When we think about brands, what usually comes to mind are big-name products and services, such as popular apparel retailers or commodities whose logos are heavily ingrained into popular culture. The truth is a brand can be anything with an established identity. It can be a product, person, or even an establishment. And whatever its form or function, a brand must always work to boost its visibility and maintain its loyal following.
Schools are brands that seemingly don’t need to work as hard to maintain a strong brand identity. Once they get students, those students become followers for life. After all, they will be spending several years studying in the institution, and once they’re out of the school, they will always be identified as part of it.
The bulk of a school’s branding efforts are usually spent on boosting admissions, retaining students and raising money. Many articles have appeared over the last 2-3 years about how colleges and universities across the country have turned to social media to further strengthen the students’ affinity with their school. I believe this is a great example of bringing the brand closer than ever to the target market.
One of the social media tools currently being utilized by universities is “Schools on Facebook,” an app created by San Francisco-based startup, Inigral, Inc. The app allows schools to create private online communities within the country’s most popular social networking site, where students are given school-specific profiles that are separate from their original Facebook accounts. Students that have been admitted to a college can be given access to the app, even if they are not yet fully committed to attending the school. The app allows them to potentially interact with fellow students and build friendships, hopefully stirring them toward an affirmative decision about enrolling at the school.
Like friendships and relationships, a person’s loyalty to a brand depends on how close he or she feels to it. With the help of social media tools, colleges and universities can foster “school spirit” within its student population by actively interacting with them and giving them a portal to stay in the know with the latest news and activities happening around campus.
Related articles:
- Social Media Brand Interaction – Survey Results (socialmediatoday.com)
- REFILE-Schools, Tech Cos tailor social sites for students (reuters.com)
