5. Engagement as a journey vs. isolated interactions.
Modern institutions are starting to change the way they view engagement with their students. To encourage students to continue down the enrollment funnel, the most sophisticated schools look at each engagement as a single step in a wider process, rather than isolated event. The trick is to think about what you want the student to do next, build a process around it, then communicate it from the beginning of their journey.
For example, do you think prospective students would benefit from speaking with an existing student? Great! Then build that into the process, and start communicate those next steps when you’re face-to-face. Tailoring your post-event comms around that next-step will bring a focus to your messaging — “…remember I mentioned I could put you in-touch with another student from Beijing? Click here to set it up!) — and you’ll be able to optimise the process like a mini-funnel. (And if you’re using a ChatBot, it’s even easier! 😉)
It doesn’t just work for setting up chats with existing students. It’s the same for other goals too, such as “come visit our campus,” “ask us questions about financial aid” or “review my portfolio” (for art schools).
Plus, as well as increasing your comms-to-goal conversion rate, you’ll definitely stand-out in the minds of the students you meet at the event. Think about it, what’s more memorable? A dozen schools who all say they’ll “send you some information”, or a school that promises to set-up a conversation with a student from your own neighbourhood who is a few years further down your path?
Each of the tips listed above will help to move the dial, but the most effective way to stand-out is to take a more holistic approach to the recruitment event experience. And that’s where we can help! Reach out, if you’d like to discuss what we’ve learned from helping schools run thousands of recruitment events around the world.