Archives for June 2022

Marketing to prospective college students is not the same as marketing to other audiences. Education marketing is often a different ball game entirely, requiring a different and often creative approach. Here are some tips that you may not have considered when marketing to college students, whether you are part of an in-house marketing team at a college, or have clients in the education field who need help with marketing to prospective college students.

The purpose of marketing a college is to reach and engage with prospective students. Student recruitment means everything to a college, and educational institutions need enough students to stay afloat. But it’s often more than just a numbers game. Colleges also want students of the right caliber and quality to suit the programs and courses they have on offer. So marketing is not just about successfully reaching enough students of the right age group, it’s also about engaging with the ones who would be a good fit for the college.

This can be done in a number of ways, but often requires thinking outside the box. Traditional marketing methods may not work as well with this audience, so it’s important to be creative and come up with new and innovative ways to reach them.

Some things to consider when marketing to prospective college students:

• What are the demographics of your target audience?
• What is the best way to reach them?
• What are their needs and wants?
• How can you stand out from the competition?

When marketing to prospective college students, it’s important to consider the needs and wants of your target audience. What are they looking for in a college? What would make them want to attend your college over another? Answering these questions can help you to develop a marketing strategy that will appeal to your target audience and improve your chances of successfully recruiting them.

Here are some things you may not have considered when marketing to prospective college students.

Use Data

To craft a successful approach to marketing to this group, you need to look at as much data as you can get your hands on to find out about your target audience. This includes information about students you have successfully recruited in the past, and the students recruited by your competitors. Look at things like age, gender, location, interests, and needs. But dig deeper as well. What are they truly motivated by? Is it a course that is accredited in their field of interest, or is it having clubs and societies they can join to feel at home at their college of choice?

All of this data can help you to develop a more targeted approach to marketing. Find out this information from data you hold on file and focus groups. Even consider a college admissions analytics venture so you can find out how your college really stands up against others in all sorts of criteria. Data might not sound very creative at first glance, but it can hold the key to a successful marketing strategy.

Think About Cutting Through The Noise

This demographic is inundated with messages from all angles, so you’ll need to take a different approach than you would with other age groups. Don’t just do the same marketing that other colleges do, just because everyone else does it. Yes, you might need to have a presence on all the social media channels students are on for the sake of your brand, but consider ways that you can reach students that will cut through all the messages they’re bombarded with all the time.

For example, think of creative messages you can post on social media channels, alongside some offline marketing too. Events at high schools or having a stand at a festival that students of high school age are attending could have a great impact. Branded giveaways can be a good way to catch attention too. Eco coffee cups or reusable water bottles are useful and can carry your branding wherever the prospective student goes.

College Student Ambassadors

Many colleges think of working with influencers who are targeting the right demographic, but what about working with the students you already have? You probably have a treasure trove of talented, interesting and fun students already attending your college, so do a bit of work to get to know them. You might find some great brand ambassadors who can help you to market your college to prospective students in a way that is more relatable and authentic. If you apply these personalities to an original marketing campaign, you may be onto a winner. Think about working with them on videos, or find out about their extracurricular talents, and create content based on their personalities and interests.

If you work with students, you’ll need to pay them for their time. This makes it a great opportunity for these students to earn a little money on the side too, and helps with the internal brand image of your college. This is important for prospective students, as they want to see that your college is a fun and supportive environment with a great community feeling.

Marketing to prospective college students doesn’t have to be difficult. Keep your target audience in mind and consider some creative ways to reach them. And don’t forget to use the data you have at your disposal to help inform your decisions. With a bit of thought and planning, you can craft a marketing strategy that will help you to reach your target students and achieve your college’s goals.

Running a small business can be tough, but it’s important to make sure that you are doing everything you can to make it more sustainable and eco-friendly. Your customers are starting to expect it, and as a small business you should want to do your bit for the planet too. Here are six ways you can improve the sustainability credentials of your small business.

Some people think that changes they make on a small scale don’t make much difference to the planet. That’s why individuals and small businesses sometimes don’t feel the urgency to make changes. Yet if everyone took a few small steps to be a bit more sustainable in the way they do things, it would make a big difference to the earth.

