Here are four questions every business should ask and answer to make the most of this holiday season.

Who influences my audience?

Social media influencers include trend drivers such as Pinterest influencers, brand advocates and celebrities. However, there are more significant influencers that drive college students to buy. They include their peers, family, online reviews, and social media aspects such as hashtags. For example, Macy’s launched a social media marketing campaign on Cyber Monday with the hashtag #MacysCM that made the brand the most-mentioned of the entire day.

What will grab their attention?

College students are looking for perks and rewards. These come in the forms of giveaways, discounts, contests and special limited-time offers. Use social media for coupons, a retweet and follow for a chance to win contest, and use in-store locations such as print ads and handouts around campuses to let consumers know about the latest promotions.

How should I segment my target audience?

There are many distinctions between college students as this large demographic obviously has different tastes, styles, desires and interests. Find out what type of millennial you are looking to target, and then obtain more information about their interests, likes, dislikes, and where they can be found both offline and online to get them to notice your brand. For example, customers can be segmented through email segmentation, where you can segment and tailor different advertising messages based on age, gender, ethnicity, race, and more.

What platforms should be the basis of my advertising campaigns?

It is ensured that holiday shopping will result in the busiest months for companies looking to sell their products to consumers. A recent report by Crimson Hexagon reveals that social conversations both offline and online will increase in the week leading up to and before major winter holidays. Therefore, this season allows brands an opportunity to connect on multiple platforms – social, email, print in order to better understand and maintain relationships that will ultimately increase sales by delivering what customers want.

For more information on how to boost your holiday college student marketing campaign, contact s at OnCampus Advertising.