The digital space is taking over almost all aspects of human life, including entertainment, communication, and learning. For instance, people are now embracing online learning because of the convenience it offers. Owners of educational institutions must now take advantage of digital marketing if their institutions are to attract students. Here are some strategies that learning institutions can execute to leverage digital marketing.
Create an Institution Website That Converts
In the modern world, the internet has taken over almost all aspects of human life. For instance, most students conduct an online search before they choose their preferred institution. If your educational institution doesn’t have a website, you’re doing a great disservice to yourself. If you already have a website, make it stand out.
A website plays many important roles in your educational institution. Some of the benefits it provides include:
- It acts as a platform that advertises the institution even when you’re asleep.
- It offers a medium for telling the story of the institution.
- A professional website improves the credibility of your institution.
So, how do you ensure the website supports your educational institution’s digital marketing campaign? Here are the top tips to apply.
The Website Should Send a Clear Brand Message
The first place a prospective student or parent can get information on your educational institution is your website. So, it should give the best first impression. It begins with the color scheme on the website. The colors should communicate that prospective students can trust your educational institution.
Make Navigation Easy for Website Visitors
No one wants to spend a long time trying to locate the information they require on the website. If the platform looks haphazard, they’ll quickly move on to the next space. The haphazard nature of the website sends a message that the institution doesn’t take its work seriously. The site should be easy to use, like that of EssayUSA essay writing service. You should provide links, buttons, and even search options for visitors. That way, they won’t feel overwhelmed as they navigate the website.
Make the Website Responsive on Different Devices
The days when most people browsed exclusively using PCs are over. There is now a wide range of devices, including smartphones and tablets. Ensure your educational institution’s website is responsive on all these devices. That way, you can increase your reach.
The Website Must Load Fast
People don’t have time for an educational institution website that takes ages to load – they’ll quickly opt-out. The website should take a maximum of 2 seconds to load its content. That way, visitors can quickly get the information they’re looking for. If you aren’t an expert in web design, hire professionals to handle all the technical website design tasks for you.
Take Advantage of Social Media
More students are now joining social media platforms. While these platforms are mostly used for entertainment and communication with peers, educational institutions can use social media as a digital marketing tool. It can act as an extension of the institution’s website, where it tells prospective students the full story of the institution. For instance, this is a space where you can tell parents and students what makes your school special in addition to its academic performance.
The first reason you should use social media is the fact that prospective students are already on these platforms – it makes it easy for you to reach out to them. It doesn’t mean just posting random content – create content that matters to your audience. What should your social media marketing campaign look like?
Identify a Channel That Suits Your Institution
Many social media channels are already in existence. The most common ones include Facebook, Instagram, X, and TikTok. Where it’s possible, you can create accounts on all the platforms. If your budget can’t allow it, choose a platform where you’re likely to reach out to the highest number of prospective students – pick 3 or 4 platforms.
Have Consistent Brand Messaging Across the Channels
The current and prospective students want to know what you stand for and why they should choose your institution instead of your competitors. It’s here that your brand message comes in – maintain the same message on all your social media platforms. For instance, you can say that your educational institution stands for diversity, promotes self-expression, and creates an environment for student prosperity. The clearer the brand message, the easier it is to persuade prospective students to choose your educational institution.
Include Authentic Content on Your Social Media Channels
Authentic content makes it easy for you to attract prospective students to your institution. What type of content should you include? Here are a few suggestions.
A Virtual Tour of the Institution
Some prospective students may not have the time to visit the institution. However, they may want to have a feel of what the school has to offer before they can decide to join. Virtual tours can be a great way to convince them to join. The specific areas the virtual tour can highlight include the libraries, dorm rooms, and students having a great time in classrooms.
Incorporate User-Generated Content (UGC)
Prospective students want to know what the institution is all about from the perspective of current students. The institution can include posts from tutees in their classrooms, participating in extracurriculars, and their dorm rooms. Such videos are more persuasive as they are from prospective students’ peers.
Include Testimonials From Current Students and Alumni
How current students feel about the institutions can persuade prospective students to join. So, you should include their testimonials on the website. Moreover, prospective students and parents may also want to know the values the institution has instilled in students who have learned these. That’s where testimonials from alums come in.
Institution’s Current and Upcoming Events
Prospective students and parents want to know what the institution does in addition to academic work. For example, there could be sports events, art exhibitions, or any other activity that supports learning. Social media channels are the right spaces to showcase these events. They can play an important role in persuading prospective students to join the institution.
Specific Achievements of the Institution
Include a section where you share the achievements of the institution. This section can have spaces for former students who have gone on to become prominent people in their chosen areas and the awards the institution has received. They show the potential of the educational institution.
The goal is to increase engagement with social media posts. In addition to ensuring the content is relevant to prospective and current students, don’t overwhelm them. For example, 3 to 4 social media posts are enough for a day. Also, respond to comments and questions on the posts.
Prioritize Content Marketing
There is stiff competition among educational institutions in the digital space. Thus, having a robust content marketing strategy will help you stay ahead of your rivals. This strategy entails using a wide range of relevant content, including written and video content, to attract prospective students.
A robust content marketing campaign comes with numerous benefits for your educational institution. For instance, it enables you to effectively market your institution affordably – create and post content on your various online platforms. Moreover, it makes it easy for the school to establish itself as a trustworthy educational institution.
Pay-Per-Click Marketing
Another tactic that can help market an educational institution online is PPC marketing. In this campaign, you choose a competitive keyword to bid on – the keyword must be related to the specific services your educational institution provides. For example, you can bid on a keyword like “MBA in Kentucky.” So, you only pay when visitors click on the like that leads them to your online platform.
This campaign also has many advantages. For instance, it’s pocket-friendly as you only pay when people click on the link to your website – that means you can set how much you intend to spend on this campaign in a day, month, or year. Moreover, you can target the specific people you want the advert to reach. It could be people from a specific geographical location, within a given age bracket, or using specific devices. Moreover, you choose the times you want the campaign to run.
The campaign begins by doing comprehensive keyword research – you don’t want to spend your money on a keyword that may not yield substantial results. You then create your advert while incorporating the keyword in it. Set the campaign in motion, monitor its progress, and make any changes required in the course of the campaign. Note that you can’t use a PPC campaign on its own – it supports other strategies, including social media and content marketing.
Upshot
Digital marketing is a critical recipe for the success of an educational institution as it makes it easy for people to know about the institution. The first step for a successful digital marketing campaign is to design a professional website. When the website is in place, take advantage of social media and promote the school there. Also, incorporate content marketing and formulate a robust PPC campaign.