As the end of the school year approaches, it may seem like the only thing left to do is celebrate your chapter's accomplishments, but this is also the perfect time to recruit new members. During the second semester and throughout the summer, potential new members will walk around campus, imagining what the next couple of years hold for them. Now is the time to show them that Collegiate DECA can help shape their college years!
Many colleges host different events throughout the summer that your chapter can join in to promote Collegiate DECA.
- Orientation Tabling: During orientation, incoming first-year students explore campus, and many colleges bring together popular campus clubs and organizations for a large tabling event. Orientation tabling events are perfect because the students who come up to you are looking for groups to join and hoping to create the perfect college experience, so show them how Collegiate DECA will fulfill those aspirations.
- Partner with Other Campus Groups: Reach out to your campus housing, orientation or student life groups to see if you can promote Collegiate DECA through the different programs they’ll have over the summer. They’re likely to have a variety of communication methods with the incoming Freshmen that your chapter could utilize.
- Summer Activities: If any of your chapter officers are going to stay on campus and help with events for incoming Freshmen, encourage them to share their DECA story! Last summer, I volunteered with one of our extended orientation groups on campus. I was able to create one-on-one connections with incoming Freshmen and share about Collegiate DECA in a more personalized, conversational way.
Digital and print media are also great ways to catch the eyes of incoming Freshmen while they’re researching and exploring the school.
- Social Media: Utilizing your chapter’s social media account allows you to meet the incoming Freshmen where they are. Stay active over the summer and post about events that your chapter will have in the upcoming year to get potential and current members hyped. We encourage you to follow the incoming class pages and interact with them. Also be sure to utilize the hashtags they’re using on all their posts about coming to your college.
- Flyers: Don’t forget about the classic print media! Incoming Freshmen are excited to be there, and they do their best to see everything, including the flyers hanging on the walls. I actually learned, and continue to learn, about many of the opportunities available on my own campus from our various bulletin boards in the buildings across campus.
These are only a couple of strategies that your chapter can use to recruit incoming Freshmen. Aligning your recruitment strategies with your campus’s culture will have the greatest impact. We encourage you to try these out and be creative to find what works best for you. No two chapters are the same, so what works best for one chapter will likely be different than what works best for another.
