I had a conversation with the editor of our student newspaper the other day. She’s a PR major and we talked about ways of recruiting high school students. I mentioned YouTube. She shrugged. “I don’t know much about it. I almost never use it.”
“I thought everyone used it,” I said.
She shook her head. “People our age go to it for humor and dumb videos. Guys use it mainly.”
So I brought up the subject with Eden, my student who coproduces our podcasts with me.
She’s a chemistry major.
“Do you use YouTube?”
She shook her head, and said, (I swear): “People my age mostly go to it for humor and dumb stuff. I don’t know many girls who use it. It’s mainly a guy thing.”
Responses? Eerily similar.
It makes me wonder if YouTube is overrated as a medium for recruiting.
I’ve mentioned in previous posts that my primary target audience in recruiting is mothers of high school age students. My secondary audience is female high school juniors and seniors. Sounds like I’m not going to get even close to getting my message to them through YouTube unless I do something drastically different than posting TV spots.
I do have a couple productions we’re working on now that are different than the usual commercial fare.
But. . .
Now I’m wondering, if the majority of people in the high school/college age group is using YouTube for dumb humor, can the site ever be viable for serious recruiting?
YouTube is huge, but like all other huge things on the Web, its huge because it’s composed of millions of fragments.
I know I said with the podcasting that we have a niche and niches on an international scale can be big, but YouTube is different. Unless you’re riding in the tiny speck of fortunate virals, how do you get people to search you out and watch you? Then, videos don’t have links. So the viewer has to remember, say, Mansfield University and search out our site.
Anyone else have the same feeling? Has anyone had success with YouTube as an advertising or recruiting vehicle?
I’d really like to hear ideas.
3 responses so far ↓
Karine Joly // May 9, 2007 at 12:04 pm |
And, how about doing a video that will target the young women and their daughters by using their brothers or sons as carriers. If you can get the guys interested enough to look at the video and share it with the women in their life you might achieve your goals.
Now, I didn’t say that finding a concept that would achieve this was simple, but it’s worth thinking about it.
Don’t you think?
YouTube, Karine & Mozart « The Higher Ed Marketing Blog // May 11, 2007 at 1:39 am |
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Billy Blogging Poet // May 11, 2007 at 1:50 pm |
If using creative writing is the means by which you want to target your audience you might be better served by MuseCrafters Video and other MuseCrafters Free Services.
It’s like YouTube, even plays YouTube videos and others but its focus is on creative writers and not juvie-humor.