TikTok Is No Longer Just for Entertainment- It’s a Search Engine

TikTok has evolved beyond being a platform purely for entertainment. 64% of Generation Z has used TikTok as a search engine, and 40% of Gen Z now prefers searching on TikTok and Instagram over Google, often turning to it when looking for information on study abroad opportunities.

Prospective students now search for:

• “Best universities in the UK”
• “What’s it like to study at xxx?”
• “Scholarships for international students”

The TikTok algorithm prioritises engagement and relevance, meaning authentic, student-led content has a high chance of appearing when prospective applicants search for university-related information. By harnessing this trend, universities can amplify their reach by leveraging current international students as influencers, helping them target new audiences in key recruitment markets.

Why Work with International Student Influencers?

1. Authenticity Builds Trust: Prospective students trust real stories from real students over polished, corporate-style university advertisements. A current student sharing their experiences, whether it’s a day in their life, a campus tour, or tips for settling in, feels far more relatable and credible.
2. Localised Content Performs Better: Content created by students from specific countries resonates more with applicants from those same regions. A student from India or Nigeria, for example, may be more likely to engage with content made by a fellow Indian or Nigerian student studying abroad, as they share cultural references, expectations, and concerns.
3. Native Language Engagement: TikTok’s algorithm boosts content in local languages, making it advantageous for universities to partner with multilingual international students who can create videos in their native tongue.
4. Cost Effective and Scalable: Unlike traditional influencer marketing, partnering with student influencers can be more budget friendly, offering a high return on investment with organic engagement.

How Universities Can Leverage TikTok’s Search Features

With TikTok acting as a discovery platform, universities should optimise content for search, much like they would for Google SEO.

• Optimise Captions and Hashtags for Search: Encourage student influencers to use phrases like “UK university life”, “Study in Australia”, or “How to get a student visa” in their captions. Hashtags such as #StudyAbroad, #UKUniversities, #InternationalStudents, #LifeAt xxx can further enhance visibility.
• Encourage Student Influencers to Answer FAQs: Videos like “How I got into xxx”, “Top Tips for Surviving First Year as an International Student”, and “What I Wish I Knew Before Moving to xxx” align with common queries prospective students search for on TikTok.
• Use TikTok’s Q&A Feature: The Q&A function allows creators to directly respond to comments with video replies, providing a perfect opportunity to address concerns raised by applicants.
• Organise Videos Using TikTok Collections: TikTok’s Collections feature enables universities and student influencers to group related videos together. This makes it easier for prospective students to find relevant content, such as application tips, student life experiences, and city guides, ensuring that information is accessible and well-structured.

How to Identify and Partner with Student Influencers

1. Find Students Already Creating Content:
   • Search university-related hashtags and location-based posts to find enrolled students already sharing their experiences.
   • Use TikTok’s search function with queries like “Study abroad at xxx” to discover potential content creators.
2. Offer Incentives & Support:
   • Provide perks such as early access to university events, branded merchandise, or even modest scholarships for content creation.
   • Establish a Student Creator Programme, offering guidance on content strategies while fostering a sense of community among student influencers.
3. Build a Content Strategy:
   • “A Day in My Life at xxx” – A highly searched format that offers insight into student routines.
   • Campus & City Tours – Optimised with location-based keywords to attract students researching study destinations.
   • Application & Visa Tips – Simplifying complex processes in a student-friendly manner, ideally in multiple languages.
4. Encourage Use of TikTok’s Features:
   • Duets & Stitches: Allow student influencers to interact with prospective students by responding to their TikTok queries.
   • Live Q&A Sessions: Run live sessions with student influencers to answer questions in real time about applications, student life, and career prospects.

Tracking Success & Measuring ROI

For a university’s TikTok influencer strategy to be effective, performance should be tracked using key metrics:

• Engagement Rates – Likes, comments, shares, and watch time.
• Follower Growth – Tracking how university-affiliated accounts and student influencers’ profiles grow over time.
• Search Rankings – Checking whether student-led videos are ranking under key search terms related to your university.
• Click-Through Rates (CTR) – Monitoring the number of viewers clicking on links in bios or applying directly after watching.

Leveraging TikTok Sparks Ads

Universities can amplify student-created content using TikTok Spark Ads. Unlike standard newsfeed ads, Spark Ads allow institutions to promote organic TikTok posts while maintaining their engagement metrics, ensuring content feels authentic rather than purely promotional.

Why Use Spark Ads?

• Higher Engagement: Our own stats have shown Spark Ads have an engagement rate 142% higher than standard TikTok ads, meaning promoted content remains interactive and credible.

• Stronger Performance: We’ve also seen that Spark Ads deliver a 43% higher conversion rate compared to regular in-feed ads, making them ideal for driving applications and enquiries.

• Seamless Integration: Because they boost existing content rather than creating traditional ads, Spark Ads preserve the original post’s comments, likes, and shares, helping to maintain social proof and credibility.

By incorporating Spark Ads into their TikTok strategy, universities can ensure that top-performing student influencer content reaches an even wider audience while maintaining authenticity.

While the future of TikTok in the United States remains uncertain, and the platform is restricted in markets like India, Education Cubed, as a TikTok Marketing Partner, offers access to emerging markets such as Kenya and Bangladesh, opportunities that may not be available through your own TikTok Manager.

Reach out to us to discover how we can help elevate your TikTok campaigns and unlock their full potential.

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