Study reveals how student interact with email

If you think marketing to high school and college-aged students is simply about video or a clever hook, think again. A new study from eROI reveals the differences between high school and college students, giving marketers a better idea of how to engage this elusive market.

by Kristina Knight

According to the study Gmail is the most popular email program for both age groups with 32% choosing the platform. Researchers found that more than half of the students surveyed don't reply to or engage with email messages. So perhaps most important, though, is why students are engaging with advertising. The top reasons are trust (in the advertiser/brand) and product relevance.

60% of those surveyed said product interest was the leading reason to respond to an email marketing message with special offer (47%) and email design (11%) also in the top five. Still, students aren't clamoring for email marketing messages. Why? Many are turning to social networks. The eROI survey found that students are using email to stay up to date with their social networks.

This is an interesting trend and could indicate that a multi-platform campaign from email to social network and vice versa could be a better way to engage the student masses.