Around the globe, universities are facing funding pressures for their various programs and have moved to offset this by attracting full fee paying students, primarily from China. This presentation outlines the use of Social Media as a way to attract and acquire Chinese students.

1. A"rac&ng
Chinese
Students
Using
Social
Media
September,
2013

2. China: A Recruitment Goldmine
• It’s
no
secret
that
China’s
economy
con9nues
to
expand,
at
more
than
7%
a
year
even
as
the
global
economy
wobbles
due
to
a
number
of
market
condi9ons.
• The
Chinese
middle
class,
which
already
totals
over
300
million
people
according
to
CNN,
will
con9nue
to
expand
as
the
economy
con9nues
to
grow.
• With
increased
wealth
and
purchasing
power,
many
Chinese
families
finally
have
the
means
accomplish
their
dreams
of
sending
their
children
abroad
to
study.
Recently,
an
overwhelming
85%
of
families
with
assets
over
$1
million
USD
said
they
want
to
send
their
children
abroad
to
study.
• The
pres9ge
of
overseas
universi9es,
a
greater
emphasis
on
personal
development,
and
the
greater
amount
of
opportunity
available
abroad
for
students
who
may
not
score
highly
on
the
GaoKao
exam
are
all
reasons
why
parents
favor
overseas
educa9on.
• With
academic
funding
being
reduced,
recrui9ng
overseas
students
who
will
pay
full
tui9on
fees
represents
an
viable
source
of
funding
for
universi9es
in
developed
markets.
• In
addi9on
generally
solid
academic
backgrounds,
Chinese
students
also
bring
a
wealthy
of
diversity
and
experiences
to
campus
across
the
world,
adding
to
the
cultural
milieu
that
helps
to
graduate
well-­‐rounded
and
well-­‐grounded
students.

3. Chinese Students Abroad, by the Numbers
• Between
1978
and
2011,
China
sent
2.25
million
students
abroad.
Between
2000
and
2010
the
number
of
Chinese
students
abroad
grew
by
28.2%
per
year.
• Number
of
Chinese
students
abroad,
select
countries:
– 1.
United
States:
126,498
– 2.
Australia:
87,588
– 3.
Japan:
86,553
• Experts
predict
a
30%
increase
in
the
enrollments
of
overseas
students
in
Australian
universi9es
from
2013
to
2020,
meaning
interna9onal
students
could
contribute
over
$20
billion
dollars
to
the
Australian
economy
in
the
future.
• As
of
August
2013
Chinese
students
currently
make
up
40%
of
interna9onal
enrollments
in
Australia;
Malaysia
places
a
a
distant
second
highest
total
with
7.2%.
Sources:
Caixin
Online
English,
“China
Becomes
World's
Top
Source
of
Overseas
Students,”
UNESCO
Ins9tute
for
Sta9s9cs,
“
Global
Flow
of
Ter9ary-­‐Level
Students”
and
Study
Group,
”Chinese
Student
Numbers
in
Australia
Go
from
Strength
to
Strength.”

4. Understanding Social Media
• Whether
communica9ng
ideas
to
friends,
consumers
or
internet
at
large,
social
media
enables
individuals
to
make
their
voices
heard
across
the
internet,
across
wireless
networks
and,
increasingly,
across
the
world.
• Brands
and
companies
are
increasingly
using
social
media
to
become
a
source
of
trusted
and
highly
prized
informa9on
for
consumers.
• In
China,
the
importance
of
social
media
is
amplified
due
to
consumer
mistrust
of
tradi9onal
adver9sing,
the
rapid
prolifera9on
of
internet-­‐enable
devices
and
a
booming
middle
class
who
will
increasingly
shape
product
offerings
for
decades
with
their
preferences
and
habits.
Social Media is, at its core, a means of
communication.
The Chinese social media landscape is unique and substantially different than its Western
counterpart.

5. Social Media is Now Mainstream Marketing
• Social
Media
is
no
longer
the
preserve
of
Silicon
Valley
CEOs
or
uber-­‐hip
20-­‐somethings.
• Mul9na9onal
corpora9ons,
governments,
poli9cians
and
universi9es
are
increasingly
turning
to
social
media
to
befer
communicate
their
values,
ideas
and
content
to
consumers.
•
“Consumers”
no
longer
just
refers
to
people
or
groups
looking
to
purchase
something.
In
the
world
of
social
media,
“consumers”
include
everyone
from
retail
shoppers
and
interna9onal
tourists
to
development
agencies
and
prospec9ve
students.