Making your small business more sustainable can have a big impact on the environment, and it can also save you money in the long run. Here are six steps you can take to be more environmentally friendly as a business.

1. Stop Using Single Use Plastic Bags

You know the ones, you get them at the grocery store or drugstore and they end up in landfill pretty much straight away. They’re bad for the environment and your customers are probably tired of getting them too. Ditch the plastic bags and switch to reusable shopping bags made from sustainable materials. You can also produce custom reusable shopping bags design with your branding on it, which is great for increasing brand awareness too!

If you sell products that come in plastic packaging, try to find ways to switch to more sustainable materials. If you can’t avoid plastic altogether, make sure you recycle it properly.

2. Give Staff Incentives For Car Sharing Or Cycling To Work

If you have employees, one way to make your business more sustainable is to offer incentives for those who car share, take public transport or cycle to work. This could be in the form of free parking, a discount on their monthly travel card or a coupon for buying a bicycle. It’s a great way to encourage staff to be more eco-friendly and it can also save you money on workplace parking.

Carbon emissions from vehicles are a major contributor to climate change, so anything you can do to encourage staff to use alternatives to driving is a step in the right direction. It’s also good for employee health and wellbeing, so it’s a win-win all round!

3. Review The Energy Efficiency Of Your Premises

If your small business is based in an office or retail space, there are probably a few things you can do to make it more energy efficient. Check the insulation and double glazing, install energy efficient lighting and review your heating and cooling system. You may also want to switch to green energy suppliers who use renewable sources of electricity.

Making your business premises more energy efficient is good for the environment and it can also save you money on your energy bills. It’s worth taking a bit of time to review your energy usage and see where you can make some changes.

You may also want to consider solar power for your business premises. Solar panels are a great way to reduce your carbon footprint and they can also save you money on your energy bills.

4. Offset Carbon Emissions

If you’re looking for other ways to reduce your carbon footprint, you could also consider offsetting your emissions. This is where you make a financial contribution to offset the carbon emissions from your business. There are a number of ways you can do this, such as investing in renewable energy projects or planting trees.

Offsetting your carbon emissions is a great way to be more environmentally friendly as a business. It’s important to choose a reputable offsetting company and make sure you understand how your money is being used.

Carbon offsetting is not a replacement for reducing emissions, but it can be a good way to supplement your efforts. It’s also something you can tell your customers about – many people want to support businesses who are committed to supporting causes and environmental issues.

5. Buy From Suppliers In Bulk

One way to reduce your carbon footprint is to buy from suppliers in bulk. This means you’ll need to store more inventory, but it will save on packaging and transportation emissions. It’s also a great way to get discounts on your purchases!

When you’re buying in bulk, make sure you only buy what you need. There’s no point in having a huge stockpile of products that you’ll never use. Be strategic about your purchases and only buy what you know you can sell.

Apply this same concept to office supplies and not just for the products you sell. Buying things like coffee in bulk that you provide for staff or customers will also help you lower your carbon footprint. And if you provide bottled water to staff and customers, stop! Plastic bottles are unnecessary and cause huge environmental damage. Get a water filter installed and use reusable glass bottles to store and serve water.

6. Sustainable Delivery And Packaging Options

If you’re in the business of selling products, you need to think about how you’re going to get them to your customers. Can you use sustainable delivery and packaging options? This could include using recycled materials, biodegradable packaging or investing in carbon-neutral shipping.

Many businesses are now using sustainable packaging options as a way to reduce their environmental impact. If you’re not sure where to start, there are a few things you can do to research sustainable packaging options for your business. You can also talk to your suppliers and see if they have any recommendations.

Remember, using sustainable packaging doesn’t just mean using recycled materials. It also means making sure your packaging is recyclable and/or biodegradable. This way, you can be sure that your packaging won’t end up in landfill.

