In this episode of TransferTALK, Jay sits down with Ryan Morabito, Senior Advisor and Strategist at 5° Branding, to dive into the topic of invisible college audiences.
These include transfer students, adult learners, and what Ryan calls “Dormant Degree Seekers” — individuals who have earned college credit but haven’t yet returned to complete their degree.
You may recognize Ryan from his viral “Marketing Truth” posts on LinkedIn, known for cutting through the noise with sharp insights and always ending with “This is the Way.”
His reputation as a creative and out-of-the-box higher education marketing strategist makes him the perfect guest for this conversation about how colleges and universities can better engage these underserved student groups.
Why Invisible College Audiences Matter
Invisible college audiences don’t fit the traditional freshman mold. They’re older, often juggling work or family, and carry credits from past educational experiences. Despite this, they remain under-targeted by most higher ed marketing campaigns. Research shows that over 40 million Americans have some college credit but no degree — representing a massive, untapped pool of potential students.
These audiences aren’t unreachable — they’re simply miscategorized, and as a result, miscommunicated with.
Colleges must shift their strategies if they want to make meaningful contact.
Marketing to Transfer Students and Adult Learners
Jay and Ryan explore what makes this challenge so complex — and necessary. Standard “apply now” messages won’t work. Instead, institutions must embrace a student-centered, empathetic approach.
That means adjusting tone, timing, and content to reflect the realities of transfer students, adult learners, and stop-outs.
Ryan outlines his Ten Truths of Marketing, offering practical frameworks colleges can adopt to improve outreach, boost re-engagement, and nurture enrollment pipelines specifically for these groups.
How DegreeSight Supports Institutions
At DegreeSight, we help institutions become truly transfer-friendly by designing strategies that support invisible college audiences. Our consulting services and Inbound platform enable colleges to capture interest from these prospects with guided pathways, personalized experiences, and data-powered marketing workflows.
If you’re ready to rethink how you market to underserved learners, this episode will challenge assumptions and provide fresh inspiration.
Need external insight? Check out CAEL’s resource on adult learner engagement strategies to deepen your understanding of this essential audience.