The article examines the tools of marketing digital communications in educational activities in higher educational institutions, that is, synchronous and asynchronous communications. Special attention is paid to the use of the YouTube video platform, which is an asynchronous type of digital communication. An experiment was conducted on the use of YouTube as a means of marketing communication between teachers and students in distance education. A survey was conducted among students regarding the effectiveness of using the platform in education. The results showed that students learn better with video lectures, follow teacher links in Google Classroom to find topics suitable for study, re-listen to material to prepare for a session, and refer to lectures when they miss class for various reasons. The results of the analysis of the effectiveness of the video materials on the channel and the viewer's interaction with them showed the low efficiency of the channel. Based on the assessment of competitive positions in the field of education, it was concluded that it is necessary to carry out SEO optimization of the Marketing YouTube channel.