Top College Marketing Tips That Actually Work
Are you aware that almost 19.5 million students attended college in the fall of 2020?
There’s no denying that college is a huge pool of potential customers depending on your products and services, especially when more and more people are enrolling. If you think you should market to them, then you have to create a strategy that will get you a sizeable return on your investments.
Are you wondering what methods are tried and true instead of experimental and risky? Keep reading to learn all about the top college marketing tips that work.
Offer College Discounts and Giveaways
Are you asking yourself, “What is college marketing?” This is a term that involves using strategies that tap into the many college students throughout the country, whether they’re undergraduates or Ph.D. candidates. Since college students tend to be on the younger side of the spectrum, it’s important to keep this in mind as you formulate your strategies.
One way you can attract students is by offering discounts that are for anyone who goes to college. People love feeling special and this is a great way to get more people to try out your products. Since college is notorious for being expensive, those students will have a hard time not jumping at an opportunity to save money.
Whether you decide to offer a specific percentage off or a BOGO special, there’s nothing quite like a great deal to generate interest. Aside from regular college discounts, you could also have competitions reserved for students, in particular.
For example, giveaways are something that many people will get behind. You should take the time to brainstorm various ways someone can get an entry for the giveaway. If you do it on social media, you could count a “like” as one entry, a share as another, as well as a comment, among others.
To spread the word further and wider, you could also ask people to make original posts of their own and tag your social media page. To keep track of everything, you and every participant should use the same hashtag. Remember that hashtags can’t involve punctuation, so you should stick with simple words and numbers.
Use SEO Keywords Relating to College
No college marketing guide is complete without a solid dose of search engine optimization. There are plenty of keywords you can inject into your web pages and content so that college students are more likely to come across them.
These keywords could relate to study habits to easy things to cook when resources are limited. The articles you post on your site should be useful and well-researched. It’s also a good idea to tie them back into the products and services you offer so that they don’t come across as irrelevant.
An effective SEO strategy will involve finding keywords that are not too competitive yet still popular. You’ll also want to avoid stuffing too many in a single article. Instead, you should incorporate around five or so keywords throughout a given piece of content, depending on the overall length.
Make sure that your copy adopts a tone that’s relatable to the average college student. However, you don’t want to go overboard with the slang and buzzwords of the day because you could come off as trying too hard. There’s a fine line between something that’s relatable and something that’s a parody.
Using memes is almost like speaking a whole new language. This is something else that will supercharge your college marketing strategies. Memes can often be hit or miss so you shouldn’t feel bad if you don’t get it right the first time.
If you persevere through the learning curve, you could have college students sharing your memes on a regular basis. This is sure to boost your exposure more and more until you’ve gone outright viral.
Become Mobile-Friendly
These days, you can’t get the most out of your college marketing efforts without a mobile-friendly strategy. More and more people are surfing the internet through their smartphones rather than with any laptop or desktop. This is especially true for the younger generations.
For starters, your business website should run like a dream on every phone and tablet. Without the proper optimization techniques, a website that looks great on a desktop could end up appearing like a funhouse mirror on a smaller device. You can’t expect any of your visitors to tolerate that and not move on to somewhere else within a matter of seconds.
Aside from the design of the site, you should also make sure that any photos or videos you use are compressed in the correct way. This will reduce the load times by a significant degree. With attention spans becoming shorter than the lives of gnats, every second counts.
Another way to become mobile-friendly is by launching an app for your brand. This can allow college students to feel more connected with their businesses than ever before. From ordering your products and services to keeping up to date on relevant brand news, there are many benefits that come with an app.
You can advertise the app on your official site or turn a download link into a shareable QR code. From posters to business cards, this makes it easier for a wider pool of people to get it onto their phones in no time.
Use One or More Influencers
If you’re looking for college marketing advice, then you shouldn’t forget about the opportunity of working with potential influencers. Social media has become so ingrained in the culture that the newest generation can’t even recall a time when it wasn’t a normal part of their everyday lives. This is why many college students trust their favorite influencers more than they do their own classmates, for instance.
You can capitalize on that by enlisting these social media gurus as sponsors of your products and services. The cost of this strategy will depend on a variety of factors, including the number of followers a given influencer has. Depending on your budget, you could hire a handful of users with fewer followers or a bigger celebrity who has hundreds of thousands of followers if not more.
Just be sure that the person you work with has an audience that fits with your college target. The last thing you’d want is to get an influencer who has a following that is too varied or doesn’t even get close to the age range you’re looking for.
Influencers are also a great way to draw attention to new products, special sales, or even a new marketing campaign.
Give Out Free Samples and Trials
Do you need even more college marketing tips? You can generate a great deal of buzz when you send brand representatives to campuses so that they can spread the word and give out free samples and trials. Make sure the reps you choose are charismatic and passionate so that those qualities can rub off on the people who come up to your stand on campus.
Once they see for themselves how amazing your products are, they’ll seek them out later on. This way, you’re sure to attract customers who will stay loyal for a long time to come.
Aside from tabling on campus, in general, you can also reach even more college students when you set up during special events. From sports games to business fairs, there are many opportunities throughout the year to boost your outreach.
Whatever you do, make sure that your presentation is top-notch. The goal is to not only make the best first impression possible but to also attract people from afar. While you shouldn’t go overboard with the flashiness, you also don’t want to be so plain the people pass you by without a second thought.
A large sign with your logo is a great start. Make sure that you lean into your company’s colors. Don’t forget to have your representatives wear an eye-catching ensemble that puts the brand’s best foot forward.
Are You Ready to Elevate Your College Marketing?
Now that you’ve learned all about the top college marketing tips that work, you can make sure that your next campaign is the best one yet. That way, you’ll not only reach your goals but surpass them by a significant margin.
46Mile is a comprehensive marketing team that can help you increase your brand awareness and more. We employ methods like integrated branding and search engine optimization so that you see actual results.
We’d be more than happy to discuss the details with you. Please feel free to reach out to us at any time.
