Higher education institutions can use social media to deliver targeted information, generate referrals, and build strong brand ties with present and future students. Consider the following to get a sense of the scale of the opportunity: There are over two billion active Facebook users, with 74% of those users being between the ages of 18 and 45. Furthermore, those people connect into their accounts several times per day. Consider how many of your school’s prospective, current, and alumni students use social media on a regular basis. Isn’t that a big number?

A comprehensive educational institutions social media marketing media plan is required to take advantage of this opportunity. This will assist you with determining how your institution will use social media to achieve its objectives, as well as the tools, platforms, and resources that will be required. This strategy lays out your marketing team’s goals and how they’ll get there.

• Learning outcomes of the programme
• the outcome of a career
• What are the characteristics of typical students in the programme?
• Who the professors are and how they teach in the programme
• The price of tuition

Students often have a small number of colleges on their consideration list—an average of four—and the majority of them (75 percent) don’t go beyond that. As a result, colleges and universities that make it simpler for prospective students to acquire information online have a leg up on those that don’t.

In terms of communication strategies, prospective students have a wide range of preferences. They have a variety of communication methods with a multichannel strategy, including chat, SMS, and social media message services.

Potential students may not be ready to talk on the phone at certain points in their research—and some may never want to—but many are happy to communicate online or text to receive the information they require.

Concentrating on these modalities and giving resources who are trained to apply them can be quite beneficial. Wiley University Services has an omnichannel team dedicated to digital chats, resulting in a considerable rise in monthly talks.

By giving students more ways to engage, this method can also enable increased contact rates on queries from traditional lead sources. Using digital touchpoints to generate greater interest and value sooner benefits all possible students, even those who are already willing to fill out an RFI form and chat to you.

With a self-directed digital experience, you can generate more student inquiries

Rather of delivering a linear, one-size-fits-all experience for students, giving them more influence over the research process allows schools to put up digital content that is both flexible and has some signposts. Information can be tailored, for example, through digital interactions that ask the user a few questions about themselves and what they’re looking for, allowing institutions to better serve them by curating content based on their preferences. When a student is ready to apply, they should be given the option of doing so independently or with support. They should also be able to track the application and receive notifications or updates on their phone, with the ability to ask questions or seek extra assistance at any time.

Keep in mind that returning to school is a big decision, and potential students may be confused and overwhelmed by the options and information available. Creating an intuitive digital experience simplifies what may be a daunting procedure and allows people to go at their own pace and through their preferred communication channel. Giving people more control over communication—giving them what they want, when they want it, and in the format they prefer—can increase things like email deliverability and click through rates.