How the University of Sheffield transformed their StudentCrowd profile with optimised review responses
The University of Sheffield is a research university with a global reputation: the South Yorkshire-based institution is a member of the Russell Group and one of 24 leading UK universities for research and teaching. It was also recently voted best Russell Group in the NSS 2023, and currently holds the number one spot on our live league tables. More than 30,000 students from over 150 countries come to attend the University of Sheffield every year.
Understanding the importance of reviews in achieving their strategic objective to cement themselves as a “world-class university at the heart of an extraordinary city”, Sheffield engaged with StudentCrowd in March 2023, and we were delighted to contribute towards their goal.
At A Glance
Challenges
- Low student engagement on the University of Sheffield StudentCrowd profile
- Lack of confidence in responding to reviews
- A tendency to avoid less-than-favourable reviews
- Not able to engage with prospective students via responses
- Not able to demonstrate how important student feedback is to Sheffield
Benefits
- Increase in student engagement
- Students are now able to click through to their website via embedded links, boosting referrals
- Answering questions from students who are seriously considering applying to the university, resulting in better qualified leads
- Demonstrating to students and parents how much Sheffield value the student experience
A Hub for Students
How did Sheffield transform their StudentCrowd page into an invaluable resource for students, improving their credibility?
Their first step was recognising the value of engaging with prospective students. Review responses are imperative to establish trust and generate highly qualified referrals. Sheffield understood this, and that’s why they connected with us.
We supported Sheffield in optimising their review strategy through our profile package, giving them enhanced functionality such as the ability to embed links in review responses.
We also hosted consultative webinars with Sheffield, sharing profile building and rich response advice as well as best practice examples.
Leveraging the Student Voice
Armed with new tips and tools, Sheffield built review responses into their strategy, with fantastic results. This strategy included:
- Rich responses
Sheffield’s responses are detailed and helpful. - Linking
Relevant landing pages are linked, encouraging referrals. - Responding to Negativity
Research shows that negative reviews, if handled appropriately, actually engender increased trust. Sheffield don’t shy away from less-than-favourable reviews, reinforcing their authenticity.
Why is Review Management so Important?
UCAS research shows that, after its own website and university open days, students rely on reviews to help them evaluate where they study. Therefore staying on top of your review strategy is key to attracting and engaging with students.
A digitally savvy demographic, students expect reviews to be recent, relevant and authentic. To that end, we built a sophisticated algorithm to rank higher education providers in our league table based on the ongoing number (variety of voice), recency, and authenticity of reviews. Our league tables adjust in real time, reflective of current student sentiment. That’s why our platform attracts over 1.9 million unique user sessions every year. It is also why it is so critical for universities to continually monitor, respond to and generate reviews.
Final Thoughts
With our guidance, Sheffield’s new-and-improved strategy of rich responses, addressing of mixed or negative reviews, and strong hyperlinking has transformed their profile.
Sheffield have now built a valuable hub for prospective students to learn more, and for current students to have their say. The result is an invaluable feedback loop of insights to improve student experience and attract new students.
Contact Us
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Bringing the partner into partnership
One of the most exciting expressions of the student-first approach and how well this partnership works is that Loughborough have been the first university partner to get involved with our Student Enterprise Challenge. This is a two week challenge where StudentCrowd deliver skills development sessions to budding entrepreneurs who then pick up the mantle to deliver a two-week marketing campaign on behalf of their university aimed at generating reviews. It’s a virtuous circle that provides great real-world experience to the students involved and generates additional reviews, strengthening the student voice for Loughborough. A recent participant in the Challenge said this:
"The StudentCrowd digital marketing experience gave me an intriguing insight into the world of digital marketing and gave me the foundations I needed to carry it out myself. It was fantastic to form a team and collaborate on such an engaging project together and I truly looked forward to every session."
This is just one of many ways that StudentCrowd and Loughborough have worked together to encourage authentic review generation.
So what's the secret?
The secret is simple. To begin, it is important to acknowledge that your students have a voice and that your future students want to hear what they have to say. When you listen to the honest and live feedback of your current students and are courageous enough to engage and act on it, you demonstrate your university culture to your current and future students.
Putting this at the heart of their strategy has seen Loughborough perform outstandingly and consistently on StudentCrowd. This has allowed us, in partnership, to optimise how we co-create expressions of that voice.
What’s brilliant about this ‘secret’ is that it doesn’t need to be rocket-science, nor does it need to be time consuming. We at StudentCrowd can be extra hands to make the work light and are always willing and excited to work with our university partners in new and creative ways. Developing and running value-added services such as the Enterprise Challenges is just one of the examples of what is possible.
Peter Brook
LIV Student / Valeo Group
Student Crowd's API allows us to showcase authentic student reviews directly on our website. This integration provides prospective residents with genuine insights from current and past tenants, enhancing their decision-making process. The ability to display real-time feedback has significantly boosted transparency and trust in our communities at LIV Student. We’d recommend this integration to any accommodation operator looking to highlight the true experiences of their community.
University of Greenwich
As an institution we are extremely focused on student experience with effects across the board. It is so encouraging to see that this is shown and being talked about so positively by our student body.
University of Derby
We wanted to showcase our accommodation on a reputable review site where people come for objective, trustworthy information.