Introduction
Higher education has something of a reputation for being slow to embrace change. Even so, as international competition increases, demographics shift, and trends rise and fall, international student recruitment teams have to adapt in order to keep up.
The move towards digital marketing is, at this point, inevitable. And with a vast galaxy of digital content calling out for attention at all times, your online content is not only competing against other institutions, but with literally everything else on the internet.
Creating personalised experiences is key to cutting through the noise. Students are looking for more than just email template outreach. They want content that speaks to their specific interests and concerns, making it possible for them to see where their individual interests, ambitions and needs would fit into the ecosystem of your institution.
Crafting a strong institutional brand
In order to resonate with the unique needs of your audience, you need to first understand what makes your institution unique. A strong brand that highlights your strengths, mission and campus atmosphere will stick in the mind far more than a generic one.
You’ll also increase your chances of connecting with your “perfect fit” audience; those prospective students who will thrive during their time on campus, bringing value to the institution and, handily, providing you with excellent material to use in subsequent rounds of recruitment.
Building connections with prospective students
The impact of university on those who attend can’t be understated. Bold new ideas are learned, networks are formed, the foundations of careers are laid. Students are looking for meaningful experiences. Institutions should aim to provide this from the earliest stages of the recruitment process.
Storytelling plays a big role here. While there’s certainly a place in marketing for the facts and figures, applying a narrative allows your brand to resonate on an emotional level. Your audience doesn’t just want to know what makes your university good on paper. They want to know exactly how and why it’s going to be a positive experience for them. Sharing authentic stories about campus life, academic success, and student experiences helps students imagine themselves as part of your community.
This could be, for example, through testimonials, blogs, videos, or showcasing how your institution has helped students achieve their goals. Platforms such as WhyiStudyHere help you to make the most of your institution’s success stories. Testimonials add an element of authenticity to your marketing, and can pre-emptively answer potential questions or concerns.
Student stories are also a great way to demonstrate inclusivity. There’s a world of difference, after all, between hearing a university official say “we embrace our international students” versus hearing about the lived experience of international students and the specific ways in which they have been welcomed and supported on campus.
Building your brand on social media
Social media is an essential tool for building your brand. It’s where your audience will be spending a significant amount of time, after all. We’ve discussed previously how younger audiences are increasingly utilising social media as a replacement for search. Tapping into that will already give you a headstart against the competition.
A robust social strategy can and should work holistically with your other digital assets. Consistency is vital. Your messaging, as well as your visual branding, should be aligned across all your marketing channels. This ensures that your brand identity is clear and recognisable, helping to build trust and minimize confusion for your prospective students. That’s why eduKUDU works so closely with our clients to ensure that all of our products reflect an on-brand tone and style.
It’s very likely that your institution already has brand guidelines. Consider creating a social media style guide to accompany it. Even for smaller teams with fewer resources, free or low-cost options such as Canva or Adobe Express make it simple to create a set of easily-edited post templates. Not only will this keep your posts on-brand, but it saves a lot of time going forward if you aren’t required to create every piece of content from scratch.
Effective use of marketing analytics and tracking software
With so many institutions finding themselves increasingly time- and resource-poor, making decisions based on analytics is more important than ever. By harnessing the available data (and there is plenty of it out there these days) institutions can make smarter decisions, ensuring that the marketing budget is well spent.
Data-driven decision making
Casting a wide net with generic content not only fails to appeal to the level of personalisation that current generations have come to expect, but is also something of a fallacy on an international level. Cultural differences make it near-impossible to create one set of campaign materials that would be effective across such diverse markets.
Using analytics tools helps you understand how well your campaigns are performing and where improvements are needed. It can help you identify what regions or demographics to target and what they respond well to, highlight areas that need more attention or resources, and overall increase your efficiency and return on investment.
Take theRACK as an example. The ability to monitor which digital brochures are being viewed, which pages students are focusing on, and where they drop off in the process takes the guesswork out of optimisation. It also helps our content strategists to advise you based on wider trends we’ve observed across our client portfolio. And since all our publications are digital, you can implement any changes to your strategy almost instantly, instead of relying on last year’s information to fuel this year’s decision-making.
Creative marketing campaigns and tools
Any marketing campaign should maintain brand consistency, but that doesn’t mean it has to be boring or repetitive. There’s endless scope for creating a lively, dynamic online presence. Instead of just transposing a traditional print approach onto the screen, take advantage of the opportunities that digital can offer.
Utilising video and visual content
The idea of implementing a video strategy can seem intimidating or out of reach, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be an expensive, time-consuming endeavour.
While there’s indications of a resurging interest in long-form video, short-form vertical video still holds sway over the algorithm on the majority of platforms. Utilise snappy 30-second videos that bring your institution to life. With most smartphones having fairly advanced recording capabilities, you needn’t splash out on pricey cameras and lighting rigs. You might even have access to some pretty high-end equipment already, depending on how well-stocked your media, film or performing arts departments are (and whether they’re willing to share). Student testimonials, virtual campus tours, and interviews with faculty members are all great subjects for video.
Don’t forget the power of user-generated content, either. Sharing interesting, relevant posts from your students, faculty or research departments is an easy way to highlight authentic voices on campus.
Interactive and participatory campaigns and tools
Interactive campaigns allow prospective students to feel involved in the recruitment process, rather than just passive recipients of information. Interactivity can be more or less synchronous, depending on the resources available to you.
At the far end of the spectrum are Q&A sessions, webinars, and other live virtual or in-person events. These can be hugely beneficial in developing a rapport with prospective students. The downside is they’re more limited in scope. Live events might not be possible on smaller budgets, and might not be accessible to students in different timezones or locations.
Social media sits somewhere in the middle. While social platforms can be a great place to host live digital events, you can also post polls, ask questions and respond to comments. This allows you to have a back-and-forth conversation with less immediate time pressure, which is great for small or busy teams.
Meanwhile, tools like our interactive digital brochures allow students to explore content entirely at their own pace. You can include videos, clickable links, and lead generation forms that make the experience more engaging and interactive, as well as integrating your student testimonials from WhyiStudyHere.
The benefits here are twofold. One, it doesn’t rely on trying to align a live event with the timezones of your global audience. Two, once you’ve created the brochure, you can be as hands-off as you like, leaving you free to manage other tasks.
Engaging international students
Engaging international students is about more than just attracting them to your university. It’s about building relationships, addressing their concerns, and making them feel supported every step of the way.
Tailored messaging and support
As well as the issues that any new student has to face, international students have to manage several additional concerns. Visa processes, accommodation, cultural adjustment, career prospects after graduation and more. Making the choice to study abroad is a major commitment. Tailoring your messaging through email campaigns, dedicated landing pages, and region-specific ads allows you to address these concerns directly in a way that feels relevant to your audience.
Quality support is a key factor in student satisfaction, contributing to increased engagement with studies and extracurriculars, lower dropout rates, and increased alumni engagement. Helpful resources, such as guides on adjusting to a new culture or testimonials from current international students, show that your institution understands and is ready to support international students.
Conclusion
By understanding market trends, crafting a strong institutional brand, and incorporating digital tools, you can attract the right students to your institution.
Utilising platforms like theRACK and WiSH into your recruitment strategy can further enhance your efforts. These tools help you create dynamic, engaging content and gather authentic student testimonials that resonate with prospective students.
Get in touch today to find out how eduKUDU can help you develop your digital recruitment strategy!
