With each new pool of students comes new needs and wants. Gen Z has been no different both before and during the pandemic.
As such, you need to be on top of marketing strategies to get your programs, events and offerings out to the student population.
Sprout Social shared 10 social strategies when it comes to marketing to Gen Z. Here are several to consider:
- They love eye-catching visual content, so make use of Instagram Stories and YouTube.
- Encourage interaction or conversation. For example, conduct a poll on social media.
- Use tags. Encourage followers to use your branded hashtag, tag themselves at a location or invite others to your social feed.
- Respond in a timely manner and make use of humor. This could mean using memes or having witty comebacks to comments.
- State your rec center’s beliefs and values, as Gen Z has high expectations when it comes to brands taking a stance on social issues.
- Testimonials and reviews are powerful to this generation. Use them in your marketing campaigns.
Marketing to Gen Z in the Industry
Over at the University of Nevada, Reno, while social media is put to use, so are display TVs and word of mouth. All help with marketing campus recreation.
“Word of mouth is still the most successful way of marketing,” said Jill Karlin, the program and marketing coordinator for Fitness and Recreational Sports.
Being at a commuter school, she shared getting students to buy into programming and events is a challenge. However, Karlin said with a pairing of social media marketing, promotions, and free items like food or swag, they can draw a crowd.
Finally, don’t forget about the power of influencers. MarketingDive reported 44% of Gen Z has made a purchase decision based on a recommendation from a social influencer.
In fact, with this in mind Saint Mary’s College of California has its own student fitness influencers. You can read the full blog about it here.
So, the question is: How are you going to change up your marketing today?
