Social media can be a money-saving tool for international recruitment. But it can turn into a waste of resources if not implemented properly.

1. How Can Social Media Enhance
International Student Recruitment
Slide 1
How Social Media Can Enhance
International Student
Recruitment?

2. How Can Social Media Enhance
International Student Recruitment
Slide 2
1. Do some homework
2. Focus on helping your prospects
3. Get your international alumni involved
4. Measure, measure, measure
Overview
Source: Higher Education Marketing – How Can Social Media Enhance International Students Recruitment

3. How Can Social Media Enhance
International Student Recruitment
Slide 3
 Facebook is still the most popular platform for the 16-24 year
old demographic, and its market share has been rising in
some emerging countries, surpassing local social media
platforms.
 According to WES RAS, students do use Facebook to gain a
perspective on a college they consider attending. They will
visit your college’s Facebook page but may feel that liking
your page is too much of a commitment to your college.
 What we can conclude from this data is that an International
Student Page on FB may be useful for students already on
campus, or to showcase activities that are happening, but it
may not attract international prospects.
Source: Higher Education Marketing – How Can Social Media Enhance International Students Recruitment

4. How Can Social Media Enhance
International Student Recruitment
Slide 4
 Start by monitoring social networks in the countries or regions
you would like to recruit to see what the most popular platforms
are:
 What forums have they used?
 What platforms did they find useful to get answers to their questions?
1. Do some homework before creating International
Students dedicated Social Media pages or feeds
Source: Higher Education Marketing – How Can Social Media Enhance International Students Recruitment

5. How Can Social Media Enhance
International Student Recruitment
Slide 5
 Include international students in your Student Ambassadors
Team:
 Enroll some international students the social media efforts targeting
international students.
 They will provide your school with invaluable insight about social media
use, etiquette and expectations in their country.
 Ask your current international students about their precise needs when they were
looking for a school and how they thought social media could help them answer
those questions.
 Example: Take a look at how Brock University’s social media
efforts helped them recruit 16 international students in just eight
months.
1. Do some homework before creating International
Students dedicated Social Media pages or feeds
Source: Higher Education Marketing – How Can Social Media Enhance International Students Recruitment

6. How Can Social Media Enhance
International Student Recruitment
Slide 6
Social media is great to give immediate help and get into direct
contact with the Admission team.
 As you devise your social media international
campaigns, be sure to consider ways to use social media
to make it easy for students to contact you:
 Use chat services to make direct contact with prospective
students: some colleges use Skype or Google+ hang outs to
interview prospects. Make sure a current international student and
alumni attend the session to answer all questions.
 Use Google Analytics to know what the best keywords to be found
are. Use those keywords to optimize your profiles (for
example, YouTube account) and blog to make it easy for students
to find information and contact people.
2. Focus on helping your prospects
Source: Higher Education Marketing – How Can Social Media Enhance International Students Recruitment

7. How Can Social Media Enhance
International Student Recruitment
Slide 7
 Enable international students to share what they are doing or
have been doing through a blog or community message
board.
 Example: Read how Tilburg University’s Talk of
Tomorrow campaign brings international students together through
social media
2. Focus on helping your prospects
Source: Higher Education Marketing – How Can Social Media Enhance International Students Recruitment

8. How Can Social Media Enhance
International Student Recruitment
Slide 8
Make it easy for them to connect with your community:
 With your current students: Discipline by discipline and
market by market, make sure prospective international
students can connect with your current students and your
alumni for one-on-one discussions.
 With other international students:
 Use a private Facebook group to enable all your incoming
international students to connect and share info about the
city, locations, housing, all available.
 Organize a mentorship program that will allow newly admitted
international students to meet with international alumni
2. Focus on helping your prospects
Source: Higher Education Marketing – How Can Social Media Enhance International Students Recruitment

9. How Can Social Media Enhance
International Student Recruitment
Slide 9
 As mentioned above, your college or university’s
international student alumni can become a major asset in
your overall international-targeted efforts.
 Aside from the international student mentorship
program, there are many other ways to involve
international alumni include:
 Creation of testimonials for international students sections.
 Featuring their profiles in the International section or the general
blog of your college.
 Establish international networks through a LinkedIn group for
current and former students to join.
 Ensure that an international alumnus attends on-campus info
sessions or online student question sessions.
3. Get your international alumni involved
Source: Higher Education Marketing – How Can Social Media Enhance International Students Recruitment

10. How Can Social Media Enhance
International Student Recruitment
Slide 10
 Keep track of your successes on all platforms: new blog
followers, international newsletters sign ups, interactions on
the various platforms.
 In December 2012, International Education Advantage, LLC
presented a very comprehensive take on how to plan and
track your international social media activity.
4. Measure, measure, measure
Source: Higher Education Marketing – How Can Social Media Enhance International Students Recruitment

11. How Can Social Media Enhance
International Student Recruitment
Slide 11
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