Living on campus at Deakin Res gives residents an unforgettable opportunity to immerse themselves into the Deakin experience. With people from all over the world looking to stay, boarding at Deakin Res is a sure way to become apart of a diverse and close-knit community. Offering both long and short term stays, each Deakin Res campus provides a unique experience and Deakin came to us to attract the right guests to the right place.
Our task was to generate leads for Deakin’s 2019 accommodation application season using an engaging, professional, streamlined approach.
We started to devise a social media strategy that would not only attract bookings across all four campuses but would also build a distinct personality for Deakin Res and its residents. Each campus provides a unique experience for Resi’s to get involved in the Deakin experience and make lasting friendships and we wanted to truly highlight just how awesome staying with Deakin is through the content we created.
First, we had to inject personality into the Deakin Res brand.
Deakin Res isn’t just a place to stay while you study, keep your head buried in books and sleep between classes. While Deakin Res is perfect for student accommodation, It was important to us that we really differentiated Deakin Res from Deakin University and highlighted all of the opportunities for friendship and community immersion that staying on campus provides.
Generally, Deakin Res occupants live far away from the campuses and don’t know anyone who has or is staying there. They travel internationally or regionally for hours before they can get the first glimpse of their chosen campus which can be daunting and alienating. The unfamiliarity could even deter people from wanting to stay before having a look around.
To allow future Resi’s to gain familiarity with the Deakin Res brand and trust in their commitment to living there, we ensured the digital branding of Deakin Res was full of warm, welcoming faces of real people who live on campus enjoying Resi life.
Using real-time photos, we make Instagram stories that detail the everyday happenings on campus, authentically demonstrating what it’s like to live on Res.
Through social media, we continue to personify Deakin Res.
The videos we script, direct and produce for Deakin Res help future Resis to see the authenticity of the Deakin brand while demonstrating that is safe, fun and how each campus will be the perfect fit for the lifestyle they wish to live.
Using real Deakin Resis encourages future residents to relate and see themselves ‘living on campus’ through the videos. All videos demonstrate how much Deakin Res values fun and friendship, and highlight how Deakin Res is a place of community – a community where everyone belongs.
We develop content unique to each campus to capture the energy of every campus.
Each of the four Deakin Res campuses offer something different for Resi’s. While Waurn Ponds and Burwood boast incredible sporting facilities and are great for larger groups, Warrnambool offers more of a retreat type experience and Waterfront is in a prime city-centre location that is perfect for exploring the Geelong city centre.
Potential residents want to understand the lifestyle offerings that come with living at Deakin Res. They are curious about how the campus looks, the type of people that live there and what their day to day could look like.
By amplifying Deakin Res’ Social Media Accounts we have created a brand new stream that generates new leads, directs website traffic and engages with current Resi’s. Deakin Res’s social media accounts have consistent engagement across all posts and stories.
There is more than what meets the eye…
Working hard behind the engaging social media videos and photos are Google Ads running with a two-tiered approach. The objectives for Deakin Resi’s Google Ads are to target students during peak enrollment periods to generate and increase leads for on-res accommodation and to also attract short term guests.
In the last year, Deakin Res’ website has seen a generous increase in traffic, with August 2019 coming in at a crazy 105,000 sessions specifically from paid search. That’s an average of 20,000 more sessions per month compared to the year before. Since June last year, 1.84 million website hits have come through Facebook.
Now that’s what we call lead generation madness.
There is so much more to managing your brand online than throwing money at Facebook and Google and hoping to turn viral. Deakin Res’s social media is not about perfect photos and clean captions- it is about developing and nurturing the Resi community.
Developing Deakin Res’ digital personality and celebrating the residents has fostered an online community that celebrates current boarders while enticing, inviting and welcoming future Resis.
Using Social Media Marketing, Google Ads and Lead Generation techniques Deakin Res’ online presence is flourishing, and yours can too.
Are you looking to build your brand with a thoughtful social media strategy, a creative approach and a team of experienced marketers? If you’re looking to promote your brand, product or service effectively contact us at Red Herring Digital to get started.
