62 | INTERNATIONAL SPOTLIGHT: CHINA | EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
F
or the last decade the number of Chinese students journeying to study abroad has grown 20% year-
on-year, and in 2014 half a million will venture to more than 160 countries to pursue higher education. For universities wanting to atract
Chinese students there is plenty of competition. The United States remains the preferred destination to study with Canada, Australia and mainland Europe also being popular, plus there are domestic UK rivals. However, it is possible to gain significant advantage in the marketplace by being one of the few higher education establishments anywhere to talk with the Chinese student audience on its terms – through Chinese digital media. Creating a good web presence with
supporting search and social media marketing in China can have a dramatic effect for two reasons. Digital media has an all pervasive presence in modern Chinese life – far more than in the West, and the student demographic is locked
Open goal for universities in China
By Ryan Woodley-Mitchell, commercial executive, Qumin
into using web-based information, and making decisions based on social media recommendations. The second point is that very few universities anywhere use digital marketing in China. This presents an open goal opportunity. The reason that web searches and
social media are so important in China is due to an expressive culture based on demonstrating and sharing information. Social media recommendation is the key influence in nearly 40% of all purchasing decisions, and internet searches are more frequent and far more thorough than almost anywhere else. This makes them extremely powerful marketing tools.
For example, a few years ago a fish
and chip shop in Brighton received a recommendation on Chinese social media. Much to the consternation of the owners it started geting a steady stream of Chinese tourist customers that continues to this day. When first planning a digital campaign
in China the initial step is having a Mandarin website that is not only registered and hosted within the Great Chinese Firewall, but also built from the ground up with the Chinese user in mind. If a domain is not based within the firewall the chances of it being found in web searches is slim at best, and even if it
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