Social Media Strategy for International NGOs & Universities
Report
1. Withthe expandinguse of social mediaplatformsacrossthe world asthe ‘digital age’progresses,it
isessential forbusinesses,universities andevenindividualstouse suchplatforms totheiradvantage
as a form of promotion.However,universitiesinparticularare requiredtopromote themselvesona
global scale,andso musttake intoconsiderationthe diversityof social mediapopularityaroundthe
world,takingintoconsiderationthe variety available indifferentcountries.
UWTSD isactive on Facebook,Twitter, YouTube, LinkedInandInstagram, therefore contactingand
formingrelationshipswithprospectivestudentsin countries usingthese sites,primarilythe UK,USA,
Europe,India, andthe Middle East,is alreadyunderway. Forinstance, the Universityhaslaunched
videosonYouTube (www.youtube.com/user/trinitysaintdavid)explainingeligibilityforUCASExtra,
interviewingcurrentstudentsandintroducingthe University.
The Facebook page for the International Office (2015) postsregularlyaboutuniversitynewsand
developments,promotingthe universityonanacademiclevel,andthe experiencesof studentswho
have chosento studyeitherinthe UK (featuringupdatesfromthe Cultural Programme)orabroad.
Thisprovidesuseful informationforstudentswhoare lookingtocome to Walestostudy,or who
wishto attenda university withthe opportunityto studyabroad.Quotesfromalumand postsabout
theirfuture successhave alsobeenlinkedwiththe studyabroadscheme allowingstudentstonot
onlyviewthe successof the university,butalsothe benefitsof the scheme.The page postsregularly
on International holidays,suchasChinese New YearandCanadaDay, emphasisingthe University’s
celebrationof othercultures.The page isalsousedtopromote Twitterthroughhashtags,suchas
#studyinwales.Twittercanbe syncedto FacebookandInstagram, beingable topublishtweetsto
the formersite andpicturesfromthe latter. The Instagrampage
(instagram.com/uwtsdinternationaloffice) isusedtoupdate studentsontripsfromthe Cultural
Program andvisuallypromote the UWTSDcampuses,whilstthe LinkedIn
(uk.linkedin.com/company/university-of-wales-trinity-saint-david)page isusedformore
professionalpurposes.
However,inordertocontendwiththe influx of social mediausage inthe pastfew yearsanduse i t
efficientlytorecruitnewstudentsworldwide,the Universityneedstoexpandandupdate itssocial
mediausage.The popularityof differentsocial mediavariesacrossthe countries withwhichthe
University wishestoestablishrelationships,particularlyinChinawhere Facebook,Twitterand
YouTube are unavailable forrecruitmentandconversionpurposes.
Africa
Twitter
Accordingto The AfricanBusinessReview intheironline article Top 10 African Social Networks
(2013), SouthAfricansare the most active Twitterusersinthe entiretyof Africa,withthe site
currentlyhaving1.1 millionregisteredusersinSA alone. The nextAfricannation withthe highest
numberof Twitterusers isKenyafollowedbyNigeria,EygptandMorocco.
LinkedIn
LinkedInhassimilarpopularityto Twitter,although itisusedmore professionallyasarecruitment
networkingsite, aselsewhere inthe world. AccordingtostatisticsbyPew ResearchCentre for2014,
the highestpercentage of LinkedInusersare inthe 30-49 age demographic.
Facebook
Facebook sharesa similarpopularityinAfricaasitdoesworldwide.Statisticsshow thatin2011
80.7% of internetusersheldaFacebook account,andthisnumberhas undoubtedlygrownsince
then.
MXit
However, MXitisSouthAfrica’smostpopularsocial networkwith over10 millionusers. Userssend
and receive one-on-one textandmultimediamessagestoandfrom otherusersas well as ingeneral
2. chat rooms. The appis free todownloadtomobile ortabletand doesnot charge for one-to-one
messages,apartfromcharge fordata usage from mobile operators(The AfricanBusinessReview,
2013), appearingtowork muchlike WhatsApp.Accordingto StandardBank’sonline article UseMXit
to get yourmessageout (2012), companies currently takingadvantage of Mxitforadvertising
purposes include:RedBull,Adidas, Samsung,QuicksilverandCadbury,plusmanymore.Optionsfor
advertisingonthe site includesplash-screenads(whichare full-screen,full colourimages that
appearon screenfora fewsecondswhenauserlogsin) andbroadcast messaging(atextmessage
withno colouror imagesthatis displayedwithinMxit).All userswhologinonthe day a broadcast
message isdistributedwillsee the message, with69% of broadcastmessagesbeingread. The site
alsoestimatesthatpricesforsplash-screenadvertisementsstartataround R88 500 (£4151.71) for
approximately540 000 users,whilstbroadcastmessagesstartat R29 000 (£1360.45) for Mxit
broadcastsin nonpeaktimes,toaroundR95 000 (£4456.64) for peaktime slots,orR136 000 (£6380)
for 24 hours,rangingby timeslotandapp.
