The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014 – Part 1 –

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The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014 – Part 1 –

The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014 – Part 1 –

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1) Ranking the Best of 2014 2) The Potential of Gamification for Student Recruitment 3) Text Messaging for Student Recruitment 4) Snapchat: The Next Big Student Marketing Trend? 5) Telling Your School’s Story with Student Testimonials 6) International Student Recruitment in Brazil

Overview

Source: Higher Education Marketing – The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014

The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014 – Part 1 –

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Being big fans of analytics, we thought we would kick off this

year with a recap of our most popular blog posts from 2014,

as determined by our readers.

This ranking was determined by measuring the unique page

views of blog posts over the period of 2014

Also included, are posts that were published in 2013 and became

popular in 2014.

Here, we will outline the first 5 of the top 10 HEM blog

posts of 2014...

Ranking The Best of 2014

Source: Higher Education Marketing – The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014

The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014 – Part 1 –

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“Gamification” is:

the act of applying the fun and engaging elements of game

design to real-world, productive activities.

#1. The Potential of Gamification for Student

Recruitment

Source: Higher Education Marketing – The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014

The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014 – Part 1 –

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Gamification is already gaining traction in marketing circles,

and promises to become more popular in the context of

university admissions.

This generation of prospective students has grown up

surrounded by gaming culture and it is no surprise that

the more interactive and engaging university websites

are more effective in captivating their attentions.

#1. The Potential of Gamification for Student

Recruitment

Source: Higher Education Marketing – The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014

The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014 – Part 1 –

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Recruitment Gaming: Companies like Marriott Hotels, use

simulation games to show what it’s like to manage one of its

properties, challenging preconceptions in the process to

potentially deepen engagement for lead generation or filter

out those who are not truly interested.

These same principles could apply to a hotel

management training program or other similar

adaptations.

Source: Higher Education Marketing – The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014

#1. The Potential of Gamification for Student

Recruitment

The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014 – Part 1 –

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Achievement Gaming: Recruitment can be leveraged by

rewarding referrals and improving the selection process.

Example: The Deloitte Leadership Academy

encouraged busy executives to take the available

training using the Badgeville platform to embed

gamification mechanics such as missions, rewards,

rank, and status into the entire website.

User retention increased by 46.6% for daily user return and

36.3% for weekly return.

Engagement and adoption greatly increased overall.

Source: Higher Education Marketing – The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014

#1. The Potential of Gamification for Student

Recruitment

The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014 – Part 1 –

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Extending Gamification: Many colleges and universities integrate

gamification into diverse aspects of their content strategy and

development, often without consciously considering the gaming

characteristics.

The challenge of optimizing engagement with a target market involves

creating compelling environments where users will be happy to spend their

time.

Gamification elements should blend fluidly with videos, images and other rich

content that serves the purpose of increasing the time spent on your online

portals, deepening engagement, and converting prospects to students.

Source: Higher Education Marketing – The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014

#1. The Potential of Gamification for Student

Recruitment

The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014 – Part 1 –

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Using text messaging for student recruitment could be a very

effective integrated marketing tool but requires strategic

implementation.

It’s best to let prospective students choose whether or not they

would like to be contacted in this way and then it's up to content

strategy for schools to nurture this trust.

Reaching out to students as individuals, personalizing messages

with their first name or referring to their interest in a specific

program, can make them feel valued and further the relationship.

#2. Text Messaging for Student Recruitment

Source: Higher Education Marketing – The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014

The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014 – Part 1 –

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Example: St. Mary's University in

Texas has been a successful

advocate of text opt-ins for

prospects to stay connected with

individual "meaningful

messages." While only about 5%

of 40,000 inquiring students

opted in for text updates, 30.8%

of those did end up applying,

compared with 10.9% of all

prospective students.

Source: Higher Education Marketing – The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014

#2. Text Messaging for Student Recruitment

The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014 – Part 1 –

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The appeal of Snapchat is that sent photos and micro-videos “self-

destruct” several seconds after being viewed, eliminating the potential

consequences of incriminating photos later being seen by teachers,

employers, etc.

Snapchat’s “My Story” feature will likely be of most interest for colleges

and universities.

It allows users to combine a series of image or video “snaps” in

chronological order to tell a story, promoting the message universally

to all their followers.

