BuzzFeed is a popular website that has attracted several millennial followers. It was created 10 years ago, in Nov. 2006, and has soared to popularity over the years.
Now, BuzzFeed, deemed as the "King of Clicks," is becoming the top advertising choice for universities and colleges. According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, a lot of higher education institutions have turned to the website's marketing team to advertise their services.
BuzzFeed's Vice President for brand development, Stephen Loguidice, admitted that the company had contacted universities to pitch the concept of marketing themselves to potential students through their website. BuzzFeed had initially reached out to institutions that were "doing interesting things" in terms of marketing.
Loguidice noted that Temple University was one of its earliest clients as it already had six pieces of content that started in 2015. He said that he works with the universities on marketing and more institution have been attracted by the idea, revealing that the company has worked with about five or six colleges in the last year so.
BuzzFeed's advertisement is intended to reach a specific, small subset of prospective students. This is opposite to the usual marketing strategies employed by other companies which cast a wide net and attract only a small percentage of potential customers.
One student, Ana Holley, a freshman studying environmental and natural resources at the University of Wyoming, said that she chose to enroll to the university because of two BuzzFeed posts that it produced. The articles were "11 Picturesque Places In Wyoming Perfect For Any Outdoor Enthusiast" and "13 Things You Could Actually Buy If You Didn't Have Student Loan Debt."
Education Dive reported that universities and colleges should focus on marketing degrees that are closely related to workforce development trends in the city or state. The publication noted that this is the greatest elements in attracting more students to enroll at the institution.