Proposals
a) use ofsocial mediain recruitmentpractices
FacebookandTwitter:Againpostingregularlyaboutthe area,coursesonofferandstudent
experiences duringthe recruitmentperiodisessential.AdvertisingonFacebookwouldalso
be beneficialinattractingattentiongiventhe worldwidepopularityof the site.The
Universitycouldevenpublishlinkstotheirprospectusthroughthese platforms.
LinkedIn:Asthissite ismostlyusedbypeople lookingforemploymentandbusiness
contacts,usuallyprofessionalsintheirthirtiesandforties,itisunlikelythatthe site would
needdevelopmentforstudents.
MXit: advertisingonthe site maybe more beneficial tothe Universityasitisprimarilyachat
app witha similarformattoWhatsApp.Withmessagesrunningonreal time andissueswith
limitedgroupcapacity,aswell asbeingamobile app,MXitcouldbe difficulttomanage.
Therefore,itwouldbe bestutilisedinthe recruitmentprocessasan advertisingtool.
b) use of social mediain conversionpractices
FacebookandTwitter:postinghelpful guidesandinformationaboutvisas,travellingto
the UK andthe numerousopportunitiesprovidedbythe Cultural Programwouldbe
likelytoassure prospective studentsof the care UWTSD takeswhendealingwith
international students.Aswell aspostingabouttripsthathave alreadyoccurred,
advertisingfortripsavailable tothe prospectivestudentswhentheyattendthe
Universitymayalsohelptoconfirma student’sdecisiontostudywithUWTSD.
China
Chinapresentsdifferentissueswithrecruitmentandconversionprocessesasmanyof the social
networkplatformsusedinotherpartsof the worldare unavailablein China.Indeed, itislikelythata
prospective Chinesestudentwouldhave heardaboutthe UniversityfromanagentinChina,as Paul
Hoskinsexplainsinthe GuardianthatChinese students“invariablylookforatopUK university"ina
particularsubject,nota specificplace.”UWTSDis nota particularlyhigh-rankinguniversity,being
recentlyplacedat125 overall inthe league tablesaccording toThe Complete UniversityGuide
(2015). Thissuggeststhata student wouldnotcome across the Universityif he were toadhere to
the typical mode of researchinguniversitiespracticedinChina,andislikelytohave beeninformedof
it byan agent. Despite this,social mediaisstill useful forfurtherrecruitmentandconversiononce a
prospective studentonce they have heardaboutUWTSD,and so it isstill importanttocater to
Chinese social media.
3. WeChat
Accordingto the We Are Social blogpost Digital, Socialand Mobile in China in 2015 (2015), WeChat
isthe mostpopularsocial mediaappinChinawith61% of internetusersclaimingtohave loggedin
inthe pastmonth.Creatingan Official Accountwouldbe muchmore beneficial asthese accounts
gainfollowers,like Twitter.Once andaccounthas reachedover500 followers,itbecomesverified.
The app is alreadybeingusedbyUniversityof Wisconsin-MilwaukeeandMichiganState University
to attract prospective students.Accordingto ZhuandGan (2014) the formeruniversityusedWeChat
to “[publicise] theirpresencebyofferinganinformativeguidethathelpsChinese studentsandtheir
parentsto learnaboutAmericanacademiclife.Insteadof leadingstudentstotheirofficial website
for academicinformation,UWMpostedanintroductionof schools,programsandprofessorson
WeChat.Before orientationinAugust,UWMalso postedcontentaboutMilwaukeelocal life,housing
informationanddiningrecommendationsforthe incomingChinese students,whichgivesenrolled
students afeelingof special care fromthe school.”
MichiganState UniversityhasbeencitedasusingWeChatto maintaincontactwithChinese students
bothbefore andaftertheyarrivedat university,warning“all Chinese subscribersaboutthe
possibilityof tornadoesandseverewindsinEastLansing.Earlierin2013, MSU alsousedWeChat’s
official accounttocalm students’nervesaboutareportedshooteronuniversitygrounds.Besides
these urgentnotifications,MSUCompanionregularlypostscontentaboutupcomingeventsaround
the area, tipsforlivinginthe US, and diningrecommendationsforstudents.”
Duke Universityalsoutilisedthe apptoremainincontactwithalumni,withitsofficial account‘Duke
Blue Devil’focusingonalumni eventsinChinaandintroducingfamousChinese alumni toits
subscribers.
