Online Marketing to a Global Student Audience
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This report uses data extracted from over 127,000 responses to Student Insight questionnaires collected by the British Council and its partners since 2007.
Chapter 1 introduces the thirteen countries on which the report is to focus; each specially selected as both a major player and new market for the global trade in and exchange of international higher education. The major host countries for the surveyed students are identified and methods by which globally mobile and digitally savvy students can be reached are discussed and illustrated.
Chapter 2 examines the languages of internet surfing and reveals the extent of English usage on the World Wide Web. Findings are related to the history of internet penetration in different countries.
Chapter 3 details time spent on-line by country. Countries in which the largest proportion of students were revealed to be ‘never’ off-line are identified; along with those with the most polarised levels of internet activity.
Chapter 4 looks at the use of social networking sites. The authors illustrate growth patterns in this area since 2007 and link them to increased internet penetration in certain countries.
Chapter 5 reveals which networking sites are most popular by country. A number of web-portals and community websites unique to certain countries are seen to be hugely influential and are examined closely.
Chapter 6 demonstrates the growth in Facebook use from 2007-2010. The ambitions of the company are balanced against the restrictions it faces in certain regions.
Chapter 7 details the most popular on-line resources by country. Ways of maximising web transparency and responses to censorship are discussed.
Chapter 8 analyses the main on-line activities of students by country. The ratio of time spent on research, communication and pleasure is fully illustrated in each case.
Chapter 9 compares online and offline sources of information related to choosing an overseas institution. The top six information resources used are listed for each new student market.
Chapter 10 addresses the future for the global student audience. Common themes and patterns in internet usage among the countries highlighted are divulged; along with distinct trends. Providers of higher education are reminded of the competition in this area and invited to use the report recommendations to guide them.
Please Note: Research reports produced by Education Intelligence may contain data or information collected from public sources such as UNESCO, the OECD and the World Bank, among others, in addition to original British Council data. There may also be research or information from Euromonitor, the EIU, or other related sources.
