Enrollment Managers: 3 Recommendations for Building an Influencer Marketing Campaign

According to the Digital Marketing Institute, half of consumers depend on influencer recommendations, and 40 percent have made a purchase after seeing a product on social media. 

Students, like consumers, are looking for authentic reviews of what it’s like to attend a particular institution, and they're searching for current student accounts to learn more. In response, more higher education institutions are enlisting their students to be social media ambassadors. As a graduate student completing Northwestern University's Master of Science in Higher Education Administration and Policy and an admissions and financial aid professional, I have found two pieces of content that provide great insight into influencer marketing campaigns in higher education.  

In her Chronicle of Higher Education article “Colleges Find a Low-Cost Marketing Tool: Social-Media Influencers” author Grace Elletson highlights how influencer marketing campaigns are being used by a few dozen institutions around the country. She highlights an influencer-produced video series from the University of Central Florida, as one example, with student ambassadors providing advice to prospective students on the campus' best study spots and how to best transition to college. Elletson discusses how some campuses are leveraging their students' current social media following - a key player behind the "Campus Knights" video series is Sonali Prabhu, a student who entered UCF with 10,000 YouTube subscribers to her channel.

Photo by Rowen Smith on unsplash.com

Megan Rolfs recently launched the second iteration of #YourRedbirdLife, a social media influencer campaign, at Illinois State University. She discusses the challenges of launching the program, how students are compensated and the results of her program in Episode #100 of HelixEducation’s “Enrollment Growth University: Higher Education” podcast. As the director of marketing and communications for the student affairs division at Illinois State, Megan leverages influencers to spread the news of her division on campus. While some colleges offer swag or special perks as compensation for student influencers, Illinois State pays students for five hours a week. The school also requires students to produce a report on their social media activity and to sign an agreement outlining their expected social media conduct.

For higher education institutions considering launching their own influencer marketing campaigns, I would suggest three recommendations.

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•       Address Your Gaps - When choosing a diverse group of influencers, consider which audiences you’re not currently reaching, and strategically choose students who help you address those gaps.
•           Set Expectations - Now that you have your influencing team in place, clearly communicate what you expect of them, and compensate them to maintain their buy-in.
•           Let Authenticity Reign - Give your influencers guidelines, but lean into your students’ authentic voices.

If you’re thinking of taking the plunge and starting your own influencer marketing campaign, keep these three recommendations in mind to better structure your program.

Melissa Sersland is the associate director of graduate admissions and financial aid at Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University. She holds a bachelor's and master's degree in journalism from Northwestern. She is also completing a master's in Higher Education Administration and Policy from Northwestern. Melissa enjoys leveraging her journalism background to help higher education institutions more effectively communicate and engage their audiences.   

Social Strategist: 3 Actions Items to Promptly Connect With Your Audience Without Alienating Them

As a social strategist, it is important to quickly connect with your high value markets to participate in discussions, exchange ideas and grow your business.  As a graduate student at Northwestern University, the Medill School of Integrated Marketing Communications, I have two articles that will help you understand why it’s important to monitor social media and be opened minded beyond the feedback that you receive.

The NYTimes article United and Pepsi Affairs Force Brands to Respect Social Media by Sapna Maheshwari, discusses the importance of in-house monitoring of social sites and reacting quickly to address any situation at hand.  For example, when the United Airlines passenger video being dragged off the plane had gone viral, it reminded companies to understand the power of conversations on social media and its negative effects on the brand image.  Today, all the social media feedback is made public therefore pushing companies to invest more and build a stronger social media team.  Companies are using analytics to group data, understand the gravity of the situation and train employees to better respond with a high awareness of consciousness.

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Cass Sunstein, author of #Republic takes on a different approach to social media’s effects on society.  He states in The Economist article, In Praise of Serendipity,  that the filters used by social media limits different points of view to readers.   For example, his book talks about Facebook promoting shared experiences through similarities and people in the same circle of family & friends. Sustein believes that people should request social media to play a role to “foster a culture of curiosity and openness.”  Today, marketing is in real time and listening has become mandatory for communities and companies.  Society can benefit more from "eye opening"news and shared content if companies like FB can provide content curation with opposing viewpoint offered through an algorithm option of more or less information.

After reviewing these 2 opposing articles and from my graduate studies in the Northwestern Medill
IMC program,  I highly recommend a few action items that you should consider in your social media strategy.

• Simplify Customer Access – Make sure your brands have an easier way to access consumers in real time by investing in social media monitoring.

• Interpret Consumer Responses – Use social media analytics to tackle situations before they spread and welcome new ideas to prevent future mistakes.

• Promote Curiosity – Share opposing views with your audience by introducing to them to new sources of forums, blogs and networks.                             

As marketers, we must practice humility connecting with our audience and define new ideas to them.  If all the social media content is customized, then people will NOT be exposed to new ideas and different perspectives in life; aka democracy.

Bella Brahmabhatt is a passionate marketing and social media strategist.  She’s pursuing her Master’s degree in Integrated Marketing Communications at Medill- at Northwestern University.   Bella is a lifelong learner and you can get in touch with her on Twitter @bhatt_ta.

Start-ups: 3 Tips on How to Increase Online Visibility to Grow your Business

As a Start-up, you know it is important to engage with your high value consumers wherever they are online. As a graduate student in the Northwestern Medill Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) program with an interest in content marketing and online visibility I have found two articles to share with you that you will find interesting and helpful.

Ever wonder where your customers hang out online and how to reach them? I summarized two articles I found below and included 3 tips on how your Start-up can gain leverage online and reach your target markets to grow your business.

Nathan Yerian from Adhere Creative, a marketing and brand development agency, wrote an article titled: 5 ways to reach your target market online. In this article, Nathan emphasizes that audience engagement is crucial to reach your target market. He also discusses strategies to gain a competitive advantage in the online marketplace such as building a persona of your target market which is the first key step.

In a Biz Journal Publication titled: 5 steps you must take to reach your target customer, author Spider Graham  goes deeper in how exactly to identify who your ideal target market is. Spider says that it is important for companies to know that “everyone” is never your audience and that getting specific is what will help you grow your visibility in the long run. He suggests to start with identifying demographic points and slowly move towards what beliefs, opinions, and attitudes your target audience has. Identifying your target audience will make it easier to find the right channels to communicate with your target audience once you identify them.

After reading these two articles and from my graduate studies in the Northwestern Medill IMC program I have three action items you should consider in the next couple months to grow your online visibility and business.

3 action steps to grow your online visibility and business

1.     Do Interviews: Find out your customer’s interests through conducting a minimum of 3 live interviews with your ideal customer.

2.     Write articles: Blog about your customer’s interests through creating powerful content and post them in places where your customer hangs out.

3.     Get testimonials: Create real life testimonial videos or stories to display on your site from past clients or people you have helped with your expertise.

Before taking the 3 action steps I listed above be sure to identify your target audience first as Spider Graham mentioned in the article discussed above. After that jump straight into the 3 steps and you will be well on your way to greater online visibility!  

Author Bio 

Aditi Ramchandani is a marketing and branding specialist for entrepreneurs looking to build online visibility to grow their business. She helps businesses amplify their brands so they can amplify their lives and businesses! She is currently a Masters student in Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University and graduates in December 2015. Website: amplifywithaditi.com Twitter: @amplifywithadit Linked In: www.linkedin.com/in/aditiramchandani