by Kate Kirkpatrick
Truckee Meadows Community College
Reno, NV
After years of mastering social media trends both serious and silly, I finally feel like I’ve got a handle on vibing with our youngest students. But that’s the thing about generations, to quote the band Smash Mouth: “the years start coming, and they don’t stop coming.”
Our youngest students are changing fast. Gen Alpha (born 2010-2024) will be here before we know it, with some dual credit students present on our campuses this fall. Already, Gen Alpha has been recognized for their love of slang and low tolerance for anything inauthentic.
As we prepare for Gen Alpha to enter the chat, so to speak, community college marketers are being asked to do the impossible: reach every generation on every platform, all while running on the same old budget. How can a small marketing and communications team keep up?
At the risk of using stereotypes and oversimplifying the message: everyone prefers to get information from sources that respect our preferred media.
– Gen Z (1995-2009) students live on their phones because it’s always been that way; there’s an app for everything and connectivity is vital.
– Gen Y (1981-1995) grew up with cell phones, so texting and social media is very comfortable.
– Gen X (1961-1980) learned on Apple II computers and were early adopters of email.
– Baby Boomers (1946-1964) had party lines and telephones, so they prefer a phone call or face-to-face meeting.
It’s time to make key changes to strengthen your approach and prepare to serve an increasingly diverse mix of generations. Here are five hacks to level up your comms:
Start observing Gen Alpha now.
Educators everywhere are worried about Gen Alpha and how it’s unlike any other generation before. The pandemic made a huge impact on Gen Alpha, and their K-12 educators are reporting short attention spans, apathy, social issues, and an overdependence on technology. These students are hearing mixed messages about the importance of higher education, and your marketing will need to speak in ways to cut through the noise they see on social media. With any luck, these students are coming to your campus, and you must be ready.
Be authentic.
As Gen Alpha would say it: Your content’s gotta pop. Nobody’s vibing with cringe stock pics, or copy-paste enroll lines. Find your voice, promote what you stand for, and stick with it. Everyone’s online getting spammed with content 24/7—so if you don’t stand out, you’re invisible.
If every audience is a priority, then no audience is a priority.
If you have limited staff or budget, take cues from your college leadership and make some tough decisions on priority audiences. If enrollment is your #1 goal, commit to supporting the largest audiences first and foremost. Don’t spend unnecessary time on smaller audiences or new social channels that haven’t proven themselves yet.
Pay attention to your data.
Survey your current marcom efforts, particularly those that take a lot of time, and those that haven’t changed in a long time. If strategies aren’t up to date with generational preferences, you may be wasting time on efforts that drain your battery. Consider:
– Are your student emails being opened, getting click-throughs?
– Are digital ads performing well?
– How are your website analytics?
– What type of social posts get the most engagement?
Promote your own good work, and talk about the basic issues.
Your college leaders aren’t your target audience, and they may not see much of your marketing; they definitely don’t realize how much media has expanded—or how many channels you’re expected to cover. Make time to present to leadership or faculty groups, explain the challenges, and advocate for what you need: staff, budget, and tools.
Community college marketers can’t be everywhere at once. By understanding generational differences, focusing on the platforms that matter most, and making the case for support, small teams can still make a big impact.
Kate Kirkpatrick is the director of marketing and communications at Truckee Meadows Community College in Reno, Nevada.
STAY CONNECTED