In these monthly installments, I’ll being giving you some quick how-tos and updates on marketing strategies that can help your career team in your outreach efforts. Whether you have a team of marketing professionals (or students) at your disposal or a brave career counselor doubling as your marketing guru, these blogs can help keep your marketing on trend.
We’ve seen it pop up on all the major social media platforms – live-streaming Stories are a thing and are here to stay. We were first introduced to Storying by Snapchat back in 2013. Since then, Facebook has jumped on the bandwagon, rolling out live-streaming features on both Facebook and Instagram.
Why should you consider having your career center go live? Because that’s where your students are. It’s a great way to connect with your student population, give your office some personality, and provide real-time updates to followers. Live video and photos can help you build trust with your audience and to create a solid brand image. And because Stories are designed to be live, raw video, they are pretty quick and easy to produce.
So, which platform is for you? Let’s break down each of the options:
Snapchat
As I mentioned, Snapchat is the originator of Stories. This platform is made for spontaneity and to show your fun side. There is option to use funky filters and geofilters that can be helpful in advertising your location, an event, or just adding a funny touch to your content (For my Snapchat novice out there, a geofilter is a filter that becomes available based on your locations that are specific to that location; like your school logo or the name of a town). However, Snapchat can be a little confusing to navigate for new users.
Facebook
The big selling feature for Facebook is that, in addition to posting content in your Story for 24 hours, you can also post the content directly to your Facebook wall where it can stay for however long you choose. Like Snapchat, Facebook has filters to choose from, but they aren’t as exciting as Snapchat’s.
Instagram
Though Instagram Stories can still be raw, live video, the platform lends to a more polished look. There are also great capturing features including Live, Normal, Boomerang, Rewind and Hands-Free. Having this variety is helpful to keeping your audience engaged.
Ultimately, the platform you choose to go live on should depend on your students. What platform are they using? This can vary greatly from school to school. If you’re unsure, consider asking your university communications department for help. Most likely, they have their own insights on where is best to find your students online. It is also recommended to check with your university communications regarding your school’s rules and guidelines regarding social media.
Ready to go live? Here are a few quick tips to get you started, regardless of which platform you choose:
- Give a glimpse behind the curtain
Stories are a great way to give a sneak peek or a behind the scenes look. Let your students see what goes into the programs you put on or show the fun side of your office.
- Keep it regular
In order to build a following its important to put out content on a regular basis. Students need to know when a new video will be added to your story so they know when to be tuning in. Consider choosing a day and time each week that you add new content to your story.
- Quality over quantity
Your stories don’t need to go on forever. In fact, they shouldn’t. Your audience will lose interest if the video gets dull, so keep it short and avoid unnecessary fillers.