Your school may be expert at using technology to support learning – but can the same be said of how you use the same technology to reach out to target audiences including local communities and parents? In addition to traditional methods, such as print advertising and direct marketing, you have email marketing, Web-based advertising and multiple social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, as well as mobile marketing.
Related: 3 Key Areas to Focus Your School’s Brand Reputation Management
Developing an effective integrated marketing strategy is a daunting process. And as many schools have learned the hard way, what works in, say, traditional print marketing, does not work as well (or at all) on the Web or social media sites — and vice versa.
In this blog post, we share 10 great ways to combine your school’s social and print media.
1. Use print media to promote social media: include all social media links on all print media materials. This includes business cards, collateral, admissions materials and alumni magazines. Make it easy for an offline reader to connect with you online.
2. Data-variable business cards: use data-variable printing to change the back of your organization’s business cards. Perhaps you might have reviews or comments from Facebook or LinkedIn you want to highlight.
3. Semi-automated newsletters: publish blog posts in a data-variable print newsletter. By automating more of your marketing, you’ll have more time to build relationships. Mailchimp does a great job with RSS-Email to get you half-way there.
4. Drive engagement with printed items: Exchange branded print items (dimensional mailers, premiums, etc.) in exchange for contact information. Offer both physical and digital items to capture both postal address and email. Use social media and print media to drive conversion.
5. Harvest data: all social networks allow users to identify their favourite content via likes and favourites. Harvest this data to use it for your print materials. Is there a favourite image on Instagram that has the most likes? Use it as the cover or spread of your next printed collateral. Pinterest could help you identify the best images for your prospectus or cover of your yearbook. Harvest the data your users are sharing.
Related: 5 Reasons To Optimize Your School’s Online Presence Now
6. Testimonials: showcase reviews and comments in your print materials that users leave on social media.
7. Offline promotion: online call-to-action: incorporate direct mail with social promotions. Look for ways to drive users to deeper engagement with call-to-actions that are driven from print but create social media relationships.
8. Smart phone engagement: lead users from print to digital with QR codes or other apps like Clickable Paper. These codes and tools should drive users to videos or other supporting content beyond the print piece.
9. Event promotions: create life size posters and other event graphics with a printed event hashtag to allow for group photos and shareable opportunities.
10. Reward influencers: those champions who share and engage with your brand on social media regularly deserve rewards! Engage with consultants and tools to identify your most valuable social media followers and reward them with a dimensional care package. Create a campaign to send to the top influencers in your network. Brand the care package, tease them with both email and postcards, and invite them to share the “unboxing” on social media.
We hope these fresh ideas provide you inspiration on how to better use print and social media together to better engage your followers and achieve your marketing goals.
Written by Toka O. @SwoopStudios
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