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A few days ago we started thinking about university blogs and specifically, student blogs; i.e. blogs that are written by students for students and are hosted in an official capacity by the university website. As we’ve all heard many times before…a blog is a powerful marketing and sales tool that when done right can do a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to positioning and promoting your brand.
You know the way you’re far more likely to watch a movie, read a book, buy a certain brand or eat at a new restaurant when a friend recommends it to you? Well, the same goes for students; they’re far more likely to take advice from their peers when it comes to why they should pick a certain college or university over another.
We’ve spent some time lately trawling through university and college student blogs and what we’ve found is that the really good ones have made even us antiquated beings want to recommit to student life.
In our experience, lots of colleges and universities have blogs but it doesn’t mean that they blog. See what we did there? Just because you have a blog doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re blogging effectively.
While a blog run by faculty members or the marketing department can have its merits, it’s probably not going to hold much sway with prospective 17 & 18 year old students- in fact- chances are most of them aren't going to read it.
On the other hand, a blog written by students about topics of actual interest to students, well, that’s something else entirely. Blogs written by current students are a fantastic way of giving new and future students an insight into what life on campus is really like; from where you can find the best (and cheapest) food on campus, to what living in a certain building is like or why a particular class or course of study is worth taking.
Student blogs can help transform your university brand from a faceless institution to that welcoming place that hosts an annual zombie run, looks magical in the Fall or that makes the best hot chocolate in town.
Put simply you just can’t compete with the love your current students have for their campus so don’t forget to utilize them as a resource.
We’ve listed 5 great examples of student blogs in case some inspiration is required:
If your university or college has a student blog that you would like us to feature just email marketing [at]terminalfour.com or leave us a comment below.