Weibo
SinaWeibo,withthe same 140 character ‘tweet’formatasTwitter,isalsoincrediblypopular,with
We Are Social (2015) showing54%of internetusershave claimed tohave accessedthe site inthe
past month.WarwickUniversityalreadyhasaverifiedSinaWeibopage (2015) with12,186 ‘Fans’,
postinginformationaboutuniversitynews,updatesspecificallyforinternational students(e.g.
orientationweekregistration,importantthingstorememberaboutonlineenrolment),British
holidaydatesandthe weatherinBritain.
Proposals
a) use of social mediain recruitmentpractices:
WeChat:UWTSD coulduse the WeChataccount much like aFacebookaccountto attract
more prospective Chinese studentsandremainincontactwiththembefore,duringand
aftertheirtime at universitybyadaptingthe practicesof otheruniversities.Forinstance,
postingthe UWTSD prospectusonWeChatas well asinformationaboutthe Cultural
Program wouldbe helpful.
An issue wouldbe thatunlike FacebookorTwitter,usersof WeChatare unable tofind
an account or a post automaticallythroughasearch.Instead,theyfollow anaccount
throughits‘QR code’,or by otheruserssharingthe posts.It istherefore essential to
promote thisQR code on the University’swebsite orprospectusinordertogain
followers.
Weibo:Giventhe successof the UWTSD @studyinwalesTwitterpage inthe US,adapting
thisformof social mediatocater to a Chinese audience mayworkwell forboth
recruitinginternational studentsthroughoutthe year. Again,postinglinkstothe
prospectusandinformationaboutthe Cultural Programmayattract students.
b) use of social mediain conversionpractices:
4. WeChat:Postingguidestothe area,especiallymentioningplacestofindChinese cuisine,
supermarketsandmedicinewouldease the difficultyof movingtoacountry witha different
culture.InformationabouttripstocitiessuchasOxfordor Londonwouldalsobe an
attractive optionforprospective studentswishingtosee more of the UK.
Weibo:regularlyupdatingthe Weiboaccountwithnewsof the University’sacademic
achievementswouldcatertothe appeal of the Universityasan academicinstitutionaswell
as beinga place withopportunitiestosee andexperience Britishculture.AsHoskins’sarticle
highlightedthe academicappeal of aUniversity beingessentialinthe recruitmentprocess,it
islikelytocontinue tobe a determiningfactorinthe conversionprocess.
India
Internetusage isgrowingacrossIndiawitha 44% growthalone between2014 and 2015
(wearesocial.net).Despite this,the same statisticsreportthat“barely10% of the country issocially
active”online. However,the numberof people usingsocial mediaincreasesbyone personevery
second,andthat figure issetto improve due tothe popularityof mobile phoneusage inthe country,
as We Are Social reported that45% of all internetusersaccessitthroughtheirphone inthe blog
postDigital, Socialand Mobile in India in 2015 (2015). 97 millionoutof the total 153 millionsocial
mediausersinthe countrylog inthroughtheir phones.Despite the limitedusage of social media,it
isspreadacross a diverse range of platformsincludingFacebook,WhatsApp,Twitter,LinkedIn,
PinterestandInstagram.
Pinterest
ThoughPinterest appearstobe the leastpopularformof social media, itsuse inIndiaisincreasing,
growingfromonly220 usersin March 2012 to 1,514 usersin March 2013 accordingto a report
entitled India DigitalFuturein Focus2013 (2013) carriedout by ComScore.
Twitter
The report alsofoundthatthe numberof people usingTwitterdecreasedby15% betweenMarch
2012 and 2013.
YouTube
YouTube wasthe mostpopularformof online videousage with58% watchingvideosonGoogle sites
(e.g. YouTube) (ComScore,2013).
WhatsApp
WhatsAppisthe most popularchat appand secondmostpopularformof social media(nextto
Facebook) inIndia,with44%of i§nternetusersclaimingtohave usedthe platforminthe pastmonth
(We Are Social,2015). However,itholdsanumberof disadvantageswhichmayexplainwhymany
universities have beenhesitanttouse itto recruit/contactprospective students.Forinstance,
groupshave limitationsonWhatsApp,unlikeFacebook,withamaximumcapacityof fiftymembers
pergroup. Thiswouldresultinthe possibilityof havingtomanage numerous groupsof fifty
students.Inthiscase,a maximumof fiftygroupsare allowedonWhatsApp.
