Opening up the Archives
Always on the lookout for a way to capture attention and hearts on your social media platform? You might find that you’re already sitting on some of your most precious potential content…
Over the course of the last year, we’ve noticed an increase in universities digging into their institution’s archives. Aside from being fully formed ready-to-use video content, there’s a (winning) argument to consider why dusting off those hard drives might lead to near-guaranteed increase in engagement.
Help people connect to your institution
The anthropomorphic effect of ‘campus appreciation’ posts is undeniable. There’s nothing ‘cuter’ than seeing a clip of your campus covered with a light dusting of snow, or captured in the dusk hours of autumn. By constructing a ‘character’ around the representation of your site, you are closing the gap between your university and any prospective / current students by enabling the formation of greater connection. Campus takes on a more personal shape in the mind, making it less of ‘an institution’ and more of a ‘home’.
"Campus takes on a more personal shape in the mind, making it less of 'an institution' and more of a 'home'."
But why stop there, you can take this a step further. Invite your audience into the origin story and give your university a ‘life’ that students can connect with. Tap into the power of nostalgia and open up the doors to your university’s past.
But why stop there, you can take this a step further. Invite your audience into the origin story and give your university a ‘life’ that students can connect with. Tap into the power of nostalgia and open up the doors to your university’s past.
Student need for authenticity
Recently, there has been a strong call for ‘authenticity’ in content from students. Over the course of this summer, h10 agency conducted a student focus group as part of a wider research project, and their voice was unanimous on this topic. In order to be able to trust and enjoy the video content being posted, students want to feel like the communication they are receiving does not always have an agenda.
Archive material is composed of artefacts: photographs, letters or moving image for example. When it comes to some of the older footage, one might argue that the films captured feel anything but authentic, as the further back you go, the more ‘staged’ things can feel for the camera, (often to do with the limitations of the equipment being used). But there is an undoubtable innocence to the material documented in the past and in cases where there is messaging at hand, it’s often so clearly imposed that there’s no danger of feeling tricked or misled. Gone are the times when you didn’t have to question the origin of the voice you were hearing or the effects that might be slipping past you, as we enter the era of AI-generated material. And trust is everything when it comes to engagement.
"There is an undoubtable innocence to the material documented in the past and in cases where there is messaging at hand, it's often so clearly imposed that there's no danger of feeling tricked or misled.”
Authenticity is also sensed when you feel that someone is letting you into their life. It’s a statement: this is where we’ve come from, this is who we are. Sharing archive material gives the feeling of ‘never-seen-before access’, an intimate offer for viewers to have a sneak peak into a past life that they may not necessarily have been a part of, but arguably mirrors the feeling of a friend opening up.
In addition to the above, there’s also always the chance that you might catch the attention of some virtual wandering alumni who will delight in a trip down memory lane and give you a ‘like’ or a ‘share’ without a second thought. And as for the incoming cohort, new students may find themselves reflecting: “I wonder what my memories will look like in this place?”, as your archival offerings will also enable them to envision their future post enrollment.
Your perennial friend
There are moments of the year which naturally capture minds to think back to the past, such as graduation season, Christmas or even summertime on campus, but another advantage to re-purposing archive content is its evergreen nature. If you ever find yourself low on material, you always have the option to dip into the archives. Their charm never ceases to enchant.
Below are some examples of videos that we’ve recently come across, via UniTrackr results, our in-house social media platform monitoring tool that captures data from higher education channels. These videos were posted during the months that the universities in question championed, recording the highest level of engagement from across the board. You may say, therefore, that the results speak for themselves!
Examples
During the clearing season, it became apparent that, albeit the window small, it was an excellent opportunity to re-run recruitment campaigns to the max. A wealth of brand videos re-surfaced across HE social media platforms and this included, to our delight, examples that go back to the nineties!
Cardiff University brand video from 1996
@cardiffuni The year was 1996. The hair was big :man-getting-haircut:, the computers were bigger :computer:, and Oasis were everywhere :notes:. We’ll let you decide which of those made it through the 2000s. In honour of the lads hitting Cardiff this week, here’s a throwback to how Cardiff Uni looked when they first hit the scene. Some things change — and others live forever :sparkles: #oasis #90s #cardiff #retro #student #cardiffalumni #1996 #90scardiff #cardiffcity #cardiffuni ♬ original sound - cardiffuni
In July 2025, when the focus in the music world was united in the quest for obtaining tickets to the Oasis reunion tour, Cardiff University reached once again into their archives. They ingeniously harnessed the power of the ubiquitous online discussion and produced a small gem of a video, sharing excerpts from their Student Journalism Archive:
Cardiff University spotlight on student journalism archive from 1994
@cardiffuni What’s the story #Cardiff? Tomorrow’s definitely maybe not the first time #oasis have played Cardiff! Were you at any of these gigs? #oasis #oasis2025 #cardiff #cardiffmusic #cardiffhistory #90s #principalitystadium #oasisincardiff #cardiffuni ♬ original sound - cardiffuni
Video content can be as simple as a fun photo-montage, as proven by the Royal Agricultural College in this example. In this case, to jazz up an important reminder for the admissions deadline in January, they attached a snapshot of just how fun life can be at their college:
Royal Agricultural College balls of the late 90s
Conclusion
Enrich your present and future, with a little help from the past! To all the higher education marketing teams out there: are you familiar with your institution’s archives? Oftentimes, they can live quietly in a discreet location on site and risk going unnoticed! Can you schedule in some creative brainstorming time around how any of the material can be re-purposed and brought to life once again to a brand new audience?
You might be surprised at both the wealth and peculiarity of the content available. If any of the footage can bring students into the university’s world, we’d argue that you’ve succeeded in genuine connection.
"If any footage can bring students into the university's world, we'd argue that you've succeeded in genuine connection.”
If you’d like to explore the potential of your university’s archives to a further degree with our specialised HE team at h10 agency, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team and click the button below: