Why Use College Marketing
Using college marketing connects brands with thousands of young consumers who are reaching a very important part of their lives. The college experience is the first major step into the adult world for many young people, this presents a golden opportunity for brands and businesses to step in, make an impact and provide a solution to whatever need or problem that they have.
In 2021, 4.43 million college students are projected to graduate. Many of these graduates will soon be in their first professional jobs which will provide them with the most disposable income theyve ever had. This makes graduates eager and relatively affluent consumers still looking to establish their brand loyalty. Marketing to college students early on gives you a head start against competitors to build trust and loyalty with the affluent, eager and loyal graduate consumer group.
Post Content That Increases Brand Awareness
What is brand awareness? Brand awareness is your target audienceâs familiarity with your universityâs brand.
For the most part, your social media content should be centered around increasing brand awareness.
Why is creating brand awareness important? This is to set your university apart from the crowd. There are so many universities and programs out there, so your goal is to communicate to a prospective student why they should choose your university.
There are plenty of ways to communicate that through your social media platforms. First off, think about some of the accomplishments and defining characteristics of your university. Then, start posting content around that.
For example, share the accomplishments of your students or faculty members. Whether itâs a breakthrough research project, a successful student athlete, or a student who made a positive impact in their community, share these accomplishment stories on social media.
Another example is to post defining characteristics of your school. For example, if your school is located in a beautiful greenbelt, post beautiful photos of the greenery that surrounds your university. Or, post content around your universityâs brand colors, slogan, or mascot!
Sorority And Fraternity Marketing
Working with college clubs and organizations, such as the Greek System of fraternities and sororities, is a great way of gaining students trust. and fraternities gives you access to ready-made social networks through which a successful campaign can be delivered. Certain groups even offer the opportunity for direct contact with specific demographics such as The Latino Fraternal Organizations and Black Greek Letter Organizations.
Recommended Reading: Single Mom Going Back To School Grant
How To Use Social Media To Improve Student Success
You might think of your social media platforms as a tool to attract potential students, but social media is also an effective tool for improving student success. You can share announcements, highlight student services, and build community around shared values. Most importantly, social media platforms are an effective way to hear and respond to student questions and concerns.
Along the way, youll paint a picture of what its like to be a student at your college or university, which does help attract potential students. So social media, when used thoughtfully, can help you meet both your retention and your recruitment goals.
How to get students to follow you on social media
Of course, the best way to make sure students see the messages youre putting out is for them to follow you on social media. Remember that social media cant just exist on social media. If you want your students to follow you, reach out to them through other channels and invite them to your page or group. You can:
- Include a link on their course dashboard or in their syllabus
- Add social media icons to your website
- Include an invitation in one of your emails to students
The best time to start is during the admissions process. You can invite students to join a group or follow your page for support and information. By the time theyre enrolled, theyll probably already be following you. To bring in those who have achieved enrollment without following, keep reminding them by email.
- Specific courses or majors
Convenience On The Go
The average college student leads a hectic schedule that consists of many different activities in a given day. A survey conducted by HSBC highlights the multifaceted nature of a college students day and shows how important convenience is to this demographic. On average, a college student will spend 2.3 hours studying in class, 2.8 hours studying at home, 4 hours socialising and up to 4.2 hours a day doing paid work . Other than confirming what many parents might have already guessed related to the number of hours students actually work in a given day, these findings show just how busy a college students day is and demonstrates that in order for brands to get their message heard they need to find the best gap in this schedule in order for their message to be heard.
Don’t Miss: Grammarly Free For Students
How To Help Students Use Social Media Effectively
Today more than ever, people are capable of publishing their thoughts to a vast audience. Comments, tweets, and status updates are ubiquitous and constant. However, are we really focusing on the quality of the message we are putting out there? Are we really providing useful information or are we just adding to the noise?
Simply giving students a blogger ID and a twitter username is not enough. Unless they are working to develop the skills necessary to effectively convey their message to a receptive audience, then the value of the message is diluted. If that same student stood at a podium with a microphone, yet has not prepared a speech and has trouble using proper grammar, this student’s message could be lost on his or her audience. However, in this world of instant communication our students have the opportunity to engage and share with a global audience. As educators, we cannot let this chance slip by.
