Marketing and Promoting Your Student Media

Best Practices in Student Media Pre-Conference Small Programs Interest Group

AEJMC 2012

What do you currently do to market your student publications?

• Advertise within your publications

• Cross-promote with other student publications

• Host events or contests

• Foster word-of-mouth marketing

• Subscribe to social media

• Collaborate with other campus organizations

• Attend recruiting events

• Attend job fairs on campusBody Copy

The Big Question:

• How do you determine which of these or other choices will work for you?

Body Copy

How to create “The plan”• Use the public relations campaign strategy of ROPE

• Create an integrated marketing communication campaign

• Combine the tools from public relations and marketing

• Ultimate goal: To increase awareness or visibility of your student media in the campus community

What is ROPE?

• Research

• Objectives

• Programming

• Evaluation

Research• SWOT Analysis• Research tools

– Primary– Secondary– Qualitative – Quantitative

• How do I choose?

Research• Who are your audiences?• What works best to listen to them?

– Survey– Focus Groups– Content analysis– Institutional research

Why do research?• Gives us a benchmark

• Tells us what people think, in their own words

• Tells us why people think what they think

• Gives us ideas of how we can improve

• It’s required for assessment and strategic planning

Analyzing the Research• Where do you start?

• Remember, every research project is undertaken to get specific information. If you haven’t made that clear from the beginning, you’ll have a hard time making sense of the research.

Objectives• Specific and quantifiable for

measurement/evaluation

• Support your overall goal

• Can be impact and output objectives

• Should be no more than 8 objectives

Objectives--Impact• To improve newspaper perception as a

credible source by 20% by May 2010

• To increase page views on therambler.org by 5% per month

• To increase readership by 20% in 2009-2010

• To increase number of fans to 1000 by Jan. 31, 2010

Objectives--Output• To provide source feedback survey to each

source after the story appears

• To sign-up 10 people per week for e-mailed updates

• To deliver papers to individual classes each issue as requested

• To invite 10 new people to become fans per week

Programming• Start with a laundry list of everything you could

do

• Narrow and focus based on your objectives and budget

• Make sure your programming supports your objectives

Some examples• Training programs

• Signage--branding

• News releases

• Joining associations

• Presenting at meetings

• Cross promotion

Some eventsLeft, Halloween Booth to sign up people for Facebook

Right,A year-end banquet reconnects us with alumni

Other tacticsLeft, One of six kiosks purchased around campus

Right,Encourage staff to participate in campus-wide events

Announce your successes--on campus and in the community

Evaluation• The other side of the research coin

• Focused on results of objectives

• Should be undertaken throughout the campaign

• Can take many forms, depending on your programming and objectives

EvaluationObjective

• To improve newspaper perception as a credible source by 20% by May 2012

Evaluation

• Campus-wide, benchmark survey administered at end of Fall; mid-Spring; May 2012

• Conduct focus group in early Spring to determine actions

What can you take home with you?• Marketing and public relations campaigns allow

you to gain more credibility on campus, more funding from advertisers, and more good students as recruits

• Taking the time to plan and put on paper a marketing and public relations strategy will give you the strategic direction you need to succeed

Contact Me:Dr. Kay L. Colley, Student Media Director and Assistant Department Chairkcolley@txwes.edu817-531-6525Twitter: @kaycolleyBlog: http://kaycolley.blogspot.com