British Council report urges universities to go the extra mile online to attract international students
25 August 2011
Universities aiming to attract more international students must tailor increasingly important digital marketing to match the internet surfing habits of potential applicants, a global study by the British Council has concluded.
The explosion in internet access and use of social media across the world has transformed the way millions of international students go about choosing where to study. But universities that respond to this trend with a “one size fits all” approach to marketing will miss out, warns a report on the research.
Responses to the biggest ever survey of prospective international students reveal that university websites, Facebook, Google, and other social media and online resources have largely replaced printed prospectuses as the first port of call for most when beginning their search for the perfect course or university.
An analysis of findings from the 13 nations with the biggest number of outbound students, derived from a survey of 127,000 prospective students by the British Council’s Education Intelligence Service, also shows that students considering studying abroad are increasingly inclined to attend education exhibitions online rather than in person.
To keep pace with these changes in the rapidly growing 3.5 million-strong international student market, universities are investing more into promoting themselves online in an effort to “reach students who nowadays exist in an increasingly complex and impenetrable digital landscape”, says a report on the findings, Student Insight: Online Marketing to a Global Student Audience.
The research also highlights big variations from country to country in access to the internet and the way people use it – indicating that a university adopting a one-size-fits-all approach to digital marketing is unlikely to succeed. Differences include students’ preferred language when surfing the web, and which social media networking sites they frequent. In China, Korea and Japan, for instance, English is not the dominant language online; and although Facebook is globally popular, students in China are more likely to use the Chinese free instant messaging service Tencent QQ.
While more prospective international students are using the internet to help them come up with a shortlist of study options, when it comes to making a final decision there is still no substitute for face-to-face interaction with trusted advisors or university representatives, the report adds.
“The decision-making process behind a commitment to undertake overseas study is one that dictates actions that will affect the rest of an individual’s life. Relying fully purely on digital media to make a life changing decision – without having experienced any tangible or concretely affirming evidence – would certainly amount to a huge leap of faith for a young person,” it says.
The author of the report, British Council research manager Elizabeth Shepherd, said it was clear that universities are already putting more resources into digital marketing in response to the massive growth in the use of the internet and social media.
“What this research shows is that universities need to develop an in-depth knowledge of internet and social media useage in each of the countries they are targeting and tailor their digital marketing accordingly. It might mean, for instance, that they must be prepared to provide information online in the native language of the students they are aiming to engage with, " she said.
Pat Killingley, the British Council's higher education director, added: “It is also evident from this research that despite the explosion in internet access and use of social media, prospective students are still not ready to rely purely on information gathered online to make their final decision on where to study. Intelligent online marketing is a must, but it not yet a substitute for being there in person to offer information and answer questions.”
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STUDENT INSIGHT reports are available for purchase via the Education Intelligence website at:
www.britishcouncil.org/ihe/educationintelligence
For media inquiries, please contact Anna Esaki-Smith at anna.esaki-smith@britishcouncil.org.hk
Notes to Editors
STUDENT INSIGHT, a series of ten country-specific research reports produced by the British Council’s Education Intelligence, provides an unprecedented look into the process of a student’s decision-making that examines a broad and detailed range of areas, including the factors that influence country and university choice, major subjects in demand, and how students use the media.
Over the past four years 127,000 prospective students in 200 countries have taken part in the British Council’s STUDENT INSIGHT survey, with data collected at a city level to allow for demographic variations within a country as well as the development of customized marketing strategies. While student attitudes, perceptions and aspirations about the future do not feature in any country’s statistical data collection, they are critical components of the decision that drives students to advance their education in another country.
While the core series focuses on country-specific student behavior, the most recent report is the first to explore an issue in-depth within a global context.
The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We create international opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries and build trust between them worldwide. We work in over 100 countries in the arts, education and English and in 2010/11 we engaged face to face with 30 million people and reached 578 million. We have 6,800 staff worldwide. Our total turnover in 2010/11 was £693 million, of which our grant-in-aid from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office was £190 million. The remainder was generated through trading activities such as English language teaching. For every £1 of taxpayer money invested we earn £2.65 in additional income. For more information, please visit: www.britishcouncil.org
