The international student market continues to grow. That means you must develop a digital recruitment campaign to include prospective students from a wide variety of nationalities. When you don't incorporate different languages into your digital marketing, international prospects and local students who speak other languages won't feel seen or included. They will likely consider other educational institutions that meet their multi-lingual needs.
Whether you want to create a new campaign to target multi-lingual candidates or update your current one, consider the strategies that help your college stand out from the competition. Below are four ways to make your college recruitment campaign more inclusive for speakers of other languages.
#1: Establish a Plan for a Multi-Lingual Website
Before you can start marketing your college to prospective international students, defining an action plan is essential. You must consider the languages you want to offer visitors browsing your website. While offering as many languages as possible is beneficial, it requires significant work. You must spend time and money on research, resources, and features.
To simplify the process, create subdomains or microsites for international student recruitment. However, approach the campaign with locals in mind. Although many international students don't speak English as a first language, the same applies to local students. Some come from multi-lingual households. Others grow up with immigrant parents who primarily speak their native language. You must consider this during your digital marketing efforts.
Your microsites or subdomains should highlight relevant academic programs, athletics, and other information you want speakers of other languages to know about. Approach each aspect of the pages with the diversity of your target audience in mind. Ensure prospects can choose their desired language to learn more about your school, course offerings, campus life, and other details that show them where they will fit in if they enroll.
Another solution is to provide access to resources such as Google Translate and DeepL.
#2: Support Local Students from Multi-Cultural Backgrounds
The COVID-19 pandemic prompted students to look closer to home while considering potential colleges. However, locals don’t necessarily use English as their primary language or speak only one language. Many speak more than one language fluently or semi-fluently. Although some might prefer English, others don’t.
That means you must consider the needs of every prospective student to attract them to your college. Show them they can feel at home on campus by offering options beyond English during the recruitment process.
An interactive campus map is a perfect way to showcase your campus while allowing users to view the information in their preferred language. You can promote the selling points, such as academic programs, facilities, and state-of-the-art equipment. Users can take a virtual walk around your school and learn everything they want to know with 360-degree images and embedded videos.
#3: Encourage International Student Engagement
Traveling to another country to pursue higher education requires a significant commitment. International students must move away from everything they know and learn to feel comfortable living in a place they don't know anything about. Besides getting used to a new academic curriculum, they must also familiarize themselves with a new language, culture, and routine.
You can improve international student engagement by offering a multi-language virtual tour. Virtual tours allow prospective students from other countries to tour your campus without spending money on travel.
They can get the information they need from a fully immersive digital experience without having to appear in person on campus. A self-guided campus tour app allows them to walk around the campus in a virtual world and learn about the aspects of your college that can make them feel at home. Each stop along the tour could provide text, audio, and 360-degree images to show them what daily life would look like if they attended.
#4: Position Your College Above Other Institutions
Prospective students who speak other languages want to discover their place on campus while looking at schools. That means you must include features in your recruitment campaign that meet their needs. You can stand out from other colleges by showcasing your diversity and offering something others don't.
Many higher educational institutions don't focus on international recruitment. That means their websites and features aren't inclusive. They don't offer different languages, so prospects from different backgrounds can view information without translation difficulties.
Your college should be unique to differentiate it from other choices on a prospect's list. A multi-language video viewbook can accomplish this goal. Customize your viewbook to promote your school, faculty, campus life, and other attractive features you want to show off. Prospective students who speak other languages will feel your school cares about them and their needs.
Solutions for Inclusive Student Recruitment
Adding other languages to your website and digital features ensures you target a wider audience and attract prospective students from different backgrounds. You'll break down language barriers and distinguish yourself from schools that don't offer the same thoughtful capabilities.
StudentBridge is ready to help you take your college's recruitment campaign to the next level. Request a demo or call us at 678-824-8181 to learn more about our digital marketing services.
