How, What & When to Do It

COMMUNICATING WITH PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS - SIMPLE,

YET MANY GET IT WRONG

PRESENTERS

Joshua BulandInternational Student Specialist

jbuland@bmcc.cuny.edu

Rachel RollinsMarketing Coordinator

rrollins@envisageinternational.com

Kathie ConrackAssociate Director International

Programskathie.comarck@farmingdale.edu

AGENDA

‣ Best methods of communications

- How, what and when

‣ Social media and messaging app platforms

‣ 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

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

Prospects

Inquiries

Applicants

Admits

Enrolled

EMAIL COMMUNICATIONThe Ugly

Prospects

Inquiries

Applicants

Admits

Enrolled

EMAIL COMMUNICATIONThe Ugly

Prospects

Inquiries

Applicants

Admits

Enrolled

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

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

Dear {#First Name#},

Congratulations! You have met the academic requirements for admission into the {#IntendedMajor#} for the {#SemesterEntry#} term. Please take a moment to reflect

and be proud of your academic accomplishments; this is a direct result of your hard work and dedication.

In the next couple of days, you will receive an email detailing the next steps in your journey to Farmingdale State College. The formal acceptance package will be

mailed once we receive your financial documents detailed in the next steps email.

To confirm your enrollment, submit the required $100.00 admissions enrollment deposit online at www.farmingdale.edu/deposit<http://www.farmingdale.edu/deposit>.

You will need your RAM ID number and OASIS PIN to access the secure credit card website. If you have not created your OASIS PIN please click

here<https://oasis.farmingdale.edu/banner/twbkwbis.P_WWWLogin>. Your deposit will be applied toward your tuition at the time of enrollment. Please note that you

will not be able to register for courses until this deposit has been received.

Please do not hesitate to contact the Office of International Education at international@farmingdale.edu<mailto:international@farmingdale.edu> if you have any

questions. On behalf of the Farmingdale State College community, we look forward to seeing you on campus during the Fall 2016 semester and wish you academic

success in your college career.

Sincerely,

Office of International Education

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

MOST POPULAR MESSAGING APPS IN EVERY COUNTRY

April 2016

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

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