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NUS ConNectUS

At A Glance

18,000

Over 18,000 students and
alumnus recruited within
a span of 8 months

6k+

6,000+ posts and
comments in less than
8 months

Background

As the country’s top university and one of Asia’s highest ranking academic institutions, NUS was seeking to create opportunities for current students with alumni to connect, network, and collaborate. They created and launched a platform called ConNectUS – a space for students and alumnus alike to build connections and grow their professional networks.

Students have the opportunity to connect with potential mentors, build professional networks, gain advice from older students on electives or specializations, and receive interview tips.

Alumni have the opportunity to give back to a university that shaped them, while connecting with potential interns and future hires who could benefit their companies.

NUS built a great platform, but they had very few early adopters, and those who did sign up weren’t engaging. They approached Brew in need of solutions before their big investment became irrelevant.

Problem #1: Stakeholder and Student Buy-In

Despite the user-friendly platform, NUS was struggling to get students to sign up. Their key stakeholders weren’t pushing the platform as anticipated, so NUS needed to recruit students directly. They were also struggling to get alumnus on board.

We worked directly with the NUS Centre for Future Ready Graduates (CFG) office to brainstorm potential solutions. It was a tough task – students have so much going on in their lives already – how could we convince them to stop what they’re doing long enough to sign up for a new social platform?

Solution #1: Awareness Video + Targeted Ads

We know that students love video. We’ve seen a significant rise in video engagement across TikTok, YouTube, and other platforms in recent years. If we could get them to stop long enough to watch an engaging video, we could convince them to join the platform.

We conceptualized a video based largely on the successful Google Parisian video and designed the full storyboard.

To get the video in front of students and alumnus, we ran highly targeted Facebook and TikTok ads to students enrolled in NUS and alumnus of the university. These ads were segmented based on year in school as well as career interests.

Within 8 months, ConNectUS had over 18,000 students and alumnus using the platform.

We focused our targeting directly on NUS students

Snippet of the video showcasing the benefit of career advice

Snippet of the video showcasing the benefit of connecting with alumnus

Problem #2: Minimal Community Engagement

Community building is a difficult task. Especially when you own the platform – this isn’t like building up a Facebook page. For people to stick to and regularly return to the platform, we need consistent engagement. Every post needed replies and comments. Otherwise, why would anyone return to the platform?

Early on, there was little-to-no engagement with posts and forum topics. How could we entice people to engage and continue returning to the platform when everyone is brand new?

Solution #2: Multifaceted Community Building Strategy

We strategized a multifaceted approach to community building, relying on three primary pillars:

Content Creation

Community Management

Gamification

We recruited platform ambassadors who were passionate about NUS and gave them detailed instructions on how frequently to post and what kind of content to promote. This would encourage others to begin posting as well, creating a snowball effect.

As content began flowing, we needed a way to ensure posts were being engaged with. We coordinated with our ambassadors and encouraged them to ensure all posts were being commented on and replied to. This would encourage more and more posting.

Lastly, we employed the strategy of gamification – adding game-like mechanics to a non-game environment. This has been proven to be a very effective tactic in promoting early adoption. In this case, we tracked users activity and offered prizes for the most active members – further encouraging participation.

Our efforts have led to consistent increases across all engagement metrics month-over-month since the launch of the platform.

The Results

A Thriving Community
Over 18,000 students are now using the ConNectUS platform, with over 1,000 posts made each month and thousands of comments pouring in regularly. All of these conversations and connections are leading to successful students, career opportunities, and fulfilled alumni.

Our Approach

When Collectius came to us with significant gaps in their SEO expertise and online visibility, we tailored a comprehensive approach that was designed to overhaul their digital presence and drive measurable improvements. Here's how we proceeded:

  • SEO Audit: An on-page and off-page SEO audit was conducted to identify areas for improvement
  • Google Search Console Installation: Google Search Console was installed on the Collectius website to monitor and track their analytics
  • Digital Content Strategy: We produced a digital content strategy pack to help Collectius enhance their SEO goals
  • Backlink Acquisition: Backlinks were purchased to improve Collectius' domain ranking Keyword Research: Extensive keyword research was performed to align content and SEO strategies with relevant search trends

Comprehensive SEO Audit

We initiated our process by conducting a detailed SEO audit for Collectius. This audit was crucial in pinpointing several critical areas where the company was underperforming.

