While you know your campus better than anyone, there are specific things you can do that have been successful at many different colleges and universities.
Make finding your website simple
Nothing is more important than making your website easy to find. Identify your target audience and be sure they can find your website. At a college or university most parents will only know about the school's main web site. Start there and try to find your website. How many clicks does it take to find your web site? What are the possible search words someone will use to locate your website? Do you find your website by using those search words? Try to locate your web site by using one of the popular search engines (Google, Yahoo, etc..)
Deposits made simple
Once someone is on your website is it easy to see where to go to make a deposit? Besides sharing information about the card program, making deposits is the most important aspect of your website. Why not make it easy for them to be able to make deposits? Have a link on every single page pointing to the deposit page.
One site
Do you have one website that conveys important information and allows deposits? If you do, great. If not, why? Your StudentLink website can function as the sole web site for your card program.
Promotional items
Print your website on anything and everything. From the pens you use in the ID office to the shirts your employees are wearing. If you have a departmental vehicle that is driven around campus you can have stickers or magnets made to attach to it.
Freshman orientation
Education and awareness of the parents of new students is crucial to increasing the deposits through your web site.
On-campus advertising
Advertise in campus newspaper or campus planner or housing specific publiciations. Putting your website and the benefits of your website in front of as many students as possible is going to help build familarity.
Create a strong brand identity
Just like with any other commercially available product you should try to create a strong brand name identity. This will help in your marketing efforts with the students but most especially with the parents and staff.
Giveaways
Find out what the most popular piece of technology (IPod, IPhone, etc...) is and hold a drawing based on the people that use the web to make deposits.
Increase locations accepting your card
The more places that accept your card will lead to increased deposits. If the card is only good at on-campus dining locations, vending machines, laundry rooms and copiers students will only make deposits when they HAVE to. You have to make them WANT to make a deposit.
Card acceptance stickers
Require all locations that accept your card to display a sticker in a visable location indicating acceptance of your card. Be sure to put your web site on the sticker.
Materials available at the time of ID production
When someone has an ID made you should hand some sort of printed material that they can take with them. Even if it is a business card size item that has the web site and a small list of the things they can do on the site it is better than nothing.
Offer discounts for card usage
Work with different locations on and off campus to offer discounts to people that make purchases with their ID Card.
Make finding your website simple
Nothing is more important than making your website easy to find. Identify your target audience and be sure they can find your website. At a college or university most parents will only know about the school's main web site. Start there and try to find your website. How many clicks does it take to find your web site? What are the possible search words someone will use to locate your website? Do you find your website by using those search words? Try to locate your web site by using one of the popular search engines (Google, Yahoo, etc..)
Deposits made simple
Once someone is on your website is it easy to see where to go to make a deposit? Besides sharing information about the card program, making deposits is the most important aspect of your website. Why not make it easy for them to be able to make deposits? Have a link on every single page pointing to the deposit page.
One site
Do you have one website that conveys important information and allows deposits? If you do, great. If not, why? Your StudentLink website can function as the sole web site for your card program.
Promotional items
Print your website on anything and everything. From the pens you use in the ID office to the shirts your employees are wearing. If you have a departmental vehicle that is driven around campus you can have stickers or magnets made to attach to it.
Freshman orientation
Education and awareness of the parents of new students is crucial to increasing the deposits through your web site.
On-campus advertising
Advertise in campus newspaper or campus planner or housing specific publiciations. Putting your website and the benefits of your website in front of as many students as possible is going to help build familarity.
Create a strong brand identity
Just like with any other commercially available product you should try to create a strong brand name identity. This will help in your marketing efforts with the students but most especially with the parents and staff.
Giveaways
Find out what the most popular piece of technology (IPod, IPhone, etc...) is and hold a drawing based on the people that use the web to make deposits.
Increase locations accepting your card
The more places that accept your card will lead to increased deposits. If the card is only good at on-campus dining locations, vending machines, laundry rooms and copiers students will only make deposits when they HAVE to. You have to make them WANT to make a deposit.
Card acceptance stickers
Require all locations that accept your card to display a sticker in a visable location indicating acceptance of your card. Be sure to put your web site on the sticker.
Materials available at the time of ID production
When someone has an ID made you should hand some sort of printed material that they can take with them. Even if it is a business card size item that has the web site and a small list of the things they can do on the site it is better than nothing.
Offer discounts for card usage
Work with different locations on and off campus to offer discounts to people that make purchases with their ID Card.