When people talk about marketing, the words “brand,” “branding,” and “brand recognition” are tossed around a lot. But what do those words mean and how can you put them into action, especially when it comes to catering to a college student consumer base? We’re covering what you need to know about branding in a three-part series to help you inform your marketing strategy and better publicize your business.

Know Your Audience. What does your audience want and need? What do they like and care about? What inspires and motivates them? And most importantly, how will your business help them achieve the answers to these questions and reach their goals? You need to really understand your audience in order to properly market your company to them — and that means diving into their psyche and exploring who they are and what they stand for. Once you do that, you can move on to actually building your brand, but fail at this first step and your branding efforts won’t yield the best results.

Understand Your Value. Now that you know your audience, you need to position your business as a unique company, offering something different than your competitors. Relay to your audience why your business has value — something that can only happen once you fully understand what your organization’s value is. What’s your mission? What do you stand for? Why should college students buy or interact with your brand — or care about your brand at all? The answers to these questions will help you better brand your business and steer it in the right direction.

Branding = More Than Just A Logo. While a logo is an important part of the branding process, your brand goes beyond the logo — your logo is just a physical representation of your brand. So what colors are you choosing? Why? What does your logo mean and could it be construed as something else? Is it similar to an already existing logo that may confuse consumers? And does your logo adequately reflect your brand? Before you start creating and analyzing logos, make sure you’ve really thought out what your brand is and what your business stands for. Perhaps there’s a phrase or slogan that will be part of your brand and also part of your logo or branding process. Once you’ve made these considerations, then and only then, can you begin playing around with logos.

Embody Your Brand. Every person that works for your company is a representation and ambassador of your company and brand. That means everyone needs to know the brand, share it, and try to be it. Knowing what your brand’s attributes are, what it stands for, its value, etc., is something each employee should be responsible for. You never know who will end up making an impression on someone else when it comes to your brand so you want all your bases covered and every employee to be a potential influencer for your brand, maximizing your brand recognition.

Stay tuned for next month’s blog post where this series will continue and we’ll continue to share advice on branding your business! Until then, start implementing these tips to improve your company’s brand.

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While other social media sites are popular today, Facebook is still a key site to utilize when it comes to marketing to millennials. So how can you be sure you are maximizing the reach your Facebook marketing has? Read these tips and implement them into your Facebook marketing strategy!

Post with Purpose. Don’t just post for the sake of keeping your feed or page updated with fresh content. Every post you make is a reflection of your business and brand and should be made with that in mind. Be aware of how you are communicating with your target demographic and consider boosting posts if needed to expand your reach. Facebook Insights can help you figure out when and what you should be posting to make the most of your marketing efforts on the site.

Create a Calendar. Part of posting with purpose means planning ahead — and an easy way to stay on top of that is by creating a content calendar to track your posts and marketing campaigns. Websites like Buffer or Hootsuite can be wonderful tools if you are trying to schedule posts on multiple social media sites and allow you to conveniently track all your marketing in one place. However, you’ll still need to monitor your posts and make sure you are engaging with your audience, something not always as easily done when you’re not on Facebook itself.

Update Your Facebook Story. With the recent introduction of Stories to Facebook, a new method of interacting with your audience and keeping them up to date on your business has emerged. Facebook Stories has made posting more casual, as what is posted there doesn’t necessarily have to be as on-brand or company-specific as regular posts. Instead, interesting links, funny memes, cool photos, etc., can be posted to your Story and keep your target demographic engaged, possibly leading to more clicks and views of your company’s profile or page.

Boost Some Posts. Boosted posts allow you to expand the audience of your posts and target a specific demographic at a small cost. All you have to do to boost a post is set your target audience and your budget — and you’ll see a good number more clicks and overall increase your business and brand’s visibility on Facebook. For larger campaigns, you’ll want to go through Facebook Ads Manager and put a bit more thought into your campaign and strategy.

Optimize Your Page. Make sure your Facebook business page is well organized, updated, and easy to navigate and find information. You want millennials to have an effortless and enjoyable experience on your page, which will encourage them to come back and utilize your Facebook profile to interact with your company. For inspiration, look at other business pages on Facebook and see how they organize their pages — then pick and choose your favorite features to roll out on your own organization’s page.

Facebook marketing can be a great way to reach and interact with your millennial audience — so follow these tips for success in your marketing efforts on Facebook!

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When it comes to writing an exceptional press release, there are some important strategies you can employ to ensure your press release gets people’s attention and does its job of publicizing your product or announcement. We’ve revealed five secrets to creating a great press release that you should know and use in the future.

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1. Get to the Point. Those reading your press release, especially college students, don’t want to read a never-ending post. Assume the readers are busy people and may only read the first sentence or two before skimming the rest — so make that first paragraph count and get to the point quickly. Later paragraphs can be used for supporting information and other facts that are good to know, but not the most important points.

2. Include Hard Facts. A press release isn’t the time to be all creative; rather, your press release should include numbers and stats that support your overall announcement and the reason for the press release. Leave the imaginative words and phrases and stick to the cold, hard facts, with quantifiable proof and data to back up what you’re selling.

3. Spellcheck and Grammar Review. Nobody wants to read a press release (or any piece of writing, really) that’s riddled with spelling errors and grammar mistakes. Proofread, proofread, proofread. Consider getting a second or third pair of eyes on your press release before you send it out for publication. Even just one small mistake can cost you in the short and long-run.

4. Give Your Contact Info. Don’t forget to include your contact information in your press release. Those reading it may want to be able to follow up or get in touch with you about your product or announcement. At the bottom of your press release, include your phone number, email address, or some other information about where readers can learn more and reach out to you directly.

5. Leave Them Wanting More. Since press releases shouldn’t be very long (definitely less than a page), leave the readers interested in learning more and give them a way to easily do so. Provide links to your company’s website, and invite them to contact you or visit your website find out more. Don’t make it difficult for readers to access additional information because they likely won’t take the time or go the extra step and you’ll lose potential customers.

Use these five uncovered secrets to inform your press release writing and engage more readers in your press releases and products!