How, What & When to Do It

COMMUNICATING WITH PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS IS SIMPLE,

YET MANY GET IT WRONG

PRESENTERS

Michelle KowalskyDirector of International

Admissions

mkowalsk@wne.edu

Rachel RollinsMarketing Coordinator

rrollins@envisageinternational.com

AGENDA

‣ Best methods of communications

- How, what and when

‣ Messaging app platforms and video conferences

‣ Open Discussion – What is your communications plan??

THE ADMISSIONS FUNNEL

Prospects

Inquiries

Applicants

Admits

Enrolled

FILLING THE FUNNEL• How:

● In country reps

● Education fairs

● School’s website

● Agents

● Portal sites

● List buys

● Advertising

● Social media

● Students & Alumni

Prospects

Inquiries

Applicants

Admits

Enrolled

How:

• Emails

• Calls

What:

• How to apply

• Gather more information about your school

• Your chance to begin to develop relationship

When:

• Initial contact ASAP - No more than 24 hours

• Ongoing communication weekly moving to monthly

INQUIRIES

Prospects

Inquiries

Applicants

Admits

Enrolled

EMAIL COMMUNICATIONThe Good

Prospects

Inquiries

Applicants

Admits

Enrolled

EMAIL COMMUNICATIONThe Good

Prospects

Inquiries

Applicants

Admits

Enrolled

EMAIL COMMUNICATIONThe Good

Prospects

Inquiries

Applicants

Admits

Enrolled

EMAIL COMMUNICATIONThe Good

Prospects

Inquiries

Applicants

Admits

Enrolled

Thank you for applying to XYZ College! D******* Ja***** is your admissions counselor, however, she

is out of the office for the next month. I’ll be here to help in any way I can.

To finish your application, you will need to provide the following:

1.A copy of your passport with photo page

2.Two letters of recommendation (in English), one from a supervisor

3.Transcripts (high school and college) - if they are not American they will need to be evaluated by one

of the following services:

a) Educational Credential Evaluators

b) World Educational Services

c) Academic Credentials Evaluation Institute

4.Attestation of high school graduation (form attached)

5.A 500-word essay describing your involvement in your school or community

6.Admissions Interview (form attached)

7.Letter of support from a sponsor

8.Copy of the sponsors most recent financial statement showing sufficient funds-balance of $37,916

(or $28,462 if you plan to return home every Summer)

9.TOEFL score of at least 72 or an IELTS score of 6 or SAT Critical Reading of 500

Feel free to send me each item as you get them. And please let me know if you have any questions

along the way. I’ll be here to help you through the process.

Hope to talk to you soon! Thank you!

EMAIL COMMUNICATIONThe Bad

EMAIL COMMUNICATIONThe Ugly

Prospects

Inquiries

Applicants

Admits

Enrolled

EMAIL COMMUNICATIONThe Ugly

Prospects

Inquiries

Applicants

Admits

Enrolled

Inquiries

- Utilize MailChimp- Email within 24 hours of

receiving the lead- Engage with the student

(different depending on entry point)

Senior Inquiries

How:

• Email

• Phone

• Social

• Messaging Apps

• Video Conference

What:

• Feeling welcomed

• Next steps

• Housing options

• Campus life

When:

• As needed for deadlines

• Personal and campus based touch points

APPLICANTS

Prospects

Inquiries

Applicants

Admits

Enrolled

Applicants

• Tracking Emails

• Emails from current students

• Phone Calls from students/counselors

• Emails about What’s Happening on Campus

• Consider communication plan for agents and other partners

MOST POPULAR MESSAGING APPS IN EVERY COUNTRY

April 2016

TURN INQUIRIES TO APPLICANTS WITH MESSAGING APPS

Boost conversations with inquiries by using a mix of marketing

Messenger Apps – Facebook messenger, WhatsApp, WeChat, Viber and LINE

• Free to use internationally • Can create groups or rooms based off where students are in the application funnel or

degree interest• Take advantage of sharing links, documents and personalization

According to GlobalWebIndex, 75% of internet users today use some sort of a messaging app.

“For more than 500 million users in China, [WeChat is] essentially The Everything App.” – David Pierce at

Wired

Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Weibo

1. Social media platforms are targeted to current students but gives

awareness to potential students

■ Up-to-date contact information

■ Overview of school and International program

■ Have a variety of post

2. Follow students that have requested to follow you

■ Good indicator of quality leads

CREATING AWARENESS WITH SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS

Skype and Youtube Live Streaming

When:

•When students are inquiries, applicants, admitted or enrolled

•To give more information about your school.

How:

•Share the event through email marketing and messenger apps

Why:

• Face-to-face

• Provides more guidance

• Can determine quality leads to follow-up with

VIDEO CHATS

How:

• Email

• Calls

• Social (invite to class of 2021 FB group)

• Video conferencing

• Mail (Swag!)

What:

• Congrats and welcome

• Deadlines

• What to expect when get to campus

• Housing

When:

• As needed for deadlines

• Personal and campus based touch points

ADMITS & ENROLLED

Prospects

Inquiries

Applicants

Admits

Enrolled

Accepted/Enrolled Students

• Video of congratulations

• Email with a copy of Accept Letter

• Accept Packet

• Emails about unique qualities

• Calls from students

• Social Media – Facebook pages, WeChat, etc.

• Go To Meeting with deposited students

FINAL TIPS

What do you need in a successful communications plan?

1) A plan to contact prospective Students quickly

• According to the Harvard Business review, responding to leads within an hour generates 7x the meaningful conversations than those that wait even an hour later.

2. An ongoing communications strategy

• Cannot stop at one email. A continual lead nurturing plan needs to be developed.

3. An ongoing communications strategy

• Email, social, chat, phone….. and more emails….

4. Always deliver a relevant message

• Based on where they are in the funnel