Key issues we found included suboptimal keyword utilisation, missing meta descriptions, and poorly optimised content that wasn't fully aligned with target search queries.

Having identified areas for improvement, the Brew team worked with Collectius’ web development team to implement these fixes.

Following the initial SEO audit, we conducted a focused technical SEO audit for Collectius. A technical SEO audit is a thorough examination of a website’s technical infrastructure as it relates to its visibility and performance in search engines.

It evaluates several key elements, including site architecture, page speed, mobile-friendliness, indexing, crawlability, security, and use of technologies that may impact search engine access and efficiency.

This was a critical step to ensuring that the website’s infrastructure met modern search engine standards, which is pivotal for improving search rankings and user experience. Our audit revealed several key technical issues that needed immediate attention:

Slow Loading Speeds: We identified that the Collectius website had slower than optimal loading times. Slow speeds can significantly affect user experience and negatively impact search engine rankings. To address this, we optimised image sizes, minimised the use of blocking JavaScript, and implemented more efficient caching policies to enhance page load performance.

The Lack of a Sitemap: The absence of a sitemap was another critical gap. Sitemaps are essential as they help search engines more intelligently crawl the site and understand its structure. We created and submitted a comprehensive sitemap to Google, which facilitated better indexing of the website’s pages.

Mobile Optimization: Our audit also found that Collectius’ website was not optimised for mobile users. The Brew team provided detailed guidance to Collectius' web development team on best practices for mobile optimization going forward. This included advice on implementing accelerated mobile pages (AMP), optimising button sizes and touch targets, and ensuring text readability without requiring zoom.


Tracking & Monitoring of Collectius’ Web Performance

To better monitor and track the effectiveness of our strategies, we installed Google Search Console (GSC) on Collectius’ website. GSC allows us to gain valuable insights into the site's traffic, search performance, and any crawling errors, thereby enabling us to make data-driven decisions.

With data from GSC, we can identify which pages are performing well and which might require further optimization. This helps us refine SEO strategies and target specific issues with precision.


Digital Content Strategy

Recognizing the importance of content in SEO success, we crafted a comprehensive digital content strategy pack specifically tailored to Collectius' needs.

This strategy involved developing four customer personas and two end-user personas, representing the diverse segments of Collectius' audience. These personas helped us understand the distinct needs, behaviours, and preferences of different user types that interact with Collectius' services.

From this foundation, we were able to pinpoint the types of content and topics that would resonate most strongly with each persona. Leveraging these insights, we developed a series of SEO-optimised articles.

Each article was carefully written by our copywriter who made sure that keywords used were relevant with Collectius’ offerings and aligned with the interests of potential clients.

Taking this approach allowed us to attract more organic traffic to their site and significantly enhance visibility for these targeted search terms.


Backlink Acquisition

To strengthen Collectius’ domain authority and improve their search engine ranking, we strategically acquired high-quality backlinks. This effort was aimed at boosting their profile against competitors and increasing the trustworthiness of their site in the eyes of search engines.

Through our targeted backlink acquisition efforts, we gradually improved the organic traffic to Collectius' site.

As their domain authority increased, so did their visibility in search engine results, leading to more visitors naturally finding their way to the website without the need for paid advertising.

This steady increase in organic traffic not only enhanced their online presence but also contributed to higher engagement and conversion rates.


Outstanding SEO Results for Collectius

Our comprehensive SEO strategy delivered impressive results for Collectius, significantly enhancing their online visibility and search engine performance. Here are some of the key achievements:

Significant Traffic Growth

Over a period of six months, we achieved more than a 60% increase in organic traffic to Collectius' website. This surge in visitors was a direct result of our focused improvements in SEO practices and content strategies.

Expanded Keyword Reach

There was over a 70% increase in the number of organic keywords that Collectius ranks for on Google. This expansion in keyword coverage helped broaden their visibility and reach a wider audience interested in debt collection and financial services.

Top Rankings in Local Searches

Collectius' website achieved first-page rankings on Google's Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) for targeted searches in Singapore and Malaysia. Ranking on the first page for relevant searches significantly boosted their brand's visibility and accessibility in these key markets.

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