6. Why Universities and College Should Embrace Social Media
• Given
this
insight
about
Chinese
students,
universi9es
should
embrace
social
media
to
enhance
their
reputa9ons
and
build
trust
with
their
followers,
consumer
groups
and
target
audience.
• Universi9es
and
colleges
are
blessed
with
a
cap9ve
audience
of
prospec9ve
and
current
students,
alumni
and
staff
who
are
likely
to
follow
the
ins9tu9on’s
social
media
accounts.
• Using
its
students
and
staff
as
a
springboard,
universi9es
can
building
large,
ac9ve
and
open
online
communi9es
that
revolve
around
the
university’s
brand
values.
• This
branded
community
will
play
a
large
part
in
recrui9ng
Chinese
students,
given
the
prevalence
of
social
media
and
internet
use
in
China.
Source: Wired, “Why Universities Need to Get Social”
Insight 1: Chinese students care about a university’s brand and reputation

7. Why Do Universities and Colleges Invest in Social Media?
Students are likely
to continue
following and
engaging with a
university’s social
media accounts
once they have
enrolled, thus
expanding the
university's loyal
and active fan
base.
Crea9ng
awareness
is
cri9cal,
especially
in
markets
outside
of
the
home
market.
Many
non-­‐U.S.
families
are
only
aware
of
top-­‐
ranked
schools
that
widely
wrifen
about
in
tradi9onal
media
outlets.
Pos9ng,
sharing
and
referring
interes9ng
and
engaging
content
will
help
to
build
your
follower
base.
Be
sure
to
encourage
“Liking,”
“Sharing”
and
“Repos9ng.”
With
a
solid
follower
and
fan
base,
it
becomes
possible
to
inform,
recruit
and
network
via
social
media.
FAQs
and
Q&As
can
also
be
posted
for
use
by
followers.
ce:
China
Internet
Network
Informa9on
Center
(CNNIC),
June
2013.
Insight #2 Chinese Millennials spend 20.5 hours online and trust online peer recommendations. Social
Media activity allows Chinese students to easily access and research a university’s community,
reputation and brand.

8. Reaching Chinese Students: Think Digital
• Rising
incomes
and
the
prolifera9on
of
smart-­‐everything
has
helped
to
make
China
a
wired
society.
• There
are
currently
over
591
million
internet
users
in
China,
according
to
the
China
Internet
Network
Informa9on
Center
(CNNIC,
June
2013).
• That
means
there
are
43
9mes
more
internet
users
in
China
as
there
are
people
living
in
Australia.
91%
of
those
Chinese
ne9zens
visit
social
media
sites,
and
66%
of
those
social
media
users
follow
brands.
• Increasingly,
the
way
to
reach
Chinese
consumers
of
any
product—be
it
university
educa9ons
or
luxury
purchases—is
through
digital
marke9ng
in
general,
and
social
media
in
par9cular.

9. Reaching University-Age Students in China: Social Media Usage
85%
of
Chinese
college
students,
or
roughly
25
million
students,
make
use
of
microblogs
and
video
sharing
sites.
QQ,
the
top
instant
messaging
planorm
had
a
user
base
of
over
750
million
in
September
and
2012
and
links
users
with
Qzone,
its
proprietary
social
networking
site.
Users
under
the
age
of
18
are
the
most
ac9ve
QQ
users,
meaning
that
they
represent
a
prime
market
from
which
overseas
universi9es
can
recruit.
Sina
Weibo
usage
is
also
popular
among
this
demographic.
Sources:
Digital
Media
XI,
“College
Students
Go
Online”
and
All
Things
D,
“How
Social
Media
Usage
Among
China’s
Digital
Na9ves
Is
Evolving”
Young
Chinese
professionals
tend
to
migrate
to
Sina
Weibo
post-­‐gradua9on
and
are
poten9al
candidates
for
overseas
graduate
degree
programs.

10. Selecting the Right Platforms
• The
Chinese
social
media
space
is
complex
and
can
be
difficult
to
navigate
without
the
help
of
a
professional
agency.
• Chinese
social
media
planorms
are
best
used
in
conjunc9on
with
each
other,
as
each
major
planorm
serves
a
different
purpose
and
can
be
used
to
connect
with
consumers
in
a
different
manner.