Additionally,unlike Facebookgroups,whichallow userstorequesttojoin‘closedgroups’viathe
site, there isnoway fora studenttorequesttojoina WhatsApp groupwithoutdirectlycontacting
the admin.Therefore,the individual mayaswell maintainanindividual contactwiththe admin’s
number.Inaddition,groupchatsthemselvesare liabletocause confusionforthe adminmonitoring
them,as theyrunon real time, makingitdifficulttokeeptrackof individual questions.Itwouldalso
allowothergroupmemberstosee andreplyto otherpeoples’questions,whichcouldcause further
confusionforthe groupadministrator.However,thiswouldhave the benefitof allowingprospective
studentstoengage witheachotherand make friendspriortoarrivinginthe UK. Nevertheless,a
Facebookgroupmightdo thismore efficientlyandsafely intermsof privacyregulations,asbeing
able to contact studentsviatheirpersonal mobilenumbersmaybe seenasbreachingthese.
5. WhatsAppisa mobile messagingappandtherefore the Universitywouldneed anofficialWhatsApp
mobile number.Thiswouldmeanthat,firstly, anindividual wouldhave tobe responsible forUWTSD
WhatsAppand,secondly, issuesregardingprivacymighthave tobe considered.Accordingto the
blogpostInstantMessaging AppsforHigherEducation Marketing and Communications:WhatsApp
(2014) by Pickle JarCommunications,thislatterissueisthe reason whymany universitiesandbrands
are hesitanttouse the app.
Despite this,some Dutchuniversitieshave takenthe apponboardas meansof recruitingand
maintainingcontactwithprospective students.HASUniversityof AppliedSciencesandHZUniversity
of AppliedScienceshad anofficial WhatsAppnumberwhichstudentscould individuallymessage to
pose theirquestionsaboutuniversity.Thisisafairlyrecentpractice (2014), butthe WhatsApp
numberdoesnotseemtohave beencontinuedforrecruitmentin2015.
Brands have alsousedWhatsAppforpromotional workinwaysthatcouldbe well adaptedtothe
University’srecruitmentandconversionprocesses. In2013, AbsolutVodkausedaWhatsApp
campaignto promote theirbrandinArgentina,withFacebookfanshavingtoconvince ‘Sven’(a
fictional doorman) toletthemintoanexclusiveparty,all viaWhatsApp.Thisgainedthem600
WhatsAppcontacts.
WhatsAppbeneficiallyallowsuserstocreate a‘broadcastlist’,which sendsasingle message to
multiple contacts.This couldbe usedwell withthe methodof havingindividualstudentcontactsas
opposedtogroups.OxfordMail have experimentedwiththe appinthiswaybysendingtheir
contacts (readersof the paper) morningandeveningbulletins,amassing200 followersin twoweeks
(OxfordMail,2014). Readersare addedtothisbroadcast by addingthe designatedOxfordMail
WhatsAppnumbertotheiraddressbookand sending amessage detailingthe kindof updatesthey
wouldlike toreceive (news,sports,orboth). However, the factthatWhatsApplimitsthe numberof
contacts on a broadcastlistto 250 mightpose some problems,giventhat@studyinwalesonTwitter
has over1,000 followers.The BBCovercame thisissue of limitationfortheirWhatsAppIndian
electioncoverage by speakingtothe companydirectly (Pickle JarCommunications,2014),but this
mightinvolve extraworkforthe University. Otherwisenew broadcastgroupsof individualswillhave
to be made as demandfor service grows.
Proposals
a) use ofsocial mediain recruitmentprocess
Facebook:AsFacebookisagainthe most popularformof social media,updatingthe
Facebookgroupregularlywouldbe beneficial tothe recruitmentprocess.Puttingthe
prospectusonline aswell asinformationaboutthe Cultural Program, societiesandthe
general areashouldall helptoattract students.
WhatsApp:The statisticsabove showedWhatsApptobe the secondmostpopularformof
social mediaandtherefore,if the Universitycouldfindawayof makingWhatsAppwork,this
wouldbe beneficial forcontactingstudents. Pickle JarCommunications(2014) suggested
that the methodsusedbyAbsolutVodka(referredtointhe above research) couldbe
adaptedbyuniversitiestorecruit/enticepotential studentsthrough offeringthose whoadd
the WhatsAppnumberdiscountedentryintoaFresher’sevent,exclusiveoffersand/or
prizes. The OxfordMail’sformatof a broadcast listcouldalsobe useful forsendingouta
uniformmessage toa wide numberof people,however,those incharge of the WhatsApp
groupwouldhave to be preparedtoreplyto amountingmessagesfromindividualstudents.
However,thisformof usingWhatsAppislikelytobe the mostefficientforUWTSD,as
opposedtoindividuallymessagingeverystudent,or settingupandmonitoringnumerous
differentgroupchats. Thisapp islikelytobe helpful toall prospective students,butsince the
vast amountof social mediausersinIndialoginthrough theirphones,itmaybe particularly
6. helpful withdevelopingrelationshipswithprospective studentsthere,if the Universityis
preparedtoface the difficultiesthatusingthe apppresents.
