Marketing College to Millennials: Our Poll Results

Paul Davis

We conducted a short survey a few weeks ago designed to determine who has the greatest influence over a prospective student's choice of college or university. Many participants asked us to share our findings.

We have developed a marketing product for colleges and universities, designed to provide an edge when recruiting the best and the brightest prospects. We began with an understanding that students, particularly Millennials, want sincerity and credibility from those who promote academic institutions. These prospects are, by nature, skeptical of a traditional "pitch" by admissions staff and internal marketing teams.

We needed to conduct research to support those views. The data we have collected support that premise.

Our first chart shows preferences for obtaining scholastic information. Nearly 45% of respondents said they wanted to receive information from current students and/or alumni. Other traditional sources of information, such as admissions departments (23%) and marketing teams (3%) proved to be less relevant to the decision making process.

To obtain greater insight, we also asked respondents to tell us which group would have the most credibility. The results were more pronounced; more than half of the participants endorsed the credibility of current/past students. Staff in admissions (15%) and marketing (2%) trailed significantly.

So what's next? We have developed a process that leverages a university's most underutilized marketing asset: students. We recruit, train and oversee an autonomous team of student bloggers who, in turn, chronicle their educational experiences. Our independence from the university allows us to provide an unfiltered look at college life in a way that develops bonds with prospects and establishes credibility with recruits.

We can work with your university or college admissions staff to develop goals and objectives, along with metrics and targets to gauge our progress.

Our system has a proven track record. We have written a number of blogs highlighting how we developed a student-run social media platform at the Wake Forest University Schools of Business. Another related blog can be found here.

In 2009, we built a series of social media communities for Wake Forest. Within three years, the student-run blog had generated more than 40,000 page views, while the Twitter feed amassed 2,000 followers. TopMBA.com recognized our Twitter account as "a highly entertaining feed that gives great info about the [Wake Forest] MBA program and latest alumni news."

Our Facebook group collected more than 1,000 members - in the first six weeks. We also handled social media for two annual events that generated more than 100,000 page views.

We are excited to discuss ways that we can provide similar exposure for your university. We also offer similar programs for businesses and nonprofits, with services ranging from consultation to day-to-day oversight of a social media strategy. We can also research and develop a social media platform tailored to your needs.

For more information, contact us at (336) 852-9496 or email at pdavis0001@hotmail.com.