Running a small business can be tough, but it’s important to make sure that you are doing everything you can to make it more sustainable and eco-friendly. Your customers are starting to expect it, and as a small business you should want to do your bit for the planet too. Here are six ways you can improve the sustainability credentials of your small business.

Some people think that changes they make on a small scale don’t make much difference to the planet. That’s why individuals and small businesses sometimes don’t feel the urgency to make changes. Yet if everyone took a few small steps to be a bit more sustainable in the way they do things, it would make a big difference to the earth.

Making your small business more sustainable can have a big impact on the environment, and it can also save you money in the long run. Here are six steps you can take to be more environmentally friendly as a business.

1. Stop Using Single Use Plastic Bags

You know the ones, you get them at the grocery store or drugstore and they end up in landfill pretty much straight away. They’re bad for the environment and your customers are probably tired of getting them too. Ditch the plastic bags and switch to reusable shopping bags made from sustainable materials. You can also produce custom reusable shopping bags design with your branding on it, which is great for increasing brand awareness too!

If you sell products that come in plastic packaging, try to find ways to switch to more sustainable materials. If you can’t avoid plastic altogether, make sure you recycle it properly.

2. Give Staff Incentives For Car Sharing Or Cycling To Work

If you have employees, one way to make your business more sustainable is to offer incentives for those who car share, take public transport or cycle to work. This could be in the form of free parking, a discount on their monthly travel card or a coupon for buying a bicycle. It’s a great way to encourage staff to be more eco-friendly and it can also save you money on workplace parking.

Carbon emissions from vehicles are a major contributor to climate change, so anything you can do to encourage staff to use alternatives to driving is a step in the right direction. It’s also good for employee health and wellbeing, so it’s a win-win all round!

3. Review The Energy Efficiency Of Your Premises

If your small business is based in an office or retail space, there are probably a few things you can do to make it more energy efficient. Check the insulation and double glazing, install energy efficient lighting and review your heating and cooling system. You may also want to switch to green energy suppliers who use renewable sources of electricity.

Making your business premises more energy efficient is good for the environment and it can also save you money on your energy bills. It’s worth taking a bit of time to review your energy usage and see where you can make some changes.

You may also want to consider solar power for your business premises. Solar panels are a great way to reduce your carbon footprint and they can also save you money on your energy bills.

4. Offset Carbon Emissions

If you’re looking for other ways to reduce your carbon footprint, you could also consider offsetting your emissions. This is where you make a financial contribution to offset the carbon emissions from your business. There are a number of ways you can do this, such as investing in renewable energy projects or planting trees.

Offsetting your carbon emissions is a great way to be more environmentally friendly as a business. It’s important to choose a reputable offsetting company and make sure you understand how your money is being used.

Carbon offsetting is not a replacement for reducing emissions, but it can be a good way to supplement your efforts. It’s also something you can tell your customers about – many people want to support businesses who are committed to supporting causes and environmental issues.

5. Buy From Suppliers In Bulk

One way to reduce your carbon footprint is to buy from suppliers in bulk. This means you’ll need to store more inventory, but it will save on packaging and transportation emissions. It’s also a great way to get discounts on your purchases!

When you’re buying in bulk, make sure you only buy what you need. There’s no point in having a huge stockpile of products that you’ll never use. Be strategic about your purchases and only buy what you know you can sell.

Apply this same concept to office supplies and not just for the products you sell. Buying things like coffee in bulk that you provide for staff or customers will also help you lower your carbon footprint. And if you provide bottled water to staff and customers, stop! Plastic bottles are unnecessary and cause huge environmental damage. Get a water filter installed and use reusable glass bottles to store and serve water.

6. Sustainable Delivery And Packaging Options

If you’re in the business of selling products, you need to think about how you’re going to get them to your customers. Can you use sustainable delivery and packaging options? This could include using recycled materials, biodegradable packaging or investing in carbon-neutral shipping.

Many businesses are now using sustainable packaging options as a way to reduce their environmental impact. If you’re not sure where to start, there are a few things you can do to research sustainable packaging options for your business. You can also talk to your suppliers and see if they have any recommendations.

