So, when we hear ‘January’ and ‘student recruitment’ the first thought is almost always ‘UCAS application deadline’. But, as we steadily approach 2022, we want to put some of the new year spotlight on PG recruitment early in the cycle. And here’s why…
Consider the January peak
Of course, there’s no set cycle for PG applications in comparison to UG, but, web traffic shows there are definite points of heightened activity in the year for PG prospects – and January is a notable peak (second to the biggest peak in the early summer). So, if you want to engage quality prospects who are actively researching their options early in ‘the cycle’, now’s the time to enhance your activity and get ahead.
Respond to the New Year sentiment
Last year 18% of Britons made a New Year’s resolution to further their career and 15% made a resolution to take up something new (YouGov). Needless to say, the new year period is a peak time for self-development goals, and postgrad study is of course an opportunity to fulfil both of the above.
Cues.ai can help you position your website content in a way that really hones in on both of these motivators. Using simple, well-placed cues on specific web pages, you can determine what’s really motivating an individual user to pursue postgraduate study – without asking them to fill out any off-putting forms! And once you determine this, you can then send them on a tailored content journey through your site, showing them the most relevant stories, facts and stats based on what’s motivating them right at that moment.
A moment within a moment (for 18-24 year olds)
So, while your PG content is resonating with all of that new year motivation, there’s another sentiment at play that’s also worth considering.
Looking at share of the postgraduate audience across different age demographics, IDP Connect recently reported a significant shift in January towards the 18-24 age group – with indications that this is current undergraduate students looking towards graduation and considering how to further their job prospects before taking on the labour market. With the fact that the pandemic caused economic uncertainty and disruption for recruitment as a whole, it’s understandable why there’s been an increase in current students opting to continue their studies and specialise beyond their undergraduate subject.
The other point to consider here is that many students in the current undergraduate cohort feel robbed of the university experience they were expecting – closures, limited face-to-face teaching, lockdowns, isolations, no social events. So, whether it’s a feeling of missing out on the social side, or a nervousness akin to impostor syndrome due to less academic contact, it’s likely that the 18-24 year age group will continue to increase its share of the PG audience this cycle. This makes it the right time to be assessing the relevance and targeting of your PG-focused content.
How to better nurture this age group
So, that being said, how does your content speak to this specific audience in the 18-24 year age group? Your CRM comms might deliver a highly relevant conversion journey once they book on to a PG open event or become an actual applicant, but what does your content before this stage do, while they’re an enquirer looking at your site to research and compare institutions?
Running cues.ai on your website, you can nurture PG prospects at this early enquirer stage by serving them the most relevant content, according to the way they respond to simple, unintrusive cues as they browse.
Cues allow you to gather data from your web users (enquirers), without asking for any disruptive form completions or needing contact details. A cue can be as simple as asking a user “Are you considering a Master’s right after your current UG course?”, for example. You can take the data gathered from cues and use it to not only take a user on a tailored content journey of your website, but also to plug in to your ad campaigns, bringing more targeted content to your ads, beyond simply a course area they’ve browsed.
Get ahead this PG cycle
If you’re interested in how cues.ai can help you maximise engagement this new year, get in touch to see how it can enhance your content strategy.
