HOW TO ENGAGE WITH COLLEGE COLLEGE STUDENTS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
In the Age of Information, social media has become a dominant force in the marketing landscape. Modern companies are heavily focusing on online marketing to college students, and the reasoning is simple: of the entire consumer base, young adults aged 16-24 are spending more time on mobile devices than any other demographic, committing about 200 minutes daily to their phones, tablets, laptops, and other devices.
Since the majority of this time is spent browsing social media, it’s no secret that learning how to effectively advertise through these outlets can be vital to a company’s success. Currently, the most popular social media platforms amongst college students are Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook making them a great place to promote your business.
Snapchat
Snapchat has slowly but surely become the most popular social media platform for college age users. According to a recent online survey of college students in the U.S, 78% of students admitted to using the app at least 6 times a day, with 51% using the app at least 11 times per day. With those impressive usage stats, Snapchat has blossomed into an all-inclusive platform that businesses can utilize for their advertising efforts. The app possesses a variety of wildly popular features which businesses should take advantage of, including geo-tags, custom filters, and the ‘Snapchat Story’, which is a highlight reel created by the user.
Instagram has been on the social media map for some time, but recently they’ve been pushing their way to the top. Instagram just completed the one year mark since they introduced a beautiful advertising platform, in which companies can directly market to college students. Because Instagram is owned by Facebook, advertisers can promote to very specific groups of users by setting parameters for age, gender, and interests - all data that is shared between the two platforms. The incredibly high engagement rate combined with the ability to market to a target audience makes Instagram an invaluable advertising tool.
Twitter continues to be a powerful social media platform amongst college students, with a recent study showing that 81% of millennials check Twitter at least once a day. Advertising through Twitter is a proven winner, with 88% of businesses with more than 100 employees currently marketing through the platform. Users also repeatedly affirm that Twitter is the leader in social customer care, which is how a company responds to questions, comments, and concerns through a social media outlet. Since college students are accustomed to receiving information instantly, Twitter is the perfect outlet for businesses to hear customer feedback and quickly produce responses.
Facebook is a behemoth in the social media scene, with 22% of world’s population using the platform. However, amongst college students, the social media titan has declined in popularity in recent years. The perception of Facebook has shifted to a social media platform that is mainly used by older generations. Young adults are simply losing interest in Facebook and are moving on to more modern outlets like Snapchat and Instagram. While a company shouldn’t entirely scrap their Facebook advertising strategy, they should allocate more time and resources to platforms in which college students are actively investing their time.