What Experiences Can Be Used For College Event Marketing
Gen Zs expectations from brands is now, more than ever, focused on experiences and interaction. Research has shown that these young people want to be actively involved with the brands that they use: 49% of Gen Z respondents said that they would like to submit ideas for product designs for brands in growth markets, whereas 44% said they would attend an event supported by brands. This shows that although this generation of college students might be wary of traditional marketing, they are eager to have an active relationship with brands as opposed to being merely consumers. With this in mind, college event marketing can be an effective route to take to spark that initial brand relationship with students.
Also Check: How Many College Credits Do You Need To Graduate
Create A Hashtag For Your University
Create a hashtag for your university that isnât used anywhere else and that is specific to your institution. Then, encourage students to use that hashtag on their social media accounts.
You can tell students to use that hashtag to share photos of acceptance letters, sporting events, campus activities, and other university-related content.
Once students start using that hashtag, you are able to easily find user-generated content on social media by simply searching for that hashtag. And once you are able to easily locate user-generated content, incorporate it into your social media platforms!
You can do this by re-posting your studentâs posts on your social media feeds or as Instagram Stories.
User-generated content is effective in higher education recruitment efforts because it displays authentic experiences from real students. It also increases engagement on your social media accounts as well!
Conduct Online Tours On Social Media
For prospective students who are interested in your university, but do not want to commit a visit, make sure to give them a way to view different parts of your university through an online tour.
The best way to give these types of tours is to have a student conduct these tours. This will establish authenticity and trust with the viewers and will make the tour a more relatable experience.
You can conduct dorm tours, campus tours, event tours, and more.
There are many ways to conduct these types of tours. You can create a long YouTube video that talks about certain spaces in your university in detail. You can create Instagram Story tours and leave them on your Instagram feed as a Highlight so that students can see the tour right from your Instagram account. Or, you can create a campus tour series on TikTok and Snapchat!
Don’t Miss: Colleges Like Ashworth And Penn Foster
Student Events And Activations
The college campus is a place buzzing with activity and excitement, creating an event that breaks through the noise and gets students talking about your brand. Events can be as simple as handing out samples of products or could offer a more in-depth brand-focused experience that attempts to really create something that sticks in the mind of the student.
The Evolution Of Social Media
Social media tools have expanded the possibility for long-distance connections for us all. The networking it provides inspires methods of communication beyond immediate, physical speech. It encourages people to communicate in the ways that work best for them. With an ever-growing list of applications, websites and tools coming available as social media evolves, teachers can explore a variety of different channels for challenging and engaging their classrooms.
Growing TrendVideo bloggers are documenting their adventures in every language imaginable.
If you search YouTube, you can find vloggers capturing everything from their travel stops and meals to product reviews and skill tutorials on video. Because social media sites are often international platforms, videos feature narrators speaking a wide variety of different languages.
Learning a Language
Immersion has often been touted as the best way to teach a language. But if you or your students cant travel to France, let vloggers bring French to you! Damon and Jo will take you all around the world with videos dedicated to their adventures, and French grammar. Occasionally their videos in French are published with English subtitles. Other vloggers dedicate themselves to teaching language specifically, like Comme Une Française for French, Miss Panda Chinese on Mandarin for children or Easy Language, whose hosts ask strangers on the streets of various countries to answer fun questions in their native languages.
Journalism
Also Check: What Colleges Accept Study Com Credits
How Will Coronavirus Affect College Students Lifestyles
This range of new policies will have a significant impact on students lifestyles and how they experience campus life. Those institutions that are hosting students on campus are often doing so with the proviso that there will be a host of new safety controls in place, in order to ensure that students are as safe as possible, and the influx of people does not lead to localised outbreaks. The majority of colleges will require all those on campus to wear facemasks at all times and some have also banned parties and group meetings which will naturally have an impact on how Fraternities and Sororities conduct themselves moving forward.
How Can Career Services Engage College Students Through Social Media
Editors note:Alexandra Levit, is a member of the Career Advisory Board answered some questions . I interviewed Alexandra Levit last fall about another survey conducted on behalf of the Career Advisory Board, DeVry University, and the National Association of Colleges and Employers . She offered insight and advice on how college career centers, students, and employers can engage more effectively on social media.
AL:
MD: Since enthusiasm of the use of social media does not equal success, does the disappointment continue of the adaption of social media?
MD: Can we assume that this process of career service/student engagement will take time since building an online reputation is a process itself?
