The Power of Social Media to Promote Open Houses And Reach Prospective Students

When trying to promote your school's open house, you typically have two primary goals: to reach as many potential students as possible, and to convince them to attend your open house. Unfortunately, doing both of these at the same time is often difficult. The more students you try to reach, the less personal your approach becomes, and the harder it is to convince them. You don't have the time to sit and talk with each prospective student one-on-one, but you also want the ability to engage with students directly, and form a connection with them. Nowadays, this is where social media is beneficial.

Social Media Engages With Students

As the promoter of an open house, you want the students you're reaching to feel engaged. When they are engaged, they are more likely to not only to attend your open house, but to stay engaged afterwards and enroll.  It's one thing to read some brochures about your school, and another to connect with the school on a daily basis in a more personal setting. Social media allows more active recruitment, and in turn allows the students to have a more active role as well. 

Establish Long-Lasting Connections

One of the goals of an open house is to help students picture themselves as a part of your school's community. Social media helps you to do this both before and after the open house. When a student checks their social media accounts each day (and most do), they will see updates regarding your school. Before they even enroll they will start to feel like they belong at that college or university, and it will be easier for them to picture themselves there. When the student you worked hard to bring into the open house leaves, you don't want that connection to vanish with them. Social media allows it to continue afterwards, and strengthen over time. 

Advertise Other Aspects Of Your School

It's practically impossible to advertise every aspect of your school during one open house. How can a student learn about your different events, what it's really like to live on campus, or the new projects your school is working on all in one visit?

By connecting on social media, you can promote all of these things and more to prospective students long after they leave. Updates about campus life or other events and news from your school show students more than they could learn at the open house, and give them a better sense of what your school is all about. 

Cutting Out The Middlemen

Finally, the best thing about social media is that you can interact with students directly. You don't have to set up meetings through high school guidance counselors, cutting them out of the process. Not only can you interact with students quickly and directly, but you can do the same with their parents. While high school guidance counselors are often excellent resources for students, sometimes you just want to connect with them directly to show the benefits of your school - social media allows you to do this. 

Start Utilizing Social Media Today

Social media accounts can be for more than simply posting a few updates about your school now and then. When used properly, they provide marketing and admissions professionals with a powerful tool to reach prospective students, promote open houses, and establish long-term connections. With this tool you can reach more prospective students than ever before, and do so with a more personal touch. In the end you'll likely find that not only do your open houses have better attendance, but they are more successful in the long run. 

To find out more about harnessing the power of social media and how we can help boost your enrollment numbers, visit our website.