Should I invite all prospects to a private community?
Short answer - no. Private communities should be restricted for engagement with singular, target audiences such as applicants and/or offer holders.
1. Mixing Wide‑Stage Prospects Dilutes Conversation Quality
Students at very different stages (early research, enquiries, applicants, offer holders) have fundamentally different needs, questions, and motivations.
When you put them all in one space:
- Early‑stage students ask generic, surface‑level questions
- Offer holders and applicants look for specific, tactical support
- Not everyone gets what they need, and confidence in the community may drop
Outcome:
→ Lower‑quality, fragmented, repetitive conversation that feels unmoderated and unfocused
→ Engagement declines because no one segment feels the space is “for them”
This is a well‑documented pattern in online community management: the more heterogeneous the group, the lower the depth and relevance of conversation.
2. Opening the Community to Very Early‑Stage Students Increases “University Shopping” Behaviour
When you invite thousands of prospects who are not yet committed, you create space for:
- Comparisons of other universities
- Discussions on alternatives
- Sharing of conflicting or misleading information
- Negative social proof (“I prefer X university because…”)
This is the opposite of what a university wants in a branded community.
A community should deepen commitment - not restart the decision process.
Outcome:
→ Students who are already leaning toward the university may feel destabilised or discouraged.
→ Offer holders might second‑guess themselves if they see lots of chatter about competitors.
3. It Misaligns With Community Best Practice: Communities Work Best When They’re Purpose‑Built
Healthy communities have:
- A clear identity
- People in a common stage or mindset
- Defined expectations and shared goals
When everyone is in wildly different parts of the journey:
- You can’t design content that fits everyone
- Ambassador responses become inconsistent
- Moderation becomes harder
- Students don’t feel “this space was built for me”
Closed, private communities solve this by aligning the group around a shared moment:
- Offer holders
- Applicants
- Pre‑departure students
- Country/region cohorts
- Subject‑specific cohorts
This drives:
- Higher trust
- More natural peer‑to‑peer exchange
- Better ambassador insights
- Higher retention and conversion
4. It Weakens the University’s Conversion Funnel
A community is strongest as a moment-specific engagement tool.
If everyone joins early:
- They have no “next stage” to move into
- You miss the chance to re‑engage and re‑energise them with a new private space
Segmented communities act as micro‑conversions:
Joining an applicant or offer holder group reinforces commitment at the right moment.
A single open group removes that psychological escalator.
Objective Recommendation
A university should not create one large community for all historic prospects.
Instead, you should use communities strategically by stage, so the experience feels:
- Relevant
- Supportive
- Safe
- Targeted
- High‑quality
- Conversion‑driven