Using Social Media to Connect with #highered International Students: Lessons Learned & Tips from UCA

Social rhymes with International

While working on the program of the 2nd Higher Ed Social Media Conference (now available on-demand), I had the chance of seeing some very cool social media initiatives – including Jon Stansel’s great work.

Jon Stansel (@jsstansel), International Communication Manager at the University of Central Arkansas, has used social media to reach and communicate with internationals students at his school for some time. He’s been nice enough to answer a few of my questions so we can all learn from his experience.

1) How do you use social media to communicate with international students at your institution?

Our use of social media with international students runs the gamut from recruitment, to student services, all the way to keeping up with international alumni. While we use a variety of social media channels, we have found that Facebook works best with our international student population. This may seem counter to the current trend of students spending less time with Facebook, but we have found that is still the outlet that obtains the most engagement from our international students.

By maintaining regular content, consisting of videos and infographics we keep our international students informed of upcoming events, services and workshops, and deadlines that might otherwise get lost in the mix.

By keeping our content visually appealing and using a medium like Facebook that our students are comfortable with, we have been able to create an online community that not only benefits current students, but also acts as a global ambassador for our university and aids in our international recruiting efforts.

2) Do you think social media is a better channel than others for international students?

I won’t say that it is better than other channels, but it is an integral part of our overall communication strategy.

It is important not to leave out any piece of the puzzle. Especially, considering there are a lot of topics we can’t directly discuss with students on social media, for example, personal immigration information. However, we have had great success using social media to get students to crossover to other lines of communication for these issues. For example, we might post a short video stating to call or email our office concerning certain immigration documents or a housing application deadline. We see a huge uptick in email and office traffic whenever we use this method.

On the recruiting front, nothing will ever completely replace actually visiting with the students face-to-face in their home countries. International recruiting trips are effective, but also expensive and time consuming. Targeted social media advertising allows us to make the most of our international recruiting trips by allowing us to remain in the minds (and timelines) of the students we visit weeks after our university’s representatives have left the country. It is a fantastic way to really make the most of these trips and keep those potential students connected to our university.

3) What are the top challenges you encounter while interacting with international students and how do you deal with these issues?

At our university, we have students with a widely varying English ability, ranging from beginner to native speaker level. Creating content that engages both of these audiences and those in between can be a challenge. You have to get the vital information out, but you also don’t want to overwhelm those who are still in the early stages of learning the language. This is where video becomes even more important. We have been able to create videos that are engaging, informative, and cater to a variety of English skill levels. We can also see from our analytics that students are watching these videos (see an example below) multiple times until they are able to obtain the information they need.

If the content is important to the student and you present it to them in a way that appeals to them, they will do the work to get the message.
We also work closely with our Intensive English Program to work our content into their curriculum. Students watch our videos and check our Facebook updates in class, guided by their teacher, to ensure they get the message and become more connected to our international office as well as the campus as a whole.

Another challenge, of course, is the Great Firewall of China. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram are all currently blocked in China. This not only makes it immensely difficult to use social media in our recruiting efforts there, it also creates a barrier for students who have been admitted to our school and want to connect with us before their arrival. We have thought about creating accounts on Chinese social media like RenRen or Weibo, but without a working knowledge of the Chinese language this proves difficult. I’d like to utilize some of our Chinese-speaking student workers to help out with this. However, before starting this program, much like before starting on any new social network, I’d like to create a plan for long-term sustainability first.

4) Any tips you’d like to share with your social media colleagues working at other institutions?

I urge my social media colleagues at other institutions to remember their international students in their social media strategies.

International students are vital to a diverse and vibrant campus, however, they are often an afterthought to many university staff who do not work directly with the international office.

Even if you don’t work with international students on a regular basis, it is important to keep their needs in mind as a part of your university’s social media community. While, it may not be feasible for every school to have a social media program exclusively for international students, it is important to include their needs in the overall social media goals of the institution.