[DATA] Higher Education Marketing Trends 2026: How Industry Pros Stay Informed
June 16th, 2026 by
Higher education is under pressure from every direction. Enrollment shifts, budget constraints, AI disruption, and changing student expectations are hitting at once, and the professionals navigating them are expected to stay ahead of it all.
Search Influence partnered with UPCEA, the leading association for online and professional education, to better understand how higher ed professionals keep up with industry insights. They’re the people we build campaigns for every day, so the more we understand how they stay current, the sharper our work for them gets.
In April 2026, 46 UPCEA members responded to a snap poll covering:
- The organizations they rely on for professional learning
- The AI tools they use
- The social platforms they follow
- The content formats they find most valuable
If you’re one of those higher ed pros, there’s something in it for you too: a clear look at where your peers go to keep up and maybe a few new sources worth adding to your own rotation. Here’s what the data shows.
Professional Organizations Remain the Foundation
Professional associations are still where higher ed pros go first for trends and best practices. Every respondent (100%) relies on UPCEA, but most don’t stop there:
- Educause — 50%
- OLC (Online Learning Consortium) — 48%
- WCET (WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies) — 37%
- Quality Matters — 20%
- AACRAO (American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers) — 15%
- CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) — 4%
- AMA (American Marketing Association) — 2%
- GMAC (Graduate Management Admission Council) — 2%
- Other organizations — 41%
AI Tools Are in the Mix, But Habits Are Still Forming
AI is a surging topic across higher ed, but consistent use for professional learning is a different matter. Google’s AI Overviews are widely used: 41% of respondents use them to support their work in higher ed “often” or “very often.” ChatGPT follows closely, with 36% using it “often” or “very often.”
For the remaining platforms, “never or rarely” was the dominant response:
- Claude — 73% never or rarely
- Perplexity — 73% never or rarely
- Google’s AI Mode — 70% never or rarely
- Gemini — 58% never or rarely
- Microsoft Copilot — 47% never or rarely
LinkedIn Is the Go-To Social Platform
LinkedIn is where the majority of higher ed professionals show up for industry news and peer insights. Half of respondents use it “often” or “very often,” and only 7% never use it. YouTube holds a secondary role, with 28% using it “sometimes” or more.
The rest of the social landscape plays little role in professional learning:
- Instagram — 70% never use it for higher ed content
- Facebook — 70% never
- X (formerly Twitter) — 80% never
- TikTok — 93% never
Since LinkedIn is already where so many of you live, come find us there. We post higher ed marketing trends, campaign breakdowns, and the occasional hot take on what’s actually moving the needle. Follow Search Influence, our Co-Founder and CEO Will Scott, and our Director of Sales and Marketing Paula French for takes from people who work in this space every single day. Want that thinking delivered to you directly? Subscribe to The Visibility Report, our weekly LinkedIn newsletter.
Email Leads on Content Format By a Significant Margin
Content format preferences tell a consistent story. Email newsletters are the most valued format by a wide margin, followed by visual content and longer-form written resources:
- Email newsletters — 78%
- Email visual summaries/infographics — 48%
- Podcasts — 37%
- White papers — 33%
- Blog posts* — 28%
- Short-form video — 17%
- Social media texts — 17%
- Mid-length videos — 7%
- Social media photos — 4%
- Long-form video — 2%
- Other — 7%
*If you’re in that 28% of blog readers, subscribe to the Search Influence blog, and insights like this land in your inbox, no digging required.
The Takeaway
The channels higher ed professionals trust today are a strong indicator of where influence will continue to live in this field. Associations, email, and LinkedIn aren’t going anywhere, but the growing awareness of AI tools signals that the professional learning landscape is shifting.
Follow Search Influence on LinkedIn for more timely updates on higher education marketing trends. Ready to talk about what’s shaping the field or how we can support your institution? Let’s get in touch.
Data sourced from a snap poll conducted by Search Influence and UPCEA in April 2026 (n=46). For more from UPCEA’s research community, visit core.upcea.edu.
