How to Build Student Ambassador Communities

When launching a digital ambassador scheme it can be tempting to focus solely on its potential for prospective students…but make sure you don’t forget your ambassador communities and the vital role they play! 

As I’m sure you’re familiar, the key role of a student ambassador is to engage with enquirers, answer any questions they have around joining your institution and reassure and guide them in their journey.

Student ambassadors, in essence, foster a sense of belonging amongst prospective students, sometimes before they’ve even applied! But have you ever considered the ambassadors’ sense of belonging too?

Accessing Unibuddy from their computer screens and mobile phones, ambassadors are independent from each other. This can leave your ambassadors feeling a little isolated.

This is where ambassador communities come in…

Ambassador schemes present a great opportunity for creating communities, boosting student experience and sharing best practice. Here are some tips on how…

Host a Training Session

Making use of all of the ambassador training materials we provide you with, host your very own student ambassador training day on campus. 

As well as covering how to be a great ambassador using our range of materials and resources; you might want to incorporate some team-building exercises into your training. 

This will provide more opportunities for the ambassadors to interact with one another, allowing the ambassadors to get to know each other a little better.

Social Networks

Create a Facebook or Whatsapp page for your ambassadors to communicate amongst themselves. 

You could ask a few particular ambassadors who have shown responsibility and maturity to take the lead on this, creating and managing the group amongst themselves. 

The ambassadors then have a platform available to them any time of day where they can share advice and best practice. Peer-to-peer in action!

Social Events

Hosting social events is a fantastic way to build morale and community amongst the ambassadors. 

You could host an evening in the Students’ Union with drinks provided; a daytime get-together with free takeaway pizza. Or you could arrange an external activity such as bowling or mini-golf.

Rewards & Awards 

How about organizing an awards evening for your ambassadors? By utilizing the stats available to you on your dashboard, you can see which ambassadors have gone above and beyond. You could look at the ‘Most Engaged’ and ‘Response Time Rankings’.

You could also look at blogs written and blogs viewed. Perhaps you’d like the ambassadors to vote amongst themselves for awards such as ‘Most Helpful Ambassador’. 

You don’t need to book a fancy venue or splash out with the cash! My recommendation is to book one of the nicer lecture theatres, ask the students to dress for a formal event, buy a couple of bottles of bubbly, borrow the university’s champagne flutes and print certificates for the awards. The idea of the event is to celebrate the successes of the ambassador team, and give them an opportunity to raise each other up.

So there you have it. Four ways to create community and belonging amongst your ambassadors. I hope this has inspired you – and if you do host any great social events, please let us know what you’re up to, as we’d love to hear it!