How to Encourage User-Generated Student Ambassador Content
As the trusted peers of Gen Z, student ambassadors occupy a unique position in your marketing strategy. They can speak Gen Z’s language, answer questions your marketing team can’t, and often form friendships with prospective students which permeate far past the first day of school.
In fact, 92% of Gen Z agree that just speaking to a student ambassador is enough to convince them whether to attend your higher ed institution – which can lead to more confident decisions and subsequent higher retention rates.
At a time where enrollment rates are plummeting and melt rates are rising – with only 41% of students who do enroll going on to graduate in four years or less – the position of student ambassadors only continues to strengthen.
But it’s not just about the face-to-face, student-to-student, interactions. In order to truly leverage your student ambassadors, you need to ensure they are present across all your channels. User-generated student ambassador content is an effective way to ensure their authentic voice is present for larger audiences and a more permanent part of your higher ed brand.
Here are some tips on how to encourage user-generated student ambassador content as part of your higher ed marketing plans:
Highlight the benefits of user-generated content to student ambassadors
Student ambassadors offer so much value to your marketing team and there are many ways you can return the favour. Providing channels for them to create and post original content is one such perk of the job. As students themselves, student ambassadors are looking to prepare themselves for life after school, for which many, a content portfolio branded with your higher ed logo is a major benefit.
In a world where even entry-level positions require experience, being able to provide examples of work done for your team can provide ambassadors with a leg up over their post-graduation competition.
Related: The Importance of Selling Student Ambassadors on Higher Ed Marketing
With that said, position the content creation segments of your student ambassador program as resume-building opportunities. Provide student ambassadors with the guidance they need to put pen to paper, but leave them the creative flexibility to write, film, or speak about their school experience in their own authentic voice. In addition to being valuable for students conducting initial research of your school, these pieces can serve as valuable career-building pieces for your student ambassadors.
Provide student ambassadors with more autonomy to create content
While we’re not advocating for throwing brand control out the window, providing student ambassadors with more creative control can encourage them to produce more. From creating fun, yet informative, content for social media, a place 55% of your prospective students go to learn about your higher ed culture, to writing specific Blog articles about their personal favourite parts of your school’s higher ed experience, a little wiggle room goes a far way in encouraging them to share their authentic selves.
Related: Social Media Marketing for Higher Ed Students
Behind the scenes, there are additional benefits brought by non-scripted user-generated content. You might, for example, find your brand ranking for search keywords, a pillar of any search engine optimization (SEO) strategy or perhaps their content might go viral with a target audience. In addition to benefiting your brand and enabling you to explore new audiences, unplanned wins like this serve as career-building feathers to add to their post-graduation cap.
Provide student ambassadors with the tools they need to create content
The best way to encourage user-generated content is to make it easier for student ambassadors to submit and post what they create. While providing basic tools, like lighting, cameras, or even access, for a social media post, are useful, you also want to make sure there is a streamlined review and posting process in-place.
Related: Bold Unibuddy Updates Make Less Work for Better ROI
As part of our Unibuddy Platform, for example, we provide student ambassadors with an effective platform to create original content for your higher ed brand. They simply write whatever is on their minds and submit it for approval. On your end, a streamlined review and feedback process is all that is required before you can make a post live. Once live, enhanced visibility features ensure prospective students can discover and interact with user-generated content. In this way, you provide student ambassadors with the autonomy to create while brand control remains firmly in your hands – it’s a win-win.
