In some countries, illiteracy is still considered as the elephant in the room. For instance, the Philippines is one of the countries with an extreme shortage of educational institutions. In fact, statistics show that this shortage leaves around four million students in congested public schools. That said, education should be one of the primary propagandas any government should prioritize. And education marketing has everything to do with encouraging more students to enroll.

Of course, other factors such as tuition fees and campus accessibility also matter in the decision-making process. This crisis has led to 30 million illiterate adults in America. Plus, more than 700 million illiterate people in Western and Southern Asia, taking up the lion’s share of youth illiteracy. 

If you belong in the educational sector and wondering how to encourage the youth (and adults) to go to school, here are some tips on how to win at education marketing. 

 

10 Educational Marketing Tips

 

Focus on your website user experience 

Undoubtedly, any school uses a website to communicate with students and prospects. It’s an efficient education marketing tool to invite your target market to at least check out your curricula or campus (virtually).

Likewise, a bad website experience will shun people off. That said, you must focus on user experience to give every visitor seamless browsing. 

Here’s a rundown of some tips to make your website resonate your school’s branding: 

• Make it look professional
• Create a navigable platform
• Integrate interactive features
• Make it responsive
• Make it mobile-friendly
• Include quality graphics 

 

Invest in content marketing 

Content marketing is gaining traction in the digital world nowadays and for a good reason. Not only should do educational institutions use this type of advertising, but the majority of the companies in different industries do as well. 

Blogs and articles are excellent avenues for creating awareness and engaging prospects. Additionally, content writing gives marketers a broad range of topics to work on. 

For instance, how-to guides can be appropriate for vocational schools. An apt example would be Strayer University’s blog section on their website. They offer a range of topics on career development, work-life balance, success, and more. 

 

Marketing via alumni network

Loyalty is one of the main ingredients that schools include in their mission and vision. Some higher education schools leverage their alumni’s success stories to lure new prospects.

Consequently, people develop this sense of affinity towards a faceless educational institution through real people with real talk. That said, continue to communicate with your alumni to share their achievements and any current projects or careers they have. 

Then you can use these inspiring stories and plaster them on any of your marketing mediums. 

 

Leverage social media education marketing

The progression of technology has paved the way for social media marketing. Think of your favorite brands. Almost all of them probably have Facebook pages or Instagram accounts. And making one for your organization is no exception. 

Social media can gain extensive marketing mileage when used correctly. For instance, VIU (Vancouver Island University) spearheaded the hashtag #ilearnhere. This strategy is to expand its base by inviting users that are into the outdoors.

The university uses high-quality visuals of scenic places and encourages people to post their outdoor adventures as well.

 

Take advantage of student-generated content

Another way to take advantage of social media marketing is through user-generated content — in this case, student-generated content. Using students to express themselves in different perspectives is a brilliant marketing tactic that’ll allow others to picture themselves in the same situation. 

There is a big difference when an educational organization promotes its services as opposed to a real student who talks about how fantastic the school is. 

Cal Poly (California Polytechnic State University) is a suitable example of student-generated content. The university aims to let its students express their voices in a vast online network. 

By using the hashtag #CalPolyNow, students engage with other like-minded people. Then the university picks some of these posts and shares them on their official profile pages. 

 

Use email marketing

Email marketing is still one of the most effective forms of online marketing today. Here are some tips to gain higher open and click rates for your emails and newsletters:

• Use segmented email marketing
• Personalize your emails
• Create catchy email subject lines
• Incorporate urgency
• Be concise
• Pique interest
• Include call to action words and phrases
• Include links to landing pages

 

Increase students through video marketing 

There’s a reason why 87 percent of digital marketers use video marketing, and that’s because — it works! 

The younger generation nowadays is compelled towards videos on YouTube. Even online learning has built its platforms around instructional videos and the likes. 

That said, YouTube channels are foolproof ways to gain students, provided that your videos have a gist like no other. MIT has its video content creation in check.

Their YouTube channel features scientific development and in-depth research on a myriad of topics.

 

Organize events

Events are also a brilliant education marketing approach to attract students. From music gigs to science fairs, your organization will surely appeal to those with the same principles and goals.

The University of Oxford ensures that the school is always organizing events for students. Whether it’s a learning class, concert, a play, or an exhibition, there’s always an event for everyone in their community. 

 

Share success stories and testimonials

Success stories of your alumni will be that last nudge to motivate prospects to enroll in your organization. The essential part of sharing these meaningful stories is knowing which channel is most appropriate.

Testimonials are also an excellent way to add to that credibility factor. Here’s an example from Concordia University. 

 

Take advantage of paid advertising

Although organic marketing can be achieved when hiring the right content marketing agencies, paid advertising will skyrocket your student enrollments. PPC (Pay-Per-Click), PPI (Pay-Per-Impression), display ads like Facebook and Instagram Ads, to name a few. 

The upper hand of investing in paid advertising is marketing directly to the right prospects through demographic mapping. Plus, with analytic tools, you can monitor your campaigns’ budget and progress.