YouTube:Aswithall othercountries,apartfrom China,YouTube waslistedasthe most
popularformof streamingvideocontentinIndia.Thissuggeststhat aYouTube advertaimed
at a global audience wouldbe viewedinIndia,andtherefore,if the Universitywere todo
thisit islikelythattheywouldbe able torecruitthroughthe site.
b) use of social mediain the conversionprocess
WhatsApp:Despite the numerousdifficultiesof usingthe apptoremainincontact with
studentslistedabove,if the Universitywaspreparedtodeal withthese,WhatsAppcould
be usedfor studentstocontact UWTSD withanyquestions.However,the messages
runningonreal time and the decisionof whethertohave a group or individual contact
wouldhave tobe made byUWTSD.
Facebook:Postingaboutlife inWalesandguidestothe local areaislikelytobe
reassuringtostudentsconcernedaboutdealingwithadifferentculture. Due tothe
differentclimate andcurrency,itmaybe helpful touse Facebooktoupdate studentson
the weatherinWales,preparingthemforwhentheyarrive,aswell aspostingguidesto
applyingfora visa,UK bankaccounts, local travel,shippingandstoringluggage and
bursariesforinternationalstudents.Accordingtoapost byJamie Akhtarentitled‘10
thingsinternationalstudentsneedtoknow’onthe ‘Save the Student’ website(2015),
these were issueswhichmostlyconcernedinternational studentswhenaskedwhatthey
wishedthey’dknownbeforecomingtostudyinthe UK.
MENA
Accordingto monitor.icef.com “roughlyfourinteninternational studentssaythatsocial media
influencedtheirdecisiontostudyabroad”.
YouTube
ICEF Monitor(2015) alsoemphasisedthat“there are 300 millionYouTube playbackseachandevery
day,and Saudi Arabialeadsthe pack as the #1 marketin the worldintermsof viewspercapita.”
Facebook
Facebookwasfoundto be the most popularformof social networkinginthe Middle East,aswell as
the UK andUSA, accordingto DamianRadcliffe’sarticle onthe ‘HuffingtonPost’(2014),with94% of
Middle Easternsocial mediausersholdingaccounts. Organisationsthatengage ininternational
outreachsometimeshave numerousFacebookpagesinmultiple languages.Forinstance,the British
Council hasa Facebookpage called‘ブリティッシュ・カウンシル/BritishCouncilJapan’(2015)
whichcatersto Japanese studentsbypostingintheirnative language.
Twitter
AlthoughFacebookholdsthe topspotasthe mostpopularsocial mediaplatform, accordingto
DamianRadcliffe’sreport‘UnderstandingSocial Mediainthe Middle East’inthe HuffingtonPost,
there are 3,766,160 Twitterusersinthe MENA region.73% of the ‘tweets’producedinthisregion
are inArabic.
Proposals
a) use ofsocial mediain recruitmentpractices:
Facebook:GiventhatArabicis the mainlanguage usedonthe site inthe MENA region
(http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2014-02-03-MENAsocialmedia2013.jpg) itmaytherefore
be beneficialtosetupa Facebookpage inArabic,cateringspecificallytoMENA students.
7. Thiswouldprovide anextra outreachto Arabic-speakingInternational students,actingasan
additiontothe multilingual International Office website (2015).However,thiswouldrequire
somebodywhospeaksArabictoovercome translationissues.
YouTube:Giventhe large viewerconsumptioninthe MENA region,aYouTube advertislikely
to be beneficialinrecruitingstudentshere also.
Twitter:Aswell asan ArabicFacebookaccount,a parallel ArabicFacebookaccountcouldbe
setup, giventhata much highernumberof tweetsare publishedinArabicthaninEnglish
b) use of social mediain conversionpractices:
FacebookandTwitter:Like the Facebookaccountfor Englishspeakers,usefulinformation
aboutvisasand orientationcouldbe posted.However,cultural differencesmustalsobe
takenintoconsiderationtomaintainagoodrelationship.Forinstance,the drinkingculture
surroundingfresher’sweekmaybe off-puttingtosome students,therefore postingabout
societiesthatcaterto MENA culture,suchas religious,sportandmore cultural societies.
YouTube:Videosof lecture tastersare likelytobe popularinthisregiontoogiventhe high
numberof viewersonYouTube,however,languagealsoneedstobe takeninto
consideration.Althoughthe Universitywouldexpectaprospective studenttohave a good
amountof English,itmaybe seenas helpingorassuringtopostsome videosinArabic.
