How Student Platform Is Driving Engagement (Without Memes)

Reaching your target audience in an overcrowded online space is somewhat of a science.

Yes, there’s the actual science portion of data and analytics which can easily tell you where your target audience lives online, but that’s only half of the equation. If you want to get your message heard by a certain audience, it’s not just about where they spend time online, it’s also (and perhaps most importantly) where they are most engaged. The online space is overflowing. There’s an abundance of noise and content.

The platforms and websites that can stand out in all the noise? The ones who create content for purpose – not content for eyeballs. If you’re a brand with a message you need heard, these are the platforms you need to be spending your advertising dollars. It’s an untapped secret that too-few brands understand the importance of.

Take the education and careers sector for example. Prospective students are not short of websites to visit when actively researching and exploring their options for what and where to study. However, not all websites and resources are created equally, and content for the sake of content, content that does not engage audiences, will never be effective.

That’s why a website like The Footnotes, and it’s in-school channel The Careers Department, can stand out from its competitors because it’s a platform that is purpose-built for the education audience and delivers content that is relevant. With a community that’s been designed for students to inform their study and career choices, The Footnotes is an authority on on-brand messaging across the education space; messaging that fully reaches its audience and messaging that its audience actively engages with.

The Footnotes partnerships manager Samantha Devlin commented: “Over the past few years careers advertising has become somewhat ubiquitous, with major institutions making serious noise and spending serious coin.

“With the upward trend of flexible study, alternate pathways to entry and mid-year admissions, there isn’t just one peak ad push anymore, instead it’s a constant buzz around the wealth of opportunities available through tertiary study. Getting eyeballs on a colourful TVC of a student on campus doesn’t convert into enrolments; students want real insight told by people that aren’t just an advertisement.

“We use real students on campus or recent graduates; and the engagement is well beyond anything a glossy TVC could achieve. We have students tagging their parents, friends, emailing us to ask for advice; we are a community market place with strong ROI.”

From interest pieces to entertainment content and articles that inform their next steps when it comes to study and careers, The Footnotes audience is one that is switched-on and engaged on all levels.

Devlin added: “Our videos are distributed through high schools and to parents, via The Careers Department. Having a licenced in school program means we can monitor what students (and where) are reading, engaging in their course intentions. It makes us smarter when we share content with them.

“A course video that we produce will receive around 60,000 student UBs across the 16 – 20 age group; within a campaign that drove 1800 student leads for an institution.”

In an online world that’s filled with white noise, having a point of difference is key. That’s why The Footnotes is succeeding. The Footnotes effectively promotes further education in a casual and conversational environment without overwhelming an audience that’s often subjected to an overload of information when it comes to choosing what to study and what career path to take. The content is relevant. It’s insightful. It’s engaging and above all else – it’s helpful to its audience, which is ultimately what captivates them and creates a meaningful and sustainable connection.

Beyond digital, the platform (The Careers Department and The Footnotes) reaches students via school visits and magazines. Case studies are available on request: Samantha@thefootnotes.com.au

Advertise with us

Please login with linkedin to comment

Partner content the footnotes