Remember, using sustainable packaging doesn’t just mean using recycled materials. It also means making sure your packaging is recyclable and/or biodegradable. This way, you can be sure that your packaging won’t end up in landfill.

Your website is the foundation of your digital marketing efforts. It’s where customers go to learn more about you, your products, and your services. That’s why it’s so important to have a website design that supports your overall marketing strategy. Here’s how you can create a website design that helps you achieve your marketing goals.

The purpose of website design is to create a user-friendly and visually appealing website that reflects your brand and attracts your target audience. Your website should be easy to navigate, informative, and engaging. It should also be designed with search engine optimization (SEO) in mind so that it ranks high in search results.

It might sound easy to design a website that ticks all these boxes, but a lot of thought needs to go into the design in order to achieve everything you need it to from a business perspective. There is a lot of research out there on what kinds of designs are best for all sorts of things, including accessibility and user experience (UX).

Here are some of the critical things you need to think about with your website design to ensure it will help you deliver on your marketing.

Use The Right Technology

The first rule of creating a well designed website is to use a content management system (CMS) and create templates that will technically help rather than hinder your marketing efforts. This means using a platform that is easy to update with new content and pages, as well as one that will allow you to integrate the tools and features you need to support your marketing goals. You’ll need to use a CMS and website code that will support your SEO too. If you’re at the website design stage, you could consult with an affordable SEO company to find out everything they would need in order to maximize their SEO efforts.

Design For Where Your Audience Finds You

Your website should also be responsive, meaning it looks and functions just as well on mobile devices as it does on desktop computers. This is important because more and more people are using their mobile devices to search the internet. In fact, Google has even said that they are moving towards a mobile-first index, which means they will be prioritizing websites that are designed for mobile devices over those that aren’t. Make sure your website design takes this into account and focuses on delivering a good experience for users regardless of the device they are using.

Think About The User Journey

When someone comes to your website, you need to think about what their journey will be and what you want them to do. This means having a clear understanding of your marketing goals and designing your website accordingly. For example, if you want people to sign up for your email list, make sure there’s a prominent sign-up form on your homepage. If you want people to buy your products, make sure the purchase process is smooth and easy. The user journey should be considered at every stage of website design, from the layout to the content to the calls-to-action (CTAs).

Make It Easy To Navigate

Your website should be easy to navigate so that users can find what they’re looking for quickly and easily. This means having a clear menu structure, using breadcrumbs, and including a search function. It’s also important to use clear and concise language throughout your website, instead of using jargon or technical terms that might not be familiar to your target audience.

Use Engaging Visuals

Your website should be visually appealing as well as easy to navigate. Use high-quality images, videos, infographics, and other visual content to break up your text and add interest. Make sure your visuals are relevant to your brand and target audience. While many people use stock photos, you will want to plan to create some of your own visual materials in the future too. This will help to cement the look and feel of your brand.

Include Calls-To-Action

Your website should have CTAs that encourage users to take the next step, whether that’s signing up for your email list, downloading a freebie, or making a purchase. CTAs should be clear, concise, and visually appealing. They should also be placed prominently on your website so that users can’t miss them. You may want to ask your graphic designer to create different kinds of ‘buttons’ to help with your CTAs.

Conform To Accessibility Guidelines

This one is really important. Not only is it the right thing to do, but it can also help your website rank higher in search engines. Google has said that they are working on making their algorithm better at understanding a website’s content and delivering results to users based on that. One of the ways they are doing this is by taking into account a website’s compliance with accessibility guidelines. So, if you want your website to perform well in search results, make sure it is designed in an accessible way.

Do User Testing

Last but not least, don’t forget to do user testing. This is where you test your website with real users to see how they interact with it and what their overall experience is. User testing can help you identify any areas of improvement for your website. It’s a good idea to do user testing at different stages of your website design process, from wireframing to the final launch.

If you keep these things in mind when designing your website, you’ll create a site that not only looks great but also supports your digital marketing efforts. If you invest in good web design, you will make your life easier down the line when it comes to gaining customers and loyalty.