Norway
Facebook
Accordingto wearesocial.net,there are 3,000,000 active FacebookusersinNorway,with
www.languagetrainers.co.uk listingitasthe country’smostpopularformof social media.
Youtube
The site alsolistedYouTube asthe thirdmost popularwith30% of internetusersinNorway
accessingit,demonstratingthatsocial mediapopularityforNorwaygenerallyfallsinline withthatof
the rest of the world.
Twitter
www.translatemedia.com reportedthere tobe 284, 997 TwitterusersinJuly2012, howeverresults
froma surveycarriedoutby www.e.marketer.com inNovember2013 place Twitteras the 5th
most
popularformof social networkinginNorway,fallingbehindFacebook,Spotify,YouTube,Google+
and LinkedIn.
a) use ofsocial mediain recruitmentprocess
Twitter:The above statisticssuggestthatwhile Twitterisstill activelyusedinNorway,its
popularityismuchhigherelsewhere inthe world,andsodevelopingastrongerFacebook
and YouTube presence,assaidforoutreachinginMENA,wouldbe more beneficial in
recruitingandconsolidatingstudents.
Facebook:Aswithothercountries,developingaFacebookadvert,whichwouldappearin
the side bar of the site,wouldattractattentiontoUWTSD’s website.The Universitycould
furtherdevelopitsFacebookpresence inthe recruitmentprocessbypostingaprospectus
online,sothatUWTSD’s social mediaactivelysharesimportantinformationaboutuniversity
courses,andinterviewswithinternational studentsfromNorway.Akhtar’sarticle urges
international students,“if youknow anyone alreadyinthe UK…thenspeaktothem”,
therefore beingable tohearaboutthe experienceof aninternational studentfromtheir
owncountry maybe helpful.
8. YouTube:Assaidin the above research,YouTube isthe thirdmostpopularsocial media
platform.Itshigh usage impliesthatif the Universitywere tolaunchaYouTube advert,
potential studentsinNorwaywouldsee it.
b) use of social mediain conversionprocess
Facebook:Asthisisthe mostpopularsocial mediaplatform, itislikelythatthe
Universitywouldchoose the sitetolaunchmostof its information.Again,posting
informationaboutlifeinWales,the Cultural Programandguidestothe areawouldbe
beneficial tostudents,basedonthe findingsof Akhtar’sreport.
YouTube:The highusage of YouTube couldalsobe utilisedinthe conversionprocessby
postingshorttasterlectures,interviewswithinternational students,andvideosfrom
the Cultural Programor guidestothe area.
UK Based
Facebook
Facebookisthe most popularformof social mediainthe UK, accordingto stats producedby
globalwebindex.net,witha79% membership.
YouTube
The site listed YouTube asthe nextmostpopularwitha 50% membership.
Twitter
Twitterwaslistedasthe third mostpopularwitha 46% membership.
Pinterest
However,Pinterestsawthe biggestinfluxincreaseinmembershipin2014 witha 67% increase (We
Are Social,2015).
Proposals
a) use ofsocial mediain recruitmentprocess
Facebook:UWTSD, as a UK institution,islikelytobe betterknowninthe UK, especiallyin
Wales.However,launchingaFacebookadvertcouldstill increaselocal attention.Sixthform
collegesinSouthWestWalesattendaUniversitiesfairatthe Carmarthencampuseveryyear
where differentuniversitiessetupstandswiththeirprospectuses,UWTSDbeingamong
them.It wouldalsobe helpfultopostthisprospectusontothe UWTSD Facebookpage.For
UK students,the opportunitytostudyabroad seemstobe a popularreasonfor choosinga
university,with The Complete UniversityGuide (2015) statingthat 54% of under25 year olds
feltthat“a lackof global experience”washoldingthembackintheircareerprospects.
Therefore,usingthe UWTSDFacebookpage to advertise the opportunitytostudyabroadin
numerousplacesislikelytobe appealingtoUKstudents.
YouTube:Again,asthe secondmostpopularYouTube channel,anadvertlaunchedthrough
the site islikelytoreachstudentsall overthe UK. Forinstance, the Universityof
Gloucestershire launchedanadvertviaYouTube thisyear.
Twitter:Indeed,inthe recentperiodforclearing,the @studyinwalesTwitteraccountwas
usedto recruitstudentsmore locallywiththe hashtag#stayneargofarbeingdisplayedon
billboardsaroundthe city.Therefore,althoughTwitterhasthe benefitsof usinghashtagsto
promote the universityonaglobal platform, itspopularityinthe UKmakesit a useful tool
duringboththe recruitmentandconversionprocesses.
