A new program at a school has several barriers to overcome. Before it can attract new students, it has to make itself known, show its value and create some excitement on campus. You’re trying to grab the attention of high schoolers, current college students, and prospective students—all of whom hear thousands of messages every day. Here are four ways to make sure students are aware of and excited about a new degree program.
Throw an Event
A new program can be rolled out with an event to help get the word out and make a splash before joining all the other programs in the course catalog. This event will give you an opportunity to post flyers, answer questions from students, bring in guest speakers and hand out the branded t-shirts and promotional items that will help spread the word.
Show the Value
Nowadays, students want to know how a program will fit into their future plans and how it will earn back the money they spend in tuition. Today’s practical students want to know, bottom line, will this be worth it? You can show them the program’s value through interviews with professionals in the field that run in the school paper and on the school website. Try to make sure the interview ties in the new program with potential connections in the field — a practical element students are always looking for.
Spread Promotional Items
Let’s be honest, college students love free stuff. It doesn’t matter what it is — t-shirts, lip balm or key chains—if it is free, a college student wants it. So it makes sense to spread the word by ordering these promotional items and imprint them with your new program’s logo and contact details of your school. Promotional products like these act as walking billboards, ensuring that you gain repeated marketing exposure every time they are used by recipients. A few small colleges in Nebraska have been able to design custom products using http://www.halo.com/promotional-products-lincoln-nebraska.aspxin order to draw attention to new programs at the school. These get passed around so often that the advertising is almost effortless. A few t-shirts worn in a day can end up being seen by hundreds of students, so it definitely pays to add this marketing technique to your advertising arsenal.
Cover the Digital World
For today’s increasingly online students, there’s no choice in marketing but to cover your digital bases. It’s important to go beyond adding information to the school’s website. A new program can reach out with a Facebook presence, targeted display ads and student email messages. The support of the school’s IT department is important, and the extra time and effort to get the word out online will be paid back with increased enrollment.
There’s a lot vying for students’ attention, so your marketing strategy has to have a multi-pronged approach. An extra marketing push to create some excitement about a new program will ensure full classes and campus buzz, which is just what a new program needs to prove its value to the school.
