The story most people know about fraternity/sorority life is not the story most members of fraternities and sororities want to be told about them. Fraternities and sororities are beautiful things, but the narrative being shared about our groups is too often hideous.
It’s time to take control of our fraternal story again. It’s time for a new approach to marketing our organizations.
I was giving a presentation on marketing best practices for fraternities and sororities not too long ago (we do this at a lot of campuses and conferences), and in a moment of passionate and extemporaneous exclamation I said, “Honestly, the way most fraternity/sorority communities market themselves right now is about as good as the promotion of a 4th grade bake sale.”
Maybe that was a bit harsh.
But man, oh man… We can do better brothers and sisters.
Fraternities and sororities are made of almost A MILLION college students (9 million total members), we’re over A HUNDRED YEARS OLD, we have over 150 inter/national organizations with franchises on 800 campuses across North America. Think about that. We’re huge, important, influential, and powerful. We should be doing marketing akin to Nike, Apple, Disney. Instead, if we objectively considered the level of marketing we’re doing on MOST campuses, it’s not world class. It’s tabling, sidewalk chalk, t-shirts, and occasionally some printed materials.
We can do better. It's time to stop shouting "GO GREEK!" hoping that just enough people will stumble upon our events and join.
This isn't your fault of course. Today's student leaders haven't been given the support, training, and guidance on marketing that you deserve. It's time to change that.
You deserve a more sophisticated, professional, world-class approach to marketing and public relations. You have a powerful story to tell about personal impact, human connection, community building, expectations of excellence, serving mankind, and so much more.
Here are four principles to keep in mind as you consider your marketing plan for the next semester.
1. Know Your Audience. This is the most important rule of all marketing. Our marketing should be informed and targeted. We should know as much as possible about the people we want to hear our marketing messages, and our messages should be aimed only at the people we actually want. Our marketing should be about the prospective member, not about our organizations. Want to read research about what non-Greeks actually think of us? (Hint: They don't actually hate us, they just don't know us). Download a free report.
2. Be Remarkable. Our marketing should surprise people about Greek Life. Our goal should be to avoid cliché and expectedness at all costs. "Leadership, scholarship, service, brotherhood/sisterhood." These are all nice words, but lack any meaning or appeal to most non-members. We need to focus on the benefits of fraternity/sorority life that actually make people curious to learn more. Your community needs a core marketing narrative. Here are several examples of core marketing narratives from some fraternity/sorority communities you might know about.
3. Marketing is About Values. Our marketing should be an expression of our own fraternal values. It is a heart-to-heart exchange of beliefs. A nod of deep understanding and an affirmation of mutual worth. It should be emotional not logical. It should be representative of what we want fraternity/sorority to become, not just what it is. We don't mean a list of your values; we want you to bring your values to life through your marketing. When you think of Nike, you don't think of shoes -- you think of great athletes and great athletics. When you think of Greek Life you shouldn't think of houses, parties, t-shirts, and sidewalk chalk, you should think of... what? Fill in the blank and show (don't tell) that story in your marketing.
4. Make it Personal. Our marketing should create opportunities for people to tell their own story. Either their story of fraternity/sorority membership or their story of what they want their college experience to be. Your most important marketers are your members, and your most important medium is the conversations and interactions your members have with non-members. People join people. Which means that great marketing techniques should help create opportunities for face-to-face interactions to occur... and when they do, prepare your members to make each of those interactions unforgettable.
Matthew G. Mattson
Phone: 630-965-1779
About Matt: http://about.me/Matthew.Mattson
Matt’s Work: www.Social-Excellence.com