19 December 2018 at 9:00 am
Chinese students engage with My StudyNZ WeChat
ENZ is using WeChat, China’s most popular social media app, to connect students to New Zealand education providers.
In October, ENZ brought My StudyNZ to WeChat, a social media platform with more than one billion users.
Students enter their study intentions into the programme and receive suggestions of institutions or courses that closely match. This enables ENZ to drive high value leads to New Zealand institutions and ENZRA agents from China.
Lucia Alarcon, ENZ’s Digital Programme Manager, said as ENZ has had a WeChat account since 2014, it made sense to build on the existing social community which is easier for Chinese students to use than the China version of the Study in New Zealand website.
“It has enabled us to engage with students in a more personal way, and to share tailored information. It also provides a more seamless user experience for the student, allowing them to assess study options using their mobile phones, and to contact institutions directly if they want.
“While it’s early days, we’re already seeing high-quality leads coming through.”
My StudyNZ China has gained strong interest from Chinese students, particularly those with an interest in tertiary and secondary institutions:
ENZ’s efforts in China have included a media campaign using WeChat banner ads with Future Proof key messages and an invitation to join ENZ’s social community on WeChat. Seen by more than three million prospective students and parents so far, this has helped increase ENZ’s WeChat followers by 25 percent.
“Our Future Proof Campaign and Wechat development are part of a wider programme of work in China. As we continue investing in our China audience, we will also find new ways to reach students and share useful information personalised to their study plans,” said Lucia.
