Trust me, I’ve heard countless struggles from professionals who try to reach the college demographic. And I understand the issues – we often blindly follow ever-evolving trends, spot inauthentic marketing and get distracted by other commitments.
While it’s tough to know how to reach us and what messaging works well, I believe our generation is truly valuable as consumers.
Students are often surrounded by close-knit social groups, so we’re likely to influence our peers when we love a brand, which can lead to significant word-of-mouth marketing. Plus, the brand loyalties we develop during college often extend into adulthood, so appealing to students can be a long-term investment.
As the manager of Main Hill Media, the University of Arkansas student-run advertising and creative agency, I’ve helped brands connect with our campus for over three years. Here are the most successful tactics I would recommend if your target market includes college students:
- Influencer Marketing
Every student I know has a Google Calendar packed to the brim – we don’t have much time to research products or businesses before making a purchase. Because of this, we often heavily rely on our friends and influencers to make recommendations.
According to Charle Agency, a staggering 87% of consumers have reported being influenced by an influencer’s recommendation. From my experience, this is an especially present reality on college campuses because we’re often digitally-connected and trust micro-influencers because they feel relatable.
We create analytics recaps after each campaign, which provides valuable insight to tangible success. Our influencers reach thousands of people, most of whom are ages 18-26, with their content. We often observe that hundreds of viewers tap the brand’s Instagram handle while viewing the content, which shows they’re at least willing to explore the brand or business because of the recommendation.
Our influencers also regularly report that their followers say they tried the student-ticket program at a local theater or visited new restaurants based on promotional content, which highlights their ability to motivate real action.
- Connecting with on-campus organizations
The University of Arkansas has an incredibly diverse range of on-campus organizations accessible to students. Whether it makes the most sense for your brand to partner with an intramural team or the student government, it’s worth a shot to reach out to campus leaders.
It’s also valuable to consider what time of year might work well for a partnership. For example, sorority work week in August provides a high-buzz opportunity for public relations tactics and football season can inspire game-day themed merch giveaways.
- Discounts
If there’s one thing I can say for sure about the college-aged demographic, it’s that we all love a good deal. I’ve personally tried countless businesses simply because they offered students a discount.
You’ll never know if students will love your product or service until you get them to try it. My suggestion to encourage first-timers is to offer a good deal. Who knows, maybe that first BOGO coupon will convert them and their friends into lifelong customers.
- Street team events
A great way to get discount opportunities and more information in front of students is through street team events. The Main Hill Media team offers access to the campus by passing out flyers and placing posters in approved locations.
We make your job as a marketing professional easy – you work with us to create a graphic that hits your key messaging, and we handle the rest.
- Engaging social media
I’ve never met a college student who doesn’t spend a decent amount of time on social media most days. I’ve also noticed that the list of brands we follow on those platforms tends to be small because we prioritize viewing our friends’ posts over branded content. Because of this, company social media accounts need to be engaging and eye-catching.
You need to give students a reason to follow your account, whether that be regular giveaways, eye-catching content or exclusive details. Our agency can provide insight into what college students look for on social media through our management and consulting services.
If you’re interested in working with us to make these ideas a reality or you’d like to hear more insight about what marketing works for college students, contact our agency at mhdir@uark.edu today.