4 Digital Must-Haves for Sorority & Fraternity Recruitment
When you think back to your fraternity or sorority recruitment experience, what emotions come to mind? For many prospective members, the experience is exciting, yet overwhelming. After all, there are so many chapters vying for your attention that it can be difficult to find the right fit.
However, your chapter can cut through the noise and reach the best matches by leveraging digital marketing. And we aren’t talking about your average email—these educational assets will wow your prospective members and attract them to your organization. Let’s explore four tech-savvy resources that can complement and improve your digital marketing outreach.
1. Interactive Memory Book
While networking opportunities and social gatherings are some of the best features of chapter membership, perhaps the most powerful benefits are the friendships and memories your brothers or sisters make together.
Fortunately, digital tools have made it easier than ever to create stunning visual aids that convey these emotions through a screen. One of the best ways to highlight your chapter’s way of life is to create an interactive flipbook that acts as both a memory book and the ultimate guide to recruitment. This resource will live on your chapter’s website and can display photos, videos, and other relevant visual elements that illustrate your fraternity or sorority’s traditions and values. Plus, it’s easy to make one, even if you don’t have design experience, by:
- Choosing a user-friendly online design platform. Popular options to stylize digital flipbooks include Canva and Flipsnack. Ensure that whichever platform you choose has intuitive navigation tools and integrates with your web builder so you can easily post the resource online.
- Gathering appropriate and relevant content. Stick to light-hearted images and videos that feature your chapter’s unique characteristics and customs, such as your paddle ceremony or annual fundraising events.
- Including member testimonials. Collect several quotes from current members and alumni that display your chapter’s positive impact. These could either be in written or video format, depending on member preferences
- Integrating social media accounts. Embedding links to your social media content lightens your workload of finding content to add to the book. Plus, social media is another place potential recruits can connect with you and ask questions.
By displaying your chapter’s culture to prospective recruits in a memorable way, you’re more likely to stand out from the crowd of other chapters.
2. 360-Degree House Tour Video
It’s no secret that living in a sorority or fraternity house is one of the most anticipated parts of joining a chapter. Satisfy your recruits’ curiosity about house life by leveraging exciting new technology: 360-degree videos.
Unlike static video content, 360-degree footage provides an immersive 3D representation of your house. Prospective members can click through your house’s floor plan and get a holistic view of the space.
By creating a 360-degree video touring your fraternity or sorority house, you can highlight all of its unique features that could motivate recruits to prefer your chapter. NXUnite suggests partnering with a videographer to create your 360-degree house tour video. They’ll provide the specialized equipment that you’ll need to get started, along with professional filmography expertise to perfect your tour. Once the footage is edited, link it throughout your marketing messages to maximize its reach.
While this resource can be more expensive and time-intensive than other methods, the finished product will stand out from static videos and be a valuable marketing asset for years to come.
3. Online Resource Library
With only a week or two to absorb tons of new information about your sorority or fraternity, your chapter needs to provide ample educational resources to keep your prospective members interested in joining. Fortunately, you can drive traffic to your website while simplifying the recruitment process with an online resource library.
This important page on your website is the hub for all relevant recruitment resources. You can link anything from recruitment paperwork to event calendars to blog posts answering frequently asked questions in this one convenient location. This is a valuable tool for interested recruits to stay organized and learn everything they need to know about your chapter so their recruitment experience is stress-free.
Moreover, you don’t have to be a web developer to set up your online resource library. Follow these basic steps to launch your own asset hub:
- Gather the content you want to display. Ensure all assets uploaded to the library are optimized for the web and publicly visible. Also, if any resources are only meant for your recruits to access, add password protection.
- Properly organize your content by audience. Don’t forget to include content for another important group that’s curious about your chapter: your potential recruits’ parents. Separate parental and recruit resources by filing them under different tabs in the hub’s navigation bar.
- Determine how to make a landing page. Your online resource library will look different depending on the backend of your website. If you have a powerful website builder by your side, you should be able to easily create a landing page for your content.
- Regularly update the hub. Increase your online resource library’s long-term value by consistently updating it with new documents and removing old ones. AccuData’s guide to data hygiene suggests scheduling your cleanout process at regular intervals so nothing falls through the cracks.
Not only does an online resource library provide educational information, but it can also expand your sorority or fraternity’s digital presence. Educational material can help boost your chapter’s search engine optimization (SEO) value and put your chapter’s website in front of more eyes.
4. Recruitment Webinar Recording
Considering how busy your recruits likely are with academic and extracurricular activities, they might not be able to attend all of your information sessions. However, you can accommodate any schedule by sending a pre-recorded webinar to your prospective members.
Recording a webinar that your members can watch at their own convenience allows more people to participate in recruitment. Plus, all your recruitment board needs to get started are:
- A computer with ample storage to hold your video
- An account on a video conferencing platform, such as Zoom
- Access to a slideshow platform
Once you’ve created a comprehensive slideshow, launch a meeting on your conferencing platform of choice and give your presentation. Remember to share your screen and record the presentation so your webinar viewers get all the relevant information. Then, upload the recording to a publicly accessible document-sharing platform, such as Google Drive, and share the link in your outreach materials. This method is a win-win time-saving solution for both you and your potential members.
Wrapping Up
Remember that sometimes, the most effective marketing collateral is educational content. By including important facts about your recruitment activities and chapter as a whole, you can easily find and engage like-minded recruits that could become your brothers or sisters. All it takes is a little planning and a lot of passion to reach the best possible members for your chapter.