It's Football Season! Tips for Marketing Your School to Football Fans and Players

Football season offers numerous opportunities for marketing your school that are not available during other times of the year. Here's a look at some tips to use one of America's favorite sports to market your school to football fans and players:

1. Showcase Athletics in Video Content

There's no better time to capture great sports video content than during football season. Get on the ground and showcase your football team and players. Introduce your coaches and trainers.

Use football season to create interest and engagement among potential students who love football. Showing off your players is a great way to create interest and excitement in both football players and fans alike.

2. Use Social Media

Social media is one of the easiest ways to connect with potential students. Use social media to create interest in upcoming games, hype up your football team, and encourage fan following at your school. Show off your students' pre-game festivities and how current students show love and support for your football team.

Use social media platforms like Snapchat and Instagram to extend invitations to games, and engage potential students by encouraging fun times at your football games and events. Potential students are already using social media, so take advantage of this pre-existing traffic to create interest in your football team and program.

3. Show Off Your Departments and Facilities

Any potential student who plays football will be interested in your school's athletic departments and facilities. Make sure that you include these in your campus' virtual tours and interactive campus maps. Have specific tours designed for athletes to walk them through your locker rooms, sports fields, and training areas. Showing off what's great about your school's departments and facilities will engage potential student-athletes and assist in creating more interest.

Including your athletic departments and facilities in interactive campus tours gives potential student-athletes a hands-on look at what your school has to offer, wherever they are. It also allows them to share with their friends and teammates the schools that interest them. High school coaches and counselors can recommend your school to student-athletes based on the interactive campus maps and tours you offer to showcase your facilities.

4. Integrate Football

Use football season to your advantage when preparing tours and events for prospective students. Schedule some tours during football season to promote attendance at games. Encourage prospective students to attend football games after their tours of the school, and promote pre-game activities and events for prospective students to get involved with.

This gives you a great chance to show them campus life both academically and athletically. After showing them the residential and dining halls, classrooms, libraries, and academic offices, show them the "tailgate" gatherings and how current students support their favorite players and football team. Integrate football games and other football-related events into your current marketing, recruitment, and engagement strategies to reach out to football fans and encourage support for your athletic teams.

5. Reach Out to Athletes

Many student-athletes are approached by several schools during their final year of high school. It is crucial that your school is one of these, but you must also stand out from the others to generate the necessary interest and attention. Prepare great video and social media content to reach out to individual student-athletes.

Cater to student-athletes to grab their attention and keep them interested in what your schools' athletic departments have to offer. Invite them to games, and introduce them to current student-athletes and coaches to provide further encouragement to enroll.

For over a decade, StudentBridge, Inc., has helped colleges and universities identify, engage, and convert students around the world. Our services include interactive campus tours and maps, video viewbooks, production services, and more! We also offer webinars, whitepapers, and a regularly updated blog to help any institution interested in improving their marketing and recruitment strategies. Follow us today!