The Good, The Bad & The Ugly of International Communications Plans. How, What & When to Do It

Transcription

1 The Good, The Bad & The Ugly of International Communications Plans How, What & When to Do It

2 PRESENTERS Don Sears Director of Sales Jennifer Frankel Marketing Director

3 AGENDA Filling the admissions funnel Best methods of communications - How, what and when Social media and messaging app platforms Open Discussion What is your communications plan??

4 Take Aways What do you need in a successful communications plan? 1. A plan to contact prospective Students quickly 2. An ongoing communications strategy. 3. Use the right method to reach students 4. Always deliver a relevant message

5 Prospects THE ADMISSIONS FUNNEL Inquiries Applicants Admits Enrolled

6 FILLING THE FUNNEL How: In country reps Education fairs School s website Prospects Inquiries Applicants Agents Portal sites List buys Admits Enrolled Advertising Social media Students & Alumni

7 COMMUNICATION Prospects Inquiries Applicants Admits Enrolled

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11 SDSMT Prospect Dear «firstname», If you think that you might want to be an engineer or a scientist, the School of Mines is a great choice for undergraduate studies. Our 16 degree programs give you the opportunity to explore the full range of possibilities for building a successful career in engineering and science. Click here to learn about the exciting programs waiting for you at the School of Mines! To learn more about how you can prepare for a successful future and have fun by becoming a School of Mines Hardrocker, click here to visit our website or contact us at international@sdsmt.edu. We hope to hear from you soon! SD Mines Ivanhoe International Center Staff Mailing address is: Ivanhoe International Center South Dakota School of Mines & Technology 501 E Saint Joseph Street Rapid City, SD Unsubscribe

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13 INQUIRIES How: s Calls What: How to apply Gather more information about your school Your chance to begin to develop relationship Prospects Inquiries Applicants Admits Enrolled When: Initial contact ASAP - No more than 24 hours Ongoing communication weekly moving to monthly

14 Communication Plan for Inquiries Office of International Relations

15 Sample to Inquiries Looking for a TRUE American college experience? MSU offers over 80 different majors and many undergraduate research opportunities. Our student employment rate is 90% after graduation. To learn more about the affordable education at our top-ranked research university, visit our website at If you would like to learn more about finding your true self at Mississippi State, contact us! Take care, Your Friends at Mississippi State Apply Now Office of International Relations

16 APPLICANTS How: Phone Social Messaging Apps Video Conference Prospects Inquiries Applicants What: Feeling welcomed Next steps Housing options Campus life Admits Enrolled When: As needed for deadlines Personal and campus based touch points

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18 ADMITS & ENROLLED How: Calls Social (invite to class of 2021 FB group) Video conferencing Mail (Swag!) What: Congrats and welcome Deadlines What to expect when get to campus Housing Prospects Inquiries Applicants Admits Enrolled When: As needed for deadlines Personal and campus based touch points

19 Sample to Admits Dear (Student Name), (Translated into native language) You are about to embark on a once-in-a-lifetime experience! We would love to be a part of that journey and we look forward to have you here with us at Mississippi State University. Hearty congratulations on getting admitted to Mississippi State University! A remarkable accomplishment, you should definitely be proud of. Moving into a new country for education can be both mindboggling and challenging. An absolutely novel society, culture, administration and economy, people, and above all, a completely new education system. But the moment you step on the MSU campus, you will feel at home. Mississippi, a state with a picturesque natural environment and a pleasant climate, is known as the hospitality state; anywhere you go, you will be greeted with smiles and politeness. Along with its warmth and kindness, the university will provide you with a plethora of facilities and opportunities to grow academically and personally. All said, the state of Mississippi in general and MSU in particular is a wonderful opportunity which will cherish. I have transitioned into a much more confident person and the credit goes to the kind people here who have a helped and supported me. You will not regret making the decision to come to MSU. You can me if you have any questions and I look forward to seeing you on campus very soon! Hail State! (can t use that unless you explain it) Take care, (Recruitment Team member signature) Office of International Relations

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22 COMMUNICATION The Good Prospects Inquiries Applicants Admits Enrolled

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27 COMMUNICATION The Ugly

28 COMMUNICATION The Ugly

29 USING SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS Why do we use it? 1. Create awareness to start filling funnel 2. To help students evaluate your program 3. To communicate with students 4. To align application deadlines with marketing

30 CREATING AWARENESS WITH SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Weibo 1. Social media platforms are targeted to current students but gives awareness to potential students Up-to-date contact information Overview of school and International program Have a variety of post 2. Follow students that have requested to follow you Good indicator of quality leads

31 Using Social Media in Recruiting Like us on Facebook Mississippi State University International Admissions MSU International Undergrads Follow us on and Check out our blog on Tumblr WeChat ID: Office of International Relations

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33 MESSAGING APPS Boost conversations with inquiries by using a mix of marketing Messenger Apps Facebook messenger, WhatsApp, WeChat, Viber and LINE Free to use internationally Can create groups or rooms based off where students are in the application funnel or degree interest Take advantage of sharing links, documents and personalization According to GlobalWebIndex, 75% of internet users today use some sort of a messaging app. For more than 500 million users in China, [WeChat is] essentially The Everything App. David Pierce at Wired

34 MOST POPULAR MESSAGING APPS IN EVERY COUNTRY April 2016

35 VIDEO CHATS How: Calls Social (invite to class of 2021 FB group) Messaging What: Prospect Applicant Enrollee When: Often As needed for deadlines Personal and campus based touch points

36 FINAL TIPS What do you need in a successful communications plan? 1) A plan to contact prospective Students quickly According to the Harvard Business review, responding to leads within an hour generates 7x the meaningful conversations than those that wait even an hour later. 2. An ongoing communications strategy Cannot stop at one . A continual lead nurturing plan needs to be developed. 3. Use the right method to reach students , social, chat, phone.. and more s. 4. Always deliver a relevant message Based on where they are in the funnel

37 Alejandro submitted at 12:50 pm

38 Alejandro submitted at 12:50 pm

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43 PRESENTERS Don Sears Director of Sales Jennifer Frankel Marketing Director