If your university is like many schools throughout the United States, you’re actively engaging in international student recruitment. You’re thrilled to enroll students from your own city, state, and country, but you’re also interested in boosting diversity and bringing in students from other cultures. But how do you increase international student enrollment?
Create Video Testimonials
Video has become one of the most powerful marketing techniques for marketers of all stripes, but particularly for universities. Young people have less patience for big blocks of text; they like interactive and visual media. A video testimonial creates an immediate connection between the prospect and the video’s subject.
According to Hanover Research, social media can prove extremely useful when spreading testimonial videos. Consider investigating popular social media platforms in target countries, such as Japan’s popular Mixi (a Facebook alternative).
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Provide Clear, Actionable Guidance
International students face more challenges when it comes to attending college than domestic students. They have to secure visas, for instance, and arrange affordable travel plans. They might have to provide detailed paperwork to both the home and destination countries’ authorities and investigate existing credits to determine whether they’ll transfer.
Lone Star College has done this well by providing an extensive guide to securing visas from overseas. The school also uses a compelling call-to-action (CTA) at the bottom of the page that captures contact information in exchange for additional guidance on international programs.
Discuss Employability
International students don’t attend college in foreign countries just for the exotic experience. They’re hoping to improve their employment and salary prospects, so the ICEF Monitor recommends highlighting this subject on your website. Publish employment statistics for your students as well as job prospect and salary expectation data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
UC Santa Barbara handles this subject deftly with its annual student survey report. This document contains detailed statistics about employed graduates, student interests, postgraduate plans, and more. It shows international prospective students how they can benefit from a degree at UC Santa Barbara.
Provide a City Guide
International students aren’t just concerned about the future. They also want to know about campus and city life. If you provide a comprehensive guide to your university’s city or town, you’ll instill in prospects a deep and colorful understanding of how they’ll fit into the local culture.
Mention local shopping and dining venues, provide a virtual tour of the campus, and give tips on day trips for weekend excursions. Prospective international students will imagine their life once they arrive, which brings them one step closer to enrollment.