Pinterest:With the growingpopularityof Pinterestinthe UK,adoptingthe use of the site by
US universities(seepage 9) maybeneficialtothe recruitmentprocess.Postinginformation
9. aboutcourses,societies,the differentcampuses,andthe area wouldall actas attractive
visual promotionof the University,aswell asprovidinghelpful links.
b) use of social mediain the conversionprocess
Facebook:regularlyupdatingthe page withexperiencesof UWTSDstudentsontheir
tripsabroad wouldappeal tothe desire tostudyabroadmentionedinThe Complete
UniversityGuide (2015).Asthe termapproaches,postinginformationaboutupcoming
eventsinfresher’sweekwouldbe helpful,as mostUK institutions,suchasWarwick,
practice this.
YouTube:The Complete UniversityGuide liststhe numberone reasonforchoosinga
universityinthe UKas beingthe course content.Itmay therefore be especiallyhelpfulin
the UK to launchtasterlessonsandlecturesonYouTube.
Twitter:The UWTSD @studyinwalespage alreadypostsregularlyaboutopportunitiesto
studyinAmericaand Canada.As The Complete UniversityGuidesuggestedthatunder
25 year oldssee havingglobal experience asessential togettingacareer,postinglinksto
interviewswithpaststudyabroadstudentsmayhelpto confirmUWTSD as a choice for a
prospective UKstudent.
Pinterest:
USA
As one of the biggestcountriesinthe world,NorthAmericahasthe highestsocial media
penetration,with59%of internetusershavingsocial mediaaccounts.The abilitytoaccessthe same
social mediaasthe US inthe UK isbeneficial tothe Universityas social mediatargetedat
prospective Americanstudentscanalsobe utilisedforthose inthe UK.
Facebook
Facebook wasfoundto be the most popularformof social networkinginthe USA,closelyfollowed
by TwitterandPinterest(wearesocial.net).
Twitter
Twitteristhe secondmostpopularsocial networkingsite inthe USA with19% of usersclaimingto
have accessedthe site inthe lastmonth (wearesocial.net).The @studyinwales Twitterpage
(https://twitter.com/studyinwales) hasalsoworkedwellinthe USA,witha followinginexcessof
1,000. The Twitteraccountis usedtotweetaboutuniversitynewsanddevelopments,and
informationaboutstudyinginWales,orinthe international collegesaffiliatedwiththe University.
TwitterholdsaparticularadvancementoverFacebookthroughthe abilityto‘retweet’or‘favourite’
the tweetsaboutUWTSD on the newsfeed,meaningthe universitycanutilise thistointeractwith
prospective studentsworldwide.Although‘sharing’ispracticedonFacebook,thisisgenerallywith
articlesor pictures,whilst‘retweeting’the postsof othersisfar more commonon Twitter.
Pinterest
The USA has the biggeststrongholdforPinterestwhere athirdof adultInternetusers holdan
account. The amountof people usingthe site is furtherincreasingwitharise from16% of Internet
usersaccessingthe appin 2013 to 24% in2014 (wearesocial.net).Itisthe thirdmostpopularformof
social networkingwith17%of US Internetusersholdingaccounts.Pinterestalsogainedanincrease
of 67% in followersinthe UKin 2014 andis more popularthanInstagram, with9% claimingreported
activityonPinterestcompared to8%on Instagram(wearesocial.net).Americancollegessuchas
IndianaUniversity(www.pinterest.com/indianauniv) andMichiganState University
(www.pinterest.com/uofmichigan)have alreadybeguntouse the site toshowcase the university
campus,sports teams,arts and science subjects,andsocieties.The formerpage has23.6k followers,
whilstthe latterhad19.2k. The amountof people usingthe site isalsoonthe rise withanincrease
10. from16% of Internetusersaccessing the appin2013 to 24% in 2014 (wearesocial.net).
