Essential dates for marketing to students

It can often be difficult to pin down the exact dates most relevant to the student population, with each search providing a different result. So we have strived to provide you with an array of essential dates and pivotal times of the year to add to your marketing agenda.

First up, GCSE results day

25th of August… A huge proportion of under 18s are on social media, 96% are signed up to sites like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and WhatsApp. Generally, students undertake their GCSEs between the ages of 15 and 16 where life exists almost entirely online. On average this age group spend a massive 4.8 hours connected to the internet a day, which equals a lot of snapchat snaps. Given this data, it is no wonder that this group is a prime audience to target with your content and adverts. Although the time spent online may drop drastically during the exams themselves, afterwards however, expect these millennials to ecstatically take to twitter to post their results. Alternatively you can be there with a tissue to offer to those disappointed students who didn’t perform as they may have liked.

A-Level Results Day

18th of August… In the UK there are 1.8 million students, and that figure is on the rise, with an increase of 3.1% of university applicants compared to last year. As these soon to be university students ready themselves for their first steps into freedom. Both parents and students get excited buying new ‘uni stuff’, with £235 on average being spent on kitchen and room items. A perfect time to get your brand noticed. When the results are released, emotions are high. You can positively tap into this emotion by offering support and advice, which should help to build brand loyalty. However, this high level of emotion can also draw negative feelings from students, so handle any comments sensitively and tread carefully.

University Final Classification

4th of July… The day where each student will decide if spending £40,000 was actually worth it. The day where they get the final classification of their degree. The day where they can no longer cling to being a student. The day where they have to decide what the heck they want to do with their life.
Many immediately start looking for their dream job, many get stressed that they haven’t been offered that job yet, but the majority of students just want to have an amazing summer celebrating the past three years; before picking up the responsibilities back up.

We’ve heard the horror stories of being in horrendous debt without a job. Good news is that the majority of graduates move quickly into full-time work, with a third in non-professional roles, and only 7% unemployed six months after graduating. Whether these graduates did well or not, they will all be glad to see the back of final year stress. Each one of them will be hoping to be earning more money, so staying focused on graduates could help to increase your engagement and sales. Why not tweet advice for graduates, Instagram photos of an amazing summer that they could be having, or even try employing them via a recruitment drive?

Student loan dates

Three times a year, students will receive a pile of cash, their student loan. This joyous time of year is when students are more than happy to part with their cash. On average, a student will receive £3,750 in living cost loan this year, however it could be much higher with a maximum of £10,702. Of course this varies because it is means tested. One thing is for sure though, that is a lot of money for brands to be competing for. Although the exact dates are different each year, and will depend on when the students complete their enrolment. They are usually the last week on September, the first week of January, and the first week of April.

Students who receive a lower loan, do often struggle to make ends meet, and have to be much more frugal with their spending, however those with a higher amount can live like a king for a few weeks, until they realise they may have overdone it a little! Offering discounts at this time of year is a really good plan; even better, target the more frugal students with further budgeting tips.

Dissertation Submission

A special shout out goes to the dissertation hand in period, which usually extends from the first week of April to the middle of May. This is a horrible time for every final year student, where they will often attempt to eat or sleep away the stress of writing it. Then add to that the stress of having to fork out £40+ to get the darn thing printed. A little pick up from you can go along way with winning their hearts at this time of year.

Each student is different, you can treat them as if they are all graduating at the age of 21, but that isn’t always the case now. Take note of these key dates that students will have their eye on and use them appropriately for your brand. Aiming useful tips, discounts, and distracting funny cat videos at students during relevant times will go down a treat.

Get in touch with our team for more information.