Graduate recruitment is big business with three out of four universities taking advantage of Clearing in 2014. A new study by Crunch Simply Digital explains how universities can increase their online influence attracting those students who haven’t met the desired grades.
Course content, the cost of living, ROI and league tables are key factors that contribute to a candidate’s choice of university. But what happens to those key factors when a student is placed into Clearing?
Crunch Simply Digital’s Clearing study is based around five UK universities who ran digital campaigns during the Clearing period, and includes data based around Google Adwords. It found that last year 60,000 students found a place through Clearing, that was a 20% increase in courses being offered during Clearing between 2013 and 2014.
Neil Walsh, Director at Crunch Simply Digital “With UCAS Track telling students their results from 8am on results day, it’s becoming a growing trend for students to know their application status online before that envelope opening moment at the college or school. If students are finding out their results early online, universities should be targeting them from that time. Recognising these type of behaviour changes are vital for any Clearing campaign and can save valuable media spend.
Universities should spend more influence in targeting those candidates reviewing their situation online and looking at plan B. Call to click (call tracking), retargeting, SEO can all contribute to developing a Clearing campaign, but understanding the key trends and behaviours makes for a successful digital campaign.”
The study also shows that in 2014 traffic peaked on A-level results day. Clicks soared with high levels of traffic and budget allocation, but during this competitive period, over 50% of traffic was lost due to a lack of budget. From 4pm onwards, allocated budgets began to diminish, which had a direct impact on the number of clicks being produced. Looking at all the evidence, the study makes recommendations on Google at least £10,000 is allocated to spend on A-level results day with that average spend being £4,605.
The study also explores the importance of building a university’s brand across social and display on the lead up to results day.
Walsh concluded “The whole Clearing process can be overwhelming for students and universities and our study lays bare the key insights into what universities should be considering to maximise their online Clearing potential.”
