With 2019 coming to a close, it's a prime opportunity for college and university marketing teams to narrow in on what's worth their future advertising expenditures. Let's take a peek at some of the prevailing trends in higher education marketing in 2019.

Here are a few highlights from the Idea Vault.

Virtual Reality

You've seen them at tradeshows, and now they're making their way to college fairs—the onset of virtual reality (VR) has made its presence known in the higher education marketing world. From giving virtual tours to interactive classroom activity to avatar-based meet-and-greets, its becoming a commonplace part of college and university marketing teams' strategies.

READ: 4 WAYS VR COULD ENHANCE YOUR COLLEGE MARKETING STRATEGY

STORy Content

You know that your prospective student recruits are engaging heavily with short-form content, but story-based apps, such as Instagram, can also be a powerful tool for your marketing team, as well. From building out user-generated content through takeovers to upcycling existing content into smaller snippets to documentary-style coverage, Instagram Stories can be a game-changer for your social prowess.

READ: HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF INSTAGRAM STORIES IN YOUR UNIVERSITY MARKETING

Chatbots

Think automating your admissions interactions is limited to email campaigns? Think again, because chatbots became necessary in 2019. As part of the promise of 24/7 customer service, website visitors now expect some degree of immediate interaction from the jump. From answering common questions to gaining insights for future campaigns, chatbots are more than they appear at face value.

READ: 3 WAYS CHATBOT TECHNOLOGY COULD POSITIVELY IMPACT YOUR COLLEGE ADMISSIONS

Smart Speakers

Smart tech has become a go-to for homeowners across the country—but they provide more than limitless music and voice-command tech. They also provide colleges and universities unique opportunities to advertise and connect with potential students from where they are. From fine-tuned targeting to captive audiences, smart speakers are a new essential in your marketing strategy for 2020.

READ: WHY SMART SPEAKERS MATTER TO YOUR COLLEGE'S ADVERTISING