Are you trying to market higher education brands? You probably know how the social media platforms can be one of the best ways to promote such brands. It can be a great place to hire people, raise funds and improve the overall student experience. Here are the top 10 proven social media strategies that can help you to market the educational brands, ensuring perfect campaign results and engagement.
1. Start with a student-centered narrative
You can succeed with your educational brand when you let the students talk. The 2023 “welcome campaign” of the University of Nottingham was a standout example. It was created around Instagram and TikTok. The university came up with over 200 pieces of content. These included campus “film trailers”, peer-led advice clips, relaxing lo-fi videos and more.
And the results were amazing. There were half a million plays on a TikTok video and 100,000 plays on an Instagram Reel for the first time for the brand. The “peer-led storytelling” worked for the university. It humanized the brand and reassured potential students that they could enroll and belong here.
Taking a cue, you can turn your students into your storytellers. With short TikToks, Instagram takeovers, and peer-led video diaries, you can get a credibility that you cannot get from polished corporate messaging efforts.
2. Balance information with emotion
Often, using social media for education can become too administrative. Users only come across important reminders, deadlines, or process updates. Like the University of Nottingham, you can avoid this by posting emotionally reassuring content with essential information. You can post “everything will be okay” messages and soothing campus videos along with practical content – such as what students should pack, how they can to move in etc.
You can use content as both a guide and a comfort blanket. Balance every logistical post with another that addresses the various feelings students can have, such as excitement, nervousness or homesickness.
3. Optimize posting times with data
Even the best content can underperform if posted at the wrong time. The benchmarks of Hootsuite 2025 show the best times for posting content for education brands:
- LinkedIn: Monday at 5 am
- TikTok: Wednesday, 4–6 pm
- Instagram: Wednesday at 8 pm
- X (Twitter): Thursday at 10 pm
- Facebook: Saturday at 6 pm
You can schedule your content around these benchmarks first. Look at the engagement patterns of your audience. Based on that, you can fine-tune your content scheduling strategy.
4. Experiment with content formats
As you can see from the Hootsuite data, Instagram carousels generate nearly double the engagement of Reels. On the other hand, videos are king on TikTok. The University of Nottingham did a great job by mixing formats brilliantly, combining trailers, lo-fi clips, student advice snippets, and reels. Using content variation, it kept audiences curious and engaged.
Likewise, you should avoid posting only one type of content. Use short TikTok videos for humor and relatable feeling, reels for energetic vibes and carousels for storytelling. You have to keep testing combinations until you can find your winning mix.
5. Fine-tune your posting consistency and frequency
The University of Nottingham sustained its campaign across the summer and deep into its students’ first term, finishing with mental health support content. Due to this extended runway, students felt guided throughout their transition. If you look at Hootsuite’s data, it reinforces this approach:
- Twitter: Just 2 posts a week can be effective.
- Instagram: 2–15 posts per week maintain strong engagement.
- LinkedIn: 2–3 posts weekly yield the best results.
So, you can see how consistency is more important than sheer volume. You need to set a proper rhythm and maintain it, so that students know when to expect new content from your brand.
6. Leverage community-building campaigns
How much can you update websites and emails for your educational brand? They are going to be more or less static. By contrast, you can create living communities with social platforms. With its posts, the University of Nottingham encouraged conversations in comments. It gave students a chance to ask questions, share their anxieties, and find peers. You can take a similar approach. Make your students experience a sense of belonging before they even step inside your campus.
7. Use micro-moments and niche content
The University of Nottingham created content around society memberships, enrollment of international student, LGBTQIA+ inclusion and more. In this way, it tapped into micro-communities. These topics gave specific groups a voice while reassuring them that the university saw them.
Likewise, you can go beyond generic “welcome” messaging. For instance, you can target specific niches, such as by posting content that takes behind-the-scenes looks at sports for athletes, sharing information in multiple languages for international applicants, or providing first-gen students with scholarship guidance.
8. Track the right metrics, not just likes
The University of Nottingham not only measured plays, reach and impressions; it also ensured that its content reduced feelings of isolation. As you can see from Hootsuite’s benchmarks, these were the average engagement rates in education (2025):
- Instagram: 4.2%
- Facebook: 2.19%
- TikTok: 2.3%
- X (Twitter): 2.4%
- LinkedIn: 2.2%
You can benchmark your campaigns against these averages. Move beyond too, and check how effectively can drive actions like event sign-ups or mental health resource clicks with your content. Try to track sentiment, DM questions, and much more.
9. Extend the campaign lifecycle
You can typically find no orientation campaign after welcome week. However, Nottingham extended its strategy into the first term, with mental health advice and ongoing support. In this way, it projected itself as being concerned for long-term about students’ wellbeing.
Try to follow a similar plan and devise your campaigns in phases, such as Pre-arrival, Arrival, Settling In, and Thriving. There should be tailored content streams in each phase, to ensure continuity.
10. Celebrate wins and scale up
By displaying results—100,000+ plays on Reels and 500,000+ plays on TikTok—the University of Nottingham built a business case for continuing creative campaigns. In a similar fashion, you can show leadership the ROI of campaigns, backed by benchmarks. It can help you to secure funds for student creators, new tools or video production.
Final Words
With these essential strategies, you can create strong campaigns that attract attention. At the same time, you can also build trust, foster a sense of belonging, and set your brand up for long-term success.
