The essence of social media is every form of life is now inevitable. The different strategies that the human race has come across over the years in the fields of higher education marketing are just fascinating.
Universities are extremely lively places with thousands of students, faculty, and captivating campus life and what not! So does this mean marketing these through social media is easy?
Fortunately yes, with so many users already on social media platforms, marketing has never been easier. Though this won’t be simply a piece of cake. In order to increase awareness about your brand, strengthen brand loyalty and establish stronger relationships with students, a carefully crafted social media marketing plan can prove to be a powerful medium for recruiting students.
If this tool is used in the right way, there is literally no limit to what you can achieve. Here in this article, we will be discussing different pillars of successful higher education marketing which can all be done via social media. If done correctly, goals can be achieved in no time.
Now if you feel like it’s just a lot for you and you need someone to do all the hard work for you, then you can hire a professional education marketing agency, who are experienced in driving student enrollments and making it a success for you.
Furthermore, in this article, we’ll discuss different ways to market higher education content along with tips to effectively promote higher ed content on social media.
So without further ado let’s get into it!
Post Relevant Content
Now, if we talk about relevant content, we’re looking for content that raises brand awareness. For the most part, you should make sure that the majority of the content you publish is focused on raising brand recognition.
This is done to market your institute in a way that fits out and gives off a unique presentation. Since the competition out there is pretty high, you should know how to communicate with the students to encourage them to join in.
Now if you are wondering how can I achieve this? The answer is simple: consider your institute’s accomplishments and distinguishing qualities. Then, revolve your content around those characteristics.
Share your students’ accomplishments, for example. Whether it’s a research project or a success story of a student-athlete. Share it all on your social media platforms.
Hashtags Supremacy
Come up with a catchy hashtag that defines you and your students. Make sure it’s unique so your audience can easily differentiate. The next thing you want to do is encourage your students to actually use the hashtag on social media where they find it relevant.
Using the Hashtags in acceptance letters, campus activities or anything applaudable is just a few right ways to do so. Once you’re in the flow of these hashtags, you can then find UGC (user-generated content) on social media which can be easily reposted in different ways on different social media.
Now you might ask, “Is this really necessary?”
Well yes.
Because it presents realistic experiences from real students, UGC is helpful in higher education recruitment efforts. It also boosts interaction on your social media platforms.
Feature Student Stories
This plays an important role in marketing as it not only strengthens student communities but it also projects a healthy image of your institute.
One of the common ways to do so is to celebrate diverse cultures. This can be done by the students, staff members, and faculty as well.
Introduction of Vital Community Members of Your University
One cool way to market your higher education is to introduce your key members to the internet. If your institute has a smaller number of students then showcasing the key members is the best thing you can do to market it.
These introductions can be of faculty members that join in recently, the teacher assistants, Social media interns, and whoever you feel like deserves to be at your social media platforms!
Go Live!
Going live on social media can be a great way to recruit students. Whether it is for campus visits or just college fairs in general, show it all to the internet. By doing this you will not only engage the students but the parents can also be part of this without having to go anywhere.
Here are some of the situations where you might want go live:
- Special institutional announcements for the student body
- Q&A about the admission process for prospective students
- Virtual fundraising events
- Commencements
- Campus tours
Conduct Online Tours on Social Media
Thanks to our friend, the internet, now you are not limited to resources. You can host online tours of campus and activities on social media.
This will surely attract future students and will also enable a virtual tour of those students who are unable to join due to any reason.
The best host for these tours is the students as it will ensure authenticity and trust with the viewers. Utilizing every platform in its own way is the key pillar to success.
Be Consistent with Posting on Social Media
The first thing you want to do is select the social media platforms that you want to use and post on. Once you have done that, then set the desired number of posts you want to post online.
As the saying goes, “Consistency is the key to success”, it is true that it is the best way to grow your social media presence.
So make sure to create a plan and follow that in order for your higher education to market properly. Your plan can go like having 3 posts on Facebook per week, 4 on Instagram per week, and so on.
Final Words
In this article, we concluded some of the top-notch higher education marketing strategies along with some tips to make them highly effective.
The tips we’ve shared with you are easy to follow and used by recognized education institutions around the world. Give these strategies a go and recruit more students than ever before.
About the Author
Farasat Khan is an expert in Online Marketing Strategies. He has worked for more than 6 years with established brands before starting his marketing firm. He provides consultation on product marketing, search engine optimization, social media marketing to help businesses generate sales.
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