SOC Marketing Guide | How to make the most of SOC – Student Opportunity Center

Watch SOC’s marketing ideas webinar for great ideas from SOC Partners:

How to Market SOC to Students, Faculty, & Staff: Ideas & Success Stories From Our Community

Develop a marketing schedule:

Send out announcements (via emails, LMS, text, or other messages) with: Student user guide & Video.

TIP: Vary content, means and method of delivery; Schedule content to be delivered throughout the semester (rather than just one big push at the beginning); Consider fun ways to drive traffic. For example, monthly drawing for student(s) who verified their SOC account that month or performed a search etc.

Check out VCU’s sample marketing calendar for inspiration!

Here is the SOC logo to use for your materials.

Post link to SOC in visible places such as your LMS, career center, undergraduate research office, experiential learning partners, and departmental home pages.

NOTE: For Learning Management System full integration or iFrame recommended (please contact SOC to set up)

TIP: Try creating a SOC search assignment that faculty can use for extra credit.

Post SOC announcement in places and in ways students will see:

This can include low-tech means like flyers, posters, chalking sidewalks, as well as higher tech methods, such as posting on electronic billboards (student center, cafeteria, fitness centers) or through the LMS.

Ask advisors to make SOC part of student appointment

Ensure advisors know that SOC is a centralized location for internships, research, volunteering etc.

Reach out to key faculty, staff, & students for help marketing SOC. Here are some ways other SOC users market SOC: Orientation, first-year seminars, capstone courses, special events, department & college-level champions

TIP: Consider existing champions. Do you have a HIPs or experiential ed. advisory committee? If so, ask them to set goals for SOC adoption. For example:

Semester one: each member commits to demonstrating SOC in their course(s) & to sharing SOC with their home department

Semester 2: each member commits to getting members of their home department to demonstrate SOC in their courses & to talking about SOC with one colleague outside the department

Semester 3, each member commits to reaching out to a department outside their home to share a success from the first year of adoption.

Recruit students to be SOC ambassadors:

Tap into students’ ideas for marketing SOC. This could even be a HIP if designed as a robust student employment experience! Your SGA, honors students and HIP participants are great resources.

Match students with opportunities:

Under the “match” feature on the right-hand navigation bar you can market opportunities to students/communities.

Below are 12 suggested messages to help market SOC

August

Get ready for new semester

[Campus name] has teamed up with Student Opportunity Center[insert campus link]to give you access to 1,000s of internship and research opportunities.

Students who participate in opportunities such as internships, undergraduate research and study abroad are more likely to graduate and more likely to find a job post-graduation! Stop by [your campus’ office] today to learn more! And login into SOC [insert campus link] to search for opportunities.

[Customize with specific statistics for your campus, if available]

SOC gives you free 24/7 online access [insert campus link] to the nation’s largest database of on- and off-campus opportunities including: internships, scholarships, publications, research, funding, volunteering and more!

September

General information about SOC

Have you checked out Student Opportunity Center [insert campus link] yet to search for internships, funding opportunities, scholarships, study abroad opportunities and more? Login today and see the 1000s of opportunities provided for you!

October

Study abroad opportunities

Did you know there are 195 independent sovereign nations? To see the world beyond your campus make an appointment with [study abroad office] today. Most financial aid transfers to study abroad programs and scholarships may be available.

[It’s best to customize the financial aid message to your campus. Research has found that a primary deterrent to students studying abroad, especially underrepresented students, is concern over funding the experience].

November

Summer internships

Internships lead to higher earnings in new graduates’ first post-college job. Summer internship deadlines start as early as fall semester. Check out SOC today!

December

Scholarships

$3.3 billion in private scholarships are awarded annually!!! Search SOC today [insert campus link] for 1000s of scholarship opportunities.

January

Undergraduate research opportunities

Students who do research with a faculty member feel more confident about their graduate school and professional plans and gain important references and credentials for their future application. Check out SOC today [insert campus link] for campus and national research opportunities!

February

Internships

Did you know having an internship while in college boosts your chances of finding a full-time job by 25%!!

[campus] has teamed up with SOC [insert campus link]to give you access to 1,000s of internship and research opportunities.

March

Service learning

Do you want to focus on applying your learning to a practical context while focussing on citizenship and social responsibility? If so, a service learning opportunity may be the right fit for you! To learn more [insert details for your campus].

April

Networking

Challenge yourself to ask a professor or staff for coffee or stop by office hours to chat not about a specific assignment! Research shows that informal conversations with faculty & staff lead to a 11 point increase in students’ confidence about their post-grad plans.

May

Summer plans

There is still time to make plans for the summer! Student Opportunity Center [insert campus link] is your customized search engine for internships, research, scholarships, study abroad and more.

June

Conferences

Did you know that you can participate in research conferences as an undergraduate? Many conferences have submission deadlines 6-9 month in advance. Take some time now to check them out and put them on your calendar for next year!

July

Future preparation

What is one skill you would like to improve this summer? Check out research and internship posting on Student Opportunity Center [insert campus link] to identify opportunities you are interested in. Make a list of the qualifications you already have and those you need and make a plan! Reach out [insert info about advisors etc] to chat about small steps you can take this month towards your goals.

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