{"id":11856,"date":"2016-07-15T10:32:13","date_gmt":"2016-07-15T15:32:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.studyabroad101.com\/?p=11856"},"modified":"2022-06-21T10:46:19","modified_gmt":"2022-06-21T14:46:19","slug":"abroad101-newsletter-for-providers-april-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.studyabroad101.com\/blog\/2016\/07\/abroad101-newsletter-for-providers-april-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"Abroad101 Newsletter for Providers – April 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Abroad101-reviews-logo-web\"First, a reminder to invite returning students to submit a review through Abroad101.\u00a0 We recommend you use the Invite Tool in your Abroad101 account, you can also tell your students to start here: http:\/\/www.StudyAbroad101.com\/reviews\/new<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

While the impact of online reviews is still a topic of debate in higher education, there is little debate that reviews influence consumers who shop online.\u00a0 How important are customer reviews to shoppers?\u00a0 One recent survey reports 90% of consumers read online reviews before visiting a business, and 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.<\/span><\/p>\n

What do the Scholars Say about Reviews?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

While we’re pretty confident reviews do matter, Abroad101’s Social Media editor Caleb House went to work to uncover some evidence.\u00a0 In “How Online Product Reviews Affect Retail Sales: A Meta-analysis” published in the academic “Journal of Retailing”, Caleb discovers that: “the only factor that had a greater influence on sales was price” and “the indication that electronic word of mouth has actually overtaken more traditional sources of information.”\u00a0 Read more of Caleb’s analysis<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The article looked at retail purchases and what would be considered transactional sales.\u00a0 Study abroad is more complex than this so this data should be taken with appropriate disclaimers.\u00a0 This being said, it is a new generation of students on study abroad, what it says when you have NO reviews?<\/span><\/p>\n

What about Bad Reviews?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The most common objection we get to fully transparent publishing of student reviews is a concern about how a negative experience will impact a program or the institutional stakeholders.\u00a0 In the complex world of social media and online transparency, the opposite is often true.<\/span><\/p>\n

People often come to review sites to validate their choices and to search for the negative. Reviews of student struggles and reports of negative things will actually help future students prepare and set their expectations.\u00a0 In an odd twist of logic, they go to review sites to relieve the anxiety about what happens when things go wrong.\u00a0 Reviews also provide a practical balance to the always-positive websites, brochures and on campus presentations.\u00a0 For those, like parents, who may not be present in Q&A sessions, reviews provide a welcome reality check.<\/span><\/p>\n

Taking some best practices from the tech sector, it is ironic to discover that negative reviews actually have a positive impact.\u00a0 We suggest you read “You Don\u2019t Want A 5-Star Review<\/span><\/a>“<\/span><\/p>\n

Alumni Ambassadors and Beautiful Reviews<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

This “always sunny” concept is something that savvy marketers are concerned over.\u00a0 Study Abroad providers are increasingly using Alumni Ambassadors in their marketing efforts.\u00a0 These are typically very satisfied students who have demonstrated great affinity for a program and are fantastic spokespeople.\u00a0 When they are tasked with writing a review, human nature kicks in and we have noticed these reviews being too promotional and “too good to be true.”\u00a0 In looking at the traffic these reviews generate, they get less page views than reviews with lower overall ratings.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is worth noting that Abroad101 modified our page display algorithm to adjust for any one-sided approach to reviewers.\u00a0 We welcome Alumni Ambassador submissions and in your training of them we hope you’ll reinforce the need to be candid in their stories so the review will be viewed as legitimate and credible.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Latest Study Abroad Rankings:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

For the fifth year, Abroad101 has tallied student reviews and produced \u201cThe 2015 Study Abroad Rankings.\u201d\u00a0 The rankings recognize the study abroad programs and locations rated highest by American students who have studied abroad in the last year. The rankings also reflect the dynamic nature of study abroad and identify up-and-coming destinations and program types in addition to top programs and providers.\u00a0 From this years data we found that:<\/span><\/p>\n