Just in case you needed any more persuading.
When it comes to Generation Z - who, let’s face it, probably make up a significant chunk of your target audience - they crave hyper-personal experiences. More than that, they want to hear from people they can relate to, and they want to do it on social media.
85% of Gen-Z learn about new products and brands through social media. (Hootsuite)
With that in mind, it’s more important than ever for institutions to have vibrant and attractive social media channels. And, spoiler alert, collaborating with your ambassadors is one of the most effective ways of doing this!
Instagram and Snapchat takeovers have been popular for a while now, and it’s easy to see why; they’re incredibly personal channels where authentic human content thrives, they work for a variety of subjects - as well as staff and alumni too, and their plethora of fun features like stickers and GIFs make it a doddle to create engaging and interactive content.
Some institutions have been using social media to help their international recruitment efforts in particular. Digital ambassador schemes - or those similar - have been around in some form since at least 2013, but have really become more powerful in recent years.
For example: students trust students
Students are sceptical folk. They can smell a marketing message from a mile off and are far more likely to listen to a fellow student than anyone from your marketing or recruitment teams - regardless of how cool you are!
Also, students don’t trust brands; only 15% of consumers trust content created and shared by companies. (Go4Social)
As it happens, 89% of University applicants want to see content created by current students and 80% of them choose their University based on word-of-mouth information. (UCAS Media)
We reckon the case for collaborating with your ambassador content creators is pretty clear; your ambassadors know what prospects want, so it makes logical sense to work alongside your ambassador community to create the most engaging, interesting and insightful content possible. Your ambassadors also understand the ‘experience’ of being at your institution far better than a marketing/recruitment/communications professional ever can. Sure, you work there...but they are living it.