Digital marketing for education is more important than ever before.
The higher education sector has been one of the most popular industries to go online. In fact, according to a report by eMarketer, 43 percent of higher education marketers say that their school offers some form of distance learning.
The same goes for specialized learning centers that require hands-on learning. Most are integrating remote learning courses into their curriculum.
The main reason for this is that higher education institutions and specialized learning facilities have to compete with online programs offered by traditional universities. Many of these online degree programs are less expensive than what the specialized learning center is offering.
Thus, in order to stay afloat, higher education institutions and specialized learning centers need to use digital marketing strategies that will maximize exposure of their offerings where their demographics’ attention is, online.
Some higher education digital marketing strategies that institutions can use to stay visible online are:
- Increased focus on creating a social media presence and sharing engaging content
- Investing in search engine optimization (SEO)
- Creating informative blog posts
- Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising
- Social Media Advertising
By utilizing these digital marketing strategies, higher education institutions can reach more potential students, who are doing an increasing amount of their research online. In fact, according to the 2016 Digital Marketing Report from LinkedIn, 93 percent of college-bound students use the internet to research schools. The number one source for this research was Google, at 78 percent.
It is clear that in order to stay ahead of the competition and continue enrolling students, universities and training institutions need to have an active and effective digital marketing strategy.
Digital marketing is not only important for higher education institutions but also for specialized learning facilities such as coding boot camps or cosmetology schools.
5 Digital Advertising Goals You Should Have for Your School or Learning Center
Increasing brand awareness
Every client we advertise for has a primary objective for the potential volume of leads, average lead cost, or traffic to specific landing pages. But if there is one goal that should be on every higher education marketing list, it’s increasing brand awareness among future students.
You want more people in your target audience to know about your school or learning center and the programs you offer. By advertising online, you can do just that. Every campaign should still generate tens if not hundreds of thousands of impressions or even people reached.
With Google Display Network, LinkedIn, and Facebook you can reach the maximum number of prospective students with reach and brand awareness-specific campaign types.
Internal Data tracking
When creating personalized content for the target audience, the importance of assessing the traffic you receive and understanding this data can guide adjustments. Monitoring specific statistics can be incredibly valuable for building digital strategies.
These statistics and data can be monitored in digital marketing campaigns with Google Analytics, Facebook Ads Manager, LinkedIn, or any other digital marketing tools Advertising Platform:
- Number of unique visitors
- Bounce rate
- Pages per session
- Session duration
- Referral sources
- Conversions
- Video Views
- Landing Page Views
Be sure to have all the proper data tracking tools on your website from each of the above-mentioned advertising platforms to ensure success in your digital marketing campaign.
Embrace YouTube for Content Marketing
27 percent of potential teen students said that YouTube video content was important to them when deciding if they should enroll. YouTube is gaining traction in the industry by providing opportunities to increase search engine rankings, as well as supporting other digital marketing initiatives.
Using video optimization for organic searches is the only way to increase traffic to your video. Long-form video is also a good way to advertise programs in your higher education marketing plan.
Generating leads
A lead is someone who has shown interest in what you have to offer. They may have visited your website, subscribed to your newsletter, or called you to inquire about your program.
The goal of lead generation is to get as many people interested in your higher education institution as possible so that you can then nurture them into getting campus visits and becoming paying students.
With digital advertising, there are a lot of other companies vying for the attention of the same prospective students your center or school is. But if you have enough data, the right landing pages, and the right strategy, you can continuously generate new leads.
Increase search engine visibility
Search campaigns are a great way to put content in front of individuals who are actively searching for what your higher education institution offers. So instead of trying to attract prospective students, they’re searching for more information about your offerings.
By generating content for search engines you reach prospective students looking for specific information related to your course offerings. This in turn drives more traffic to your website and now generates more data.