(Part 2 in a series of 8, exploring Falmouth University’s ‘Recruit’ strategy.)


The ‘recruitment funnel’ is an attempt to identify the stages of recruitment from the perspective of Falmouth University, but with the focus firmly on the decision making process of a prospective student. In later blog posts, we’ll be looking at ways of tackling those stages using social tools and approaches.

Step 1Awareness. How to be a contender? If people don’t know about you as an organisation, they never enter the recruitment process. This is pointing students at the ‘funnel’ to begin with. It extends far beyond the confines of this series of blog posts and overlaps with the entire marketing process at Falmouth. A considerable issue in its own right.


Step 2Application. How can Falmouth encourage more applications? The university should ideally be one of the five university UCAS choices, for the highest number of students. This creates the largest pool of candidates from which to select. This post will examine and suggest methods of creating this large selection pool and the tools which will serve its needs.

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Highlighting how attractive studying in Cornwall can be, via social media.


Step 3First choice. With the previous stages taken care of, how then during the selection, open day & interview phase do you entice students to promote Falmouth to their number one choice? The focus here is about maximising the number of applicants who place Falmouth at the top of their pile of prospective HE establishments – much like conversion marketing. In essence: the process of converting a site visitor into a customer.


Step 4Clearing. How to place Falmouth on the radar of those students who may have underperformed during examinations, and are now looking at alternative university places. Not just about being the most vocal or noticeable, but the most nurturing and caring. Hard selling at this stage on a social channel will be ineffective. Far better to be a steady and calming influence, so that student prospects might begin to question why they didn’t apply there initially. If you can entice a student to quote in that context – a marketing initiative can be developed around it.


Step 5Keep in contact until enrolment. All the hard work has been done, don’t lose Falmouth recruits at the final stage. Keep your social media channels active, relevant and interesting. A student’s dominant concern at this point is ‘how will I be received?”. Provide communication channels & activities to let students become part of the university, before they’ve set foot on campus.



Next post: Part 3 – ‘The Funnel – Step 1: Awareness



(Previous post: Recruit – In a Social Sense)

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