Did you know YouTube is the second largest search engine next to Google? People upload more than 100 hours of video per minute to YouTube! It’s one of the best ways to communicate to a wide audience, whether you’re promoting programmes or providing information to current students. It is an amazing tool for both your school and your students.
1. A short snappy intro video
An introduction is always important, so why would you miss out an intro vid for your YouTube Channel? By having a short, snappy and informative video about your school, potential students can get a first impression of what your school is like and whether it's the right school for them. This saves them from scrolling through your whole channel to find the one video they are looking for. Here are some examples we like:
Alliance Manchester business school
City University London
Newcastle university
Trinity College Dublin
2. Find your niche
By getting a feel for what your competitors are posting, you’ll see that each of their channels offers viewers a very specific type of content. Take this lesson back to your university or school – don’t try to be all things to all people, which dilutes what your channel is about. Understanding what your channel is and is not about will give people a clear reason to subscribe.
3. Show what you have to offer
By posting informative videos about the types of subjects and programmes you have to offer at your institution, potential students can get a feel for what they want to study. Try to get some current students involved to say why they have chosen that particular subject.
University of Strathclyde
4. Be consistent
Being consistent is really important for any social media platform but especially video content on YouTube. Recent reports have shown that YouTube channels that post more than once a week are performing much better and getting more recommended views. If possible, post a video to YouTube three or more times per week, especially if you're trying to build an audience.
5. Invest in high quality video
Looking professional is very important for an institution as they want to be taken seriously, by having high quality videos on your YouTube page, this significantly improves viewers’ watch time and engagement.
We love BI Norwegian Business School as an example:
6. Student experience content
By having videos in general including students talking about their experience or any tips for new students can be super helpful, especially for any international students who are considering moving to another country for their education - they can find it really daunting.
IE University
Cambridge University
7. Keep your comments on
Even though you might not want to, it’s so important. In your comments, you’re most likely to receive comments of current students commenting on their experience at your institution. This will be a benefit for you as some people like to scroll through comments to find the most realistic ones to relate to. You can tackle any negative comments using our guide here.
8. Make playlists
If your YouTube page has hundreds of videos already, make sure to make playlists. By having organised playlists of different types of different content this will help students and other stakeholders to find the videos they want to watch and not scroll.
Imperial College Business School
https://www.youtube.com/@ICBusinessSchool/playlists
9. Embrace your culture
This is especially important for potential international students who may have never been to the part of the world where your school is. Show what there is to do and see, not only within the school, but around your location!
BI Norwegian Business School
City University of London
10. Congratulate your students and show off their success!
How will you convince students and guide them towards enrolling for the next intake? Uploading videos including your alumni or current students as the main focus will attract potential students as they want to hear the REAL side to your institution from someone they can relate to.
People interested in applying want to know everything about your institution, so what better way to hear it from the people who have experienced student life there - the students and alumni!
Including graduation videos on YouTube is perhaps even more important than on any other social media platforms. By having a video, potential students can have an insight what will happen when they graduate and what the day looks like. Be proud of your students and what they have achieved!
University of Nottingham
A note on YouTube shorts
YouTube Shorts are YouTube's versions of TikToks or Instagram Reels: short-form vertical videos that last between 15 to 60 seconds. YouTube characterises them as 'easy to create' short-form videos, since all you technically need is a smartphone with a camera and a YouTube account.
As of January 2022, Shorts have collectively earned over 5 trillion views since the platform was made available to the public.
Just treat YT reels as you would TikTok or Instagram, short, snappy, creative and straight to the point. You can utilise shorts for cutting down longer videos as they are more clickable and easy to watch.
If you need support to promote your institution publicly, both through the media and online, get in touch today.
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With an eye for style and always keeping impact in mind, Megan is dedicated to delivering consistently interesting content that influences audiences, demonstrating growth in both engagement and follower numbers across different key platforms and networks. Beyond creating gripping content, Megan regularly produces key insights into how business schools and universities could, and should, be using social media as a marketing tool.
