What Social Channels Should I Be on in Higher Ed Marketing?

LinkedIn, Facebook, Snapchat, X, Reddit, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest…I could go on (and on and on and on). Does your organization really need to be on all of them? And if not, which is right for your audience?

The answer largely depends on who your audience is and the goals of your communication plan.

If you’re reaching out to prospective students in their teens and 20s, you may want to focus your energy on popular Gen Z social media platforms like TikTok. If you’re pushing to recruit non-traditional students and/or family decision-makers, Facebook and Instagram could be a better option.

The best way to decide which platforms to make a push on isn’t guesswork. It’s hard data. The best way to get that data is to take an inventory of your current platforms, messaging strategies, and gaps…otherwise known as a social media audit.

A social media audit evaluates your overall social media presence, including your profiles, content, engagement metrics, and overall strategy. It helps you assess the effectiveness of your social media efforts and identify areas of improvement.

A social media audit has several steps and aims to understand your social media presence, follower type, and the gaps between your goals and your current engagement. A social media audit should cover:

• Number of platforms in use.
• Number of accounts on those platforms, including groups: You might be surprised at the number of active, inactive, branded, and non-branded accounts you uncover when you start searching!
• Follower counts and characteristics.
• Engagement on each channel, such as views, shares, mentions, and comments.
• Patterns in engagement, such as the kinds of posts your audience most engages with.

Working with a community college in Michigan, we identified 65 accounts across six platforms, including unsanctioned and inactive groups and accounts diluting their brand messaging. Spotting those errant accounts lets you reduce digital “clutter” and create a streamlined storytelling strategy that relays the information and entertainment prospective students and families want and need.

Part of that strategy should include effectively repurposing content to match the tone, voice, and intent of users by platform—without spreading yourself thin by **constantly** creating new content.

As the godfather of content marketing, Joe Pulizzi said, “Don’t build your mansion on rented land.” In other words, if your content lives only on social media, you’re wasting an opportunity to welcome new audience members into your content community.

Instead of publishing on social alone, create a solid content bank on your website.

Think of social media as the front porch where you greet guests and share snippets of your life. Invite people inside your website, to support their journey with helpful resources and opportunities to stay in touch. Plus, guiding visitors from social media to your website boosts your site’s SEO and allows visitors to explore all you have to offer—not just the slice of content you’re advertising.

Listen Now: SEO is not a Service it is a Way of Life

Creating new, engaging content can be overwhelming. How many TikToks and Reels can one person make in a day? Here’s our quick and easy guide to repurposing content while still making it feel fresh.

Changing up the images you use with written content refreshes the story with minimal effort. But when audience members see the same featured image over and over in your feed, it all starts to run together.

Try adding a new image as your featured media when you redistribute blog stories or ads—keeping it fresh will attract new eyes and continued engagement. Add descriptive alt text for each image to improve accessibility.

You might have heard the phrase “video is king,” but even simple animations or videos may take time and effort for your team. So, instead of making a ton of separate shorts, create one epic video and parse it out across your platforms.

Nearly every social site is video-friendly, and you can choose the thumbnail on video-centric platforms like YouTube to keep the content looking fresh and clean. Just make sure your video is formatted correctly across platforms and includes captions to help a larger pool of people enjoy your content.

Too often we see organizations allowing their older content to languish on their site, in desperate need of an update. But sometimes it’s more efficient—and SEO-friendly—to refresh content rather than create something entirely new.

For example, if you have an existing blog story about a specific program or service, but it hasn’t been touched since 2020, it may be time for a refresh. Keep the URL the same to retain your glorious SEO “juice” and gut the on-page content to update:

• Calls-to-action
• Images and video
• Internal links
• Stats
• Search intent phrasing
• The timestamp on the page

Subsequently, you can redistribute that story on social media, over email, and through your other channels. This approach enhances the relevance and timeliness of your content in half the time it may take your team to write something from scratch.

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User-generated content consists of photos, videos, testimonials, reviews, and more. Encourage your audience to tag and mention you by reposting and engaging with their original content.

For example, you can turn a visitor’s quote into a visual post and distribute it on various social channels. Comment on photos that tag your page or location to show the human caring and enthusiasm behind your brand.

Related reading: How to Maximize Website Traffic with a Content Audit—and What to Do Next

One platform that absolutely should not be neglected is Reddit. Reddit has an extremely loyal user base, with over 16% of its 500 million users visiting the site daily. Reddit is a series of forums divided by subject, with everything from r/marketing to r/cannedsardines.

You might also notice that when googling something, the search results that pop up are often something like “best dog walkers Reddit.”  Reddit has long been privileged by search engines as a wealth of public and collaborative information. Reddit posts are often spotlighted in the “discussion and forums” part of your search results. OpenAI partnered with Reddit to surface their content in ChatGPT—making the platform a powerful game-changer in AI.

Posting on Reddit involves a long-term strategy for success. Engage with the communities most relevant to your niche, offer genuinely helpful insights, and reply to comments.

Social media can feel like a tangled mess of platforms sometimes. However, with a strategic approach based on your target audience and messaging goals, you can effectively manage your presence across these channels. Conduct regular audits to evaluate your social media performance and identify areas for improvement. Remember, your website serves as your digital headquarters, so investing in high-quality content creation is key. By mastering the nuances of each platform and employing the tactics mentioned above, you’ll be well on your way to strengthening your brand and driving engagement.

Ready to take your social media game to the next level? Email us to discuss your social media strategy.