The University of Houston was one of the first to launch a general

account with strategic goals “as a reflection of how the University is

always looking forward and embracing cutting edge technologies,”

according to Jessica Brand, UH social media manager.

#3. Snapchat: The Next Big Student

Marketing Trend?

Source: Higher Education Marketing – The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014

The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014 – Part 1 –

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Snapchat Student Recruitment Strategies

Schools can develop their brand identity by consistently posting pictures that demonstrate the diverse aspects of their campus, gaining the attention and admiration of trendy students.

1. Leverage other networks & provide an inside look at campus life

2. Generate excitement with exclusive previews

3. Offer discounts or other incentives

4. Encourage creative submissions

Source: Higher Education Marketing – The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014

#3. Snapchat: The Next Big Student

Marketing Trend?

The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014 – Part 1 –

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Testimonials can play a powerful role in enhancing integrated marketing communications, particularly for student recruitment content strategy and development, by providing varied perspectives to the carefully articulated main message.

Here are some tips for emerging best practices of integrating testimonials into your student recruitment strategy:

#4. Telling Your School’s Story with Student

Testimonials

Source: Higher Education Marketing – The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014

The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014 – Part 1 –

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1. Develop written testimonials for

skimmers

Example: Concordia University features

a series of student profiles in their

Undergraduate Admissions section, with

a photo, concise description, and a brief

interview answering questions about

choosing the school and program,

favourite class, tips for new students and

future plans.

Source: Higher Education Marketing – The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014

#4. Telling Your School’s Story with Student

Testimonials

The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014 – Part 1 –

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2. Embed videos throughout your site

Example: American College of

Technology turns its testimonials into

students’ success stories.

3. Testimonials for international

recruitment

Example: Algonquin College features

this video testimonial of an

international student in both English

and Turkish, keeping it brief while

showing a little of the campus and

some of the student's projects.

Source: Higher Education Marketing – The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014

#4. Telling Your School’s Story with Student

Testimonials

The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014 – Part 1 –

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Brazil’s middle class more than tripled between 2003 and 2010,

with a significant segment unafraid to spend largely on luxury

items, including an international education.

Its government is funneling much of new oil revenues into

education to fuel sustained economic growth, including the Brazil

Scientific Mobility Undergraduate Program (Ciencias sem

Fronteiras), formerly known as Science without Borders.

#5. International Student Recruitment in Brazil

Source: Higher Education Marketing – The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014

The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014 – Part 1 –

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Government Scholarships Increase International Student

Mobility

The Brazil Scientific Mobility Undergraduate Program, which now

funds six months of intensive English study in addition to one year

of study abroad, was launched in 2011 to send 101,000 STEM

(science, technology, engineering and mathematics) undergrads

abroad to “enhance the country’s competitiveness”.

Source: Higher Education Marketing – The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014

#5. International Student Recruitment in Brazil

The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014 – Part 1 –

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The result has been a doubling of Brazilian undergraduate

students on U.S. campuses since last year (over 4,000), but

there is still much room to grow.

Language studies are the most common reason for

Brazilians to study overseas, both as a prerequisite for

further studies abroad and to increase marketability in

Brazil’s booming tourism industry.

Source: Higher Education Marketing – The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014

#5. International Student Recruitment in Brazil

The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014 – Part 1 –

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Working With Agencies

Though many schools are interested in reducing their

dependency on agents for international recruitment, in Brazil

it’s still quite necessary to collaborate with agencies, or risk

being blacklisted.

Additionally, colleges and universities are partnering with the

Science without Borders program through the Canadian

Bureau for International Education (CBIE).

Source: Higher Education Marketing – The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014

#5. International Student Recruitment in Brazil

The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014 – Part 1 –

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Student Recruitment Strategies

Partnering with popular language schools is another viable method

of lead generation.

Schools looking to reduce their dependency on agencies can find hope

in the fact that Brazil is incredibly active in the online world.

There is a clear opportunity for schools to leverage their alumni and

current Brazilian students to develop an active and credible voice on

these social media marketing platforms, linking real-time events with

related courses and open days.

Source: Higher Education Marketing – The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014

#5. International Student Recruitment in Brazil

The Top 10 HEM Blog Posts of 2014 – Part 1 –

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