Talking Stick - May/June 2016 - 33

to. Understanding how to create and
deliver smart, strategic content is the
foundation of successful marketing
and communications strategy.
Marketing content includes
everything the audience may interact
with, be it video, websites, social
media, infographics, articles, or
images. From a poster tacked to a
telephone pole or bulletin board
to the images displayed on social
media, marketing professionals have
always had a wide variety of ways to
deliver content. They are also faced
with a myriad of options for creating
content. A successful strategy begins
by asking a few basic questions. Who
is the audience? What is the action
step? What is the best way to leverage
different platforms?
It may seem obvious that the
audience for campus housing
marketers is students, but it's not
that simple, since a college student
in Chicago may have different
priorities or interests than a college
student in Seattle, Saskatchewan,
or Sydney. Marketers must also
consider the many layers that make
up college students, including their
socioeconomic background, race,
and areas of interest and study. Often
students from different colleges and
universities develop a unique identity.
For example, Christian Hermann,
the assistant director for multimedia,
housing and dining services at
Colorado State University (CSU) in
Fort Collins, says he would describe
students on his campus as savvy and
independent, with a very libertarian
vibe and strong engagement with the
outdoors that manifests itself through
outdoor sports and recreation as well
as conservation and sustainability.
Understanding the characteristics of
his audience allows Hermann and
other staff to build more meaningful
content by considering images
and language that will have a great
impact on them. And listening to
an audience, particularly a student

audience, has never been easier with
access to social media.
In addition to the content, the
audience will also determine the
most effective means of distribution.
Though there are dozens of platforms,
most fall into one of three categories:
print content, website content, and
social media content. Despite the
ubiquity of interactive media - which
involves images, video, graphics,
and sound - print content is still a
powerful marketing tool and is often
used for viewbooks, staff recruitment
pieces, and building layouts. The most
cost- and time-efficient print materials
have content that is timeless. Staff
recruitment pieces from the University
of Alabama in Tuscaloosa are a great
example. The flyers that they use for
recruitment and give to prospective
staff members can be used from
year to year. A viewbook, which is a
promotional piece that is often heavy
on images and used for recruitment,
is often the staple print piece in many
housing operations.
To reach out to where students
- virtually all students - are today
means having an effective social
media content strategy. Successful
social media content is interactive
and strategic. Those who are familiar
with Facebook can observe a stark
difference in reach between a post

with an image and one without. Social
media content should include, at
the very least, an image - ideally a
well-thought out image or video that
evokes an emotional response and
action. Distribution is particularly
important in regards to social
media, since the timing of a post can
determine the number of views it gets.
In addition, content should maximize
the strength of a particular platform.
"Content needs to be adjusted to
best utilize the unique strengths and
constraints of a given platform," says
Hermann. "A complex, multi-subject
photo may play well on Facebook
while that same beautiful but complex
and detailed photo could have little
or no impact on Instagram where the
attention span is much shorter."
Creating engaging content that
successfully delivers the necessary
information or spurs a desired
action takes energy and creativity.
Fortunately, there are some general
guidelines that can improve the
success of that message. First,
remember that all content is an
extension of the campus brand. The
audience will be more likely to engage
with and value an authentic voice
that is genuine and consistent. For
example, a student audience does
not expect website content to reflect
the language and slang they may use

Students learn the
green story of their
building with the
help of a digital
sign.

PHOTO COURTESY OF COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY

MAY + JUNE 2016

33
Talking Stick - May/June 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Talking Stick - May/June 2016
