How technology and media consumption trends impact higher education marketing

The technology college students use and the way they consume media today is drastically different from that of their counterparts ten years ago. In fact, as media consumption shifts more and more into the digital realm, trends are changing faster and faster. Changes in digital platforms and other technology seem to happen overnight. You go to sleep with tons of activity on your Facebook page, and you wake up the next morning to a social media ghost town.

Where did all the students go? They bailed for trendier channels, and you forgot to follow. By not staying on top of students’ preferences, you lost your audience, and thus took huge steps backward in building critical relationships.

In 2008, 40.8 percent of Facebook users were within the 18-24 age demographic. Fast forward to 2016, and the 25-34 age demographic has taken over with 33.2 million users. That’s 6.6 million more users than the 18-24 demographic.

Facebook isn’t alone. It’s the entire digital realm in general. Younger folks are shifting preference in digital channels, types of media, devices and other non-analog technology faster and faster. Attention spans are shrinking at alarming rates, and if you aren’t agile and staying on top of the ever-changing trends, you’ll lose your audience quickly.

In order to avoid falling victim to changing preferences and shrinking attention spans, start by asking yourself these questions about how you’re marketing to students.

Are you targeting the right channels?

Ask yourself where your target audience is most active. Better yet, ask them. Let’s say you’re in charge of marketing for undergraduate admissions. Maybe Facebook won’t have as big an impact as it did just a few years back.

Think Instagram and Snapchat instead. 55 percent of all 18-29-year-olds who are active online are also active on Instagram, and Snapchat user demographics tend to lean even further on the younger side, with 60 percent of users being under 25.

Send out a survey to your students or host focus groups. You’d be surprised (probably not) how many of your students would be willing to spend an hour with you and open up about their digital habits if you provide them with a free lunch. Apply what you learn to your marketing, and you’ll be better set up to really connect with your students.

Where are you advertising?

Speaking of connecting, approaching digital advertising with an AdWords-first approach is missing the mark with college students. College-age students, think the younger end of the Millennial spectrum, are wary of advertising. According to a 2014 survey by the McCarthy Group, 84 percent of Millennials don’t like advertising.

Eliminating advertising isn’t the right solution, so don’t start celebrating just yet. Advertising will likely always be a necessary evil. Instead, start thinking about new advertising avenues.

Consider targeting digital spaces like streaming video services. Nearly 70 percent of 18-24-year-olds prefer streaming video over watching shows on traditional television. Streaming services like Hulu, for example, offer a wide variety of sponsorships that target users while they’re immersed in their favorite shows.

And what about social media? Are you targeting your social media ads using the proper channels? LinkedIn Sponsored updates, in my experience, are great for targeting graduate students, but you may want to consider advertising on channels like Instagram and Snapchat to make sure you’re getting the best results if undergrads are your audience.

Advertise where your target audience actually spends time. Spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on the wrong channels isn’t going to open up more opportunities to connect. It’s just going to waste more money. So do your research and advertise in the right places.

Mobile or not?

The concept of the “right places” goes far beyond advertising space and what social media channel you target. Look around. See all those mobile devices in the hands of your students? Each one of those devices is an opportunity to connect.

The 18-24 demographic spends nearly 100 hours per month on their mobile devices. That’s nearly three and a half hours per day during a 30-day month. And 62% of that activity, according to a recent ComScore study, happens on smartphone apps.

Social media, streaming video, whatever the app of choice might be, if you aren’t marketing with mobile in mind, you might as well not be marketing at all.

Mobile should be one of (if not THE) first considerations in your marketing planning. Think about the term itself, “mobile.” If you aren’t mobile, you’re stationary, right? The key to successful marketing is to be agile and move with your target, so focus on mobile and you’ll be able to connect wherever your target might wander off to.

How do wearables factor in?

Uh-oh. What’s this? Wearables? Wasn’t the mobile thing enough?

That’s right, there’s yet another thing to consider when marketing to college students. Fortunately, it’s in the early adoption phase, but the technology is one you should be watching.

No need to hit the panic button just yet, but it is important to keep wearables on your marketing radar screen. Think about the possibilities of being able to target students through their watch.

(If you’re just joining us, I’m not summarizing the latest sci-fi flick.)

As screens shrink and devices like watches and bracelets start disseminating information, it’s important that higher education marketers consider the implications. As students begin to adopt wearable tech more and more, the way you target and craft your messages will change.

Geo-targeting becomes (terrifyingly) effective, and content becomes shorter. You’ll be able to target students virtually anywhere, and blog posts will be more like text messages or Tweets.

Don’t fall behind

Whether it’s something more basic like choosing the right social media channel or figuring out ways to connect through a wristwatch, marketing to students is changing. Staying on top of trends in both the types of media students consume and the technology they use will be the difference between engaging students and creating long-lasting relationships or losing them to the world as they graduate and forget about you.

Author Bio

Anthony Gaenzle – College of William & Mary – Raymond A. Mason School of Business

Anthony works with @WMSchoolofBiz to develop and implement an effective marketing strategy that truly connects. He is also the founder of the AG Integrated Marketing Blog, and was previously the Director of Marketing for a global content marketing agency. Follow Anthony on Twitter at @AnthonyGaenzle.