Advertising

baby e

I was just thinking, I like this site, but its too bad that there arent more people on it.

So I was wondering why you guys dont advertise for it more, like, maybe the mods should just tell their classes about it, you know, to get more traffic. I bet it would work too.

Just a thought.

Morro

I found this site because of a flyer in a computer lab, so they do advertise at least a bit.

illicit

From Spring 2007 semester, i noticed that there was more advertising on campus, keeping in mind that it does cost money.

here were the two methods that come to mind in terms of advertising from spring 2007.

1) neon blue flyers placed on the computers in the computer labs
2) large www.talksfu.ca banner placed above the MBC in convo mall
3) Facebook group ( which definitely does not reflect the member count on the forum itself )

any suggestions would be welcomed.

Morro

The Peak?

Simon604

Exactly what I've been thinking!

Flyers worked great in the spring, but there were complaints due to the cleanup it created. There have also been links placed periodically on Caucus (the old school discussion boards) but the members we've drawn from there are not quite as active as they could be. The facebook group was a nice touch by Mengs (a long time member here) but due to the number of groups most people join, I think it got lost in the noise.

At the moment, we are working towards a more long term solution to help get the word out. The more students who know about talkSFU, the more beneficial it is for everyone. I think what Baby E implies is that more members would create livlier discussions, a broader range of topics, and more advice being shared.

We have also been considering the formation of an advertising committee for the forum. The committee would be in charge of coming up with ideas to promote the forums, attract new members, and ultimately create awareness that the forums exist to help students. Funding will be provided by the SFSS and will be distributed as needed.

What do you guys think?

Morro

I had no idea this was an SFSS project. Interesting.

baby e

Oh i had no idea you guys advertised on campus like that. I heard about this cuz someone emailed me about it cuz they knew i went to SFU.

Exactly SR, Id love it if there were more members cuz then we'd have more discussions. I realise this site is still relatively small tho at the moment.

Simon604

Morro;16039 said:

I had no idea this was an SFSS project. Interesting.

Morro, it's actually not an SFSS project at all. talkSFU has, however, been registered as SFSS club. This allows benefits such as being able to book rooms for meetings/events and there is funding available if needed.

Kevin M.

Why no put up posters all over the school? Lots of other clubs do that

illicit

Kevin M.;16107 said:

Why no put up posters all over the school? Lots of other clubs do that

personally i don't even pay attention to those, not to mention i won't remember it when i sit on a computer cause i (and other students) have other priorities right when they sit on the computer right?


but a poster WITHIN the computer lab would probably work?

Mike D

Word of mouth is always a good way to go, but flyers around campus or perhaps trying to put the information into the computer labs would also help.

baby e

But what about having people go into their classes and actually advertise for it? Ive seen tons of students do this for other clubs, why not talksfu?

Magnificent_Bastard

I was always thinking of taking a more academic route with TalkSFU. For example, have forums dedicated to specific courses at SFU, specifically first and second year courses with a lot of students, where they can come to discuss lectures, exams, share answers, paper ideas, etc. I know there are course tools like webct and stuff like that, but they're not anonymous, and it displays your full name. Plus it's a little daunting, and there's a feeling that you have to be formal on a site run by SFU itself. I notice that there's very little activity on webct discussion forums.

Anyhow, we could just announce at the beginning of the course (during the first week of classes), that we've set up a forum at TalkSFU for that specific class, and if people want to come and discuss the course, as well as non-course related stuff, they just need to sign up. I think it'd be an excellent way for students who wouldn't normally converse with other classmates to help each other out.

Kevin M.

Hey M_B I think that's an awesome idea. There could be a section for each faculty with a thread for specific classes. I think the prof's would agree to forward an email to the students about it too, since we'd be facilitating discussion to help the students learn from each other. Anyone else think so?

Ether

Apparently somebody is advertising on the facebook marketplace.

illicit

Re: baby e

nobody really listens not to mention remember type www.talksfu.ca into the web browser when they sit on their computer, they have other priorities

Re: MB and Kevin M. fellow moderators and i had a meeting and we will be implementing that to help spread word about the forum and enrich the talksfu "experience"

Re: Ether Raize mentioned that to us during the meeting, that was a trial, it did help a bit in the numbers, but he also got a message from FB to stop spamming as well

we concluded after the meeting in terms of advertising
- via email
- somehow advertise within CSIL / Computer labs
- within the SFU newspapers

Skyline_GTR

perhaps try to advertise on facebook since you can target people in the SFU network. I think the result will be very effective