BridgeU In Brief: w/c 7th November

What changes will Elon Musk make to Twitter?

The short answer is we don't know yet.

But the changes he has made so far haven't been well received. Former Twitter employees are understandably confused and upset about being made redundant with little notice. Meanwhile Twitter users seem unimpressed by Musk's proposed changes to the platform, such as his plan to charge $8 a month for an account with a blue tick.

In the past few days, some Twitter users have been actively discussing moving to another platform, with a lot of people setting up accounts on new social media sites like Mastodon (a rival to Twitter that had received little to no coverage until a few days ago)

What's noteworthy about Elon Musk's proposed changes to Twitter is how it exposes the gulf between what he perceives Twitter's primary goal to be (to make a profit) and the goals of many of its users (to have a place to interact, build communities and publish/promote their writing)

Now, you might be reading this and thinking "what's this got to with international higher education?"

It's now become received wisdom that higher education institutions need to have dedicated social media strategies if they are to meet international students where they are. Even as far back as 2019, 84% of international students were using social media to learn more about a university before making an enquiry.

That was before COVID-19. A recent report from WeAreSocial reveals that Social media?users grew by?190 million?over the past year, to reach a total of?4.74 billion?at the start of October 2022. That global total has increased by?4.2 percent?over the past 12 months, and social media users now equate to?59.3 percent?of the world’s total population.

For higher education institutions, social media has become more essential in their efforts to increase brand awareness and improve the quantity and quality of their engagement with international students.

Last year, ICEF Monitor reported that some of the countries where social media usage was higher amongst international students included Argentina, Indonesia, Ghana, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Turkey and the UAE

So of course, it's absolutely essential for universities to invest in, and develop their social media strategies.

But the recent developments at Twitter demonstrate that having a presence on a social media platform is one thing. But Twitter users are now reminding Elon Musk that they're keen to feel part of a wider community, and have no interest in merely being passive consumers of content.

In focusing solely on revenue, Musk risks alienating Twitter users at a time when social media usage and trends are still very much in flux.

Whether it's on social media, or across other recruitment and enrolment channels, the changes unfolding at Twitter serves as a reminder that, more often than not, people use digital channels as a means of building authentic connections and fostering a genuine sense of community.

In our sector, this is something we hear from the counsellors and teachers who work with students in our international schools worldwide. True digital engagement will only be successful if it is underpinned by a genuine desire to build partnerships and communities.

There's a second lesson here too. It remains to be seen how Twitter will ultimately change under the leadership of Elon Musk. But it's a timely reminder that social media is still a means of communication that is evolving and changing all the time. Universities (and indeed other brands companies working in other sectors) will need to adapt in turn.

What's new at BridgeU

• Following hot on the heels of our webinar for US universities, we'll be running an equivalent webinar for UK universities on best practices to engage and hopefully convert prospective 2023 applications. Sign up here.
• If you're reading this from the USA, and you missed our US edition of the webinar, you can still watch the recording here
• Don't forget both the US and UK editions of our handy international student recruitment toolkit can be found here

What's caught our eye this week

• A new report co-authored by Universities UK International and Studyportals highlights the importance of UK universities prioritising European student recruitment, with Brexit having had a detrimental impact on the UK's popularity with students across the continent.
• Heartening news from the USA that two-thirds of universities plan to grow efforts to reach foreign students and expand their global presence

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