11. A Look at Social Media Platforms
Planorms
Type
Poten9al
Op9ons
Users
Micro-­‐blogging
Branded
pages
Over
500
million
Features
such
as
Wei
Ac9vi9es
and
Wei
Magazine
Page
layout
can
be
changed
to
match
campaign
Instant
Messaging
Branded
pages
Over
300
million
Customer
service
possibili9es
Keyword
setup
and
auto
response
Daily
news/ar9cles
sent
QR
Code
SNS
Branded
pages
Over
170
million
Page
layout
can
be
changed
to
match
campaign
Lucky
draws/giveaways
Prac9cal
marke9ng
Video
Sharing
Branded
pages
Over
150
million
Videos
will
be
featured
in
relevant
channels
Ad
availability
throughout
Available
entry
into
branded
zone
E-­‐Commerce
Branded
pages
User
base:
Childless
women
browsing
from
work
and
school
who
have
incomes
over
$30,000
Offer
verified
products
and
reviews
Gain
valuable
guest
experience
informa9on
Visual
Based
Branded
pages
User
base:
Childless
women
browsing
from
work
and
school
who
have
incomes
over
$30,000
Shows
“related
brands”
Social
Media
Integra9on
to
share
products
online
Shows
products
that
are
available
to
buy

12. Sina Weibo: Major Universities’ Pages

13. WeiXin (WeChat): A One-to-One with 300,000,000 Users
• Gain
access
to
the
rapidly
increasing
market
of
300
million
users.
• Content
can
be
pushed
to
fans
in
one-­‐
to-­‐one
messaging
setng
• Stored
informa9on
can
be
easily
accessed
via
keyword
search
• Keyword
setup
and
auto
response
• Daily
news/ar9cles
sent
to
subscribers
• QR
Code(s)
can
direct
users
to
landing
pages,
minisites
and
other
social
media
planorms;
QR
codes
placed
elsewhere
can
also
drive
users
to
WeChat
accounts.

14. Landing Pages and Localized Sites
Pos9ng
content
to
Weibo
is
an
effec9ve
way
to
engage
with
students,
but
may
not
be
enough
to
recruit
students
on
its
own.
A
custom
designed
and
built
Chinese
language
landing
page
or
minisite
can
be
a
very
effec9ve
means
of
connec9ng
with
parents
and
conveying
the
value
of
an
overseas
educa9on.
A
Chinese-­‐
language
site
hosted
on
a
Chinese
domain
will
be
easily
accessible
in
terms
of
both
linguis9c
understanding
and
internet
best
prac9ces.
Chinese-­‐
language
websites
can
be
op9mized
for
search
and
social
media
marke9ng
on
Baidu
(China’s
most
popular
search
engine)
on
Chinese
social
media
planorms
respec9vely.

15. Going Mobile: The Rise of Smart-Everything in China
• According
to
CNNIC
(June
2013),
China
had
460
million
mobile
web
users
as
of
July
2013.
• 70%
of
new
internet
users
in
China
access
the
internet
via
mobile
device.
• China
has
over
300
million
3G
users,
meaning
that
roughly
300
smartdevices
across
the
country
are
perpetually
connected
to
the
world
wide
web.
• Given
the
overwhelming
rates
of
mobile
internet
usage,
any
digital
marke9ng
strategy
must
make
use
of
mobile
planorms
with
content
and
messaging
op9mized
for
mobile
use.

16. Conclusions
• The
educa9onal
choices
available
to
Chinese
students
are
ever
growing,
as
is
the
informa9on
available
to
them.
• Given
the
online
habits
and
preferences
of
the
Chinese
students,
using
social
media
and
targeted
online
campaigns
represent
the
most
effec9ve
means
this
massive
and
growing
target
audience.
Conveying
your
university’s
messaging
and
brand
values
via
the
correct
channel(s)
will
be
what
gets
you
the
enrollments
that
your
university
needs,
not
merely
copy
other
universi9es’
methods
in
their
en9rety.
• If
you
would
like
to
know
more
about
leveraging
social
media
to
recruit
Chinese
students,
or
have
any
ques9ons,
please
do
not
hesitate
to
get
in
contact
with
us.
We
have
years
of
experience
in
this
field
as
well
as
talented,
mul9cultural
and
mul9lingual
staff.
Thank you for reading and be sure to share with
your friends, fans and followers.

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