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Universities have all the tools at their disposal to maximise admissions and recruitment, to manage engagement at all stages of the student’s journey. However, many still lack a coherent strategy for growing owned audiences, capturing meaningful data and using insight to build sustained relationships over time. Speaking at HashtagHigherEd UK 2026, Asim Ali, vice-president of sales at Granicus, argued that email and social media engagement alone are not enough to support future admissions. Universities need to tailor their digital outreach, recognising the unique value each channel provides and how they can become more effective when combined.

“High-performing admissions and engagement rely on orchestration, rather than just one channel and then another,” said Ali. “In a good model, social media acts as the entry point, sparking interest, aspiration and alignment. And then email can pick up and provide continuity, credibility and momentum.”

These channels should be thematically linked and underpinned by effective data capture. Interest sparked through social media or digital campaigns should lead prospective students and influencers back to the university website. While social media represents a “borrowed audience”, email enables a direct, permission‑based relationship that supports personalised, segmented nurturing over time. “It’s your own data, your own audience,” said Ali. “You can do really exciting things with that.” Unique to Granicus is the ability to extend this reach further, drawing on a trusted UK public‑sector subscriber network of more than 18 million people – including parents and local communities – helping universities widen their audience and strengthen future admissions pipelines.

Email can be the call to action that gets students to enrol. It can open up communications with students, offering everyday support and a sense of belonging. When the higher education sector is facing a crisis of trust, with students and parents questioning the value of a traditional degree, this can convey institutional values and demonstrate transparency. “There’s never really been a more important time to reassess the approach to engagement,” said Emma Megaughin, higher education manager at Granicus. “Reputation is at an all-time low and competition is fierce. Parents are genuinely concerned about whether university is even a good choice in the new AI-led world and the increasing cost of living crisis. These issues need to be addressed.”

When it comes to tackling students’ concerns, listening is not optional. One of the most damaging mistakes universities can make is asking for feedback and then failing to act on it or not showing clearly that it has informed decisions. Equally costly is allowing communications and engagement to remain fragmented across teams and systems. The Engagement Cloud offered by Granicus provides an integrated digital ecosystem that brings listening, insight and communication together, enabling universities to sustain meaningful dialogue over time with the strategic support of a dedicated experience partner from Granicus.

“We know engagement takes place, but it’s often fragmented, with no central space to share ideas,” said Megaughin. “Students experience the university as one institution, not in silos,” she added, speaking about the importance of a joined-up, multichannel approach. A successful digital engagement strategy harnesses data insights to inform communications, presenting the university as a unified voice. 

The speakers:

• Asim Ali, vice-president of sales, Granicus
• Emma Megaughin, higher education manager, Granicus

To explore this in more detail, read the  digital journey toolkit by Granicus.