Ideas, information and industry news for collegiate retailers

We talk a lot about the different social media platforms and the potential benefit of using them because they provide a direct connection with students. As Willie Sutton said, “Go where the money is … and go there often.” However, just being on the networks isn’t enough. The content you post and its effectiveness will directly influence the return on your efforts. What does that mean? Your store needs to understand the relationship social media forges between the store and the student, and what students expect in return.

Finding creative ways to interact with your students on Facebook isn't easy. To help, we've compiled a list of quick strategies you can implement that others have found successful.

• Calls to action: If you want interaction, ask for it. Adding a call to action to your Facebook posts such as ‘like this post if you agree!’ or ‘Tell us what you think in the comments section,’ encourages readers to be a part of the discussion.
• Questions: People love to talk on Facebook. Asking questions that are easy to answer and require one-word responses tend to get the most engagement. When you make it about them, they are more likely to jump into the conversation.
• Crowdsource: Give your students a say in their college store. Let them vote on which new items to carry, what product should be on sale next week or even what type of event you should hold next. Companies such as Starbucks and Dell have had success using crowdsourcing as a tool to build engagement, loyalty and business as a whole.
• Offers: Add an incentive to being a fan by providing exclusive discounts. Facebook’s ‘Offers’ feature makes it easy to spread the deal to your fan base and beyond. Facebook ads allow you to track the ad from the time it is clicked through redemption, helping you determine the success of your Facebook marketing.
• Photos: Prove your store is the place to be by snapping pictures at in-store events and uploading them to Facebook. Ask students to tag themselves so the picture, as well as your store’s name, appear in their newsfeed for their friends to see. You can also have students get involved by asking them to post their own snapshots to your page in a photo contest. Use the Spring Break Photo Contest as inspiration.
• Tips: Be the inside authority. Let students know of campus happenings, events and other local updates so they turn to your page for the latest.
• Trivia: Ask questions related to your store, campus, or a specific topic and reward the first to answer correctly with a fun prize. Weber State University created a social media event for their 100^th anniversary, complete with a music video and trivia questions to build engagement through Facebook.
• Caption contest: Ask your fans to caption a specific photo to enter. You can either pick your favorite caption as the winner or make the caption with the most likes the winner. This contest can result waves of comments, often with funny and creative results.

What other strategies do you use to get students talking on social media? Share them with other stores in the comments section below!

Students at Towson University in Towson, Maryland, have the opportunity to win free textbooks for the 2016-17 school year.

Remember when it was easy to hide embarrassing photos? All you had to do was burn a handful of yearbooks and no one was the wiser about your Beanie Baby obsession or just how often you sported that awful trucker hat. These days, it seems like everything is fair game as all those old pictures are given new life on the Internet. Sharing awkward photos has become a popular trend over the last few years, inspiring blogs, books and car commercials (not to mention a multitude of both sincere and snarky recreations).

A new dorm room is like a blank canvas, and your incoming students need your help to fill it in! Encourage them to start school in style and gain their loyalty before they even arrive on campus with two fun events that will fill up those empty rooms and inspire some school spirit right from the start. Here’s your chance to highlight your dorm-friendly inventory and awesome accessories as you invite the incoming students to trick out their dorm rooms and upgrade their outfits. To help you attract their attention and get them in your store, we’ve also created a Facebook cover photo and customizable posters to hang up around campus. Although we’ve created these contests with orientation and the beginning of school in mind, you could hold them at any time.

With increased competition, it’s more important than ever to advertise the benefits of shopping at your store. One of the many ways college stores are effectively achieving this task is through incentives. For example, UIC Bookstore recently implemented a promotion that encouraged students to use their online textbook reservation program by offering them a free item.

After a long winter break, it can seem like spring break is years away to students. A quirky Groundhog Day promotion is the perfect way to break up the monotony of studying and classes. We’ve created four unique ways to engage your students in-store and on social media. Choose the one that best fits your needs or combine them for extra fun!

The latest holiday craze is the Elf on the Shelf, a popular new holiday tradition that’s based on a 2005 children's picture book. The story, which explains how Santa Claus knows who is naughty and who is nice, includes a doll and the mischievous elf’s location is supposed to change each day, providing children with the responsibility of locating its current perch.

The end of the term is always a hectic time for college stores. Last semester, Titan Shops attempted to change that with a promotion that got rental books back in their hands earlier. Their simple, yet effective approach allowed them to ultimately streamline the return process and reduce the stress on their staff.

Thinking of creative ways to get your students interacting on Facebook isn't easy. So, we've compiled a list of quick strategies you can implement that others have found successful. Check it out: