Tips and insights for schools looking to create social media marketing campaigns that attract and engage international audiences.

1. Tailoring Your Social Media
Strategy to Recruit
International Students

2. • Social media strategy basics
• Defining your international personas
• Creating social media content for an
international audience
• Chinese social media
• Multilingual social media advertising
• Measuring the success of your social
media campaigns
Today’s Presentation

3. Benefits of Social Media Marketing for Schools

4. Social Media is a Global Phenomenon
Wearesocial.com

5. Social media amplifies your
school’s brand, provides
communities for engaging
personas, helps promote
your content, & supports
SEO
Social Media as a Decision Engine in Education
www.chegg.com

6. Core Elements of a Social Media Strategy

7. Start by Defining Your International Personas
Segment prospects by:
program, level, source
country, etc. &
Research their distinct
characteristics

8. Persona Research Tools
1. Survey your admissions & recruitment team for their insights
2. Survey/poll your students & alumni directly
3. Use journey-mapping/heat-mapping to track key touchpoints
4. Conduct market research to better understand what is impacting
decision-making

9. Consolidate Data into Profiles
PROSPECTIVE INTERNATIONAL STUDENT

10. Tap Into Common Interests, Goals, and Desires

11. Address Common Pain Points

12. Develop Key Messages

13. Use Personas to Focus Your Social Initiatives

14. • Choose The Right Platforms
• Post at the right time of day
• Consider multilingual content
• Use a mix of different content types
Social Media Tactics for International Audiences

15. #1 Social Networks Around the World
vincos.it

16. Facebook Reach by Country
Wearesocial.com
Top 5 Countries:
1.Netherlands
2.Germany
3.France
4.New Zealand
5.Belgium

17. Instagram Penetration Around the World
Wearesocial.com
Top 5 Countries:
1.Sweden
2.Turkey
3.Singapore
4.Saudi Arabia
5.Australia

18. Why Use Stories?
Source: MediaKix
“The Stories format is
on a path to surpass
feeds as the primary
way people share
things with their
friends sometime next
year.”
Facebook Chief Product Officer Chris
Cox, 2018

19. Post When International Prospects are Online
Software like HubSpot allows you to schedule your posts in
advance to maximize engagement

20. Should You Post in Different Languages?
English Spanish

21. Include Translations on Instagram Posts
English English & Portuguese

22. Use Visual Posts with Simple Language

23. Chinese Social Media
Banned Sites Domestic alternatives

24. What is WeChat?
• China’s “App for
Everything”- includes
instant messaging, a
social network, and
an e-commerce
platform
• Over 1 billion daily
active users
• Owned by Tencent
(who also own
QQ/Qzone)

25. Requirements to open a WeChat Account
– Official company certificate/business license
– Chinese business entity needed for verified
accounts
– Operator ID
– Operator mobile number
– WeChat ID linked to a bank account
– Company’s bank account
Slide 25

26. WeChat Official Account Types
Subscription account:
• Better for businesses that want to put out content on a more
regular basis
• One (1) publishing per day is allowed
• This is the ideal account for schools
Service account:
• Provides more powerful business service and user
management capabilities for enterprises and organizations
• Four (4) publishing per month is allowed
Slide 26

27. Official Account Admin & Operator
• Admin & Operator refer to the personal
WeChat IDs linked to the WeChat Account,
including:
– 1 Admin WeChat ID
– 5 permanent Operator IDs
– 20 temporary (valid in one month) Operator IDs
Slide 27

28. Setting Up WeChat Tabs
Slide 28

29. WeChat Publishing
Slide 29

30. Slide 30
• Weibo is the Chinese
word for
“microblogging”
• Very similar to Twitter
• Sina Weibo is one of
the most popular sites
in China, used by over
30% of Internet users
Weibo: Chinese Microblogging

31. Weibo Account Registration
• Personal Account: personal email address or mobile number.
• Official Account:
– Business license and official seal
– Pass the verification by National Administration for Code Allocation
to Organization
– Other documents may be required if the Weibo Official Account
Name is different from the name displayed on the business license
Slide 31

32. Weibo: Overview
Slide 32

33. Weibo Admin: Data & Reports
Slide 33

34. Creating Social Media Content for Each Stage of the Booking Journey

35. The Awareness Stage

36. Social Media Content Ideas for The Awareness Stage
• Share website content to drive prospects to your site
• Showcase your location as a study destination
• Highlight tourist attractions, trips and activities
• Use popular hashtags to increase your visibility
• Create Stories

