So Your College is on TikTok, Now What?

Blog September 21, 2021

By Wyatt Otto, Content Manager

With TikTok growing to become the most popular platform for traditional college students (age 18-22), more colleges are joining the platform to better connect to their students. But TikTok is a platform like no other with its short-form video and limited caption abilities, and therefore different from all the traditional platforms that colleges have mastered. With that in mind, it’s time for a quick crash course in community college content that does really well on TikTok. 

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Campus Tours

A great way to showcase your awesome campus to potential students is through a campus tour. It’s one thing for you and your marketing team to create this video, but if you want it to be more genuine, which Gen Z really gravitates towards, pass the phone to a student and have them go around campus and film all their favorite spots and what they like about it. 

If you’d rather create the videos yourself, here are some parts of campus we recommend showing off:

• The food court! Show off the delicious cuisine that students can enjoy while on campus.
• Student resource departments. Be it your counseling department, tutoring center, or campus clinic, these resources often go unnoticed by incoming students and even senior students. 
• The best study spots. Whether it’s the cozy nooks of the library or the front lawn by the quad, show off the best places to study or do work in peace. 
• Clubs and organizations. Show off what clubs exist on campus and what they do. 

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Degrees/Programs

It’s difficult to do a marketing campaign that shows off EVERY single program/degree/certificate your college offers, which is why TikTok offers a great way to showcase all your programs in digestible pieces of content. Plus it’ll quickly fill your content calendar with months’ worth of videos. 

It would be best if you have students from those programs show off all that they’re learning and working on. Some video ideas include:

• Tours of each department. Show students where they’ll be learning and the equipment they’ll be using in that field. 
• Students in action. Have a student give a quick tutorial of what they’ve learned, like an electrician wiring a fuse box.
• The benefits of that career path. Talk about the average income of that career, how long the program takes, and what jobs you can get with that degree.

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School Culture

Show students what it’s like on campus! People want to get the college experience, and with many believing that you can only get that on a traditional 4-year college campus, it’s up to you to prove them wrong. What special traditions does your campus have? How crazy into the holidays do you get? Some videos ideas include:

• Game days. Does your college have sports teams? Show off what it’s like to go to a game and root for the home team. 
• Holidays. What holidays do you celebrate on campus? From national holidays to silly holidays like Founding Fathers Day, what does your campus do to have fun?
• What’s a typical day on campus? Day in the life? 

People are eager to know more about your college before they apply. And even after they’ve enrolled, there’s plenty that your students don’t know about. So use this platform to welcome people to campus on a more intimate level and show the culture you’ve created for your college. TikTok holds a great amount of potential for your community college, so give it a try and don’t be afraid to try new things that you normally wouldn’t on other platforms. 

Need advice on how to get started? Shoot us an email and we’ll help.