Radically Human Storytelling:
How to Connect and Convert Prospective Students

In a world of AI and automation, how can your institution create connections that truly resonate with prospective students?

Generic messaging about flexibility, affordability, and rankings is no longer enough to stand out. The institutions making an impact are finding ways to turn data into empathy and storytelling into trust.

In this on-demand webinar, originally presented to a standing-room-only audience at the AMA Symposium for Higher Education, the Viv Higher Education team shares a practical framework for human-centered storytelling, real campaign examples, and strategies that drive meaningful enrollment results.

Watch the full webinar to discover how radically human storytelling can strengthen student connections and drive conversions.

As today’s prospective graduate students engage with institutions across multiple channels and touchpoints, the path to enrollment has become increasingly complex. Decisions are shaped over time through a combination of digital interactions, personalized communication, institutional reputation, and competing options. In this environment, generating more inquiries alone is no longer enough to drive enrollment growth.

During this session, Viv’s senior enrollment team introduced the Integrated Growth Planning model, a full-funnel approach designed to help institutions better connect marketing, recruitment, and enrollment efforts. The discussion focused on helping teams understand where prospective students disengage, how to better align channel investment with funnel performance, and how personalized engagement strategies can improve conversion outcomes throughout the process.

Key Takeaways:

• How the graduate enrollment journey has evolved beyond a linear funnel
• Why lead generation alone is no longer enough to drive enrollment growth
• What an Integrated Growth Planning model looks like in practice
• How to translate enrollment goals into clear, actionable funnel targets
• Ways to identify where prospective students are dropping off and why
• How to shift channel investment based on real funnel-stage performance
• Strategies for creating more personalized, higher-converting CRM journeys
• How existing content can be repurposed into more human-centered touchpoints throughout the decision process

As graduate enrollment continues to become more competitive and student expectations continue to shift, institutions must think more strategically about how they engage prospective students at every stage of the funnel. This session provided practical examples and actionable insights to help enrollment and marketing teams build stronger conversion strategies that support long-term enrollment growth.