attracting chinese students to western universities
DESCRIPTION
Around the globe, universities are facing funding pressures for their various programs and have moved to offset this by attracting full fee paying students, primarily from China. This presentation outlines the use of Social Media as a way to attract and acquire Chinese students.TRANSCRIPT
A"rac&ng Chinese Students Using Social Media September, 2013
China: A Recruitment Goldmine • It’s no secret that China’s economy con9nues to expand, at more than 7% a year even as the global economy wobbles due to a number of market condi9ons.
• The Chinese middle class, which already totals over 300 million people according to CNN, will con9nue to expand as the economy con9nues to grow.
• With increased wealth and purchasing power, many Chinese families finally have the means accomplish their dreams of sending their children abroad to study. Recently, an overwhelming 85% of families with assets over $1 million USD said they want to send their children abroad to study.
• The pres9ge of overseas universi9es, a greater emphasis on personal development, and the greater amount of opportunity available abroad for students who may not score highly on the GaoKao exam are all reasons why parents favor overseas educa9on.
• With academic funding being reduced, recrui9ng overseas students who will pay full tui9on fees represents an viable source of funding for universi9es in developed markets.
• In addi9on generally solid academic backgrounds, Chinese students also bring a wealthy of diversity and experiences to campus across the world, adding to the cultural milieu that helps to graduate well-‐rounded and well-‐grounded students.
Chinese Students Abroad, by the Numbers • Between 1978 and 2011, China sent 2.25 million students abroad. Between 2000 and 2010 the number of Chinese students abroad grew by 28.2% per year.
• Number of Chinese students abroad, select countries: – 1. United States: 126,498 – 2. Australia: 87,588 – 3. Japan: 86,553
• Experts predict a 30% increase in the enrollments of overseas students in Australian universi9es from 2013 to 2020, meaning interna9onal students could contribute over $20 billion dollars to the Australian economy in the future.
• As of August 2013 Chinese students currently make up 40% of interna9onal enrollments in Australia; Malaysia places a a distant second highest total with 7.2%.
Sources: Caixin Online English, “China Becomes World's Top Source of Overseas Students,” UNESCO Ins9tute for Sta9s9cs, “ Global Flow of Ter9ary-‐Level Students” and Study Group, ”Chinese Student Numbers in Australia Go from Strength to Strength.”
Understanding Social Media • Whether communica9ng ideas to friends,
consumers or internet at large, social media enables individuals to make their voices heard across the internet, across wireless networks and, increasingly, across the world.
• Brands and companies are increasingly using social media to become a source of trusted and highly prized informa9on for consumers.
• In China, the importance of social media is amplified due to consumer mistrust of tradi9onal adver9sing, the rapid prolifera9on of internet-‐enable devices and a booming middle class who will increasingly shape product offerings for decades with their preferences and habits.
Social Media is, at its core, a means of communication.
The Chinese social media landscape is unique and substantially different than its Western counterpart.
Social Media is Now Mainstream Marketing • Social Media is no longer the preserve of Silicon Valley CEOs or uber-‐hip 20-‐somethings.
• Mul9na9onal corpora9ons, governments, poli9cians and universi9es are increasingly turning to social media to befer communicate their values, ideas and content to consumers.
• “Consumers” no longer just refers to people or groups looking to purchase something. In the world of social media, “consumers” include everyone from retail shoppers and interna9onal tourists to development agencies and prospec9ve students.
Why Universities and College Should Embrace Social Media
• Given this insight about Chinese students, universi9es should embrace social media to enhance their reputa9ons and build trust with their followers, consumer groups and target audience.
• Universi9es and colleges are blessed with a cap9ve audience of prospec9ve and current students, alumni and staff who are likely to follow the ins9tu9on’s social media accounts.
• Using its students and staff as a springboard, universi9es can building large, ac9ve and open online communi9es that revolve around the university’s brand values.
• This branded community will play a large part in recrui9ng Chinese students, given the prevalence of social media and internet use in China.
Source: Wired, “Why Universities Need to Get Social”
Insight 1: Chinese students care about a university’s brand and reputation
Why Do Universities and Colleges Invest in Social Media?
Students are likely to continue
following and engaging with a
university’s social media accounts once they have enrolled, thus expanding the
university's loyal and active fan
base.
Crea9ng awareness is cri9cal, especially in
markets outside of the home market. Many non-‐U.S. families are only aware of top-‐ranked schools that widely wrifen about in tradi9onal media
outlets.
Pos9ng, sharing and referring interes9ng and engaging content will help to build your follower base. Be sure to encourage “Liking,”
“Sharing” and “Repos9ng.”
With a solid follower and fan base, it
becomes possible to inform, recruit and network via social media. FAQs and Q&As can also be posted for use by
followers.
Source: China Internet Network Informa9on Center (CNNIC), June 2013.
