New platform enhancements expand access to virtual visits, streamlines event planning and access to integrated event marketing suite for admissions, marketing and orientation

12/11/2020 – Needham, MA

PlatformQ Education, the leading provider of virtual engagement software and strategic services, today announced key enhancements to the Conduit webcasting platform ahead of the critical 2021 yield phase of the admissions, recruitment and orientation process. These new features will enable admissions and enrollment leaders to streamline the process of self-scheduling, launching and producing virtual visits and events; ensuring audiences may access the immersive Conduit experience while empowering admissions teams to self-manage events more effectively.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the fallout of moving a process traditionally reliant on in-person connections to virtual events, admissions and enrollment leaders adopted a variety of tools and programs in attempts to reach, engage and support students with mixed results. Zooming from meeting to meeting or waiting patiently for a “visitor” in a virtual booth yielded a low return on the time invested; contributing to double digit declines in inquiries and applications. 

Gil Rogers, Executive Vice President at PlatformQ Education said, “The challenges of recruiting in a completely virtual environment are not too different than in the past. Admissions leaders must have a strategic focus on reaching students with the right content at the right time via the right channels featuring the right people. That’s a lot of rights to get right.” Rogers continued, “While off-the-shelf meeting software solutions like Zoom or Webex make it easy to launch a meeting or presentation, there are clear issues with stability, production quality, accessibility, and brand differentiation.”

Key new features will include:

  • Streamlined self-service scheduling and webcast launching tools for large-scale webcasts and virtual visits within the Conduit dashboard
  • Enhanced screen share capabilities to ease presentation preparation
  • A refreshed and intuitive presenter interface 
  • Automatic live closed captioning with post-event editing capabilities
  • Integration with Conduit live chat capabilities to facilitate audience engagement
  • Consistent access to interactive content and important resources provided by the institution, including links and downloadable documents

Traditional Conduit webcasting has enabled admissions leaders to host large scale virtual events while taking advantage of PlatformQ Education’s strategic planning and production services. Workflow, announced earlier this year, facilitates the delivery of purposeful and personalized video experiences at scale. These latest enhancements will enable presenters to schedule virtual visits and small group presentations with ease from within the Conduit dashboard; enabling admissions officers seeking to create a unique visit experience the flexibility to plan, execute and market their events on a completely self-service platform. 

However, unlike Zoom or Webex, Conduit presentations are immediately endured on the institution’s branded virtual environment for on-demand access by the institution’s audience; making them available on-demand for students who may have missed the live presentation or choose to access it at a later time. Additionally, because the Conduit platform is browser-based, event participants can access the presentation on any device without the need to install external plug-ins or mobile apps. Conduit activity can also be seamlessly integrated into the institution’s CRM, allowing for consistent measuring and follow-up marketing to event attendees and on-demand viewers.

”The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated a transition that was already taking place with respect to shifting informational presentations and engaging experiences to a virtual environment. What’s been most impressive is how quickly our institutional partners adapted, increasing their ability to manage the delivery of their virtual events more quickly and easily. These new features will further enable admissions professionals to effectively tell their institution’s story with the most dependable tools that also integrate with their strategic plans and technical processes.”  said Mallory Willsea, Vice President of Strategy and Operations. 

PlatformQ Education will release these new features and functionality for current clients to beta starting in January. To learn more about Conduit visit www.platformqedu.com. 

About PlatformQ Education

PlatformQ Education helps colleges and universities virtualize their online engagement strategies. With its suite of products and managed services, including Conduit, Campus Connect live chat, global SMS and email automation, PlatformQ Education enables institutions to meaningfully engage with students, parents, and counselors at every stage of the engagement process. Whether the goal is to increase applications or influence accepted students’ decisions, or reach and engage alumni, hundreds of institutions rely on PlatformQ Education to support their conversion and yield goals every day.