So, you’ve landed a new job in a school’s marketing department. You’re experienced in marketing but still puzzled, considering how different the dynamics can be here.
Well, don’t worry because we’re here to help. We recommend that you take a pen and paper and start taking notes to prepare a marketing strategy and then implement it.
These notes can serve as a framework to help you navigate through these differences. They can also enable you to do your job stress-free and without much hassle.
So, without further ado, here are some tips to help you successfully market for the education sector:
1) Understand the differences:
The first step towards a good marketing strategy is understanding the differences between your clients.
When it comes to the education sector, you need to know that portraying social consciousness is extremely important. Schools are responsible for transforming students into socially-conscious individuals, and this needs to reflect in your strategy.
This would improve the image of the school, but it would help with more admissions.
2) Timing is key:
Schools don’t take in students all year round, so advertisement related to admissions and results needs to stick to a particular schedule. This is because people are hard-wired to take these advertisements seriously during these specific months.
However, when it comes to extracurricular activities, you can promote them throughout the year to keep the public engaged.
3) Use social media:
You don’t need a General Master of Business Administration Degree to know the importance of social media. It can be beneficial when it comes to promoting the school.
Considering that most students and their parents now use social media, this is where you want your marketing strategy to be centered.
You need to push your posts to the right demographics to get the desired results. Be mindful and responsible of what you post, though.
4) Make the website interactive:
You need to have an excellent website to showcase the school, its facilities, and its features. If your website is barely functional and graphically outdated, it will leave a negative impression.
Use attractive graphics and colors, and make the website interactive to engage visitors. This way, not only will you cater to their aesthetics, but you will draw their interest in the school.
5) Optimize the website:
While a good website can appeal to visitors, you need to draw in more visitors. One way of doing this is through working on search engine optimization (SEO).
A good SEO strategy will help you rank on the first page of Google, which will, in turn, bring in more visitors to your site.
You can improve your ranking by addressing the website’s structural issues, including meta-tags. You can also post original content to rank quicker organically.
6) Use student testimonials:
You need original content for the website. Student testimonials can be helpful in this regard.
Students who have had a good time at the school can be asked to share their experiences. This allows you to attract more students and tells the public about the campus experience.
If people are impressed by what they read, they are more likely to tell others about it. You can also share the testimonials on social media.
7) Advertise digitally:
Sometimes it’s best to use digital advertising services. Facebook can run ads for the demographics of your choice. This can help you push admissions news or results to the right audience.
Through Facebook’s analytics, you will also be able to track if your strategy is working or not. Similarly, Google AdWords can be beneficial if you don’t have a good SEO ranking. It can help you reach your target audience easily.
8) Engage with alumni:
Alumni are a school’s asset. Maintaining constant engagement with them can be an essential component of your marketing strategy. You can post success stories of your alumni or congratulate them publicly on a recent achievement.
You can also ask them to write a guest post for existing students to help them navigate through their school years. Similarly, guest posts can also help students understand what they should expect after graduation.
Your alumni can help promote the school; therefore, mutual engagement is always beneficial.
9) Communicate through various channels:
This applies to current and old students. You already have their email addresses and phone numbers. You can inform them when admissions will begin or if there are specific discounts for relatives of alumni.
People are more likely to share these details with others when they find them in their inbox, rather than seeing them on social media.
But you don’t want to spam their inbox, therefore, exercise moderation and refrain from bothering people too much.
10) Delve into videos:
Videos are more effective than images and text. The only condition is that the video should be well-produced. People are more likely to watch a complete video if its production quality stands out.
Videos can also squeeze more information into a few minutes of screen time. You can achieve two targets with one video.
For example, if your goal is to increase admissions, a video showcasing academic life and student testimonials can help.
11) Promote safety:
This is relevant to the times we’re living in. You need to assure parents that the school they’re sending their kids to is safe for them. Using various methods, make it clear that the school takes personal safety seriously.
You can also run a campaign showcasing the school’s initiatives to protect students from coronavirus. Other than that, be actively involved in promoting safety initiatives.
This includes running awareness campaigns to encourage people to wear masks and maintain social distancing from one another.
Final thoughts:
A good marketing strategy depends on how well you can get the message across. While you want to attract good students to the school, you also need to engage with the ones currently studying there.
Therefore, these tips can serve as the foundation of your marketing strategy. The specifics will be different from case to case, but if you follow these tips, you will be able to develop a strong marketing strategy.
