Tag Archive | "advice"

How to Improve Your Marketing Efforts to College Students – Part 3


By now you know that college students, while possibly more difficult to market to, are not impossible to win over. In this article, we’re going to wrap up our three-part series with a few last pieces of advice to keep in mind when marketing to college students and getting them to commit to your company.

1. Be Engaging. Along with being authentic, funny, concise, etc., your marketing methods should aim to engage your college student audience. This can be done in many ways, whether it’s adding a question to your marketing campaign to invite comments, feedback, and tagging or directing viewers to your website where they can further explore what your company has to offer.

Additionally, to be engaging means to be engaged. Respond to comments, like posts that mention your company or align with your business’s values, and otherwise interact with users and potential users alike.

2. Mobile Matters. We’re living in the smartphone era; so if your content is not completely mobile-friendly and digestible, you’re going to miss out and drive away potential users and customers. Whatever you’re posting, promoting, and otherwise sharing should be able to be read on any and all devices. Think tablets, phones, and laptops. Make sure your content is optimized for mobile — and being on social media accounts and keeping your text short will only help users on phones and tablets take in your marketing campaigns.

3. Organization Is Key. This goes for your website, business model, marketing efforts, and everything in between. If you’re not organized, it will show in your campaigns and online presence. Track your marketing efforts so you don’t use similar strategies or pictures as other companies and so you don’t accidentally use similar campaigns back-to-back. College students will remember — as will the Internet — so make sure your marketing team is organized, cohesive, and communicates with each other before communicating with the world.

That’s all for this three-part series — hopefully, you’ve now gained some new insight into how to market to college students and are developing different strategies that keep these key components in mind!

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How to Improve Your Marketing Efforts to College Students – Part 2


As we said in last month’s post, we know college students can be tricky to market to. That’s why we’re continuing our three-part series with this second installment, where we’ll cover some more methods you can and should be using when marketing to college students.

1. Add Some Humor. We know we’re telling you a lot of things your marketing should be (and will undoubtedly tell you more), but you can be creative, funny, and on-brand in a short marketing campaign, all at the same time without being “extra.” Even if students may only spend a little while looking at your company’s marketing efforts, there’s still room for creativity and humor in simple copy.

Your campaigns can be witty, sarcastic, funny, or put a spin on slang or a current event, all of which will land with college students and make them more interested in your company and brand. Inject a little humor into your marketing — it’ll go a long way.

2. Be Authentic. College students are good at distinguishing between fake and real — and they can definitely tell when you’re trying too hard or not hard enough to appeal to them and grab their attention. Rather than going over the top in your attempts to win them over, stay true to what your company stands for, what they offer and who they are. You can still be humorous and engage with college students on their level while being authentic and ultimately, that’ll be what makes your company stand out and succeed in the long run.

You can do this by sharing insight into your company and its purpose, stories of how your company gives back to the community, or other personable and real details with your users and followers, mixed in with other marketing messaging or in combination with them.

3. Make Them Feel. There’s a reason people love to watch tear-jerker dramas and listening to Adele as well as enjoy videos of animals doing silly tricks and compilations of funny tweets. Emotion is a key factor to consider when coming up with your marketing strategy. Can you make your college student audience laugh, cry, smile, or otherwise react to your content? If you can, you’re already a step ahead the rest. Think about how your marketing efforts will be received and brainstorm ways you can up the ante and show college students you are “woke,” so to speak.

Stay tuned for next month’s blog where we’ll conclude this series and give you some more facts and advice to consider using in your marketing to college students. Until then, don’t wait to start implementing the above-mentioned methods!

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How to Improve Your Marketing Efforts to College Students – Part 1


College students can be hard to market to successfully. That’s why you need to really tailor your marketing approach to that specific demographic when you want to appeal to them as a potential customer base. In this article, the first of a three-part series, we’re going to take a look at some of the best methods at your disposal for appealing to college students and getting them to engage with your company and products.

