Best practice advice for Official Reps

Follow these tips and you'll be a brilliant representative for your organisation.

Tone of voice

Conversational: enter into a discussion and show a genuine interest in what the student is saying- ask them for further details and use open-ended questions.

Human, empathetic and kind: be mindful and sensitive if students are struggling with something.

Signing-off posts: use a name or mention something about yourself: this helps keep your posts relatable and gives students a better insight into who they are speaking to.

Use emojis: keep a friendly, informal tone to the conversation.

Sharing information

Provide informed advice: if you don’t know the answer to a question, try to find out from someone else and feed this back to the student. Alternatively, signpost the student in the right direction for who best to contact.

Avoid marketing speech: if your posts read too much like an advertisement, this will have more of a negative effect than a positive one. The best approach for your official rep account is to make the most of direct engagement with students and provide genuine support, which will build a positive and memorable impression of your brand.

Responding to individuals

Provide each user with a personal response: don’t copy and paste the same information because each student’s situation will be different.

Keep the conversation on-site: students already have access to the information on your website and are often on The Student Room for help making sense of it. If you do link off-site, ensure you provide context and the opportunity for the student to ask further questions.

Consider the lurkers

Post strong content that's valuable to the whole community: include lots of detail in your posts (ensuring it is still relevant to the conversation) to benefit all readers of the thread, even those who do not actively post.

Use polls: this is a good way to increase engagement from users who may be less active on site, but who value the content.

Avoid doing these things

Advertising - students are looking for honest support and advice
Closing the conversation
Linking off to your website with no context
Copying and pasting the same text in all responses

Best practice examples

Find out how others are using this tool with examples from our site.

Applicant chat thread

Set up an official sticky thread for this cycle's applicants. Good things to include are:

Conversation starter questions e.g. What course have you applied for?
Signpost your Official Rep accounts and how users can tag them in posts
Link useful threads about your university and accommodation e.g. Student stories, studying at X university
Let applicants know you are available to answer questions
Be fun and accessible e.g. show your human side with emojis or a snippet of your uni experience
Sign off using your name(s)

Being supportive

Applicants can be nervous about going to university, so offer empathy and support where you can:

Make them feel welcome and part of your community
Normalise their experience (e.g. yes it's a big change, many people feel anxious etc)
Provide clear guidance e.g. when they will receive offer responses
Help them to connect with peers and support services
Listen and respond to their individual circumstances (don't copy/paste replies)
Don't make assumptions

Ask a current student

Set up a sticky thread called "Ask a current [University name] student" - you might also see this referenced as AMA (Ask Me Anything)

In your first post, introduce yourself e.g. what you study, what you like about the university
Invite users to ask you questions
Mention some of the areas you can advise on e.g. accommodation, nightlife, campus, your course
Sign off using your name
Reply to student questions using your personal experiences
If you don't know the answer, let them know you will find out and come back to them

Blog style

Threads can also be used to share top tips for students (like in this Liverpool Hope example on what to do over the holidays). You could also cover topics like:

Revision/procrastination advice
What to pack for university
A guide to the different accommodation options on campus
What to consider when choosing a university or degree course
How to have an amazing Freshers Week
Five things you wish you had known before coming to university
Popular societies at your university
Best spots for nightlife

Comparison threads

What this Official Rep does well:

Encourages user to attend both open days
Suggests the user weighs the pros and cons of both options
Does not advertise her university, just provides useful advice
Does not criticise or downplay the competitor university
Offers further help if needed
Signs off using her name

Student Reps advice

In this example, a current student helps an applicant with questions about a Chemical Engineering course. Some of the things this Rep did well include:

Established why he has the right expertise to answer (studying the degree the OP is asking about)
Answers all the specific questions and points in the OP's thread i.e. the user's A-Level choices, what Chemical Engineering entails, skills required, and the working environment
Gives a sense of what it would be like to study at Newcastle without being too salesy
Offers to answer further questions and gives the OP options on how to get in touch
Signed off using his name

Turning a negative into a positive

Official Reps are a powerful tool for reputation management because they allow you to engage in all kinds of conversations. Here are a few tips:

Don't be defensive or dismissive
Provide evidence
Set up keyword alerts so you can respond quickly
Be aware of media stories and hearsay
Highlight your university's strengths
Empathise with students and acknowledge their experiences e.g. if they are upset about long response times
Take comments as valuable feedback (share what students are saying with your team)

Postgraduate applications

Don't forget to set up applicant and offer holders threads for postgraduate students.

Advise applicants on how and when to apply
Answer specific questions about courses and workload
Help applicants understand what funding is available to them and where to get it
Consider having a dedicated postgraduate student Official Rep account
Provide details of your postgraduate events, along with information about your university, the local area and the courses available

University life advice

Don't forget there's more to university than studying. Here are some topics students might ask about in the University Life forum:

Nightlife and social life e.g. clubbing options
What to pack for university
Societies, sports and activities
Dating
Fitting in with other students
Accommodation
Problems with flatmates
Struggling with their studies

Exam grades and application criteria

This is an excellent example of a Student Rep supporting an applicant:

Reassures the applicant that university is an option
Gives specific examples of the kind of courses they can apply for
Supportive and non-judgmental tone of voice (emojis keep it friendly)

Could be even better if:

they invited the user to ask further questions
they asked the user about the kind of university/course they were interested in

Community building

You can use Official Reps to start discussions or groups on specialist topics like hallamstudents have with this example about fitness and mental health.

Share your expertise
Connect with current student trends
Keep the conversation going by asking open questions and replying to posts
Show the human, authentic side of your Official Reps to build trust
Be part of the student community

Careers advice

Our research shows that students are becoming increasingly concerned about employability outcomes. Helpful advice you can provide includes:

Employability outcomes for specific courses
Which careers graduates can enter using their degree
The kinds of careers previous students entered after studying with you
Career options that might not be on students' radars
How to access career services
Whether you have connections with employers or alumni
How to secure graduate jobs or internships
How to find part-time jobs while studying
How to find career mentors within your university

Want more advice on using Official Reps?