Digital marketing trends in international student recruitment – 2022

Educational establishments involved with international student recruitment face increasing challenges in their quest to attract new recruits from overseas – and the Covid-19 pandemic certainly hasn’t made things easy in this respect.

Yet the desire for students to study abroad, especially at esteemed places of learning, isn’t likely to fade any time soon. So, in order to tap into this highly competitive market successfully, establishments need to employ the most effective marketing methods possible. This is where digital marketing solutions come to the fore.

Digital to the rescue

Savvy recruiters employ digital to reach out to students overseas because it’s:

• affordable
• effective
• able to reach large audiences fast.

But, which digital methods should you use to maximise enrolment numbers?

Go social

If you’re not yet on social media, you’re missing a trick. Recent studies show that more than half the number of people on the planet (4.55 billion) use social media, with 87% of teenagers being regular users.

This gives international student recruiters a potentially vast audience at their fingertips, so using social media could prove effective to promote your brand, raise awareness of the courses you offer and provide other details and information about your establishment. As well as creating social media platforms to provide information, use social media for display adverts.

Social media tailored to your target audiences is also a highly cost-effective advertising medium for any institution looking to keep a tight rein on its marketing budgets.

Influencer marketing

Influencer marketing is an off-shoot of social media marketing that can yield impressive results. Studies show that 80% of those businesses that use it rate it as highly effective, so it’s certainly something that international student recruiters might want to think about trying.

Influencer marketing involves showcasing the experiences or knowledge of a past or current student or trainer, who may be well-known or has a high social media following. Focusing on the experiences of someone with influence, without openly advertising the establishment, can effectively promote brand awareness and may have a positive impact on enrollment figures.

Video marketing

Travel restrictions due to COVID-19 have made it increasingly difficult to visit places in person, so using visual content, such as video marketing and live streaming, has opened up opportunities to help promote an establishment.

Educational institutions could use these popular digital marketing methods to showcase their premises, courses and various other aspects of student life to prospects overseas.

Prioritise mobile optimisation

When it comes to searching online, mobile is now the go-to choice compared to desktop, so if you want to capitalise on this trend, it’s essential that your educational website is optimised for mobile use for an enhanced user experience.

As well as taking a mobile-first strategy, your website should appeal to young audiences in the look and feel of its content. Make it easy to get in touch, for example, by adding a chat function. Include news and a blog about life on campus, using keyword-rich content to help get your site placed higher up Google’s search rankings.

If you need assistance with using the most effective digital marketing trends to recruit international students, our experts who have vast experience in this field can help – get in touch.