How to Promote and Market Your Student Newspaper or Creating a Public Relations and Marketing Strategy

Presented by Dr. Kay L. ColleyAssistant Professor and Student Media Director Texas Wesleyan University

What do you currently do to market your student publications?

•Advertise within your publications

•Cross-promote with other student publications

•Host events or contests

•Foster word-of-mouth marketing

•Subscribe to social media

•Collaborate with other campus organizations

•Attend recruiting events

•Attend job fairs on campus

How do you determine which of these or other choices will work for you?

The Big Question:

How to create “The plan”

•Use the public relations campaign strategy of ROPE

•Create an integrated marketing communication campaign

•Combine the tools from public relations and marketing

• Ultimate goal: To increase awareness or visibility of your student media in the campus community

What is ROPE?

Research

Objectives

Programming

Evaluation

• SWOT Analysis

• Research tools– Primary– Secondary– Qualitative – Quantitative

• How do I choose?

Research

Research—what we have•Rambler focus group findings from Spring 2009 (qualitative, primary/secondary)

•nGenera focus group findings from Fall 2009 (qualitative, secondary)

•Institutional research report on student demographics (qualitative/quantitative, secondary)

Research—what we want•Rambler e-mail survey of students (quantitative, primary)

•Content analysis of Fall 2009 newspapers (qualitative, primary)

•Content analysis of website (qualitative, primary)

•Focus groups—student, faculty, staff—website (qualitative, primary)

Why do research?

•Gives us a benchmark

•Tells us what people think, in their own words

•Tells us why people think what they think

•Gives us ideas of how we can improve

•Lets us know which programming tactics should work

Analyzing the Research

•Where do you start?

•Remember, every research project is undertaken to get specific information. If you haven’t made that clear from the beginning, you’ll have a hard time making sense of the research.

Objectives

•Specific and quantifiable for measurement/evaluation

•Support your overall goal

•Can be impact and output objectives

•Should be no more than 8 objectives

Objectives--Impact•To improve newspaper perception as a credible source by 20% by May 2010

•To increase page views on therambler.org by 5% per month

•To increase readership by 20% in 2009-2010

•To increase number of fans to 1000 by Jan. 31, 2010

Objectives--Output•To provide source feedback survey to each source after the story appears

•To sign-up 10 people per week for e-mailed updates

•To deliver papers to individual classes each issue as requested

•To invite 10 new people to become fans per week

Programming

•Start with a list of everything you could do

•Narrow and focus based on your objectives and budget

•Make sure your programming supports your objectives

Programming--Done•Joined student media associations

•Redesigned paper (summer)

•Revised job descriptions, pay and hiring processes

•Began training prior to classes and continued throughout semester, bringing in outside experts to supplement knowledge

Programming--Done•Returned to beat system of coverage and announced beat reporter via email to departments•Redesigned rate card and invoices and had professionally printed•Launched new website •Launched social media sites•Launched video log, using students throughout campus as hosts

Programming--Done•Met with President’s Office to have newspapers sent to Board of Trustees

•Met with offices across campus to collaborate on coverage

•Met with faculty members in developmental English to provide newspapers directly to class

•Advertised website every issue

Programming—In Process•Signage—for new location and racks

•Racks—purchase of new racks that are branded

•Source survey—sent to every person who is a source to help understand veracity and credibility

•Contests—focused on Facebook to increase student involvement

•Cross promotions—Music department, theatre department, athletics

Evaluation

•The other side of the research coin

•Focused on results of objectives

•Should be undertaken throughout the campaign

•Can take many forms, depending on your programming and objectives

EvaluationObjective

•To improve newspaper perception as a credible source by 20% by May 2010

Evaluation

•Campus-wide, benchmark survey administered at end of Fall; mid-Spring; May 2010

•Conduct focus group in early Spring to determine actions

Evaluation Objective

•To increase page views on therambler.org by 5% per month

Evaluation

•Review page view counts on a weekly basis

Evaluation•Source survey—how would you evaluate this?

•What about those focus groups and surveys that you did in the research phase?

•What about the content analysis of the newspaper? How would you evaluate that, or would you?

What can you take home with you?

• Marketing and public relations campaigns allow you to gain more credibility on campus, more funding from advertisers, and more good students as recruits

• Taking the time to plan and put on paper a marketing and public relations strategy will give you the strategic direction you need to succeed

Feel free to contact me at:Dr. Kay L. Colleykcolley@txwes.edu817-531-6525Twitter: @kaycolleyBlog: http://kaycolley.blogspot.comWebsite: www.kaycolley.com

Student Media Director for