This document discusses how Web 2.0 and social media are changing international education. It notes that young people are more demanding consumers and rely on user reviews from peers. Universities and language schools need to engage students in online communities to build authenticity and trust. Agents should identify brand advocates among past clients to share their stories online. Partnerships with schools must focus on quality service to develop student loyalty and word-of-mouth marketing. Advertising also needs to be where students are engaging online through social networks and user reviews.

1. Web 2.0 and international education
Implications for Agents and Advisers
Tim O’Brien
Managing Director, UK Operations
INTO University Partnerships
ICEF Moscow Workshop
28-30 March 2008.

2. “If it were a country, MySpace would have
the world’s 7th largest population, bigger
than Russia.”
- The Guardian, February 2007

3. What does Web2.0 look like?

4. The rise of Social Media
The World’s Most Popular Websites – 28 March 2008
6. Facebook
2. YouTube
7. MSN
3. Windows
Live 8. Hi5
4.Google 9. Wikipedia
5. Myspace 10. Orkut
Source: Alexa.com

5. And Number 1 is. . .?

6. And in Individual Countries?
Site Russia China Thailand United Kingdom
1 Vkonakte.com Baidu Hi5.com Google.co.uk
2 Mail.Ru QQ Google.th Facebook
3 Odnoklassniki Sina.com Windows Live Yahoo
4 Yandex 51.com Sanook You Tube
5 rambler Google.cn Yahoo Windows Live
6 Google Taobao Dek-D Google.com
7 Youtube Google.com Youtube Ebay
8 Narod 163.com Pantip BBC
9 Uc03 ku6.com Google.com Myspace
10 Livejournal Kapook Bebo

7. Web 2.0 is not about technology – it’s a wider social
movement
“Along with the rise of participatory media
applications, there has been a concurrent
development of a participatory culture”
Professor Henry Jenkins, MIT
•Affiliations – common interest groups
•Expressions
•Collaborative Problem Solving
•Circulations

8. Young people are changing
• More demanding
• More media aware
• Choosier
• More litigious
• Faster to complain
• Less tolerant of poor service
• Less loyal
• Demanding Authenticity
• Prepared to listen to their peers

10. Born Branded

12. “Word of mouth is now a public conversation”
Chris Anderson
Charts: Edelman Trust Barometer March

14. Source: Edelman Trust Barometer March 2008

15. Add my own
comments
User generated
reviews
Show me what it’s really like

16. Students hoping to go overseas can connect through their class
mates through to Universities, language schools etc. through social
networking, through social networking, Youtube; Flickr

17. New Websites Emerging – Using Mash Techniques

18. Universities getting in on the act
MIT Admissions Blog: Voted by US high
school counsellors as USA’s best
admissions website

19. Even Oxford is getting involved

20. Collaborative Problem Solving

21. www.agentscoreboard.co Common Interest Groups
m
“We are the Web”
. . . And for international students
6

23. User Generated Content – Word of Mouth

24. What does this mean for business?
“We’re not in the business of keeping the media
companies alive. We’re in the business of
connecting with consumers.”
Trevor Edwards
Vice President, Global Brand & Category Management
Nike
October 2007

25. Give people something to talk about
“Something remarkable is worth
talking about. Worth noticing.
Exceptional. New. Interesting. It’s
a Purple Cow. Boring stuff is
invisible. It’s a brown cow. …
Remarkable marketing is the art
of building things worth noticing
right into your product or service.”
Seth Godin
Author / Speaker /
Marketing Expert
Purple Cow
2002
•
•
Source: Purple Cow / Seth Godin / Page 3

26. How should agents respond?

27. We can no longer control messages about our
products and brands.
We need to participate and engage with them.
Engaging with messages = Engaging with our
students and alumni.
They are the authentic voice, the tangible evidence
that an investment in an education will generate a
worthwhile return.
GLOBAL VALUE OF DEGREE +
THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE
7

28. Experience Matters
Student experience begins with the
agent

29. The Role of Agents – Negotiating Information Overload
People read around 10MB worth of material a day, hear
400MB a day, and see one MB of information every
second.
- The Economist, November 30 2006

30. So what are the implications for agents and
intermediaries?
• Information overload means people will need help navigating the web
• The search for authenticity – engage your students and clients
• After-sales support
• Mass media advertising still has a role – but will need to be backed up
by quality service

31. The key drivers for trust & closeness are
“quality & service”
UK FRA DEU ITA ESP
Quality of products & services 2 1 1 1 1
Attentiveness to customer needs 1 1 2 2 2
Fair pricing for products & services 3 4 7 3 3
Good employee and labour relations 5 3 3 4 4
Strong financial performance 6 7 9 5 6
Socially responsible activities 7 5 5 5 6
Well-known corporate brand 4 6 8 7 5
Dialogue with all stakeholders 8 8 6 8 9
A visible CEO 9 8 4 9 8
Employee or CEO blogs 10 10 10 10 10
Based on: Edelman Trust Barometer, 2006 – attributes for building trust

32. Create Your own Brand Advocates
• Identify those clients likely to communicate on blogs/wikis and Flickr.
• Give them a good story
• Reward them to tell the story
• Host their stories on our website
• Put them in touch with potential students and clients.
del.icio.us

33. Choose your partners carefully
• Your reputation is linked to theirs
• Monitor student experience
• Work with colleges and language
schools to improve service and
experience

34. After Sales – Developing communities of interest
• Keep in touch with students
• Encourage them to post their experiences on blogs/Flickr/YouTube
• Feed those experiences back into your services and to future clients.

35. And if you do advertise . . .
• Look where your clients are looking
Site Russia China Thailand United Kingdom
1 Vkonakte.com Baidu Hi5.com Google.co.uk
2 Mail.Ru QQ Google.th Facebook
3 Odnoklassniki Sina.com Windows Live Yahoo
4 Yandex 51.com Sanook You Tube
5 rambler Google.cn Yahoo Windows Live
6 Google Taobao Dek-D Google.com
7 Youtube Google.com Youtube Ebay
8 Narod 163.com Pantip BBC
9 Uc03 ku6.com Google.com Myspace
10 Livejournal Kapook Bebo

36. Deliver an Unforgettable Service

37. “The newest computer can merely
compound, at speed, the oldest problem in
the relations between human beings, and
in the end the communicator will be
confronted with the old problem, of what to
say and how to say it.”
Edward R Murrow