Competition is fierce in the independent school sector, with parents and pupils demanding so much more from prospective establishments.
While traditional forms of marketing used to be enough to engage with parents, schools now need to get more creative in their approach. One way to convert your web traffic into engaged enquiries better is to embrace the innovation of digital peer-to-peer ambassador platforms.
Enabling you to increase trust in your establishment, showcase what makes you unique, and ultimately, increase pupil enrolment, a digital peer-to-peer ambassador platform can help you stand out from the competition.
Read on to learn more about digital ambassador platforms and find out how they can transform the way you recruit.
A digital peer-to-peer ambassador platform enables you to create and manage your school’s ambassadors in one convenient location – in order to connect your prospects with advocates who know your school best: your happy and satisfied parents, successful alumni and key members of staff.
Effectively enabling you to digitalise word-of-mouth recommendations, your digital peer-to-peer ambassadors can connect with prospective parents from all over the world.
With a digital ambassador platform, you can select current parents, alumni and staff members to become your digital ambassadors to engage with parents of prospective new pupils.
Our digital peer-to-peer ambassador platform, InSight Chat, allows you to display several ambassador bios who will be available to answer questions and share their authentic first-hand experiences of your school with prospective parents.
This innovative software does not facilitate live chat, so you do not need to worry about your ambassadors being available 24/7. Instead, prospective parents can send a message to your ambassadors when they can respond thoughtfully.
Traditional forms of marketing are no longer as effective as they once were in attracting parents of new pupils. Due to a combination of the increasingly digital world that we live in and the aftermath of the pandemic, digital marketing methods have become a necessity rather than just an option. Here are some ways a digital peer-to-peer ambassador platform can help you boost your student recruitment success.
Widely agreed as one of the most powerful forms of advertising, word-of-mouth marketing is a key component of a digital recruitment strategy. Current parents, alumni, pupils, and staff are a school’s natural brand ambassadors. Deploying InSight Chat makes it easy to amplify your promoters’ voices and magnify their impact by sharing their authentic experiences with prospective parents.
Attract, engage, and convert best-fit prospects across time zones and geography. Infusing word-of-mouth recommendations into your digital recruitment strategy leads to high levels of engagement, providing better outcomes at any time of the year.
There are many advantages for your school when it comes to building a network of peer-to-peer ambassadors on a digital ambassador platform.
By enabling existing parents to connect with prospective parents, you can provide a more authentic experience that actively instils trust in your brand and builds a deeper connection with your school.
Your school’s website can’t interact with prospective parents to answer all their questions, and often parents are looking to go beyond the glossy website to learn exactly what attending your school is like. A digital peer-to-peer ambassador platform enables prospective parents to send messages to their chosen ambassador and helps to free up time for busy admissions staff.
Choosing the right school for their children is a big decision and can be stressful for parents. By enabling peer-to-peer communication, you can instil confidence in prospective parents and help them make the right decision.
Digital ambassador platforms such as InSight Chat make that decision easier by enabling shared, authentic experiences that help parents and their children to make the right choice.
Pupils find the school that fits them best, while schools find the best pupils for them.
User-generated content has never been more popular, especially with younger demographics. However, generating regular user content can be challenging and time-consuming. Using a digital peer-to-peer ambassador platform will allow you to build fresh UGC that can be shared in your marketing communications and on your social media pages to drive even more engagement with prospective parents.
Provide a more personalised service with a digital ambassador platform. No one wants to feel like just another number, and this is particularly true when it comes to education. If you want to truly engage and connect with prospective parents, offer them a more personalised experience.
By utilising digital peer-to-peer ambassador software, you can deliver that personal touch to help families feel special and welcomed. Send messages to new prospects, applicants in progress, or offer holders to cement decisions. Empower your network of enthusiastic ambassadors to engage with parents through personalised messages during the admissions process to drive conversion, prevent summer melt and increase yield.
Prospective parents don’t want the hard sell. They want to know and understand what it is really like to attend your school. The unique proposition of peer-to-peer ambassadors, such as current parents, is in their ability to connect with prospective parents on an authentic level. They currently have children studying at your school, so who better to talk to understand what it is like to attend?
Unlike traditional school ambassadors, digital peer-to-peer ambassadors can connect with parents from all over the world. This means you can tap into new markets and in turn, increase your pupil enrolments from more diverse audiences.
It is not always possible for parents to attend physical open days, particularly those based overseas and while virtual tours have their place, they often follow a similar format.
A digital peer-to-peer ambassador platform provides prospective parents with regular touchpoints throughout the admissions process and provides practical information they need about your school, without the need to physically visit your campus.
If you want to try a digital peer-to-peer ambassador platform for your school, ensure you have the right features to see a good return on your investment.
When it comes to selecting a digital ambassador platform, InSight Chat offers these must-have features:
Ready to see how to use a digital ambassador platform? Find out more about how we can help you engage with prospective pupils and facilitate your school admission process, to supercharge your student recruitment strategy.
