When deciding on a school, most prospective students and their parents favour authentic insights over formal marketing. For this, user-generated content (UGC) has emerged as a powerful way for international schools to highlight their value. Let’s explore how you can incorporate UGC into your institution’s marketing strategy.

Promote student success stories

Transform your students’ achievements into interesting narratives. For example, you could feature video testimonials of international students sharing their journey, or create spotlight posts highlighting academic and extracurricular accomplishments. These personal stories resonate deeply with prospective students who can envision themselves following similar paths.

Utilise authentic influencer marketing

Influencer marketing is one of today's most popular strategies — and it’s not just for beauty and restaurant reviews! You can implement this in your school by inviting a well-established influencer to enrol for a few days (or longer!) and create regular, authentic content about their academic journey. This could include Instagram Reels, TikTok or YouTube videos documenting their experiences, providing valuable, authentic insights for prospective students.

Organise social media takeovers

If appropriate, you could also enable current students to manage your institution’s social media accounts for a day. These takeovers provide an unfiltered glimpse into campus life, allowing potential students to understand your school’s unique spirit. Student takeovers could include snapshots of classroom experiences, school social activities and local cultural events.

Encourage and share reviews

Last but not least, actively encourage satisfied students and parents to share their experiences on platforms like Google Reviews or specialised education forums. These kinds of peer recommendations significantly influence decision-making in education choices, so make sure to showcase these testimonials across your marketing channels.

User-generated content creates authenticity and trust that traditional marketing materials simply cannot match. With UGC, you can showcase your institution’s value through the voices that matter most — your students. Ready to transform your international education marketing strategy? Contact schools and agents today for expert guidance.

Written by Stephanie Clark