A school open day is a key part of your admissions strategy, giving prospective families the opportunity to explore your facilities, meet staff, and get a feel for the school’s community. But to make your open day a true success, promotion is essential and social media is one of the most powerful tools you can use to attract attention, build trust and increase attendance.
Planning a school open day? Here are five proven ways to promote your school open day using social media.
Share your Open Day Details Regularly
Start by ensuring your key event details — date, time, booking information — are consistently shared across all your social media platforms. Due to how algorithms work, only a portion of your followers will see any one post. This makes regular and repeated posting essential in the weeks leading up to your open day. You should aim to post about your open day at least 2–3 times per week across each of your social platforms in the 4–6 weeks leading up to the event. This ensures good visibility without overwhelming your audience.
For example, around six weeks before the event, start promoting with a “Save the Date” post and begin regular mentions across your channels. At three to four weeks out, increase the posting frequency and begin sharing highlights of what attendees can expect on the day. In the final week, focus on daily reminders, use IG stories for real-time updates, and add countdowns to encourage last-minute bookings.
Highlight the Unique Characteristics of Your School
Every school has something special to offer, whether it’s a focus on STEM, strong pastoral care, a bilingual curriculum, a forest school setting, or excellent academic outcomes. Use social media to highlight these key strengths, framing them as compelling reasons to attend your open day.
The more specific and informative your content is, the better it will perform in search and on social platforms.
For example, use keyword-rich phrases like: See our stunning grounds & outdoor learning environments or Learn about our strong academic performance, exceptional outdoor education, dynamic sports programmes, and engaging modern foreign language curriculum.
Boost Visibility with Paid Social Media Advertising
Paid ads on platforms like Facebook and Instagram are a cost-effective way to reach parents in your local area — even if they don’t already follow your school. Tools on Facebook and Instagram allow precise targeting — by area, demographics, and interests — making it ideal for promoting open days.
Use a strong image or short video, clear and benefit-led messaging, and a direct call-to-action such as “Book Your Visit” or “Register for Our Open Morning.” Incorporate keyword-rich phrases in your ad copy like “Outstanding Primary School in [Location],” “Discover [School Name] at Our Open Day,” or “Explore Schools in [Town]” to improve visibility and engagement across both search engines and social platforms.
Create a Facebook Event to Boost Visibility
Setting up a Facebook Event is a smart, cost-effective way to promote your school open day. It lets prospective families save the date, get automatic reminders, and easily share the event with friends. Make sure to include all key info like time, location, how to register, and a short outline of the day.
Use Instagram to support the event by sharing Stories with countdown stickers and linking to your event page in your bio.
Optimise your event title and description with search-friendly phrases like “Open Day in [Town]”, “Visit Leading Prep School in [County]”, etc.
Give Followers a Peek at Open Day Preparation
Let families feel part of your open day before they even arrive. Sharing sneak peeks, such as staff walkthroughs or quick interviews with students — can help build excitement and show off your school’s welcoming atmosphere. This kind of content is ideal for Instagram Stories, Reels, and Facebook posts. Include phrases like “Explore our open morning in [Location]” or “Come see what makes [School Name] so unique” to attract local interest.
At Digithrive for Schools, we’ve helped leading independent schools increase open day attendance with smart, targeted marketing. Ready to see great results for your school? Let’s talk.