The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014 Part 1

The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014 – Part 1 –
Slide 1
The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014
– Part 1 –

Slide 2
1) Ranking the Best of 2014
2) The Potential of Gamification for Student Recruitment
3) Text Messaging for Student Recruitment
4) Snapchat: The Next Big Student Marketing Trend?
5) Telling Your School’s Story with Student Testimonials
6) International Student Recruitment in Brazil
Overview
Source: Higher Education Marketing – The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014

Slide 3
 Being big fans of analytics, we thought we would kick off this
year with a recap of our most popular blog posts from 2014,
as determined by our readers.
 This ranking was determined by measuring the unique page
views of blog posts over the period of 2014
 Also included, are posts that were published in 2013 and became
popular in 2014.
Here, we will outline the first 5 of the top 10 HEM blog
posts of 2014...
Ranking The Best of 2014

Slide 4
“Gamification” is:
the act of applying the fun and engaging elements of game
design to real-world, productive activities.
#1. The Potential of Gamification for Student
Recruitment

Slide 5
 Gamification is already gaining traction in marketing circles,
and promises to become more popular in the context of
university admissions.
 This generation of prospective students has grown up
surrounded by gaming culture and it is no surprise that
the more interactive and engaging university websites
are more effective in captivating their attentions.
Recruitment

Slide 6
Recruitment Gaming: Companies like Marriott Hotels, use
simulation games to show what it’s like to manage one of its
properties, challenging preconceptions in the process to
potentially deepen engagement for lead generation or filter
out those who are not truly interested.
 These same principles could apply to a hotel
management training program or other similar
adaptations.
Recruitment

Slide 7
Achievement Gaming: Recruitment can be leveraged by
rewarding referrals and improving the selection process.
 Example: The Deloitte Leadership Academy
encouraged busy executives to take the available
training using the Badgeville platform to embed
gamification mechanics such as missions, rewards,
rank, and status into the entire website.
 User retention increased by 46.6% for daily user return and
36.3% for weekly return.
 Engagement and adoption greatly increased overall.
Recruitment

Slide 8
Extending Gamification: Many colleges and universities integrate
gamification into diverse aspects of their content strategy and
development, often without consciously considering the gaming
characteristics.
 The challenge of optimizing engagement with a target market involves
creating compelling environments where users will be happy to spend their
time.
 Gamification elements should blend fluidly with videos, images and other rich
content that serves the purpose of increasing the time spent on your online
portals, deepening engagement, and converting prospects to students.
Recruitment

Slide 9
 Using text messaging for student recruitment could be a very
effective integrated marketing tool but requires strategic
implementation.
 It’s best to let prospective students choose whether or not they
would like to be contacted in this way and then it's up to content
strategy for schools to nurture this trust.
 Reaching out to students as individuals, personalizing messages
with their first name or referring to their interest in a specific
program, can make them feel valued and further the relationship.
#2. Text Messaging for Student Recruitment

Slide 10
 Example: St. Mary's University in
Texas has been a successful
advocate of text opt-ins for
prospects to stay connected with
individual "meaningful
messages." While only about 5%
of 40,000 inquiring students
opted in for text updates, 30.8%
of those did end up applying,
compared with 10.9% of all
prospective students.
#2. Text Messaging for Student Recruitment

Slide 11
 The appeal of Snapchat is that sent photos and micro-videos “self-
destruct” several seconds after being viewed, eliminating the potential
consequences of incriminating photos later being seen by teachers,
employers, etc.
 Snapchat’s “My Story” feature will likely be of most interest for colleges
and universities.
 It allows users to combine a series of image or video “snaps” in
chronological order to tell a story, promoting the message universally
to all their followers.
 The University of Houston was one of the first to launch a general
account with strategic goals “as a reflection of how the University is
always looking forward and embracing cutting edge technologies,”
according to Jessica Brand, UH social media manager.
#3. Snapchat: The Next Big Student
Marketing Trend?

Slide 12
Snapchat Student Recruitment Strategies
 Schools can develop their brand identity by consistently posting
pictures that demonstrate the diverse aspects of their campus,
gaining the attention and admiration of trendy students.
1. Leverage other networks & provide an inside look at campus life
2. Generate excitement with exclusive previews
3. Offer discounts or other incentives
4. Encourage creative submissions
#3. Snapchat: The Next Big Student
Marketing Trend?

Slide 13
 Testimonials can play a powerful role in enhancing integrated
marketing communications, particularly for student
recruitment content strategy and development, by providing
varied perspectives to the carefully articulated main message.
 Here are some tips for emerging best practices of integrating
testimonials into your student recruitment strategy:
#4. Telling Your School’s Story with Student
Testimonials

Slide 14
1. Develop written testimonials for
skimmers
 Example: Concordia University features
a series of student profiles in their
Undergraduate Admissions section, with
a photo, concise description, and a brief
interview answering questions about
choosing the school and program,
favourite class, tips for new students and
future plans.
Testimonials

Slide 15
2. Embed videos throughout your site
 Example: American College of
Technology turns its testimonials into
students’ success stories.
3. Testimonials for international
recruitment
 Example: Algonquin College features
this video testimonial of an
international student in both English
and Turkish, keeping it brief while
showing a little of the campus and
some of the student's projects.
Testimonials

Slide 16
 Brazil’s middle class more than tripled between 2003 and 2010,
with a significant segment unafraid to spend largely on luxury
items, including an international education.
 Its government is funneling much of new oil revenues into
education to fuel sustained economic growth, including the Brazil
Scientific Mobility Undergraduate Program (Ciencias sem
Fronteiras), formerly known as Science without Borders.
#5. International Student Recruitment in Brazil

Slide 17
Government Scholarships Increase International Student
Mobility
 The Brazil Scientific Mobility Undergraduate Program, which now
funds six months of intensive English study in addition to one year
of study abroad, was launched in 2011 to send 101,000 STEM
(science, technology, engineering and mathematics) undergrads
abroad to “enhance the country’s competitiveness”.

Slide 18
 The result has been a doubling of Brazilian undergraduate
students on U.S. campuses since last year (over 4,000), but
there is still much room to grow.
 Language studies are the most common reason for
Brazilians to study overseas, both as a prerequisite for
further studies abroad and to increase marketability in
Brazil’s booming tourism industry.

Slide 19
Working With Agencies
 Though many schools are interested in reducing their
dependency on agents for international recruitment, in Brazil
it’s still quite necessary to collaborate with agencies, or risk
being blacklisted.
 Additionally, colleges and universities are partnering with the
Science without Borders program through the Canadian
Bureau for International Education (CBIE).

Slide 20
Student Recruitment Strategies
 Partnering with popular language schools is another viable method
of lead generation.
 Schools looking to reduce their dependency on agencies can find hope
in the fact that Brazil is incredibly active in the online world.
 There is a clear opportunity for schools to leverage their alumni and
current Brazilian students to develop an active and credible voice on
these social media marketing platforms, linking real-time events with
related courses and open days.

Slide 21
Questions?
1.514.312.3968
info@higher-education-marketing.com
Visit our Website: Higher Education Marketing
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The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014 Part 1

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The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014 Part 1