A Hampshire college has been awarded the title of top college in the UK for its social media at the 2017 Edurank Awards.

Sparsholt College took the award for ‘social media performance of the year’ as well as ‘best Instagram performance’ at the ceremony, which recognises and celebrates the use of social media in education.

The college currently operates across five social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube, with more than 11,000 followers on their Facebook page alone. 

In order to maintain engagement, social media staff have implemented their own hashtags on Instagram, encouraging students to share pictures taken around the campus, as well as sharing interviews with students and videos.

Meg Bullock, the college’s digital marketing officer, said: “It’s the images captured by students that give a real insight into college life. I initiated the hashtag #studentview on Instagram and this has proved to be one of our most powerful tools. 

“We are disciplined about keeping our content levels up and sharing information that’s relevant and interesting for parents and businesses, as well as current, future and past students.”