College students are our future brand advocates. Every digital marketer is well aware of the fact that college students being open to new experiences and possessing an optimistic approach are more likely to become entrepreneurs shortly. This has been statistically proven that about 25 per cent of today’s college students will become passionate entrepreneurs in the near future. So, why not target our marketing schemes towards them? From spreading a positive word of mouth to creating user-generated feedback, college youth is amazing at generating brand awareness.
Although it’s not one of the richest demographics, it’s highly diverse, expected to add a lot of value to a brand. Most college students spend most of their time attending exciting events, visiting different venues for eats outs and keeping themselves busy indulged in creative activities. For this reason, digital marketers these days are keeping themselves busy in deploying marketing campaigns aimed at attracting college youth. From launching intriguing campaigns online, across various social media channels to hosting enriching public events, college students are great at vocalizing your brand’s credibility.
Unfortunately, not a lot of digital marketers understand the severity of it. They believe traditional marketing methods to be more successful, but that is not the case. It’s becoming evident for every business even the startups to engage themselves digitally if they haven’t up till now because the widespread of the internet is becoming a threat for firms who haven’t established themselves online.
Moving to the point, this blog enlists some pro tips that can help you get a hold of your sales by merely emphasizing your marketing strategies towards college students. So, let’s begin!
- Create Exciting Videos
According to recent surveys, one –third of online activity is spent on watching videos. People these days don’t even have enough time to read long paragraphs of exhaustive wordy documents. I mean to be very honest if, I were given an option between a long section of a product review and a video to watch then I think I’ll watch the video. Therefore, it will be a smart thing to make videos solely based on college students varying interests. Believe me; they aren’t hard to determine either.
Just think about it! What does our younger generation generally like? The answer to this is relatively simple. They like hanging out at the theatre, catching the latest movies, going to pubs or new fancy restaurants. Anything that is on the bandwagon our college students will be surely on it. So, why not make money by providing easy cheap solutions to them. Why not make videos and display them on some popular streaming sites, where most of our college student’s engagement is. Or why not grab a handful of viewers by displaying classified personal ads on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Create how-to videos and upload some on your YouTube channel, because according to studies, more than 500 million hours of videos are watched on YouTube each day. Try having some fun while you do that. Also, try creating content that is useful to college students like focusing on generating videos that provide tips on how to save money or how to decorate a dorm room. Such content will attract millions of students to your website, channel or page. Remember, simplicity is the key! Keep everything original.
- Aim for User-Generated Content
A positive word of mouth will bring in more business; everyone knows that. So, your goal here should be towards creating user-generated content. User-generated content refers to any form of content posted across various platforms online by users only. Customer reviews are trusted 12 times more than marketing coming directly from the organization. This is a great way to establish a favourable brand image in the consumer’s mind and sustain it too. I mean, who wouldn’t want someone talking positively about their brand publicly. But how do you get about doing this exactly? Well, this is very simple, just get some free samples and distribute them or hold a fun competition and give exciting presents or giveaways. This will not only create a hype of your brand among them but might also lead to favourable outcomes such as an increase in sales and lead generation.
- Target Social Media Platforms
Never leave out social media in this game I repeat never! Social media can do wonders for your brand. While doing so, aim for popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Always be mindful of not bombarding a massive amount of audience with advertisements but instead go for targeted advertising. There is no point in targeting people or demographics who never want your product in the first place. So, if you are a brand specializing in providing products suitable for college students, then target them otherwise don’t! Also, get them to share your posts as much as possible and gain feedback.
- Post an Ad
So, every college, I believe, has its newspaper or a portal where it keeps on posting job ads for a student seeking some suitable jobs. Don’t miss them out. Students are always busy snooping around various job sites looking for jobs. Post classified ads online or in the college newspaper to let your potential clients know about your business. These portals showcasing your classified ad will influence purchase decisions.
- Always Consider Budget
Be mindful of not robbing your audience of money. Deploy marketing strategies that are pocket-friendly. You do not want to arrange college concerts and charge hefty fees from the student for it. Trust me! No one will show up. Provide discounts and promotional deals in a modest budget so, every student can benefit from it. The goal is here to expand the existing customer base not make huge amounts of money. Students appreciate this type of generosity.
Wrap up
College students are a great way to make your business reach cloud 9. This particular market is radically diverse and optimistic in their decision making. So, be as creative as you could be and get on with it!
Author Bio: Oscar is a passionate digital marketer who has discovered the importance of content in the online world. Currently he is working as the lead of his content team in Wikipedia LLC. Apart from being a professional Wikipedia writers, he is a book worm who loves to read day in night out.