Fostering a Global Culture to Recruit International Students

Making internationalization a true priority means taking a longer term, bigger picture view of its role in enhancing your institution. More and more universities are publicly declaring internationalization a key component of future success, embedded in strategic plans or elaborated upon in high level documents. Expanding strategic international partnerships, research collaborations, exchange and study abroad programs, and alumni relations can greatly enhance a university’s educational capabilities, student opportunities and participation, brand reputation and much more. Colleges can strive to improve the experiences of incoming international students, thus growing valuable word-of-mouth referrals among other benefits, by broadening orientation services and retention tactics. Promoting internationalization means providing the pathways for growth, including resources for increasingly culturally diverse students (and staff) on campus to learn from each other.

Feeling out Markets for International Student Recruitment

A good international student recruitment campaign begins with establishing and communicating clear goals for the number and types of students desired, leveraging enrollment data to forecast trends and develop realistic targets. Focus initial efforts by choosing markets with the best potential for your institution that have an established presence at your school. Also consider focusing marketing efforts according to the preferred academic discipline and degree type of the student community being dealt with. Unique cultural and language considerations add an extra layer of complexity when going global.

Search and Mobile Trends for International Student Recruitment

Recent data analysis shows a continuous increase in education-related search volumes, confirming that the student decision journey has indeed moved online. Non-branded search queries by prospective students uncertain of which school they wish to attend are rising at a faster rate. Google’s internal tracking revealed that queries including geo-specific keywords generated strong click-through conversions. Increasing specificity by promoting particular degree and academic programs in specific locations is recommended for better results, at the same time increasing specificity by promoting the recruitment partner facilitating the complete process is also equally important.Of course, going mobile has been another top priority for higher education marketing. Optimizing for mobile-device usage is even more important for international recruitment, since a majority of users in several source countries are mobile-exclusive. A negative mobile experience on your website is enough for 35% of prospects to move on to the next potential agent on their list, according to internal Google research. Make sure you have your most important bases covered when developing for task-driven mobile searchers – top selling points of your firm, programs and admission info, videos and application forms are among the most popular features to include. International students will also want to know things like financial and study permit details.

Optimizing Your Website to Recruit International Students

One of the biggest challenges of internationalization is developing your website to appeal to multiple markets and languages. There are many ways you can design the international sections of your website, such as using a top level folder on the same domain as your other content, a sub-domain for specific languages, or developing a microsite for specific countries or regions. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages, and much will depend on the needs of your clients. .

Content and Social Media Considerations for International Student Recruitment

When developing any content for international audiences, it is vital to understand your target market as much as possible, including the local language (in the way that prospects actually speak), cultural norms and expectations, and priorities in education search. Social media can be a valuable tool for discovering more about prospect groups through online conversations, informal surveys and the types of posts that receive greater interaction. Communication on these networks can serve to filter unqualified prospects and reveal insights about language proficiency, interests and your brand perception. It is an opportunity to showcase different sides of your institution and reinforce alumni successes.

Lead Conversion Tactics for Recruiting International Students

It is important that inquiries from all prospects, domestic or international, are addressed effectively and promptly. Students expect a quick email response, even if it is initially an auto-response with some helpful links – Hotcourses Abroad found that if given two similar universities, students from China, India, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore would choose the one that responded fastest. Prospects prefer personalized responses signed by a designated Advisor they can continue correspondence with.