Learn best practices and use innovative ideas to enhance your social media presence in WHA countries. Learn from EducationUSA advisers the innovations to help you in the field, including the multiplying effect of their social media with support from local U.S. Missions (U.S. Embassy and Consulates). Presenters will share tips on how to increase recruitment at minimum expense and how one U.S. higher education institution representative has engaged with WHA advisers to enhance his recruitment efforts in this region.

1. educationusa.state.gov
#EdUSAForum
#EdUSAForum
2022 Western Hemisphere Regional Forum
San José, Costa Rica Your Official Source on U.S. Higher Education
2022 EducationUSA
WHA Regional Forum
Improving Your Digital Presence to Engage
Western Hemisphere Students: Website and Social
Media

2. educationusa.state.gov
#EdUSAForum
Marty Bennett
Director, Global Recruitment
& Partnerships, UNLV
Mabel Martinez
EducationUSA Adviser
Mexico
Miguel Huerta
EducationUSA Adviser
Chile

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#EdUSAForum
Interactive Audience Polls

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#EdUSAForum

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#EdUSAForum

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#EdUSAForum
WHA EducationUSA Adviser Survey Results

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Which social media channels are your
advisees most active on in your country?

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#EdUSAForum
Top social platforms of WHA advisees: 79 total responses
#1 platform # of adviser votes
Instagram 40
56 overall mentions
WhatsApp 11
21 mentions
Facebook 8
22 mentions
FB, IG, TikTok, YouTube, Twitter, WhatsApp 3
TikTok 2
12 mentions

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#EdUSAForum
Rank the top 3 most effective means of
communicating with your students

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Top 3 most effective means of
communicating with WHA students
1. Email 30 rated #1
2. Broad social media posts 25 rated #1
3. Messenger apps 22 rated #1

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#EdUSAForum
What would you recommend as the best
way for US colleges to connect online with
students in your country?

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#EdUSAForum
Best way for US colleges to connect online
with WHA students
Complete responses

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#EdUSAForum
Guiding Principles for
Virtual Outreach Tools

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#EdUSAForum
Slide from a
presentation
at an
EdUSA
Social media
workshop
from 2011

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#EdUSAForum
Virtual Outreach
Tools
Live Where Your Audiences Live
&
Listen, Listen, Listen

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#EdUSAForum
Virtual Outreach
Tools
Live Where Your Audiences Live
&
Listen, Listen, Listen

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#EdUSAForum
Best practices for
engagement
Keep Them Coming Back For More
&
Whole Admissions Cycle Planning
● Student ambassadors program
● Virtual open houses
● Current student social content
● Instagram takeovers
● Intl alumni testimonials
● Live AMA chats
● Intl admitted student events
● Pre-departure orientation webinars

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#EdUSAForum
Best practices
for engagement
Keep Them Coming
Back For More
&
Whole Admissions Cycle Planning

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#EdUSAForum
Social Media (SM)

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#EdUSAForum
A diverse marketing strategy is the best marketing
strategy

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#EdUSAForum
Define your objectives
• Educate • Assist • Promote

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● Data and analytics
● Surveys
● Cohorts
● Current advisees & alumni

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Select your SM channel
The correct channel will be the one that best serve your
objective(s) and audience!

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#EdUSAForum
● What makes you strong?
● What do competitors does?

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#EdUSAForum
● Objective
● Engaging
headline/quote/title
● Brand image and voice
● Copies
● Visuals
● Hashtags
● Tag
● Track & measure
Checklist

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Examples in Mexico

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#EdUSAForum
Women in STEM
● Engage
● Specific audience
● STEM
● 1k registrations
● + 300 live viewers

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#EdUSAForum
● Bilingual campaign
● Empowerment
● Reels
● Landing page
● 1k registrations
● + 300 participants
● No FB Live
Forum: Women Leaders

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#EdUSAForum
CC Open House
● Two different audiences
● Bilingual
● Regular post, stories, reels &
cover photos
● On demand sessions
● 1k registrations
● + 600 live participants

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#EdUSAForum

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Facebook Live
● Monthly interviews
● Spanish
● 524 live viewers
● 11,600 views after
● 2k new likes
● +1K new followers
● 47% compared with last year

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WhatsApp Business
● Segmentation
● Time management
● Growth
● Success stories

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Vocabular
y
● Best practice
● Specific
● Engagement
● Spanish

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¿Sabías que….?
● Spanish
● Fulbright-GR
● Kick off sessions
● 300 attendees
● 7K reach (FB)
● Workshop FB Group

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#EdUSAForum
Other examples
● Site EdUSA Mexico
● Did you know?
● IG Takeovers & Lives
● Advisers & advisees
● EducationUSA 5 steps
● GIFs, stickers
● Short videos SMI & SPT
● Creative visuals
● Paid campaigns

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How do EducationUSA help U.S.
HEIs to announce their events
in Mexico?

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#EdUSAForum
● US Embassy & Consulates
● Host institutions
● EducationUSA network
● Strategic collaborators
● Social media managers

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#EdUSAForum
EducationUSA Chile: A digital strategy
to attract the attention of our audiences and
meet our overall objectives.

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1
2
3
4
WHAT IS A DIGITAL STRATEGY?
AND WHY DO WE NEED ONE?
PROMOTE U.S. HEI among students in Chile by
providing accurate, complete, and up-to-date
information about study opportunities at accredited
institutions.
EDUCATE AUDIENCES about the application process
to U.S. universities, guiding them through the
application process through "The Five Steps to Study
in the U.S..”
TO MAKE EDUCATIONUSA'S WORK VISIBLE to all
interested in studying in the U.S. and connect with
those institutions aligned with our mission and
objectives.
Our social media presence is just the starting
point.
A digital strategy lets us map a path to MEET
OUR OVERALL BUSINESS OBJECTIVES.
SUPPORT U.S. HEI REPS' recruitment efforts and
partnership goals with local HEI institutions.

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#EdUSAForum
There are people out there
thinking about studying in the U.S.,
but they don't know we exist.
Now, we must turn that crazy idea
of studying abroad into a concrete
plan.
Every plan has to be executed, it
has to be carried out, and, of
course, it has to be achieved.
Success stories allow us to identify
with those who, like us, have
achieved what we seek.
AWARENESS
CONSIDERATION
CONVERSION
ADVOCACY
WHO IS OUR AUDIENCE?
HOW CAN WE DEFINE
THEM?
HOW CAN WE GET
THEIR ATTENTION?
The funnel is the path users follow on their
journey to get to know us, from the first moment
a person meets us to tell us about their
experience studying in the U.S.

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Words Matter, but Keywords Matter More.
AWARENESS
CONSIDERATION
CONVERSION
ADVOCACY
1
2
3
4
OBJECTIVES AUDIENCE STAGES

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#EdUSAForum
SEO keywords: are single words or short
phrases that represent the search queries
people use in a search engine.
AWARENESS
CONSIDERATION
CONVERSION
ADVOCACY
1
2
3
4
OBJECTIVES AUDIENCE STAGES

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#EdUSAForum
SEO keywords: are single words or short
phrases that represent the search queries
people use in a search engine.
AWARENESS
CONSIDERATION
CONVERSION
ADVOCACY
1
2
3
4
OBJECTIVES AUDIENCE STAGES

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#EdUSAForum
SOCIAL PLATFORMS WEB PAGE GOOGLE CLASSROOM
WHATSAPP

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#EdUSAForum

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Thank you and Questions!