Social media is a hugely significant aspect of digital marketing, and shouldn’t be seen as an afterthought for schools. In our guide to creating a successful social media marketing strategy, we explained how to engage prospective and current parents with your content, and provided you with 8 must-have tools for school marketers.
But what does a successful social media channel look like? We’ve found four schools that are doing it right, whether it’s beautiful Instagram feeds, frequently updated Twitter accounts, or innovative YouTube videos.
4 School social media profiles to take inspiration from
ArtsEd
One glance at ArtsEd’s Instagram and you immediately know what the school is all about. Vibrant colours and action shots of performances show this is a dynamic, modern school with a focus on the arts. The Instagram Story highlights have cover images that also match the school’s bold branding.
They’ve made use of a clever tool for their Instagram bio, lnk.bio, which allows you to link to multiple web addresses so users can find the content they’re looking for straight away, improving user experience and driving more traffic to your links. Later and Linktree are also good tools for this.
King’s Ely
This is a brilliant example of a creative way to promote an open day. King’s Ely created a YouTube video called ‘A Day in the Life of a King’s Ely Student’, which shows prospective parents and pupils what to expect from the Cambridge-based school in a fun and engaging way.
The school then shared the video to their Facebook page, with a call-to-action and direct link to reserve a spot at one of their autumn Open Events. Finally, they’ve used a number of relevant hashtags so the post reaches a wider audience.
facebook.com/KingsElyOfficial, kingsely.org
Cumnor House
Cumnor House School in Sussex’s Instagram page is clearly in line with the school’s red and white branding. By focusing on a colour scheme, everything looks neat, cohesive and visually appealing, which is important for making a professional first impression.
As well as standard images, the school has included different types of graphics to appeal to prospective families, like testimonials from a current parent and an explanation of ‘The Cumnor Way’, the school’s values. This immediately informs prospective parents about the type of learning environment their child would experience.
@cumnorhouseschool, cumnor.co.uk
Merchiston
Merchiston School has several Twitter accounts for different departments – for example, there’s one for sports, the library and sixth form – but their Merchiston News account keeps parents and pupils alike up to date with the school’s events.
Video content is hugely important. In 2019, the average person spent an estimated 84 minutes a day watching videos online, which is set to rise to 100 minutes every day in 2021. Merchiston’s video called ‘What have you enjoyed about Merchiston so far?’ shows pupils talking about everything from seeing friends to delicious lunches. Not only does this lighthearted content put parents at ease that their children are settling back in well, but it shows prospective parents how much pupils enjoy attending the school.
If you would like more professional tips on marketing your schools do get in touch with the Digithrive For School’s team who are always happy to help. contact us here