USjournal continuously assesses high-level trends in several industries to determine what's next in international student recruitment:

• Academic priorities represent six of the ten most influential factors in a prospective student's decision about where to study abroad. (Slide 45 at slideshare.net/USjournal/nafsa13)
• Eight of the top ten recommendation drivers are in the learning dimension of the student experience at the graduate level. (Slide 54 at slideshare.net/USjournal/nafsa13)
• Only 18 percent of the world's 2.2 billion internet users currently speak English as a native language. (bytelevel.com/reportcard2012/)
• The sum of all forms of video (TV, video on demand, Internet, and P2P) will be in the range of 80 to 90 percent of global consumer traffic by 2017. (Under Video Highlights at cisco.com)
• YouTube is the second-largest search engine in the world. Every minute, 24 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube. (YouTube.com/watch?v=fjcVme8HbL4)

Our interpretation: Very soon, prospective international students will by-pass Google-type searches for opportunities in their specific academic discipline, in favor of sites like YouTube, Vimeo and their multi-lingual equivalents.

Consequently, USjournal is actively seeking campus-sourced video content from our current advertisers, for placement within their USjournal Profile Pages. We'll also promote those videos independently, to drive more traffic from targeted international students.

One example to recruit native Vietnamese speakers to an associate degree in business program: Create a 60-second video of a current or former Vietnamese student documenting his positive experience at your campus (in his native language), ultimately directing prospective students to your online application. The same precision marketing approach certainly applies to higher-level academic programs, with greater emphasis on career outcomes.

Bottom line: Not all trending data invokes a shift in marketing strategy. This one does. Prioritize the production of brief, authentic, multi-lingual videos targeted to specific academic programs. Narrowcasting your marketing messages makes a lot more sense than broadcasting in this increasingly competitive market of international student recruitment.

• When: August 9, 2013
• Where: Monterrey, Mexico
• Who: Appropriately accredited U.S. higher education institutions including universities, community colleges, and English language programs
• Cost: $995

The U.S. Commercial Service is inviting U.S. colleges and universities to participate in the Higher Education Show where hundreds of students will be looking for their best option to start their professional education in the United States. In addition to the exhibiting schools, students will be able to take advantage of the resources of several U.S. government agencies that will be present, including EducationUSA, U.S. Consulate, and Mexican and U.S. scholarship institutions. For more information: Mario.Vidana@trade.gov or Catherine.Hoang@trade.gov