What Higher Ed Marketers Can Learn About Short-Form Attention Spans

Scroll. Swipe. Skip. Today’s students are bombarded with content all day long, and their attention spans reflect it. While this frustrates some marketers, for higher education it’s actually an opportunity: students are still paying attention, they’re just paying attention differently.

At OnDeck Marketing, we see this every day through our high school digital bulletin boards and integrated digital campaigns. Here’s what short-form attention spans mean for higher ed marketing, and how schools can adapt.

Shorter Doesn’t Mean Less Engaged

Students may only give a few seconds to each message, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t engaged. In fact, short, impactful content often makes the strongest impression. TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts all thrive because they get to the point.

Takeaway: Students don’t reject marketing, they reject wasted time. Campaigns need to distill complex messages into short bursts that are easy to remember.

Repetition Builds Recall

A single ad won’t stick, but repeated, consistent exposure does. Students often need to see or hear a message multiple times before it influences their choices. That’s where short-form content shines, it’s easy to repeat without overwhelming.

OnDeck advantage: Our screens place messages in front of students daily, while digital campaigns extend that exposure onto their devices. Together, these touchpoints build recognition and recall.

Less Text, More Story

Short-form attention spans reward visual storytelling. A 20-second video highlighting a student success story or scholarship opportunity will outperform a long brochure every time. The best content shows, not tells.

Tip for higher ed marketers: Translate your key selling points like program strengths, outcomes, and student experience into short clips, motion graphics, or bold screen visuals.

The Parent Angle Still Matters

Parents consume short-form content too, especially on social platforms. But their focus is often different: affordability, career outcomes, and support systems. Campaigns that address both audiences in clear, digestible formats will have the widest influence.

OnDeck advantage: With our programmatic tools, schools can tailor short-form creative for both student and parent audiences, ensuring each group sees what matters to them.

From Attention to Action

The ultimate goal isn’t just to capture attention, it’s to move students to action. A short, powerful message on a hallway screen can drive a student to scan a QR code, check out a program page, or start a conversation with a counselor.

That’s the real power of short-form: it lowers the barrier to engagement and creates momentum toward bigger decisions.

Bringing It All Together

Higher ed marketers don’t need to fight short attention spans, they need to work with them. The students who scroll past long, static ads are the same ones who remember the quick, repeated messages that fit into their daily lives.

At OnDeck Marketing, we help institutions turn short-form attention spans into long-term impact. With digital bulletin boards in schools and cross-channel campaigns, we make sure your brand shows up consistently, memorably, and effectively.

Ready to rethink your student marketing strategy?