Every admissions season universities across the US spin up the ol’ ad machines, launching campaigns across Google and Facebook.

It’s like watching a well-choreographed dance, each step meticulously planned to attract the next wave of bright-eyed prospects. And sure enough, like bees to honey, students swarm to these websites. But then, almost as quickly as it begins, the buzz dies down. Silence.

“Ads did absolutely nothing for us last season.”

I was chatting with an Associate Director of Graduate Programs from a school in Washington. Over a Zoom call, they confessed, “Ads did absolutely nothing for us last season.” It struck a chord. Not because it was a unique problem, but because it’s a recurring issue across US schools.

Are ads to blame? Not quite. They’re doing what they’re supposed to: generating traffic.

The harsh truth is that most leads will simply leave your website after visiting the homepage. The key lies in being able to discover who these leads are for the little time they’re on your website.

How do I find out who my leads are?

By offering a human connection

Studying abroad is a beast of a decision. You could buy a nice little house in a non-metro city in India for the cost of a one-year degree. It’s no small wonder then that students come loaded with questions, hesitations, and a boatload of anxiety.

And that’s the need that you need to tap into - by offering a human connection.

An instant connection with a student, alum, or staff member helps assuage the thousand fears that prospects have while weighing their options. From an admissions perspective, it gives visitors enough of a reason to stick around on your website instead of bouncing off.

This immediately does two things:

The veil is lifted - The prospect is no longer anonymous. You get instant and in-depth data about them, including crucial information about their core concerns about studying at your institution.

Green flag to prospects - Unlike websites from 20 years ago, the technology exists to make these instant connections happen. Offering this channel is a green-flag to prospects who are exploring your university, especially for GenZ.

How can I offer this “human connection”?

It can be as simple as adding people’s profiles on a page on your website with their emails. But this is like those old Nokia phones – they do the job, but they’re not exactly what today’s youth are looking for.

At CollegeIt we deploy a WhatsApp-based widget that lets visitors chat in real-time with alumni, students, and staff. No waiting, no digging through pages to find contact info.

There are two key advantages of doing this:

1. More conversions - As an example, USC Gould has deployed the widget across all LLM pages on their website. It’s like having a welcoming committee right there on your screen. Better visibility for the widget = more leads for the university.

2. International enrollment - WhatsApp is the most popular messaging service in the world, and the go-to platform for international students. This gives admissions teams more chances to discover who their visitors are, while offering unparalleled support to prospects.

A quick recap

Here are the three key takeaways from today’s post:

1. Give people a reason to stick around - Studying abroad is one of the biggest decisions of one’s life. Your website should help them take the leap.

2. Low hanging fruit - Human connections are the proverbial “low hanging fruit” to discover who your high-intent prospects are.

3. Ads aren’t the enemy- The purpose of this post is to not dunk on ads, but to encourage schools to complement them with appropriate lead nurturing strategies.

Ads bring guests to the party. The next step is to make them stay. Good luck for the upcoming application cycle! 💙