TikTok as a scalable full-funnel channel, not just an awareness play.
- Validate whether social discovery could contribute to applications and enrollments.
- Generate evidence that Modern Learners decide long before they search.
A Full-Funnel Strategy Built to Break Through Saturation
EducationDynamics designed a full-funnel strategy built to solve two problems at once: breaking through awareness ceilings for established programs and creating demand for emerging programs that could not rely on historical search behavior.
The work began by reframing TikTok from a brand-only experiment into a strategic discovery and demand channel. Early investment focused on awareness campaigns that established relevance and reach with Modern Learners at a scale and efficiency traditional channels could no longer deliver. These campaigns created the foundation needed to support downstream performance.
From there, the strategy evolved to incorporate lead generation and performance tactics, holding TikTok accountable beyond impressions and engagement. Creative was developed to match platform-native behaviors, with an emphasis on authenticity, clarity and relevance. Creator-led content played a critical role, helping the institution show up in ways that felt credible and human rather than institutional.
EducationDynamics continuously evaluated performance across funnel stages, using benchmarks and cross-channel comparisons to understand true incremental impact. TikTok was intentionally integrated into the broader marketing ecosystem, reinforcing search, social and enrollment efforts rather than competing with them.
The result was not a one-off campaign, but a repeatable model for reaching new audiences, supporting emerging programs and extending enrollment performance beyond the limits of legacy channels.
The Results
Creative Impact That Changed the Conversation
- Creator-led content outperformed brand-led creative in engagement.
- Engagement lifted because the content matched the platform, not the brand guidelines.
- Provided clarity and confidence to communications and admissions teams
- TikTok proved effective at driving qualified traffic to landing pages.
The EDDY Difference
EducationDynamics approaches enrollment growth as a system, not a set of disconnected tactics. Rather than optimizing individual channels in isolation, we align discovery, engagement and conversion into a unified strategy built around how Modern Learners actually make decisions.
In this engagement, that integrated approach proved critical. As traditional channels reached saturation, EducationDynamics helped shift focus upstream to where awareness and consideration are formed, while still holding every tactic accountable to downstream enrollment outcomes. TikTok was not treated as a trend or experiment, but as a strategic component of a full-funnel model designed to create demand and sustain growth.
Our work is grounded in deep higher education expertise and a willingness to challenge assumptions that no longer serve institutions. We do not protect outdated models or force one-size-fits-all frameworks. Instead, we develop customized, data-informed strategies that reflect each institution’s mission, market position and growth goals.
The result is a partnership defined by alignment, execution and impact. It is the difference between marketing activity and enrollment momentum, and why institutions focused on growth choose partners like EducationDynamics who are willing to rethink what works and build what comes next.