Handybook co-founder Oisin Hanrahan describes college students using “two Ns”: networked and noisy. Put those traits together and you have a viral combination -- or at least that’s what companies are keeping their fingers crossed for.
Through Handybook, individuals can book professional, trusted cleaners and handymen in 90 seconds or less. But would college students use the site? Do they need someone to assemble their IKEA furniture? Or, would they prefer a hand when trying to clean out the cobwebs of parties gone past before any parents pay a visit? To gain insight, Handybook is now looking for campus ambassadors.
“Our student ambassadors are not really focused on promoting our brand on campus,” Hanrahan admits. “The role is really about bringing us an insight on student life to help us identify problems that we can help solve for students.”
Fellow co-founder Umang Dua agrees, saying, “When you’re in a closely-knit community like a college campus, you really get a sense of what works among your peer group.”
By becoming ambassadors, students are given the opportunity to learn more about how an early-stage company works, as well as help develop a business strategy focused on their own needs.
“We really think about student ambassadors as one our most valuable resources when designing services for the student/young professional demographic,” Hanrahan says, and he’s not alone.
Paul Hlatky, the executive director of Greenhorn Connect, has helped form a pool of nearly a dozen “Greenhorn Connectors,” ranging in schools from Brandeis to Boston University. “Knowing who the student leaders are at our local universities make launching student-focused initiatives much easier,” Hlatky says.
The advantage of college students is that they share the word with their friends. If they want to attend an event, they’ll be sure others do, as well. And if they like a product, they’ll suggest to their friends that they start using it, too. Word-of-mouth among the younger generation is the best, and cheapest, form of advertisement a company can hope for.
CourseBooks founder Sean Haufler admits the textbook price comparison company wasn’t even planning on using campus promoters as a marketing tactic. “We simply showed the website to our friends and asked them to spread the word to their classmates,” he says. Some became so passionate about the company, however, they asked to promote the site in a more official capacity and the “campus promoter” role has now grown to over 100 campuses organically.
After all, who knows a campus better than its own students? “CourseBooks depends on our campus promoters, because they inherently know their universities better than us,” fellow co-founder Alex Lustick says. Beyond that, though, Lustick admits the company has found college students to be dependable employees “when they believe in a sound mission and are given the opportunity to have a substantial role in an exciting, growth stage startup company,” despite their age.
Boundless has campus representatives at nearly 20 colleges and are hiring more locally at Tufts, Boston College and Northeastern, according to Nick Ducoff, the textbook replacement company’s vice president of content. He claims their target demographic are college students taking introductory courses that assign particular textbooks Boundless has chosen to align its content to.
“We’re proving out that directly marketing to these students on campus is a cost-effective and scalable acquisition channel,” Ducoff says. Being able to build long-term relationships with students and campuses also helps not only lead to new customers, but also to retention and referral.
Why do you think marketing agencies like influencers@ have been able to thrive by offering word of mouth campaigns and brand ambassador programs? With a slogan like, “Peer pressure rocks. That’s how we roll,” influencers@ has been able to help brands achieve the buzz they’re looking for among 18 to 24 year olds.
As Hanrahan says, “If we can deliver a great service and make students happy, then the virality we enjoy is incredibly high.”
And what company doesn’t want to go viral? Could college students be the ultimate key to a company’s marketing success?
Are you looking for campus ambassadors, much like the companies above? Then let us know in the comments. Or, if you’re a student looking for one of these opportunities, let us know in the comments, as well.
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