The foundation of any college's success is its ability to recruit academically talented students with a diverse set of interests. To do this, the university has to connect with potential students through channels that are familiar and comfortable to them. One of the best ways to communicate with these prospective students is through social media.
While there are other social media platforms out there, the most important four for universities to use are Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter. These platforms all have a high amount of users and allow for easy rollout of content. It is important to note that if a university does not have adequate resources to effectively run an account on all of these platforms, then only the most important platforms should be utilized. A bad presence on a platform looks worse than no presence at all. Of these four, Snapchat is the hardest to maintain due to the ephemeral nature of its content. The only ways to communicate with a Snapchat audience is either through the Snapchat story, which is automatically deleted after 24 hours, or by individually messaging every user, which is time consuming and is often seen as a breach of social boundaries. Therefore, if the social media team is too small to maintain four accounts, Snapchat should be eliminated.
Each platform has a different audience, which means that posts should have a different tone. Posts on Twitter and Instagram are often more informal, since the audience is younger on those platforms. Facebook typically has an older audience, meaning that formality is better received there. When crafting posts, it is important to be cognizant of who they are meant for. If the goal of a post is to reach prospective students, then it should be posted on Instagram, Twitter, or Snapchat. However, if parents are the intended audience, then Facebook would be the most appropriate platform.
Content posted on Office of Admissions social media accounts should be both engaging and informative. Getting students to interact with posts should be the core purpose of all content. To prospective students, colleges are daunting, foreign entities and these posts help humanize the educational institution. This goal can be achieved easily through contests. Having prospective students tag their friends under an Instagram post for a chance to win a prize boosts post interactions, exposes new people to the account, and helps break down the wall between the students and the college. Another good practice is to follow students that express interest in attending the university. These social media handles can be collected on college applications, high school visits, online forms, and more. Following these accounts and sending a pre-made message prompting questions, such as the example from Illinois State University on the left, opens the conversation and begins an interpersonal relationship between the student and university. In addition, encouraging student-to-student interactions will further build interpersonal connections and create a sense of community among prospective students. This can be done with a Facebook group for either admitted students, prospective students, or both. They can post questions, find a roommate, share experiences, remind each other of important deadlines, and more.
When optimizing social media strategy for admissions in a higher education institution, it is important to stay mindful of the audience that each post is meant for. This will determine content, tone, and the platform of the post. An active audience is always better than a passive one, so try to create opportunities for prospective students to directly interact with posts. These students will be afraid to start a conversation, so taking the first steps for them allows for an interpersonal connection to begin.
For more tips on social media strategy for admissions, check out The Parish Group, SproutSocial, and Inside Higher Ed!
While there are other social media platforms out there, the most important four for universities to use are Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter. These platforms all have a high amount of users and allow for easy rollout of content. It is important to note that if a university does not have adequate resources to effectively run an account on all of these platforms, then only the most important platforms should be utilized. A bad presence on a platform looks worse than no presence at all. Of these four, Snapchat is the hardest to maintain due to the ephemeral nature of its content. The only ways to communicate with a Snapchat audience is either through the Snapchat story, which is automatically deleted after 24 hours, or by individually messaging every user, which is time consuming and is often seen as a breach of social boundaries. Therefore, if the social media team is too small to maintain four accounts, Snapchat should be eliminated.Each platform has a different audience, which means that posts should have a different tone. Posts on Twitter and Instagram are often more informal, since the audience is younger on those platforms. Facebook typically has an older audience, meaning that formality is better received there. When crafting posts, it is important to be cognizant of who they are meant for. If the goal of a post is to reach prospective students, then it should be posted on Instagram, Twitter, or Snapchat. However, if parents are the intended audience, then Facebook would be the most appropriate platform.
Content posted on Office of Admissions social media accounts should be both engaging and informative. Getting students to interact with posts should be the core purpose of all content. To prospective students, colleges are daunting, foreign entities and these posts help humanize the educational institution. This goal can be achieved easily through contests. Having prospective students tag their friends under an Instagram post for a chance to win a prize boosts post interactions, exposes new people to the account, and helps break down the wall between the students and the college. Another good practice is to follow students that express interest in attending the university. These social media handles can be collected on college applications, high school visits, online forms, and more. Following these accounts and sending a pre-made message prompting questions, such as the example from Illinois State University on the left, opens the conversation and begins an interpersonal relationship between the student and university. In addition, encouraging student-to-student interactions will further build interpersonal connections and create a sense of community among prospective students. This can be done with a Facebook group for either admitted students, prospective students, or both. They can post questions, find a roommate, share experiences, remind each other of important deadlines, and more.When optimizing social media strategy for admissions in a higher education institution, it is important to stay mindful of the audience that each post is meant for. This will determine content, tone, and the platform of the post. An active audience is always better than a passive one, so try to create opportunities for prospective students to directly interact with posts. These students will be afraid to start a conversation, so taking the first steps for them allows for an interpersonal connection to begin.
For more tips on social media strategy for admissions, check out The Parish Group, SproutSocial, and Inside Higher Ed!
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