With the last cycle seeing a record number of students in England taking university places, plus an overall rise of non-EU international students compared to 2020, some will be turning their attention to the EU after the significant decrease in EU students now they’re no longer eligible for home fee status.
With this in mind, you might want to consider additional ways to engage your EU prospects as early in their journey as possible:
1. Localise content
Using subtle cues, you can nudge international users with solid intent towards a web page that is tailored to their region, such as an events page that shows when you’ll be in-country or hosting a specific virtual event. Often you either have to rely on a user’s own search and navigation to arrive on the right pages, or, you have to have obtained personal details through a form completion, by which point some users will have abandoned their visit. But with cues.ai you can gently guide them through the most relevant pages and customise their journey without asking them to complete a form.
Using cues.ai also alleviates any SEO issues that arise for content that is dynamically personalised for a specific region. As Google Bot visits your website from an IP address based in the United States, if your on-page content drastically changes for users based on their region, it will only index your content for a US audience!
2. Support them through their application
In a similar way, help users to access essential information based on what they’ve already indicated on their previous site visits. If you’ve already determined through cues that a user is from a particular region, then guide them towards more detailed content about how to complete their application, for example, prompt them towards content on entry requirements that are displayed based on the qualifications of their country.
3. Share social proof
If you’ve spent time listening to the current sentiment of your international students, show prospective students that you understand some of their concerns. If you know that work experience opportunities and social inclusion are among some of your prospective EU student’s concerns, then use social ads with content from your EU students that shows what their current experience is and what support they might have accessed.
4. Be proactive
Students will be bombarded with messages throughout the cycle, much of which will be to apply now and promoting the courses available. For many students the decision-making journey will be complex and unique. By asking questions in cues you can begin determining what an individual prospect is thinking about, what other information might be helpful to them, even before they’re applying for open days.
You could serve relevant pieces of content that are determined by a prospective students’ response and really develop their conversation they have with you.
If you’d like to find out more about how cues could help your early conversations with EU students this cycle contact ..
