Choosing a university to attend is arguably the biggest decision many young adults will undertake in their life so far. That means hours of research, meetings with school counselors, campus visits, website visits, and of course, social media searches.
Yes, schools with certain programs and reputations will be the main impact on the decision. But, no matter how great of a fit a college may be academic, many prospective students will also base their decision on how much they can “see themselves” living campus life. Painting this picture in prospective students’ minds is crucial in helping them see themselves on your campus.
So, how do you create this mental picture for potential students?
By sharing the activities, experiences, and perspectives of the students living your university life. User-generated content is the best way to showcase these perspectives honestly and transparently.
Here are different ways that university user-generated content can improve social feeds!
Students are best at sharing personalities
If a university photographer asks for a photo, they’ll get the standing and smiling. If students are in front of the lens and behind it, you’ll get the goofy, exciting photos that make your university seem that much more fun.
Share enthusiasm for the college without being sales-y
You can only toot your own horn so many times without it seeming too self-promotional. But sharing images of students showing true appreciation for their campus programs, surroundings, and experiences allows you to highlight the same message.
Showcase a wide variety of student-led opportunities available
Your students are independent free-thinkers that will come up with solutions to community issues. So, they may be a couple of steps ahead of universities for setting up volunteer programs and activities! Showcase these forward-thinking, student-led opportunities so prospective students see that they can make an impact on their community with their peers.
Catch and share events you might not be tracking
Regardless of the size of your university, there are probably small student groups and events popping up every week. There are so many, that keeping a list to reach out to and showcase means that you probably miss out on the smaller yet unique events that happen all of the time. Finding and promoting this content diversifies your feed and may attract a broader audience.
Paints a picture of what campus looks like from the students’ perspective
The best person to depict a day in the life of a student is indeed… a student! Students will share goofy, calming, creative, unique, niche, exciting content, and promoting every facet of student life will create a more whole-looking vision for prospective students.
The content spans farther than campus limits
Your internally-created content probably slows or fully stops at campus limits. By sharing user-generated content, you can share student life that stretches beyond campus. Whether this means sharing student content from abroad or a student mini-cation to the mountains, it creates eye-catching images and videos that show your value spans far and wide!
Shares the small details of campus life that can easily be overlooked
Sometimes, it’s the little things. Many of the memories we cherish the most from university are small moments that act as a perfect symbol of how we felt during this time. Your students are capturing these moments every day – and when they share them with you, you have the opportunity to share this symbolic good memory with your audience.
Showcases the purest school spirit
From enthusiastic sports fans to innocent shenanigans in the name of school spirit, your students will come up with the best, most creative way to showcase school pride. This kind of school spirit is infectious, so sharing it will promote this enthusiasm in your prospective students!
We promise creating multiple types of content to cater to your audience seems overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. If you are ready to spice up your higher education feeds, reach out to the Dowitcher team!
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Newport Beach, CA 92660
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