Many forward-thinking students are using LinkedIn to decide their future careers and map the best path to achieve their success.
Whilst writing our recent post “Is your prospectus competitive enough?” we discovered LinkedIn’s YOUniversity, released in October 2014, which proposes to connect prospective students with the world of education (and vice versa). Naturally we were very excited; it supported our enthusiasm for digital prospectuses perfectly and the many benefits they bring.
This event prompted us to write a follow-up post specifically focussed on YOUniversity and how colleges, universities and students alike are utilizing this new road to educational introductions. However, we were very surprised that we couldn’t find a perfect example, after looking at many colleges’ and universities’ LinkedIn pages (including those in the top 100). In fact, as far as we can see, not one is showcasing their prospectus. What’s behind this dearth in digital prospectuses?
It’s possible that universities are unaware of the opportunity that sites like LinkedIn has provided them with. It’s relatively new and unprecedented territory – students don’t tend to do their research on LinkedIn; it’s better suited to business professionals, right? Wrong.
There are tens of millions of students currently on LinkedIn, and they’re the site’s fastest-growing demographic. As students progress and increasingly see their profiles as their online resumes, education institutions should view the site as a ‘shop window’ – a place to really stand out.
A prospective student will consider many universities whilst searching for the best fit. YOUniversity has been designed to help them with this, by narrowing their choices to those that rank highly for their desired subject. When learners land on your page, what is going to make you stand out? Having a prospectus there and ready for instant reading on any device is one way to grab their attention. They can review your courses, watch video testimonials from successful students and gain an insight into campus life. They can even submit an application to join your university, on the spot.
If you don’t currently have a web edition of your prospectus, we can help you with that. Call us on UK 0207 430 6616, US +1 888 367 9838 or email enquiries@yudu.com today.
