What are some low-cost but high-impact marketing ideas for your student event?

Quick ways to make your social media accessible are REALLY important when engaging with students. Using link.tree, bit.ly, QR codes, or any other way where a student can access your links within 10 seconds will be really helpful when setting up a table at a student event and you only have 10 seconds of someone's time. College students see marketers everywhere advertising all kinds of things and the time they will give you is almost none–coming from a college student! That said, posting on social media can be extremely helpful to advertise your event, and you might even be able to partner with other student organizations that can help you share it for a small compensation.

Social media can be a very effective strategy, especially to reach other students. However, ensure messaging is simple and includes a clear Call to Action. Think about what sets your event apart, and make it clear why people should attend. QR codes can be very useful for in-person marketing, but you need to think carefully about where you want to direct people. Is your main aim to build a following on Instagram, or would you prefer to utilise a Linktree? Consistency is best. If you have an event coming up, share this in advance on most of your channels; however, utilise stories and tweets to remind your audience of your event and promote attendance.

One way I have gotten good turn out, is through sharing information directly to people in my networking, and not asking them to come, but to share the event with their friends to hit that exponential network.

All students have different kinds of interests and they engage with so many organizations, that partnerships are key when you are trying to attract a diverse set of students. When I had the chance to run a 500+ people student-run conference, partnering with Grammarly to offer free subscriptions to students who applied to staff our event turned out to be extremely helpful, and another partnership that was really beneficial was Red Bull, who gave our students free product in the middle of the weekend and we got to use as a way to encourage them to get through the hectic 4-day event. Partners will be happy to chat, you just gotta reach out!

I would disagree, your university likely has something like this set up already. Creating an event page here will be great, but don't try to add some new website unless it's a huge-scale event. This way, you have the chance to catch people who are already going to the main website for other reasons. Leveraging tools that already exist, creates a stronger community and is another cost-saving technique.

Flyers and physical resources are effective–but nowhere close to technology in the current world. I recommend using online resources (QR codes, link.tree and bit.ly) to quickly help students access your Instagram/TikTok/Website and any other resources that create long-term engagement instead of a piece of paper they will throw away in the nearest trashcan.

Flyers and Posters can be helpful to build a presence. However, there may be more effective strategies than flyers. Think about what information you want to covey. Would it be more effective for someone to scan a QR code to follow your Instagram, where they can find the most up-to-date information, rather than taking a flyer?

Do some research! Keep an eye on trends at your institution and work within what works, make sure the event has a targeted audience, your communication is targeting those people and you follow up. For example, if your event is planned for freshman at the beginning of college, putting posters in the dining hall might be great, or in the dorm elevators. But sharing on LinkedIn probably won't work because they are just starting to develop that profile.