Your digital presence makes a huge difference in the way it is viewed by potential students. Why? Today’s students will most likely come “see” your school or university digitally first. The way your school appears online will determine whether or not they are interested in seeing it in person. Additionally, if your school has a limited or weak digital presence, there is a big possibility you will lose potential students and donors. Therefore, it is critical to maximize your school’s digital presence.

SEO Matters

First, when it comes to digital presence, it starts with your school’s website. Your website must be optimized for search engines. SEO (search engine optimization) is simply making sure your website appears at the top of search engine rankings. When someone is searching for a school, you want your school’s website to show up in the searches. Don’t worry – there are entire companies designed to improve your website’s SEO.

Make Your Website User-Friendly

An SEO specialist will be able to not only make sure your website is optimized for search engines, but he will also be able to do a website audit. This audit will involve looking over your website to make sure it is user-friendly and is easy to navigate. For example, your website should be optimized for mobile devices as most students are searching on their phones. Additionally, your website should make it easy to find the rest of your digital presence through link buttons or follow buttons to your social media sites.

Hire a Social Media Specialist

Yes, I did say your school’s social media sites. If your school is not already using social media to maximize its digital presence, you are already behind. Nowadays, schools need to not only be on Facebook, but they should also be on all the other prominent social media sites, such as Instagram and Twitter. Why? Today’s students spend a significant amount of time on social media, and these sites make it easy to connect with students instantly.

For this reason, you should hire a social media specialist to help you post and cross-post material. If your school cannot budget for this position, you should put one social media-savvy person in charge of the school’s social media accounts.

Write Great Content

When it comes to what to post on your school’s website and social media accounts, you should choose to post anything that shines the light on your school. For example, post positive news and exciting announcements. Additionally, social media posts that include pictures tend to be more favored. Some schools also utilize blogs with SEO-rich content to keep students and the community abreast of what’s happening.

Developing a strong digital presence is important. With some guidance, you can improve your school’s digital presence and build an audience in a short amount of time.