MD: What will really change the average students perception of career services brand universally?MD: Why wouldnt career services use a model like TweetMyJobs to bring opportunities mobile but still use career services as the main contact?MD: What suggestions would you have to provoke meaningful dialogue between career services and students?
You May Like: Architect Years Of Education
The Email Every Education Marketer Needs To Sign Up For
If you found value in this blog post, we think youll also like our monthly education marketing newsletter. Theyre packed with value and will help keep you up to date with how the latest social media trends impact digital strategy for EdTech and Higher Education organizations.
YOUR INBOX WILL THANK YOU
To Field Urgent Questions
Host live-cast events. Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram all have live-casting options for engaging and interacting with large audiences in real time. For instance, Drake University hosts three separate 30-minute events on Facebook Live during yield season to answer students and families financial aid questions. The event kicks off with an introductory video presentation, followed by a Q& A with participants.
Read Also: Can I Sell My College Books
Promote Your University Events On Social Media
Have an upcoming event? One of the best ways to keep students informed about events is through social media.
Along with promoting your event beforehand, make sure to also share live Stories and posts during the event. Then, once the event is over, share recap photos and videos of the event!
Check out this social media event promotion guide from Hootsuite to learn some valuable tips about social media event promotion.
Now that you have some great content ideas, here are some ways you can achieve those ideas!
How Effective Is Social Media Marketing To College Students
Social media marketing is beneficial for many businesses, especially when marketing to college students who are Gen Z or millennials, as social networks are a big part of their lives.
Social media marketing can be an extremely effective way to connect with college students if you can attach your brand’s purpose with the self-identity ecosystem of the student, according to Tye Price, chief strategist at Chernoff Newman.
“This audience is curating their life through social media in creative ways every day,” he said. “Often, the content they are creating and sharing is better than a brand’s content it’s seen as real and authentic.”
Price says that your business must have a story that connects with the audience, and then you can build social engagement as an extension of your target user’s personal brand. If you can get your audience to care, especially young adults, you can establish an emotional connection with them.
Read Also: What I Need For My College Dorm
What Are The Negative And Positive Impact Of Social Media
Social networking has changed the way people interact with each other forever. Also there are some negative effects which include identity theft, cyber bullying, decreased social interaction in real life, and social isolation. Increase in mobile social networking could possible cause future health problems.
What Should You Consider When Marketing To College Students
Todays college students belong to the Generation Z generational group. These individuals were born between the mid-90s to the mid-00s and are following hot on the heels of Millennials. Although they have many things in common with their predecessors, such as an affinity with modern technologies, there are also some subtle differences that should be noted in order to target them with effective marketing.
You May Like: Meningitis Vaccine For College Students
Share School Events And Photos
If you want to attract new students and parents to your school, share photos and events around campus to showcase what they could expect.
Highlighting events and extracurriculars can make your school stand out from the rest. While school and university websites tend to follow the same mold, social media allows you to be more unique and casual.
Include Social Media Links On Your School Website
Make it easy for parents and students to find your schools social media profiles by adding links to the websites main navigation or creating a social media directory that houses them all in one place.
Many parents and prospective students will check a schools website first if theyre interested, and offering even more ways to follow the school creates a different insight into campus life.
You May Like: Mortuary Schools In Virginia
Social Media For Collaborative Learning Interactivity With Peers Online Knowledge Sharing Behaviour And Students Engagement
Students engagement in social media and its types represent their physical and mental involvement and time spent boost to the enhancement of educational Excellency, time spent on interaction with peers, teachers for collaborative learning . Students engagement enhanced when interacting with peers and teacher was in the same direction, shares of ideas . Engagement is an active state that is influenced by interaction or lack thereof . With the advancement in information technology, the virtual world becomes the storehouse of the information. Liccardi et al. concluded that 30% students were noted to be active on social media for interaction with their colleagues, tutors, and friends while more than 52% used some social media forms for video sharing, blogs, chatting, and wiki during their class time. E-learning becomes now sharp and powerful tools in information technology and makes a substantial impact on the students academic performance. Sharing your knowledge will make you better. Social network ties were shown to be the best predictors of online knowledge sharing intention, which in turn associated with knowledge sharing behaviour . Social media provides the robust personalised, interactive learning environment and enhances in self-motivation as cited in . Therefore, it was hypothesised that:
-
H3: Use of social media for collaborative learning is positively associated with online knowledge sharing behaviour.