COMMUNICATING WITH PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS - SIMPLE, YET MANY GET IT WRONG. How, What & When to Do It

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1 COMMUNICATING WITH PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS - SIMPLE, YET MANY GET IT WRONG How, What & When to Do It

2 PRESENTERS Rachel Rollins Connor Smith Marketing Coordinator Marketing Coordinator

3 Agenda Admissions funnel Open Discussion What is your communications plan?? Authenticity communication Social media platforms Live video chat Messaging apps

4 Prospects THE ADMISSIONS FUNNEL Inquiries Applicants Admits Enrolled

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

6 INQUIRIES What: Share unique qualities about Degree student is interested in Cost and financial aid Student life Your chance to begin to develop relationship Introduce yourself Try alternative communication platforms How to apply Prospects Inquiries Applicants Admits Enrolled

7 APPLICANTS What: Touch-points about special qualities Careers Campus life Application statistics Be supportive Step-by-step communication Be accessible

8 ADMITS & ENROLLED Prospects What: Congrats and welcome Video of congratulations Calls from students Add to social media Deadlines Acceptance packet Visual guidelines Inquiries Applicants Admits Enrolled

9 AUTHENTICITY Be genuine in all your communication Why should they attend? What makes your program different? How can your school help achieve their goals? Be consistent throughout all media Be real with who you are Students can tell when they are given misleading information

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13 Evaluate Plan Timing 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. Frequency Reach out to students even if you haven t heard from them Content Is the message relevant and authentic Platform Where are prospectives students getting information from?

14 Evaluating Communication Plans Examples

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16 COMMUNICATION The Bad

17 COMMUNICATION The Bad

18 COMMUNICATION The Good

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23 COMMUNICATION The Good Submitted at 12:50 pm

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27 COMMUNICATION The Good

28 SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS

29 FACEBOOK Wide reach - over 1.86 billion users (statista) Event and deadline promotion Having a wider reach to students Cost effective Drive traffic to your website Personal interactions

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31 TWITTER Direct communication Know what you want to achieve Keep it fresh Connecting to other mediums

32 80% of Twitter users are on mobile. (Statista)

33 INSTAGRAM Showing your true message Visual medium Less of a language barrier Connecting other platforms

34 According to Instagram 80% of users are outside the US.

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36 LIVE VIDEO CHAT Newer Media Engaging tool to grow your Facebook page Discuss programs and deadlines Video ranking is the new king Content is saved and published

37 LIVE VIDEO CHAT - TIPS Be clear in your message Participate and answer comments Hook your viewer s attention Length correlates to interest Content can be longer if engaging Increase attendance by promoting your live video chat

38 MESSAGING APPS

39 MESSAGING APPS Facebook, WeChat, Whats App, Skype Easy to use (good for specific country targeting) Great for direct contact (shy students feel more comfortable using apps popular in their country) Bandwidth needed

40 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

41 SETTING UP YOUR WECHAT Personal use vs. Official use Communication tool The all inclusive app Sharing photos, messaging, video conferencing Set up hurdles

42 MOST POPULAR MESSAGING APPS IN EVERY COUNTRY April 2016

43 SOCIAL MEDIA - OVERVIEW Personal use of specific social media - Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube Utilization of live video chat to connect with students Messaging apps for specific country targeting

44 FINAL TIPS What do you need in a successful communications plan? 1.) Align your message to where the student is in the admissions funnel 2.) Be authentic in all your messaging 3.) Ongoing communications strategy 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 5.) Use a variety of communication outlets , social, chat, phone.. and more s.