37. Share Your Website Content on Social Media
Publish content on your website Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

38. Showcase Your Location as a Study Destination
What can your
city offer that
nowhere else
can?

39. Feature Photos From Trips and Activities

40. Use Popular #Intled Hashtags
Hashtag campaigns like
#weareinternational
and
#youarewelcomehere
have become popular
across the international
education community

41. Use Hashtags in Your Target Market’s Language

42. Stories On Facebook and Instagram
Stories combine text, visuals and effects into a scrolling slideshow

43. Add CTAs, Polls, Questions to Encourage Engagement
Poll
Fillable Q&A

44. Creating Social Media Content for The Consideration Stage

45. Social Media Content Ideas for The Consideration Stage
• Focus on preparing students for study/travel
• Offer online campus tours for international
students
• Stream live tours/Q&As for prospects
• Use direct messaging to respond to inquiries

46. Offer Tips for Study and Travel
Use universal
visuals to aid
understanding

47. Video Campus Tours on Social Media
International
students don’t
get the chance to
visit your school
before booking.
Virtual tours can
give them a
window into what
to expect.

48. Stream Live Tours and Q&As from Your School
Answer questions
from your
prospective
students in real
time

49. No. 1 Instant Messenger Platforms by Country
Wearesocial.com
Facebook Messenger,
WhatsApp, and WeChat
are all popular among
international students

50. Direct Messaging for International Prospects
Include DM info on your website

51. Connect with Facebook Users on Messenger

52. Creating Social Media Content for The Decision Stage

53. Social Media Content Ideas for The Decision Stage
• Offer ‘social proof’ to gain an edge on your
competitors
• Encourage your current students to leave reviews
• Focus on more direct content that drives students
towards booking

54. Use Student Testimonials as Social Proof

55. Encourage Graduates to Leave Reviews on Facebook
Make an effort to
respond to both positive
and negative reviews on
Facebook

56. Drive Students Towards Booking on Social
Remind prospects
about upcoming start
dates and booking
deadlines

57. Creating Social Media Content for Enrolled Students

58. Social Media Content for Enrolled Students
• Provide helpful local info for your current
students
• Feature them in your posts
• Encourage them to share photos through
contests

59. Post Helpful Local Info for Your Current Students

60. Put Your Current Students Front and Centre
Feature current
students from the
countries and
regions you are
targeting

61. Build Your Brand with Simple Social Contests

62. Planning Your Social Media Advertising
• Social Ads: engagement vs conversions
• Should you run your campaigns in English or in the
local language?
• Do you have the internal resources to follow up
with inquiries that come-in from the local
languages?
• What network should you use to reach your
potential students?
• To which page should you direct users to?

63. Social Engagement vs Conversions

64. Facebook Ads Can Drive Inquiries

65. Desktop View
Mobile View
65
Use Responsive Landing Pages for Your Campaigns

66. Use Detailed Targeting to Reach Your Prospects

67. Choose Your Ad Placement
Newsfeed Mobile Newsfeed Desktop Messenger

68. Choose Your Ad Placement
Marketplace Desktop Marketplace Mobile Stories

69. 69
It All Comes Down to Measurement
• What kind of ROI are you getting from social media ads?
• How well do your social channels drive traffic to your website?
• How visible is your social presence in your target market?
• Are your social media posts performing?
Your social media data can help you answer all of these questions.

70. 70
Monitor the Performance of Your Ads by Placement

71. Measure Your Facebook Ad Results

72. Measure the Social Activity Directed to Your Website

73. Drilldown in your Facebook Activity

74. Drilldown in your Facebook Activity

75. Drilldown in your Instagram Activity

76. Review Your Facebook Reach by Location

77. Monitor Organic and Paid Post Reach

78. Monitor Performance on Instagram

79. Monitor Followers on Instagram
Followers by City or Country Times Your Followers are online

80. Monitor Follower Demographics on Instagram

81. Integrate your Social Ads to your CRM

82. 82
Recap
• Align your social media strategy with your target personas
• Think carefully about your choice of channels, language, and post schedule
• Create social content for every stage of the booking journey
• Supplement your organic efforts with paid social advertising
• Measure your results for continuous improvement

83. I’m easy to reach at:
Philippe Taza
Tel: 514-312-3968 ext:104
ptaza@higher-education-marketing.com
www.higher-education-marketing.com
https://twitter.com/PhilippeTaza
Have questions about this presentation?