Having the right marketing techniques is a vital part to achieving success for any higher education institution. Except that in 2021 the stakes are even higher. Here are 10 marketing tips that will help your school in 2021.
1. Branding
Branding is going to help define who are to potential students and parents. Defining who you are means letting your prospects know what makes your school unique. Students and parents have trouble differentiating between different school brands and mission statements. Branding is your opportunity to stand from the crowd.
2. Search engine optimization
Prospects need to be able to find your school online easily. Schools tend to get a lot of organic traffic from students and parents who are searching, so great SEO practices and optimisation are vital. This includes website design and the content it features to be carefully crafted to take advantage of Google’s algorithm and get high rankings.
3. Great website experience
Your website design needs more than just solid code and information about your school. School websites have gained a reputation for being a labyrinth for navigating around it. Breaking away from this trend to create a great user experience will make for more engaged visitors as well as better search engine rankings.
4. Social media marketing
Most of your marketing should be geared towards Gen Z as well as some millennials who are going back to school or getting a later start. More than any other demographic, these will have the most engagement with social media on a day-to-day basis. They also use social media to research schools. Social media marketing is an opportunity to connect with these potential students and parents that would be a mistake to ignore.
5. Livestreaming
Livestreaming is another up and coming tool in your digital marketing tool belt. Facebook Live, Instagram Live, YouTube, Twitch and more, all provide outlets for getting live video content straight into the hands of potential students and parents. This can be used in a variety of ways, such as streaming events, Q&A sessions, sports, and of course classes and lectures. These livestreams can be used to enhance your brand, as well as give prospects an authentic look at what your school offers.
6. Email marketing
It might be an old stalwart at this point, but a strong email marketing strategy is still an important marketing tool. Personalisation and segmentation will help you avoid sending out mass emails with general information. Emails should also be able to be replied to and receive a prompt response from a real person.
7. Interactive advertising
Interactive advertising offers a form of advertising that has many possibilities to explore. You can use interactive ads to not just reach and engage with potential students and parents, but also get them to let you know exactly what they care about. This is another field that is just starting to really blossom and taking advantage of it now will be an excellent addition to all strategies for increasing student enrollment.
8. Leveraging alumni and students
There are few more powerful forms of marketing schools than word of mouth. No matter what you say about your school, the words of those who went there themselves is far more valuable in the minds of many prospective students and parents. Look further into your current and former students.
9. Distance learning
When approaching marketing in 2021, a focus on distance learning will help attract prospective students and parents. With COVID-19 still being a part of our daily lives, prospects will be looking at options that will keep them from having to go to a campus. While having a plan for dealing with the pandemic on campus is important, having a plan for students to learn from home is a way to create opportunity. You will have access to new students who would have never been in your reach before.
10. Pay-per-click advertising
When it comes to digital marketing, par-per-click advertising still remains an essential tool. It can be used to micro-target prospective students and offer them ads that are personalised to them based on their searches. A PPC campaign can be used across multiple ad platforms including Google Ads, Facebook Ads, etc. With mobile devices you can also target ads based on location or locations the person frequents. You can tailor these campaigns to best fit your institution’s budget in the most efficient way.
Thanks for taking the time to read our blog post on some more marketing tips for your school in 2021. At faethe.marketing we have been helping schools get more students. So if you are looking to recruit more students for your programmes with minimal cost and effort, feel free to reach out to us.