As students reach the final stage of the recruitment cycle, they are grappling with one of their biggest life decisions to date: which offer to accept. With Circuit, you can bring this choice to the forefront for your most engaged virtual visitors by using targeted CTAs, curated content, and personalized tours that solidify their decision. In this article, we'll explore how Circuit can be used to engage students in the decision stage of the admissions funnel.
Circuit Functionality for Conversion
1. Use button and timed Accept Your Offer CTAs to drive conversion
Between February and June, Circuit customers tested a variety of calls-to-action (CTAs) designed to turn virtual visitors into confirmed students. Many schools added prominent “Accept Your Offer” buttons on their homepage and within their tours, while others created Timed Notice CTAs that appeared mid-way or towards the end of their virtual tour to capture the attention of highly engaged offer-holders at the perfect moment.
The results speak for themselves: Timed CTAs achieved click-through rates (CTR) as high as 19.5%, while Button CTAs accounted for up to 61% of successful CTA session events.
As a result of these high performing click-through results, it's clear that these CTAs are effective at motivating decision-stage visitors to take action. This has become a new best practice in the Circuit playbook.
2. Promote content that resonates with incoming students
Circuit makes it simple to create curated tours featuring the scenes that matter most to students in the decision-making stage. This is the time to spotlight campus life, including residences, dining options, recreation, and nearby attractions, so prospects can envision themselves as part of your community. For example, Brock University created a ‘Places to Eat’ tour that saw a 37% increase in starts during the summer compared to spring, and a 154% increase compared to winter.
Residence tours are especially powerful at this stage. They help students imagine their future living space and make more confident housing choices. For example, the University of Ottawa sent its residence tours to students through an email blast, resulting in over 4,000 visitors in March and April 2024, a 261% increase from the previous year, with about 25% returning for multiple visits. (Read more about how uOttawa Housing leveraged Circuit.)
3. Use Hidden Tours
Hidden tours are a strategic way to boost conversion and isolate the specific tour behaviour of your admitted student audience in your analytics. With this Circuit feature, you can create a unique combination of scenes tailored to this audience, then share them directly without displaying them on your main tour homepage.
For example, you could create an ‘Admitted Students Guide’ tour that spotlights upcoming orientation highlights or walks students through key lecture halls and lab spaces with tips on how to succeed in those environments. This tour can then be easily embedded into admitted-student portals and email campaigns, orientation apps, or featured in other targeted marketing materials. This approach lets you deliver a personalized experience for students you're actively working to convert without affecting general tours you've designed for most visitors.
Key Takeaways
Strategic implementation of CTAs, curated content, and hidden tours transforms your virtual experience from a passive viewing tool into a powerful conversion engine. By delivering personalized journeys that address admitted students' specific questions and concerns, you create decisive moments that tip the scales in your institution's favour. The data confirms this approach works—with engagement rates soaring and institutions reporting measurable enrollment gains. Make your virtual tour the final compelling touchpoint that converts admitted students into enrolled ones, maximizing your recruitment investment and building your incoming class with confidence.
