5 Ways to Improve your School's Social Media Presence
In today’s digital world, building an engaging and stand-out social media presence should be a central part of your school’s marketing strategy. It will help you reach new parents, attract new pupils, show off the best of your school & communicate your values and key messages. Achieving this no easy task however, and involves more than simply posting pictures sporadically without purpose or a plan. Not sure where to start or how to improve your current position? Don’t worry! Here are five ways you can level up your school’s social media presence and start reaching new people today:
Use video
If you aren’t using video content for your school yet, you need to start now! It’s no secret that short-form video content in particular is having a major moment. Think Instagram reels, Stories, TikTok & YouTube shorts. Video content generates more engagement and attracts attention quicker and for longer than static posts. It also allows you to have a little fun & get creative! Read our blog here for more information on why video is SO important for your school ‘s social media.
2. Show your school’s personality
Your education brand’s personality is what makes it unique, so don’t be afraid to show it off. Social media gives you the platform to showcase your school’s values, offers people & USPs – all of which will help attract your target market to your content and build relationships with your audience. Don’t forget that building a brand personality on social media includes how you engage with people as well as the content you put out.
3. Have a strategy
If you don’t have a social media strategy for your school, you are likely not performing as well as you could be on your social platforms. Having a solid social media strategy in place will give you structure, allow you to plan in advance, set and measure goals and make sure you are making the most of each platform. A strategy goes deeper than just planning content, it takes a closer look at your target market, your key messages and goals and helps structure your social media planning and maximising your potential to reach the right people, and achieve the goals you want on the platform(s). Not sure where to start with a strategy? No problem! Download our free Content Planner here to give your posting some structure. Or to learn how to create a strategy for your school, we have a self-paced, online course that covers everything you need to know. Click here to see what’s involved - Creating a Social Media Strategy for your Education Brand.
4. Be active
Simply posting content isn’t enough to build a strong social media presence for your school. Being active and engaging (ie leaving comments, inviting comments, liking and interacting with other accounts and posts) is an important part of building relationships and giving your school a voice. Spend time engaging with your audience, pupils, parents & the local community as well as making sure you always reply to comments & DMs. Social media platforms love engagement and will push posts out to more people if they are receiving lots of engagement so you should not only encourage it but actively take part in it. It is social media after all, so be social!
5. Invest in training
Social media and the digital world is fast-paced constantly evolving which makes keeping up with the latest trends a tough job. It’s also difficult to be an expert in all areas of marketing for your school so investing in training is not only sensible but will always pay off - both for the school, and for your own professional development. Making a relatively small investment in expert training will provide you with the knowledge & tools to up your social media game and start creating engaging and high reaching content that speaks directly to your target market. Whether it’s a group course, a masterclass, at your own pace learning or bespoke 1-1 training, there are many options out there to suit your school’s requirements & budget. You can explore more here about the social media training & courses we offer.
There are many elements that go into building a strong social media presence for your school and while it can seem like an uphill battle at times, having the right knowledge & tools in place does make it easier. Improving your social media presence is one of the best ways of reaching new people and giving your school’s reputation a boost. If you don’t have the resource or time to focus on your social media, why not hire a social media manager? We specialise in social media for education and offer social media management packages to suit your requirements. Find out more here.