Learn how to use relationship marketing to focus your message and tell your school's story (and drive admissions, retention, and alumni engagement along the way!). Through this storytelling approach, you'll find effective methods to ensure that your communication resonates with families—past, current, and future. This session will cover everything from social media and email marketing to publications, from strategy to execution.

Readability is accessibility.

Written content with high readability greatly benefits our audiences:

• People who are stressed
• People who are distracted
• People with motor impairments
• People with cognitive impairments
• People who don’t speak English as their primary language.

But readability best practice isn't always followed in the education sector. It is a training need often overlooked by universities and colleges.

This talk aims to offer a foundational course in readability. You will discover 22 simple ways to make your website, blog, email, print, and social media more readable and (therefore) more accessible.

We will explore capitals, clauses, and colours. We will discuss sentences, sizes, and sub-headings. We will investigate alignment, acronyms, and alt text.

Let 2022 be your year for readability.

The sharp drop of numbers of applicants to international universities at the peak of the pandemic in 2020 and the quick surge in 2021 when China, ahead of the rest of the world, regained normalcy, are telling evidences of how the pandemic made planning for intake and recruitment difficult, if not impossible for universities. Pandemic has also brought about some interesting changes to China’s international education sector. Ranking is no longer the dominant factor for Chinese students when choosing schools. Other considerations such as career support and the university’s brand image are playing a bigger role in the process of decision-making as well. For lesser known universities, this means they now have a bigger chance to stand out against the “big names” who always take the top spots in major rankings. Some of the topics we are going to discuss are for example: How the current political and economic climate in China can impact the number of students studying abroad? How do universities utilise digital channels to establish a distinct branding and to engage with students on a personal level? How important it is to know your applicants? Will tailored educational offerings appealing to a new generation of Chinese students? At this round-table discussion you will be equipped with fresh perspectives towards recruiting Chinese students upon hearing the discussion.

Delivering excellent customer experience is important in building brand differentiation, appeal and connection - all of which contribute to recruitment performance. But it’s also critical in ensuring student retention, success and advocacy. This session will explore the core components of developing and implementing an effective customer experience strategy, focused on meeting audiences’ needs to improve institutional performance. We’ll share examples from the University of Wolverhampton’s recent work on improving the customer experience that they deliver. We will also draw on recent syndicated research conducted by SMRS, working with 47 universities who are part of the CASE Universities’ Marketing Forum, to understand the behaviours of over 34,000 future undergraduate students.

Join the University of Aberdeen as we discuss how we broke through the noise of the COP26 conference in Glasgow by bringing teams from across the University together to deliver an integrated marketing communications campaign that amplified our voice and delivered great results.

Geographically removed from the conference but in the epi centre of the energy conversation, how did we ensure we were part of the conversation? An opportunity for the University to demonstrate our academic excellence on a global stage, how did we stand out from the crowd and generate results?

By 2025/2026 there could be over 1 million students applying for higher education, with increasing routes and courses across traditional degrees, apprenticeships, higher technical qualifications and lifelong learning. Students are faced with more choice than ever; universities and colleges are employing increasingly sophisticated marketing strategies to capture greater attention while expanding portfolios to cater for increasing volumes. But does more choice lead to positive outcomes or confusion/dilution? The competitive landscape is increasing. Students need a curated offer to help them make the right decisions when choice is more critical; universities and colleges need a curated offer to concentrate effort on their strengths and the right applicants for their institution, whilst every other institution is looking to do the same. In addition, the focus on widening access and participation is increasing. Discover how taking a data-led approach enables both students and institutions navigate the multiplicity of choice, cut through the noise and reach better outcomes. Hear from Ashleigh Little, University of Sunderland, on how their work with UCAS has transformed their outreach, academic engagement and recruitment initiatives. You’ll come away with: (a) An understanding of the future HE landscape; (b) Tips on how to focus on your big hitters; (c) Opportunities to improve course portfolio, outreach and conversion strategies

Session description for follow shortly. 

As the higher education sector emerges into a post-Covid world, the student recruitment and engagement ecosystem looks quite different; prospective students increasingly expect high levels of instantaneous digital engagement. As institutions navigate this new blended space, the University of Aberdeen has created an innovative and revolutionary environment for students where we are always available. The use of dynamic social platforms for marketing and student recruitment activities has become essential for re-imagining a new and authentic way to recruit the tech savvy post-Covid student. How is University of Aberdeen leading the sector by working to eliminate barriers to engagement by connecting with prospective students via the correct social platforms and deal with a saturated market where quality matters?

How do you ensure a successful global fundraising strategy that maximises international Alumni Relations and builds a strong pipeline of global Recruitment? Come and learn how the University of Glasgow's teams collaborate and innovate, supporting one another to maximise institutional success and outcomes.