Unibuddy enables you to personalise the prospective student experience at scale. By tailoring your Chat Platform setup, content, and engagement strategy, you can more effectively reach and convert prospectives from your key international markets.
This article will guide you through best practices for targeting your priority regions. We'll explore;
Traffic driver usage and placement
Content and messaging
Ambassador representation
Custom fields and filters
Traffic driver placement: reach your target audience
Ensure you have a mix of Unibuddy traffic drivers - Popcards, Carousel, Buddy Cards, and Chat Bubbles - and that they are prominently placed in areas that prospects from your target region are most likely to access. Some examples that have worked well for partners are:
Subject and study pages
International or regional webpages
Virtual or in-person event registration pages
Student life pages
New student / orientation pages
As well as ensuring traffic driver coverage across your website, you can also add traffic drivers which will speak directly to prospects from a target region. You have the option to add Country/Region popcards, carousels, or buddy cards - which means you can highlight Ambassadors from that country or region.
Chatting to someone from the same region about their experiences is a
Tip: Track uptake and engagement by region in your University Dashboard -
If your institution uses QR codes at events, consider linking directly to your Unibuddy Chat platform - or create a regional webpage with an embedded Carousel featuring Ambassadors from the specific region.
Content strategy: tailor messaging to regional areas of interest
Understand the motivations, concerns, and decision-making factors of students from your target region. Examples might include:
Possible Focus Areas | Examples of Relevant Messaging |
Funding and scholarships | “Learn more about financial support options available to international students.” |
Careers and employability | “Hear from current students about how their studies are preparing them for career success.” |
Visas and immigration | “Chat to our team to understand the visa process for your country.” |
Lifestyle and community | “Find out what it's like to join our student community.” |
Consider creating region-specific callouts, landing pages, or introductory messaging on your Unibuddy platform to encourage engagement.
Ambassador representation: build trust through relevance
Students are more likely to engage with Student Ambassadors who reflect their background or share similar experiences. To increase relatability:
Recruit Ambassadors who represent key target regions or demographics. You can read more on recruiting ambassadors here
Unibuddy Ambassador profiles are designed in such a way to highlight key details such as nationality, area of study, and level of study. Ambassadors can add two entries under I Come From.. if they hold dual nationality. Encourage any Ambassadors with dual nationality to highlight this on their profiles by choosing both country flags
Encourage your Ambassadors to start their bio with a 'headline': showcasing the top things to know about them: such as, "I'm an International student who loves Minecraft and 90s hip hop, studying Business", or "I'm a Postgraduate student, from Hanoi, Vietnam, and I moved to Paris two years ago to study International Development".
Ambassadors can also add any additional languages that they speak, which can be a huge draw to prospects who would love to chat with peers in their own language!
Custom fields and filters on your Unibuddy Chat platform
Leverage custom prospect sign-up fields to collect data that enables further segmentation - and custom Ambassador profile fields to add a true sense of personalisation for your prospects, allowing them to connect with people with shared experiences and interests.
Suggested custom Ambassador fields:
Favourite courses / programs
Clubs and Societies
Campus
Hobbies and interests
You can find out more about using custom Ambassador profile fields here.
Using filters:
Apply a custom filter to display relevant Ambassadors based on background, demographic, or experience
An "I am a..." filter could showcase options such as mature students, international students, local commuters, LGBTQIA+ students, neurodivergent students, student parents/carers, veterans, year abroad students, first in the family to attend uni - this is a rewarding chance for your Ambassadors to speak to their experiences and reassure others.
If you wanted to go a step further, you could even have your web team create landing pages with relevant content and embedded Buddy Cards, showing Ambassadors tailored to target audience segments!
Ideas for regional segmentation
1. Region-specific landing page
Include an introductory paragraph tailored towards the concerns or interests of your target region.
Embed Buddy Cards for relevant Ambassador profiles - perhaps alongside a short interview with that Ambassador on their experiences moving from the region to study at your institution.
Add a targeted popcard for the target region/country, or a Staff popcard linking to your International Admissions team.
Consider a clear call-to-action banner or button linking to your Chat platform, inviting prospective students to connect with Ambassadors from their region.
If you like the sound of this idea, feel free to use this sample regional landing page copy here. Go to File > Make a copy to make your own edits, specific to your use case.
2. Post-event follow-up emails
Invite your prospects to chat with Ambassadors who can speak to their specific context or interests, using segmented event registration links based on region or audience type.
Monitoring and tracking
How can you tell if you efforts to target specific regions are working? Of course, one key indicator will be how many applications and enrolments you get from those regions. In the shorter term, however, there are leading indicators that will help you to spot how things are progressing and whether there are any adjustments to be made. A few examples are;
Most contacted Ambassador profiles - check Analytics > Ambassador in your University Dashboard.
Region-specific engagement rates - check Analytics > Prospect in your University Dashboard.
Query types and recurring themes - check your Bi-Weekly Chat digest.
Use these insights to adjust traffic driver placement, recruit new Ambassadors, and update Content or messaging.
Your next steps
Identify your priority regions and recruitment goals.
Review your current Ambassadors and Content for relevance - where are there gaps?
Embed targeted Traffic Drivers - i.e. Pop cards, add a custom filter to your Chat Platform, or even create tailored regional landing pages.
Monitor engagement data and make adjustments throughout the cycle.