Digital Marketing Strategies in Higher Education: Tools and Techniques for Engaging Prospective Students and Understanding Audience Behavior in a Digital Environment

Digital marketing has become essential for businesses, driving engagement through innovative online channels and surpassing traditional methods. With over 460 million internet users, India represents the second-largest online market globally, expected to grow to 635.8 million by 2021, with 80% actively using smartphones. Digital tools are changing the way people share and receive knowledge, especially among professionals and students. With an emphasis on its effects on different target groups, this study investigates how digitalization affects decision-making in the education sector. This study looks at how effective digital marketing strategies are at higher education institutions in the UP and NCR. As the foundation for the study, 417 participants-including staff, parents, and students from NAAC-A recognised institutions-completed a questionnaire survey. The objective is to evaluate the impact of different digital marketing strategies on the decision-making and involvement of these significant higher education stakeholders. The findings shed light on the digital marketing strategies that are most effective in higher education by demonstrating how various respondent groups see its effectiveness. For businesses hoping to make the most of their digital marketing efforts in a competitive academic environment, these findings have significant implications.