Does your institution have a targeted direct mail campaign to reach prospective students? Here's some advice: Save money and focus your marketing efforts online.
College-bound high school students receive an onslaught of postcards and thick packets every summer. Parents stack them neatly on the table, and get excited thinking about the possibilities within each piece of mail.
For students? These hard copies often go untouched. Their typical reply?
“I'll just look it up on Google or ChatGPT.”
Your online presence is critical, and that includes social media for educational institutions. Social media is the go-to for reaching younger generations. Even if your school is already leveraging it, this article can help you:
According to 2025 Pew Research, American teens embrace a variety of platforms like TikTok and YouTube, which they visit “almost constantly." This provides your school with ample opportunities to advertise and gain optimal visibility.
More than any other reason, a social media marketing strategy gets you face time with your target audience. Because most prospective students get their information online, you can meet them where they are with a strategic digital marketing campaign across all social media platforms.
Here are other reasons to enhance a social media strategy for colleges and universities:
Exactly what is it you want to accomplish? Increase recruitment? Fundraising outreach? Student engagement? Answering these questions gives you the backbone of your social media plan.
Follow these steps to hone your plan:
Do you want to gain more followers? Encourage students to visit campus? Build a stronger social media presence in general? Knowing your desired outcome gives you something to work toward as you implement your social media strategy.
Be specific about defining your goal. Make sure to include all necessary key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure whether your campaign is a success.
An audience persona simplifies your “audience” into specific character types. For example, you might have a prospective student, first-generation student, transfer student, parent, donor and alumni—all of whom are relevant but make up very different parts of your collective target audience.
You want to meet your audience where they are. Once you identify your target audience, invest in learning about what they want and where they spend their time online. Create your social media accounts based on your goals and audience.
For example, if you want to target prospective Gen Z students, focus on channels like YouTube and Instagram. For targeting older adults, especially parents, LinkedIn might be a more appropriate channel.
Who will develop an editorial calendar and post content? What voice/tone do you want to use across multiple platforms? What platform will be used and for what purpose? Creating a strong plan and sharing it campus-wide will get your entire team and institution on the same page.
The more organized and coordinated your social media efforts, the more likely they are to succeed. Take time to schedule content based on annual events, holidays, important campus milestones, deadlines and program schedules.
Data about the performance of your social media channels provide insight you can use to enhance and increase your school’s digital presence. You should track each social media post's metrics and analytics to see exactly what's working and what isn't.
A robust CMS will have integrated social media analytics when you publish via the CMS. Different metrics such as likes, shares, views and video watch length will help determine what your audience responds to and what they don’t.
A quality CMS will have integrated reporting features such as social media analytics.
Act upon the insights you gain from the analytics. Learn what kind of content your audience is engaging with and at what time, what targeting strategies are working for you, and for which channel. Use these insights to improve your strategy and boost your social media engagement.
Don’t reinvent the wheel. Instead, see what other schools are doing and personalize these tactics to optimize your institution’s social media strategy.
Here are eight social media marketing tips to consider:
Guest posts from students in specific colleges, study abroad programs, campus activities and athletics give viewers a “day in the life” glimpse of niche areas of campus life.
Having current students and alumni create, curate and publish posts presents an authentic voice and boosts brand awareness. Who better to amplify your institution than the people who have lived and are currently living the experience? Potential students appreciate the honesty that comes from real learner content.
For instance, Texas Christian University’s #tcustudyabroad social media posts adventures on Instagram from students involved in exchange programs in various parts of the world—a stellar social media marketing strategy.
– Image courtesy of Texas Christian University
A quality content management system (CMS) allows you to schedule content for platforms like LinkedIn and Instagram. Automation of repetitive tasks frees you for more important work.
Because voice is an important part of your school’s brand, it should be consistent no matter what medium you use. If you decide on a more formal tone, take time to explain any academic terms that may not be familiar to some students.
Facebook, Instagram and YouTube are holding steady as top platforms worldwide. And don’t forget texting. It's effective in getting the conversation started and keeping it going.
According to the 2019 E-Expectations® Trend Report, texting has surged in popularity over the last couple of years. It’s one of the easiest ways to get messages in front of students.
Your social media accounts represent your institution, so anything posted will be considered an “official” stance. That’s why it’s so important to vet what you plan to post through this lens.
Also, pay attention to what others are saying to and about your institution online. If possible, join those conversations with your audience. This will strengthen connections and give your institution a positive social media personality.
By listening to your audience, you can gain a better understanding of their needs and wants. This method can get more precise insights into your current and potential clients, and delve further into your audience research.
It also helps to build meaningful and long-term connections. Social listening is a popular and useful way to engage with your audience and involves tracking conversations on social media platforms.
Every year, data from the E-Expectations Trend Report confirms that an institution’s digital presence is an important part of an their overall persona. As the next generation of digital natives continues to mature, you can expect the influence of your online messaging will become even more crucial in sharing your school’s brand.
Don’t wait until you’re so far behind that it feels impossible to catch up. Instead, implement the higher ed marketing strategies suggested to make sure your institution stays ahead of the curve.
Connect with our team to see how we can support your social media strategy and effectively engage your learners.
Last updated: April 17, 2023