YouTube
YouTube is incrediblypopularinthe USA,withGoogle chief businessofficerOmidKordestani
recentlydeclaringittobe more popularthanany individualcable networkinattracting18-49 year
olds(bgr.com/2015/07/19/youtube-popularity-cable-comparison).Theabilitytoadvertise onthe site
has been utilised well inthe USA asa tool of recruitment.Accordingtoa case study carriedoutby
YouTube on static.googleusercontent.com, Berkleemusic,of Berklee College of Musicbasedin
Boston,have had particularsuccessingainingsubscribersandviewerstothe universityYouTube
channel throughsuchadverts. The college promotedupcomingsemestersign-upsthroughusing
YouTube TrueViewin-streamads,whichpre-rollskippableadvertsbefore videos,andmarketing
toolsavailable inGoogle AdWords (www.google.co.uk/adwords). AdWordsallowsyoutocreate
advertsthrougha Google+account inan estimated fifteenminutes.Since 2008, the Berkleemusic’s
YouTube viewshave increasedby 62% and subscribers by 76%,withthe online school enrolling
hundredsof studentsfromover40 countries.Berkleemusicisconsideredtobe the 5th mostviewed
educational channel outthose of 400 collegesanduniversitiesinthe USand Canada.As well as
YouTube adverts;the channel itself caterstoprospectivestudentsbyfeaturingmusiclessons,aswell
facultyinterviews,studentstoriesandvideoswithfamousalum.Accordingtothe case study,the
channel makesitsvideosmore viewer-friendlyby“taggingandcategorisingcontent…withkeywords
for easysearching.”UploadingavideotoYouTube andcreatingan AdWordsaccount isfree of
charge,however,YouTube allowsadvertisingona pay-per-view policy.Thismeansthatthe
Universitywouldpayeverytimeoverthirtysecondsorthe entiretyof the advertwasviewed
(withoutthe viewerpressingthe ‘SkipAd’button).Inthe videoYouTubeAdvertising-Costby
‘DigitalMarketer’ (2015),itissaidthat YouTube or AdWordsdecidesthe CPV (costperview) based
on the competitionforaspecifickeyword,placementordemographic,aswell ashow layeredyou
getwithyour target.For instance,if anadvertisertargetedglobally,theywouldbe chargedlessthan
if theytargetedregionally.The more precise the target, the more the advertiserischarged.
However, static.googleusercontent.com emphasisesthatthe advertiserchooseshow muchthey
wishto payper view,perday.‘DigitalMarketer’s’videoalsostatesthatthe cost can range from
anythingbetween“afewpenniesto$150” (97.59 GBP).This meansthatROI (returnoninvestment)
mustbe takenintoconsideration,asthe CPV wouldcome ontop of the costto make the advert.If a
companyoutside the Universitywasused,the costislikelytocome inat a minimumof £3000. A URL
isrequiredtouploadan advertto YouTube,aswell asone for AdWords,butthislatterURL will not
appearin the video.A ‘ClickURL’is alsorequired,whichwill directthe viewertothe UWTSD
website.The videomustalsoallowembeddingand be publicorunlisted,withaminimumlengthof
twelve secondsandamaximumlengthof 3minutes.Thirdpartytracking(whichallowsthe
advertisertomeasure admetrics) isavailable byinvitationonlytoaselectnumberof participants
accordingto the YouTube advertisingpolicies
(support.google.com/adwordspolicy/answer/2679940).
Proposals
a) Use of social mediain recruitmentpractices
Pinterest:Setupa Pinterestpage forthe International Office thatpostshyperlinkedpictures
of the University campuses,Cultural Program, societiesandcourses,asaccordingto a survey
carriedout by the PEW ResearchCentre in2014, those betweenthe agesof 18-29 hadthe
highestmembershiponPinterest,with27% holdinganaccount.
Twitter:Continue topromote the Universitythroughthe hashtag#studyinwales,butalso
include informationaboutthe campusesandcoursesavailable atUWTSD.Again,Twitterwill
target studentsnotjustinthe USA, butgloballywiththishashtag.
11. Youtube:Creatingashort YouTube ad wouldbe beneficialinattractingattentiontothe
University,asviewerswillnothave toactivelysearchforUWTSD to findoutaboutit.
b) Use of social media in conversionpractices
Pinterest:Updatingprospectivestudentswiththe experiencesof Americanstudentsinthe
UK is likelytofinallyconvince studentstomake the journey.Thiswouldmeanposting
hyperlinkedpicturesof the area,possiblytositesaboutwhatlife islikeinWales.
Youtube:AdoptingBerklee’suse of short,onlinelessonswouldalsobe abeneficialaddition
to the UWTSD channel, asthiscouldgive furtherinsightintohow universitylectureswork,
as well ashelpingwithexams.Providingtasterlessonsinotherlanguages,suchasMandarin
and Arabic,couldalsobe an optionto explore,asthiswouldcatertoprospective students
withlimitedEnglish.Videosspecificallycateringtointernational students(e.g.videos
exploringthe areaof Swansea,interviewswithinternational studentsabouttheirexperience
inUWTSD, interviewswiththe International Office)wouldalsobe anotheroutreachto
prospective studentsacrossthe globe,giventhatYouTube isthe mostpopularformof
viewingvideocontentworldwide (wearesocial.net).
TwitterandFacebook:Onboth of these sites,helpful information,orlinkstohelpful
information,regardingvisas,orientation,guidestostartinguniversityandstudentblogs
wouldmake UWTSDs presence knownthroughoutthe conversionperiod.Itwouldalsobe
assuringto letstudentsknowthroughthese sitesthattheycancontact staff if any problems
occur, as thiswouldincrease contactwiththem.
