Marketing IFC Fraternities
Fraternity—what’s it all about? What are the benefits of joining? These are the questions you’re charged to answer virtually. Recruitment will look different. It will require more thought and getting creative with how we connect. Change can feel daunting when you don’t know where to start.
Incoming students are spending more time at home which means more time to scroll through the gram. How do we make the most of this moment? Incoming students are doing their research, and they’re already learning about your chapter. Are you creating the content and telling your chapter’s story?
Tell Your Story
Now is the time to take a critical look at your chapter’s social media accounts.
Are all your info and links current?
Are they relevant?
Does the content properly introduce someone to the chapter?
Whether you are starting from scratch or making quick edits, here are some quick tips to enact now:
Need to boost your social media game? Create a Dropbox and organize the account with folders of brotherhood events, intramurals, etc. Ask current members to share photos from their phone from events spanning the year.
Your bio should be a quick snapshot of the chapter story, with a link that either takes them to the website to learn more, the national/international website or campus IFC page. This should answer who you are and what you stand for.
Create highlights of your pillars/mission. For example, you could do one for leadership, service, etc.
Create a “meet the brother series” to introduce your men within the chapter sharing their “my fraternity moment,” majors, year in school, etc.
Your highlights are a great way to be upfront about what your chapter or council is all about.
Be Honest
Summer orientation is cancelled. We need to use social media to create these moments now. You know what questions you had going through recruitment. Get in front of them now. It may feel weird to engage in these convos virtually, but people want to know. It’s better to give the correct information vs. having a student receive incorrect info that turns them away.
Create a highlight that shows how to register for IFC recruitment with an obvious title like “join” or “register.”
Create a virtual series that rotates the recruitment team with a rotation of officers who will share quick facts live or on pre-recorded IGTV sessions.
Provide contact information so potential members can connect one-on-one with an IFC officer.
Work with IFC to host a series that chapters can take part in.
If you can’t chat face to face at orientation, hosting a Q+A session is a great way to give opportunities for questions with a person-to-person connection
Language Matters
You joined your organization for the sense of belonging. If we want to engage with incoming students virtually, now isn’t the time to use terminology that excludes or confuses them.
An incoming student doesn’t know Greek letters or Greek-letter chapter names. They do know the organization and campus.
Real talk, what does “brotherhood” truly mean? Have you explicitly defined it? Or are we saying the word assuming potential members are on the same page we are about what that means.
Be clear. Be consistent.
If you’re considering a fraternity, you want to see yourself connecting with its members. That means highlighting your members and showing you’re an organization of real people.
Collaboration over Competition
Our group effort is all about getting incoming students to register for recruitment. This is a big task to take on as an individual chapter. Leverage your IFC relationships and work together. Work with the council to put together virtual introductions and chapter spotlights. This is the time to promote collaboration over competition.
Highlight the service the IFC orgs have taken part in.
Highlight academic achievements.
Showcase what drew you in as a new member.
Michigan State IFC does a great job highlighting each of its chapters