How to ensure authenticity in ambassador - applicant community interaction
Ambassadors and alumni are an incredibly powerful asset and are rightly at the heart of many universities’ marketing and recruitment efforts, but how far can they be left unguided? Do they get free rein? Or should their interactions with prospects be guided? Prescribed? Even (say it quietly)....scripted?
ARU, Cambridge
I was recently in Cambridge to deliver our initial workshop to student ambassadors using the CampusConnect platform to support international student offer-holders joining Anglia Ruskin University in 2020.
During the workshop an interesting discussion developed between ambassadors around authenticity while using a digital (social) platform such as CampusConnect.
A feature of our initial workshop is asking new ambassadors to consider their response to some specific questions that may come their way.
This serves as a great conversation starter, all of the example questions are genuine (adapted to context) enquiries that prospects have posed over the past couple of years.
The question that sparked the debate
“I’m a PG student starting at ARU Cambridge in September, what is the best accommodation for me?”
Clearly, this is subjective, so how best to answer it? One ambassador was understandably concerned that offering up a strong opinion might lead to problems down the line, imagine telling a prospect that a particular accommodation block is excellent, only for them to turn up and hate it, they might then blame the ambassador?
However, the response that came from within the group was that ambassadors should be willing and able to give their opinion, however subjective. Otherwise how is a peer-to-peer platform like this any better than a static website?
This is an important debate that we have with both university staff, ambassadors and alumni prior to launching the CampusConnect service. It’s a fine balance to strike.
Understanding ‘the why’
We recently posted about this very topic on LinkedIn, and the post generated a healthy discussion.
Maria Gallo, Founder of KITE (Keep In Touch Education) points out the importance of understanding why a prospective student is consulting with a current student/alumni in the first place.
“It is to get unscripted, real information from those that were/are in the same position as them. These ambassadors should provide tips and their own insights into their experience.
That said, ambassadors should still be aware of the university's position on certain areas (such as accommodation), and they can state this position but offer their own perspective. Phrases like 'I find/found' and 'In my experience' enables the ambassadors the latitude of authenticity.
When we consider the desired outcome (we want our new prospective students to have a positive experience and attend/succeed at our university) we need to allow the authenticity to shine through.”
Freedom of expression
Liam Ryan, International Education Regional Manager at the University of Limerick agrees with the sentiment, ‘What I find works well is giving ambassadors freedom to post whatever they want...Students want instant, accurate responses so a combination of staff and student ambassadors to respond is best’.
Ryan also points out that with this perceived freedom to express their own (sometimes subjective) opinions, student ambassadors should feel they are being supported in the work they do for the university, ‘Training ambassadors and setting areas of responsibility can prevent incorrect information being given out...prospective students appreciate honesty but it is important for the ambassadors to also have access to staff to clarify queries they are unable to answer.’
Expectations and authenticity
It’s important to provide clear expectations for all stakeholders and contributors when establishing a meaningful pre-enrolment community. A point that Vicky Lewis outlines:
“It is important that ambassador training includes sharing some wider context on the university’s goals and key messages and a discussion of how they, as ambassadors, fit in to this. This shouldn’t be heavy handed or prescriptive - just about exploring additional background beyond what they might have if relying solely on their own experience. I think that rehearsing how they might respond to some of the more challenging questions is also a good idea to help build confidence.
Authenticity is key and that student ambassadors should be able to 'be themselves' (and include subjective opinions) in their responses.”
Our take on it is simple!
To prospects, ambassadors’ value is closely linked to their authenticity. Their voices are powerful because they lack bias.
Our preference will always be for your nominated ambassadors simply to be themselves, be honest, share their real-life experiences in an open, trusted environment where they feel supported. We understand this value and we therefore aim for every offer-holder on CampusConnect to be welcomed and matched with a ‘best match peer’ (fellow prospect, current student, & now alumni).
This peer authenticity has huge bearing on prospects’ pre-enrolment experience and their decision to enrol at the admitting institution.