Here are 5 easy steps to promote your school’s open house through social media.

1. 5 Steps To Promote Your School’s
Open House Through Social Media
Slide 1
5 Steps To Promote Your
School’s Open House Through
Social Media

2. 5 Steps To Promote Your School’s
Open House Through Social Media
Slide 2
1. Include your students in the event planning.
2. Create an “Events” page on your school‟s website.
3. Reach your Facebook fans‟ friends through a Facebook
event page.
4. Promote your event on all your social media accounts.
5. Start promoting the event early.
Overview
Source: Higher Education Marketing – 5 Steps To Promote Your School’s Open House Through Social Media

3. 5 Steps To Promote Your School’s
Open House Through Social Media
Slide 3
Create a Student Ambassador team to help with your school‟s
marketing efforts.
 Student Ambassadors are especially handy for Open
Houses as they belong to the same demographic as your
prospects. In fact, their friends are exactly your target. So
get them involved!
 Have them propose ideas, that will encourage their peers to
come to your Open House.
 Perhaps they will suggest holding contests or activities that would both
be fun and representative of your school‟s culture (more on that later).
1. Include your students in the event planning
Source: Higher Education Marketing – 5 Steps To Promote Your School’s Open House Through Social Media

4. 5 Steps To Promote Your School’s
Open House Through Social Media
Slide 4
It is crucial that your school‟s internal and external
communities are aware of all of the events going on on
campus.
 A designated „Events‟ page on your website will ensure that people are
up to speed every step of the way.
 In order to make it easy for people to attend an event, be sure to
include a „Register now‟ or „RSVP‟ link.
 Based partially on your Student Ambassadors‟ ideas, create a nice
visual for this page, and for each event.
 In the case of an Open House, create a poster that can be used on this
webpage, various other online platforms, and around campus.
2. Create an “Events” page on your school‟s
website
Source: Higher Education Marketing – 5 Steps To Promote Your School’s Open House Through Social Media

5. 5 Steps To Promote Your School’s
Open House Through Social Media
Slide 5
Promoting your event on Facebook is an easy way to reach
out to your current followers and their respective communities.
 Once the Event is up, if your students like it, the event will be visible
on their friends‟ feed as well.
 You can enhance the natural promotion by opening comments to all
on the Event page and adding the event banner to your school‟s
Facebook profile.
 For an extra boost of visibility, and to be able to control the students
you wish to reach, create (paying) Facebook ads.
 You can also consider organizing a Facebook contest.
3. Reach your Facebook fans‟ friends
through a Facebook Event page
Source: Higher Education Marketing – 5 Steps To Promote Your School’s Open House Through Social Media

6. 5 Steps To Promote Your School’s
Open House Through Social Media
Slide 6
4. Promote your event on all your social media
accounts
 Do not limit yourself to Facebook.
 Twitter is a great place to send reminders to your
community, and LinkedIn could help you involve alumni for
the big day.
 Reward people who help you share the information with the
community.
 For instance, enter all people who retweet your announcement into
a draw.
Source: Higher Education Marketing – 5 Steps To Promote Your School’s Open House Through Social Media

7. 5 Steps To Promote Your School’s
Open House Through Social Media
Slide 7
5. Start promoting the event early
Following the steps we just described, here is a week-by-
week description of tasks to promote your event online:
Source: Higher Education Marketing – 5 Steps To Promote Your School’s Open House Through Social Media

8. 5 Steps To Promote Your School’s
Open House Through Social Media
Slide 8
5. Start promoting the event early
5 weeks before the event:
Gather your Student Ambassador Team to discuss the event.
 Leave the meeting with a clear agenda for that day.
 The exact goals to achieve through the Open House.
 All of your school‟s features (labs, residence hall, campus, etc.) that you
wish to expose visitors to during the Open House-
 A detailed timeline of how the event will unfold.
 All the means of promotion.
Source: Higher Education Marketing – 5 Steps To Promote Your School’s Open House Through Social Media

9. 5 Steps To Promote Your School’s
Open House Through Social Media
Slide 9
5. Start promoting the event early
5 weeks before the event:
 Craft key messages and keywords for the event that will be used for the
poster and for the promotion throughout social media.
 Have a list of all the platforms and a clear schedule of messages to be
shared. If you choose to have a contest, determine the terms and prizes
and the platforms on which it will be promoted.
 Get your design team ready to work on a nice visual that can adapt to all
platforms: an event page, a poster that you will be able to print and use
on your event page, and a Facebook banner.
 Enlist students to be present at the Open House. Here is what BU does.
Source: Higher Education Marketing – 5 Steps To Promote Your School’s Open House Through Social Media

10. 5 Steps To Promote Your School’s
Open House Through Social Media
Slide 10
5. Start promoting the event early
4 weeks before the event:
 Facebook: Create the Event page and change your school‟s banner. Create your
Facebook Ads campaigns.
 LinkedIn: Invite alumni to join you for your upcoming event.
 Facebook and Twitter: Promote the Open House to your social media
communities through regular reminders: Are you looking forward to our Open
House on (date)? Come out and find out more about (topic of the Open House)!
3 weeks before the event:
 Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter: Decide who is catering for the event: (name of
the caterer) will be providing food and refreshments at (your school‟s) Open
House on (date).
Source: Higher Education Marketing – 5 Steps To Promote Your School’s Open House Through Social Media

11. 5 Steps To Promote Your School’s
Open House Through Social Media
Slide 11
5. Start promoting the event early
2 weeks before the event:
 Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter: Update on special
guests, contests, etc.: “Have you entered our (name of school)
contest yet?”
1 week before the event:
 Facebook and Twitter: send a reminder 2 days before the event.
Source: Higher Education Marketing – 5 Steps To Promote Your School’s Open House Through Social Media

12. 5 Steps To Promote Your School’s
Open House Through Social Media
Slide 12
5. Start promoting the event early
During the event: reach out to people with live updates Post
pictures of the event as it unfolds.
 Facebook and Twitter: “We are at (name of the school) Open
House. Next person at the statue will get a free t-shirt!”
After the event:
 Facebook and Twitter: Thanks to everyone who joined us for our
Open House. Great fun was had. Pictures will be up soon on our
Facebook page! Don‟t forget to check them out and tag yourself!
Source: Higher Education Marketing – 5 Steps To Promote Your School’s Open House Through Social Media

13. 5 Steps To Promote Your School’s
Open House Through Social Media
Slide 13
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