If you need more post graduate students this presentation will help. It highlights the key marketing activities including digital, pay per click, SEO and behavioural advertising. I will be very helpful to academic staff who do this themselves

1. 7 Secrets
to recruiting more
post graduate
Students
By Liz Murphy
Specialist Student Recruitment/
Marketing Consultant
07939 167313 UK

2. Promote!
• We’re a good university, PG students will find us? Wrong!
• No one plays by these rules any more
• Many courses are highly specialised and students might not be
searching for your course title
• Well crafted, detailed course information
is needed
• Promotion will require the investment of
some budget

3. Think Digital
• Shopping for a PG course will largely be done digitally
• It is vital for international recruitment and compared to agents fees it
is extremely cost effective
• Avoid the temptation to dump everything online.
Your ‘elevator pitch’ is vital in all forms of
communication, especially in the digital
world as attention spans are short

4. Use Specialist Media
• Several sites now have advertising and email opportunities to
communicate with your market
• It’s possible to find lists of people considering a PG course in your
subject area
• Direct communication, via email, can be highly successful

5. More Video Less Words!
• ‘If a picture paints a thousand words…..’
• YouTube is now the second biggest search engine. Only Google is
bigger showing that video is the preferred medium for so many of us.
• Remember this is the sound bite
generation. It is possible to give a
complex message in a small
window of time via video.

6. Be Prepared For A Dialogue
• PG study is clearly a big decision and students need detailed
information
• Encourage a dialogue. It shows you care
• Use support staff to respond to simple questions
• Insist your academics engage in a friendly manner
on subject specific matters

7. Make It Personal
• The days of impersonal, mass marketing have gone
• Market research shows, prospective students want information tailored to
their needs and interests
• Encourage academics to reach out to individuals who could become good
PG students
• As a minimum all emails and letters should be
correctly address to the person by name.
Use rich data & incorporate
it into the message with a CRM system

8. Embrace Online Advertising
• Search engine optimisation will enable your courses to be seen in a
digital search and is worth investing in an expert to make this happen
• Use pay-per-click advertising strategically. It is inexpensive
& highly successful. Particularly in India and China
• Use online behavioural advertising. Once someone
clicks out of your website it shows a reminder ad of
your offer

9. Timing
• Communicate early so your programme will be considered. The
beginning of 2nd year undergraduate studies is ideal.
• Communicate from end of finals to the start of the
course. Research shows some undergrads will
take a PG course at the end of the summer if
they cannot find a job
• Use digital media which is 24 hours, 7 days a week
AND international. This is also perfect for those
in work, who are part of your market too

10. It’s A Rational &
Emotional Decision
• Decisions are mixture of rational thoughts
and emotional feelings
• It is so important that students feel an
emotional connection with your brand,
department, course and staff
• A warm welcome and a feeling of
being wanted is key
• Be upbeat and positive
• Remember this is a people business

11. Need Some Help?
• I’m a successful, freelance, education, marketing
consultant at director level
• You can hire me for a few weeks, a few months or
offer me a job
• My activities genuinely recruit extra students and
improve brand perception. I could do that for you
• I have worked for 6 universities & UCAS so have
extensive experience
• Feel free to ring me for a chat
Liz Murphy
lizmurphywork@gmail.com
07939 167313 in the UK or find me on LinkedIn