1. Get Social. This cannot be stressed enough. If your business does not have social media accounts on at least Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram, you should stop reading this article and go make company profiles on those sites right now. College students are increasingly connected via online platforms and you need to maximize your presence on the sites to engage and influence the demographic. Other sites that can be useful tools as well include Google+, YouTube, Tumblr, Pinterest, Snapchat, and Reddit.

Once you’ve got accounts on these sites, keep them updated with fresh content. Promote your business but don’t limit yourself to just self-promo. Share interesting articles, videos, links, etc., with those who like or follow you, even if they’re not publicizing your business or products. Engage with your followers and be active. Let them know you care about them, their passions, and that you’re responsive and plugged in.

2. Keep It Short. College students are a lot like babies or puppies; their attention span isn’t all that long. Whenever you’re posting, emailing, or otherwise engaging in marketing efforts, keep your content short and snappy. You don’t need a lot of text to pack a punch; sometimes a meme with a one-liner or just a few sentences can really do the trick. You’ll find that less is more when it comes to drawing in college students’ interest and compelling them to learn more about your business and its offerings.

Consider eye-catching photos, inspirational quotes, or funny quips to set your posts apart and appeal to college students who will enjoy the fact that you’re interacting with them on their level and attempting to speak their language.

3. Mobile Matters. We’re living in the smartphone era; so if your content is not completely mobile-friendly and digestible, you’re going to miss out and drive away potential users and customers. Whatever you’re posting, promoting, and otherwise sharing should be able to be read on any and all devices. Think tablets, phones, and laptops. Make sure your content is optimized for mobile — and being on social media accounts and keeping your text short will only help users on phones and tablets take in your marketing campaigns.

Stay tuned for next month’s blog where this series will continue and we’ll impart more advice for marketing to college students, and in the meantime, start putting these tips into action!

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5 PR Lessons We Can Learn From Star Trek


Okay, I have to admit, I’ve been watching a fair amount of Star Trek lately. Every time a new movie comes out, I get inspired to go back and watch some of my favorite episodes in the original series, the Next Generation, and Voyager. Call me a throwback, but there are some really great stories in those old TV series, and some valuable PR lessons as well. Hopefully some of my fellow Trekkies (or is it Trekkers?) can relate:

1. Do your homework before you get started

Every time the Enterprise’s crew comes up against an enemy that’s an especially tough one, it’s because they didn’t know enough about them before the encounter. As a PR professional, the same lesson holds true: know your target audience and know them well. If you don’t, you risk alienating them from your message.

2. Celebrate the diversity of your audience

One of the first things that struck me about Star Trek when I was a kid was the crew’s willingness to learn about and accept alien species with totally different customs from their own. Similarly, one of the most important things to remember in PR is that in most cases, the audience you are attempting to reach is culturally, ethnically, and racially different. Take time to learn about other cultures before you dismiss them from your target market.

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3. Don’t be afraid to stand out from the crowd

The Borg are one of the most dangerous and frightening villains in the Star Trek series, partly because they act as one giant entity rather than individuals. A lot of people look at companies like they do the Borg; big, scary, single-minded behemoths who can’t identify with them. As a PR professional, you should make it your mission to stand out from the crowd and capture your audience’s attention.

4. Hold yourself to a higher standard

If you’ve ever watched Star Trek, you know about the “Prime Directive” which forbids Star Fleet’s Crew from interfering with the development of alien societies. This binding rule holds Star Fleet’s members to a high standard of integrity and excellence, and keeps their intentions clear. If you’re in PR, you’ve probably met a few people with a high level of integrity like this, and some who lack it. Make a commitment to yourself and your employer that you will be honest and you’re more likely to be happy in your career.

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5. Remember that technology could fail you at any time

Sometimes it’s a bit of a weak plot device, but on a ship the size of Enterprise, it makes sense that there would be some mechanical and technical failures. The same can happen at any time in your PR career, so don’t rely too much on untested or uncertain technological crazes. Just look at all the people who jumped on the SEO-optimized anchor text bandwagon who are now getting burned by Google’s latest updates. It’s best to always have a backup plan.

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