Insight #2 Chinese Millennials spend 20.5 hours online and trust online peer recommendations. Social Media activity allows Chinese students to easily access and research a university’s community,
reputation and brand.
Reaching Chinese Students: Think Digital • Rising incomes and the prolifera9on of smart-‐everything has helped to make China a wired society.
• There are currently over 591 million internet users in China, according to the China Internet Network Informa9on Center (CNNIC, June 2013).
• That means there are 43 9mes more internet users in China as there are people living in Australia. 91% of those Chinese ne9zens visit social media sites, and 66% of those social media users follow brands.
• Increasingly, the way to reach Chinese consumers of any product—be it university educa9ons or luxury purchases—is through digital marke9ng in general, and social media in par9cular.
Reaching University-Age Students in China: Social Media Usage
85% of Chinese college students, or roughly 25 million students, make use of microblogs and video sharing sites.
QQ, the top instant messaging planorm had a user base of over 750 million in September and 2012 and links
users with Qzone, its proprietary social networking site. Users under the age of 18 are the most ac9ve QQ users,
meaning that they represent a prime market from which overseas universi9es can recruit. Sina Weibo usage is also popular among this demographic.
Sources: Digital Media XI, “College Students Go Online” and All Things D, “How Social Media Usage Among China’s Digital Na9ves Is Evolving”
Young Chinese professionals tend to migrate to Sina Weibo post-‐gradua9on and are poten9al candidates for overseas graduate degree
programs.
Selecting the Right Platforms
• The Chinese social media space is complex and can be difficult to navigate without the help of a professional agency.
• Chinese social media planorms are best used in conjunc9on with each other, as each major planorm serves a different purpose and can be used to connect with consumers in a different manner.
A Look at Social Media Platforms Planorms Type Poten9al Op9ons Users
Micro-‐blogging
Branded pages
Over 500 million Features such as Wei Ac9vi9es and Wei Magazine
Page layout can be changed to match campaign
Instant Messaging
Branded pages
Over 300 million Customer service possibili9es Keyword setup and auto response Daily news/ar9cles sent QR Code
SNS
Branded pages
Over 170 million Page layout can be changed to match campaign
Lucky draws/giveaways Prac9cal marke9ng
Video Sharing
Branded pages
Over 150 million Videos will be featured in relevant channels
Ad availability throughout Available entry into branded zone
E-‐Commerce
Branded pages User base: Childless women browsing from work and school who have incomes over $30,000
Offer verified products and reviews
Gain valuable guest experience informa9on
Visual Based
Branded pages
User base: Childless women browsing from work and school who have incomes over $30,000
Shows “related brands”
Social Media Integra9on to share products online
Shows products that are available to buy
Sina Weibo: Major Universities’ Pages
WeiXin (WeChat): A One-to-One with 300,000,000 Users • Gain access to the rapidly increasing
market of 300 million users.
• Content can be pushed to fans in one-‐to-‐one messaging setng
• Stored informa9on can be easily accessed via keyword search
• Keyword setup and auto response
• Daily news/ar9cles sent to subscribers
• QR Code(s) can direct users to landing pages, minisites and other social media planorms; QR codes placed elsewhere can also drive users to WeChat accounts.
Landing Pages and Localized Sites
Pos9ng content to Weibo is an
effec9ve way to engage with
students, but may not be enough to recruit students on its own.
A custom designed and built Chinese language landing
page or minisite can be a very effec9ve means of connec9ng with parents and
conveying the value of an overseas educa9on.
A Chinese-‐language site hosted on a Chinese
domain will be easily
accessible in terms of both linguis9c
understanding and internet best prac9ces.
Chinese-‐language
websites can be op9mized for search and social media marke9ng on Baidu (China’s most popular search engine) on Chinese social media planorms
respec9vely.
Going Mobile: The Rise of Smart-Everything in China • According to CNNIC (June 2013), China had 460 million mobile web users as of July 2013.
• 70% of new internet users in China access the internet via mobile device.
• China has over 300 million 3G users, meaning that roughly 300 smartdevices across the country are perpetually connected to the world wide web.
• Given the overwhelming rates of mobile internet usage, any digital marke9ng strategy must make use of mobile planorms with content and messaging op9mized for mobile use.
Conclusions • The educa9onal choices available to Chinese students are ever growing, as is the informa9on available to them.
• Given the online habits and preferences of the Chinese students, using social media and targeted online campaigns represent the most effec9ve means this massive and growing target audience. Conveying your university’s messaging and brand values via the correct channel(s) will be what gets you the enrollments that your university needs, not merely copy other universi9es’ methods in their en9rety.
• If you would like to know more about leveraging social media to recruit Chinese students, or have any ques9ons, please do not hesitate to get in contact with us. We have years of experience in this field as well as talented, mul9cultural and mul9lingual staff.
Thank you for reading and be sure to share with your friends, fans and followers.
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