15.08.2025 - Digital Marketing

Student Housing Marketing: How to Stand Out in a Saturated Market

Cutting through the noise and standing out in a competitive market is no easy feat. This is especially true for marketers in the student housing sector trying to make their campaigns land and convert their leads into bookings.

So what’s the solution? Carefully analysing and rethinking your marketing strategy can be a good starting point.

Here, we’ll be offering our industry-led expert guidance to help you get ahead of the competition, improve your occupancy rates and boost brand visibility. From insights into the current market to our top tips for steering your marketing strategy towards success, let’s get started with transforming your student housing marketing below.

Student accommodation: A competitive market

Right now, the student accommodation market is a highly competitive world. The leading businesses have a dominant hold over the industry, owning a large slice of the housing share and steadily maintaining bookings. But for the hundreds of student housing providers sitting below this tier, it can almost feel impossible to keep up.

And to make matters worse, competition is also creeping up due to the low supply of high-quality beds, more students enrolling now than ever before, and investment in new, amenity-rich purpose-built student accommodation.

While larger companies plough on with aggressive expansion, smaller providers are instead focusing on targeting specific locations and niches to grow their bookings. Plus, with tightening safety regulations and broader housing policy changes piling on the pressure when it comes to compliance, basic operational costs are soaring as profits are often plateauing.

College students at dorm room. Homeschooling. They are studying and using phone.

First steps to cut through the noise

Before you revisit your marketing strategy and start making changes, it’s important to go back to basics. From understanding your audience to having a good grasp on what exactly makes you stand out from the competition, holding all the knowledge and insight at this stage will help steer your new strategy later.

Marketing to Gen Z (and beyond)

The majority of students belong to Generation Z, and this group will continue to move through the youngest generations. So, understanding Gen Z, Gen Alpha and beyond, and how to market to these audiences, is an absolute necessity for student housing providers.

The youngest generations have grown up surrounded by technology. After being exposed to these for most of their lives, they’re well-versed in all kinds of different digital marketing and advertising strategies.

So, chances are, the tried and tested marketing methods that once brought in bookings aren’t going to cut it for this audience. Taking a fresh, innovative approach when marketing to these generations is the way forward. Consider what they’re most likely going to respond to and resonate with, and bring their needs to the forefront of what you’re offering. We’ll talk about ways to grab their attention below.

Defining your USP

Having a clear USP is just as important as understanding your audience. If you don’t know what makes your brand or accommodation unique, then convincing students to choose you over competitors might be a struggle?

Take some time to consider the following:

  • What’s your brand identity?
  • What are your unique selling points?
  • What makes you stand out from the rest?
  • How can you plan your strategy around your USP?

Once you have a defined USP, you can use this to steer your marketing strategy in the right direction.

A team of six colleagues are reviewing real time performance data in a meeting in the office.

How to direct your strategy for success

One approach alone won’t guarantee that you stand out in such a saturated market – here’s everything you need to consider and the marketing channels that you’ll want to give the most attention to.

Social media

Gen Z are daily social media users, preferring short-form video content like Reels and YouTube Shorts across platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. So, naturally, any business targeting this demographic should push advertising on these platforms since they’re more likely to reach the right audience.

Your social media content strategy should be driven by extensive audience and competitor research to find out what works well and what doesn’t hit the mark. Look at popular content formats and the audience sentiment behind them to work out why they’re successful.

Social media marketing is also trend-led, but with trend cycles often moving quickly, businesses need to be ahead of any trends. And before you jump on a bandwagon just to keep up with other businesses, think about whether the trend aligns with your brand and audience values. If you fall behind or post a misaligned trend, you could end up facing negative backlash that affects your reputation, which can be tough to change once the damage has been done.   

This generation also finds specific content ‘cringeworthy’, and extensive research is the best way to avoid anything that won’t resonate with your audience.

Influencer partnerships

Influencer partnerships can be a powerful way to stand out. This is a common tactic in modern-day marketing and needs to be executed in a way that feels natural and trustworthy, so that it appeals to a younger audience. 

Gen Z have been exposed to every marketing ploy you can think of. They’re a savvy bunch and can spot each one from a mile away. So, they tend to value content showcasing real student experiences and behind-the-scenes sneak peeks over polished, high-budget advertising.

Authenticity is everything, which is why it’s best to partner with student influencers who align with your student housing brand and post relatable content on the right platforms.

Organic & paid search

A solid organic search and paid search strategy will work hand-in-hand to offer the best search experience for students looking for their next accommodation. By creating useful, relevant content and targeting long-tail locational queries, you can boost your organic reach and direct students toward your site. Your paid search strategy should target high-intent keywords and use seasonal campaigns to retarget effectively.

Personalisation

Data-driven marketing allows businesses in any sector to tailor marketing experiences, and in the student housing market, personalisation at this level can be a game-changer. Collect data on user behaviours and interests, then use CRM tools to deliver targeted emails, dynamic ads and personalised booking journeys.

Brand identity 

Building a strong, trustworthy brand identity is crucial for resonating with younger audiences. Since this demographic values authenticity, they’re often less likely to respond to branding that’s heavily focused on selling to customers.

How can you improve your branding? Transparency, consistency and responsiveness should be high on your list of priorities. But it’s equally important to focus on your USP, develop a strong brand voice and take feedback on board.

User experience

Never underestimate the importance of great UX for student accommodation sites. Not only does it build trust with users, but, done correctly, it can also cater to the shorter attention spans that are common with this target generation.

The quicker and easier it is for students to reach their desired destination on your site, without needing external support, the better. When a business hasn’t invested time and effort into upgrading its user experience, a Gen Z audience will pick up on it quickly and click away.

We recommend taking a mobile-first approach to your UX overhaul, since this generation tend to be glued to their phones. But that doesn’t mean you should neglect UX on other devices, especially if your data suggests that students make bookings on desktops, tablets, or laptops.

Need more guidance? Get in touch 

Looking for extra support on your digital marketing strategy? To help reach your sales goals and keep your bookings flowing in, get in touch with our experts at BANC today.