Peyton Garrett | @peetygarrett

As college students are entering the fall semester, retailers everywhere are trying to grab this audience’s attention with their social media messages. But how can you ensure that the college demographic will respond well to you? Here are a few tips on how to market college students effectively on one of the most popular social media platforms for millennials, Twitter.

1. Get to the point Marketing to college students presents a certain set of challenges for many different reasons, including the fact that they usually have a shorter attention span than the older demographic. This means that if you want to successfully reach college students, you need to capture their attention fast and get your information out quickly.

2. Incorporate humor If a college student shares something on the internet with their friends, it is more than likely because it made them laugh. Incorporating humor into your marketing strategy can be challenging at best, but when executed correctly, it can serve as a change of pace and expand your reach. When a brand evokes an emotion in their audience with their messaging, that message is more likely to stick with them.

3. Give them content that they want to see Students are accustomed to seeing Twitter pages filled with discounts, advertisements,and promotions. And while the content of these posts may be enough to prompt college students to follow you, the way to really attract their attention is to capture a piece of what their life on campus is like and relate it to your brand or service. Studies show that this demographic does not respond well to advertising, so it’s important to incorporate relatable content for this audience in your social strategy.

4. Be authentic Authenticity can be one of the most influential aspects of effective college marketing. Students can be quick to back away if they sense that something is fake or forced. The best way to gain this audience’s trust is to avoid being something you are not. Stay true to the core value of your brand and students will respect your genuineness.

Despite some of the challenges that come with reaching college student demographic, the benefits can be substantial for your brand. Hopefully these tips gave you a little more confidence when dealing with this important audience and can influence your marketing strategy for targeting this specific audience.