Social Media for Colleges: 10 Post Ideas to Include in Your Higher Education Strategy This Year

Colleges and universities can easily leverage social media accounts to engage with potential students. In today’s digital world, a solid higher education marketing strategy is best when it includes specific tactics for managing social media engagement and keeping it moving forward. But the question is: what kinds of social posts are students most likely to appreciate and respond to?

Social media usage is extremely prevalent in the college-aged generation, with up to 90% of young adults participating in some form of daily social media activity. For higher education marketers, that means the potential is there for major reach and engagement. 

If you’ve been searching for social media inspiration, you’ve come to the right place. In this post, we’ll break down ten simple ways to engage your audience with social media marketing that's both intriguing and creative. 

10 Post Ideas for Higher Education Social Media Accounts

Even though larger institutions tend to have more followers, making the right moves on social platforms doesn’t have to involve millions of likes. By knowing what your audience is looking for, you can create solid social campaigns that boost engagement and help create connections between students and campus staff.

If you need a good place to start, we’ve chosen some of our favorite post ideas for colleges and universities of any size or specialty. Incorporate a few of these ideas into your next campaign, and see what happens with your student engagement!

1. The Unifying Student Hashtag

Higher education institutions often have a unifying mascot, nickname, or saying that brings the campus community together. This could be your typical athletic slogan at sporting events (for example, “Go Cougars!”) or a phrase that captures a special sentiment at your school.

For instance, a smaller school in Canada uses the hashtag #weareUNB throughout its social media posts and highlights to capture campus life. This phrase is often posted alongside unique student stories that point out the diversity and success of the student population.  

If you’re looking for a way to make your posts truly student-centric, develop a unique phrase that captures what it means to be a part of your school community.

2. User-Generated Content 

User-generated content (UGC) describes social media content that’s created outside of the realm of your professional marketing team. In the higher education context, UGC is most likely to come from current students or alumni.

For prospective students, it’s important to hear from people who have been where they are in their college journey. User-based offers an honest, transparent look at the student experience. Plus, it can still be branded without coming across as overly direct or pushy.

Take advantage of UGC on social media when you want to reach future students with empathetic, sincere messaging that strikes a chord. You can use UGC in just about any format, from static feed posts to videos, to live conversations. 

3. The “Sentimental” Post for School Spirit

Looking for another way to showcase the value of receiving an education at your college or university? Ask your actual students what your campus community really means to them.

One example of this approach is from West Virginia University (WVU). The university posted an invitation for members of the community to submit their responses about what an education from WVU means in a personal context. WVU then used these responses to generate compelling video content for social media.

When you use the sentimental approach, don’t be afraid to take advantage of emotions to capture or generate interest for your intended target audience.  

4. Brand Awareness

The good thing about social media is that there’s plenty of digital real estate. This means that you don’t have to worry about filling your feeds with only one type or category of post. While it’s helpful to have student-inspired or user generated content, you should also use social media to build your school’s brand awareness. 

To execute this idea, think about the defining characteristics of your college, university, or campus. What are some of the most iconic images associated with your school? Are you well-known for particular programs, or have you received specific accolades, awards, and recognitions?

Remember, it’s not unusual for students, families, and community members to check out your social media profiles. As a result, you’ll want to fill some of your social space with information designed to educate and build awareness about your brand as a whole. 

5. Staff Introductions

One way to create familiarity is to introduce key members of your team through social media. This can be especially impactful if you run social accounts focused more specifically on recruitment, enrollment, and admissions. 

Introducing your staff members (or even school administrators and leadership) to prospective students can help them know “who’s who” when they arrive on campus for in-person events and engagements. These posts also bring a human element to your social media feeds and offer the chance for staff members to become more approachable. 

Providing an entertaining question or conversational prompt can make these posts more relaxed, casual, and authentic. 

6. Feature Your School Alumni

Alumni are a valuable part of the campus community, even in an ongoing capacity. Not only can alumni go on to become future school leaders or important donors, but they can also offer a persuasive voice when it comes to recruitment and admissions.

Showcase the stories and accomplishments of your alumni on different social media channels. Hone in on the subjects they studied, classes they took, and what kind of career insights they received while enrolled. Ask them to share how their time at a certain school or within a specific program equipped them for their future career and passions. 

7. Virtual Campus Tours and Scavenger Hunts

If your social media audience is composed of prospective students and families who have never visited your campus in person, use a portion of your social channels to give a sneak peek through a virtual social media tour. Highlight important campus buildings, historical places, and student hangouts. 

If you incorporate these photos and captions on your feed, you might also host a live version of the campus tour right from your social media channel. Invite applicants to join in as you walk around the most popular places, point out major landmarks, and offer fun anecdotes about everything they can expect to see during a campus visit. 

8. Mental Health Support for Students

One of the things that prospective students might be looking for on your social media platforms is evidence of supportive student life resources. These could be academic, social, or even emotional tools that help them find success in their academic program. 

Mental health is a hot topic for college students, and both current and future students need practical resources to help them navigate possible hardships. Use your social media posts to highlight the kind of community and help that students can expect to find at your school and throughout their time on campus.

Social media posts about mental health are resourceful and empathetic. They communicate your school’s dedication to students on a comprehensive and holistic level.  

9. Reminders and Deadlines

Don’t overlook the obvious when it comes to social media posts—they can help you remind students about specific actions that have to happen at any time during the enrollment journey. In many ways, a social media platform serves as a billboard for major announcements and news, so don’t be afraid to use it accordingly. 

This is particularly helpful with admissions and enrollment deadlines. Incorporate engaging graphics or images, and provide students with specific details about next steps. Always incorporate clear calls to action (CTAs) that link students to the exact places they need to go to follow through on what’s next. 

10. The Viral Meme, Video, or Funny Post

As much as you use your platforms for brand awareness, you can loosen up your social media strategy every now and then! Many schools incorporate entertaining posts (like viral videos and shareable memes) into their broader social media campaigns.

If you’re worried about the post sticking around forever on a highly curated feed, opt to include these lighthearted elements in your stories, which hang around for a shorter period of time (unlike permanent feed posts). This idea lets your social media team let loose and generate engagement with prospective students.

A general rule for this type of post is to ensure that it aligns with your school’s values, standards, and ethics. After all, you probably don’t want your posts going viral for the wrong reasons! 

What Social Media Channels Should You Leverage for New Post Ideas?

While many of the post ideas here can easily be used cross-channel, it’s important to know which platforms perform best for your particular higher education institution. You might ask the following questions before strategizing new posts.

• Where does your audience spend the most time? 
• How is post engagement across different platforms? 
• How does your team manage responses from posts in key places?
• What do social media analytics reveal about post engagement and success?

The answers to these questions can help you direct course, plan posts creatively, and reach audiences with targeted messages that are both personal and helpful.

Engage Students with Social Media Marketing

Connecting with students is all about personalization—knowing who they are, what they’re hoping to achieve, and how you can help them reach those goals. If you can apply these insights to your school’s social media campaigns, you’ll have a winning formula that generates results. 

Let Element451’s student engagement platform help you encourage students and connect in effective, powerful ways.

>> Schedule a free, 30-minute demo of Element451 today. <<