Clearing is decided by people who never read the prospectus
Social media training for university marketing, recruitment and communications teams. Student recruitment and clearing, open days, student ambassadors, international audiences, academics as spokespeople, and the accessibility duties that come with being a public body. Half day £1,200, full day £1,800 for up to six people, excluding VAT.
Why is university social media its own discipline?
Because the buyer is seventeen, the decision is enormous, and the influence is spread across people you do not employ. Applicants trust current students far more than they trust the institution, they research on TikTok and Instagram rather than on your website, and the parents involved in the decision are on entirely different channels.
On top of that the calendar is unforgiving. Clearing does not move, open days do not move, and both are decided in a compressed window where being slow is the same as being absent.
What does the training cover?
1. Clearing
Speed, staffing and content prepared in advance, because clearing is won in hours rather than weeks.
2. Student ambassadors
The most credible voices you have. Recruiting, briefing and supporting them without scripting the authenticity out.
3. Open days
Before, during and after. Most of the value is in the content made on the day and used for months.
4. Applicants and parents
Two audiences, different channels, different questions, frequently the same campaign trying to serve both.
5. International recruitment
Channels that matter outside the UK, and where the usual platform advice does not apply.
6. Academics as spokespeople
Research that deserves an audience, and academics who need help finding one. See PR training.
7. Devolved posting
Faculties, departments, societies and services all posting. Standards without central control.
8. Accessibility
Captions, alt text and plain English. A duty for public bodies and routinely missed on social.
Do student ambassadors work better than official content?
Consistently, and it is not close. An applicant deciding where to spend three years and a great deal of money wants to hear from somebody a year ahead of them, not from a marketing department. The institution’s own content is treated as advertising, because it is.
The mistake universities make is over managing it. Ambassadors given a script produce content that sounds exactly like the prospectus and performs like it too. What works is a clear brief on what not to say, genuine support, fair payment for their time, and then leaving them to sound like themselves.
Who runs the day?
I am Chris Norton and I run most of these sessions myself. I founded Prohibition, the PR, social and content agency behind this site, I have worked in public relations for more than twenty years, and I have been running training since 2009. I co-authored Share This Too, the social media handbook published by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.
We work with universities across Yorkshire and the North alongside other public sector organisations. Higher education has constraints and a calendar that commercial trainers tend to underestimate, and a day that treats clearing as just another campaign is not much use to you.
Higher education social media questions
How much does university social media training cost?
Half day £1,200 and full day £1,800 for up to six people, excluding VAT, priced by the group. Around £200 to £300 a head. Institutions wanting to reach faculties as well as central marketing usually want one working session plus a standards briefing.
Can you help us prepare for clearing?
Yes, and the useful time to do it is spring rather than August. Clearing is won on speed and on content prepared beforehand, and there is no time to build either once it starts.
Should we be on TikTok?
For undergraduate recruitment, almost certainly. It is where the decision research happens now. See TikTok training for brands.
How do we manage student ambassadors?
Lightly. Brief them on what not to say, support them properly, pay them fairly and let them sound like themselves. Scripted ambassadors perform like a prospectus.
What about faculty and department accounts?
Standards rather than control. Attempting to centralise everything usually fails and creates unofficial accounts you cannot see. We build a workable standard instead.
Do you cover international student recruitment?
At a strategic level, including where the standard platform advice does not apply. For deep in country expertise in specific markets you will want a specialist alongside us, and we will say so.
Can you train academics?
Yes, and it is a distinct session. Most academics want their research read rather than to become a personality, and the training works better when it starts from that.
What are our accessibility obligations?
As a public body your digital content carries accessibility duties, and social posts are usually the weakest part. Captions, alt text, plain English and contrast. We build a checklist that takes seconds to apply.
Tell us where you are in the recruitment cycle
Half day £1,200, full day £1,800, up to six people, excluding VAT. Delivered UK wide or online.
One of the sectors we train, alongside every social media course. Delivered UK wide or online. Last reviewed August 2026.
