Social media is one of the most dynamic channels in your arsenal as an education marketer. While each platform serves a different purpose, social media as a whole offers powerful opportunities to foster professional connections and build engaged learning communities. For online and professional education providers, platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, X, and YouTube create spaces for past, current, and prospective learners to connect, share insights, and contribute to meaningful discussions in their fields.
Before discussing strategies to make the most of social media, it’s important to understand what adult learners look for in continuing education. Research shows that 80 percent of adult learners are interested in online education, with professional growth, higher earning potential, and personal passion and confidence-building among the top motivators. These learners often focus on gaining industry knowledge and expanding their professional networks.
Social media can uniquely fulfill these needs by connecting them with course providers, industry experts, mentors, and peers who can support their educational journeys.
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While LinkedIn is particularly valuable for reaching professionals in an upskilling or career-change mindset, other platforms play key roles, too. Facebook Groups can foster peer-to-peer learning, X can facilitate real-time industry conversations, and YouTube can showcase faculty thought leadership through video content.
By leveraging each platform’s strengths, institutions can create a more comprehensive and engaging digital presence that supports learners throughout their educational journeys.
Strategy #1: Encourage organic engagement
One of the most effective ways to build a thriving online learning community is through organic engagement on social media. Consistency is key, including how often you post and the type of content you share. Your posts should reflect your institution’s values and encourage learners to explore your offerings, spark conversation, and create a sense of belonging.
A great way to encourage organic engagement is through faculty thought leadership. Platforms like LinkedIn, X, Reddit, and YouTube thrive on industry conversations, and faculty members are perfectly positioned to contribute research and insights, start discussions, and connect with others.
Posts tend to gain the most traction when faculty share things like newly released case studies or a new book, award, or other third-party recognition. This type of content helps prospective learners see faculty as the credible experts they are, enriching connections between educators and learners.
Another way to drive organic engagement is by highlighting past learner success stories. This can happen in two ways: the institution sharing the story or the learner posting about their experience directly. Either way, when faculty and staff engage with these posts, it amplifies their reach and provides an opportunity for alumni to support current students, reinforcing your community’s strength.
Be sure to mix up your content formats across platforms. Whether it’s an expert-led discussion on LinkedIn, a student Q&A on Instagram Stories, or an educational deep dive on YouTube, leveraging multiple formats like text posts, videos, carousels, and infographics ensures your message resonates with a broader audience.
Strategy #2: Build a “Social Army” to amplify reach
Internal advocacy is one of the best ways to build credibility with prospective learners and grow your community. Encouraging staff, faculty, and learners to engage with your content helps amplify its reach.
However, getting consistent buy-in from faculty and staff can be challenging. Some may hesitate to engage with institutional content due to time constraints, uncertainty about what to share, or a lack of confidence in their social media presence. Leaders can play an integral role in developing a “social army” by setting an example of engagement. When executives and department heads actively participate by liking, commenting, and sharing institutional posts, it sets the tone for the rest of the organization.
All staff should be encouraged to interact with the organization’s organic posts. This considerably expands the reach of organic posts. View your marketing team as the publishers and your staff as the amplifiers. The algorithms love engagement, even if it’s homegrown.
For a more structured approach, consider formal ambassador programs—like HBS Online’s Community Organizers and Connectors—that empower learners to share their experiences and promote your programs authentically. Through this approach, institutions can formally encourage alumni to contribute to discussions and provide peer support to prospective learners.
Engagement is crucial—interact with your network, join relevant groups, and comment on industry discussions to boost visibility. Your engagement directly impacts what your network sees, so strategically interacting with relevant content can amplify your reach.
Strategy #3: Use online newsletters to nurture prospective students
Social media platforms like LinkedIn, Substack, and even X offer built-in newsletter features that can be a great supplement to traditional email outreach. Institutions can meet prospective learners where they already engage, keeping them informed while fostering ongoing connections.
HBS Online’s Business Brief is an example of how LinkedIn Newsletters can function as a centralized hub for major updates, including new course launches, upcoming live webinars, and expert thought leadership, keeping subscribers connected with the institution.
Institutions can approach newsletters in various ways, whether as a curated roundup of recent posts, a weekly “top five” insights series, or a thought leadership-driven deep dive into industry topics. These newsletters should be consistent and valuable, encouraging people to continue coming back for more.
Strategy #4: Maximize reach with an omnichannel approach
A strong omnichannel approach ensures that high-value content works harder for you. By repurposing organic content into paid campaigns, you can extend its impact and strategically reach new audiences.
Paid social media ads allow for precise targeting based on job titles, industries, education levels, and skills, helping you engage the right people. Platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook also offer retargeting tools to re-engage users who have already interacted with your content. Testing and refining campaign elements—such as audience segmentation, creative formats, and messaging—uncovers new opportunities for engagement.
Bringing it all together
No matter which strategies you pursue, success on social media comes from authenticity and engagement. Start by honing your institution’s authentic brand voice and engaging with prospective, current, and past learners. Encourage faculty and staff to amplify content. Finally, use paid advertising strategically to ensure your message reaches the right audiences.
Continuously monitor performance and optimize content distribution. Test, learn, and iterate. By balancing organic engagement with targeted paid promotion, institutions can build a cohesive, impactful community that supports long-term growth and connection.
