Intro
Traditionally, schools have relied heavily on offline marketing tactics like newspaper ads, pamphlets, and billboards to promote themselves. However, with changing trends and to stay ahead of competition many schools are adopting digital means for promotion.
So, here we will discuss the major things that a school or educational institution should focus on while planning their digital marketing strategy.
How To Develop Effective Digital Marketing Campaign For Schools?
An integrated digital marketing approach allows schools to actively engage with prospective families online, reinforce their brand, highlight their offerings, and drive enrollments. By leveraging key strategies across multiple digital platforms, schools can connect with target audiences in the channels where they are already spending time.
To conduct a successful digital marketing campaign here are the major things that a school must do:
Conduct Market Research
Before launching any digital marketing campaign, schools should start by conducting thorough market research. This includes identifying your target audience, understanding their pain points, and analyzing competitor schools and their digital marketing efforts.
School should focus on:
- Who are our ideal prospective students and parents? What are their demographics, interests, and needs?
- What marketing channels and tactics are competitor schools using? How can we differentiate our strategy?
- What challenges do our prospective students and parents face in their school search? How can our marketing help address these pain points?
Thorough market research will reveal target audiences, inform messaging, uncover growth opportunities, and guide budget allocation.
Focus On Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a must for schools looking to boost their organic search presence. With the help of SEO, schools can cater to a large number of audience without spending much on their promotion. Also, SEO can prove to be a game-changer for them. To successfully implement the SEO strategies, here are the things to keep in mind:
- In-Depth Keyword Research - Keyword research in very important in getting results from SEO. To do this, you can use tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, etc. Or if your school has any integrated cloud based school management system then you can use it to look for terms that parents and students usually search.
- Optimize website content - Ensure all website pages, especially key landing pages, are optimized for relevant school-related keywords so they rank high in search engines.
- Improve website speed - Fast page load times improve search rankings and user experience. Compress images, minimize redirects, and optimize code.
- Update site architecture - Make sure your website has a clean information architecture and navigation so search engines can easily crawl and index pages.
- Create SEO-friendly content - Blog posts, FAQs, testimonials, and other website content should target relevant keywords to help pages rank for those searches.
- Get backlinks - Build backlinks from reputable websites to boost domain authority and search performance.
- Monitor results - Use Google Analytics and Search Console to track keyword rankings, traffic from organic search, and other key SEO metrics.
Implement Paid Search & Retargeting
While organic search is important for long-term growth, paid search ads and retargeting can provide quick returns by targeting prospective students and parents in the funnel. For successful paid marketing, you should focus on:
- Google Ads - Well-optimized Google Ads campaigns can drive traffic and increase brand visibility. Target keywords parents use when searching for schools.
- Search retargeting - Show customized ads to people who previously visited your school's website to bring them back.
- Display retargeting - Remarket your school to people who have engaged with your ads or content across the web via banner ads.
- Keyword research - Identify high-value search queries and keywords that indicate user intent to research schools. Target these in paid ads.
- Landing page optimization - Ensure landing pages are optimized and highly relevant to ad keywords and campaigns. Include clear calls to action.
- A/B testing - Test multiple ad variations, landing pages, and other components to improve campaign performance over time.
Build Your Brand On Social Media
Today's parents and students rely on social media to find schools. Developing a thoughtful social media presence can help you successfully target your prospects. For this, you must implement the following things:
- Be active - Post engaging content consistently across top platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
- Showcase school life - Give followers an inside look at what makes your school special through photos, videos, stories, and livestreams.
- Promote events - Share event details, highlights, and recaps to attract prospective families.
- Engage followers - Respond to comments, questions, and mentions. Create polls and prompts to spark two-way engagement.
- Run contests - Creative social contests, giveaways and hashtag campaigns create buzz and build followers.
- Utilize ads - Well-targeted social media ads can efficiently reach more parents and students who may be interested in your school.
- Track metrics - Monitor followers, engagement, clicks, impressions and other analytics to refine efforts.
Optimization for Mobile Users
Today, the majority of website traffic and digital activity comes from mobile devices. Schools must prioritize mobile optimization:
- Responsive design - Ensure all website pages dynamically adapt for optimal viewing and usability on all devices.
- App development - If resources allow, develop a school-branded app to provide info access and improve engagement.
- AMP integration - Use Google's Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) framework to speed up mobile page loads.
- Mobile ads - Adapt paid ads to reach parents searching and browsing on smartphones and tablets.
- SMS/texting - Collect opt-in phone numbers to send text updates about admissions, events, etc.
Optimizing for mobile improves user experience and helps schools effectively connect with audiences anytime, anywhere.
Partner with Influencers & Brand Advocates
Partnering with influencers and brand advocates can expand a school's reach. Consider:
- Student & parent influencers - Current students and parents with a strong social following can organically showcase school life.
- Local influencers - Work with mom bloggers, community leaders and other influencers to spotlight your school.
- Influencer events - Invite select influencers to experience your school firsthand and promote it to their audiences.
- UGC campaigns - Encourage user-generated content like social media contests where students and parents share their positive school experiences.
- Alumni ambassadors - Engage alumni as brand advocates who can share school updates and positive memories with their networks.
By aligning with influencers and brand fans, schools can tap into new networks and benefit from word-of-mouth marketing.
Tell Stories with Multimedia Content
Telling compelling stories through diverse multimedia content makes marketing memorable. Consider creating:
- Stunning photography - High-quality photos of campus facilities, happy students, school events and other photogenic scenes make a bold visual statement.
- Written profiles & testimonials - Feature student and alumni success stories and testimonials from satisfied parents.
- Video content - Engaging video tours, testimonials, alumni highlights and other videos bring your school to life.
- Virtual tours - Detailed 360 degree campus tours let prospective families experience the school remotely.
- **Podcasts **- Launch a school podcast featuring interviews with staff, students, and alumni.
- Drone footage - Aerial drone video can showcase campus facilities and location.
Vibrant multimedia storytelling showcases schools in a more meaningful, memorable way.
Track and Assess Performance
It is crucial to track key performance indicators (KPIs) to gauge effectiveness and identify areas for optimization. Important metrics to monitor include:
- Website traffic
- Lead generation and inquiries
- Digital ad clicks, impressions, reach
- Search engine rankings
- Social media followers, engagement
- Referral traffic
- Conversions (applications submitted)
Using data to inform decisions leads to improved results over time. Continually test new strategies as the competitive landscape evolves.
So, these are the major things that a school can implement to effectively implement their social media campaigns to drive more leads and conversions.
Conclusion
By developing integrated digital marketing campaigns that combine SEO, paid advertising, content creation, social promotion, and compelling multimedia, schools can successfully promote their brand, engage prospective families, drive enrollment, and deliver ROI. Tracking performance and iterating on strategies is key. With proper planning and execution, schools can thrive digitally.
What platforms should schools prioritize for their digital marketing?
The most important platforms for schools are typically their website, search engines (SEO), paid platforms like Google Ads, and social media networks like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Schools should mainly focus on these platforms to improve their online presence.
What metrics should schools track to measure their digital marketing success?
Key metrics to track include website traffic, leads/inquiries, search engine rankings, social media engagement, referral traffic, and most importantly, conversion rates like applications submitted. Tracking these KPIs over time shows what strategies are working.
How can schools create compelling content for digital marketing?
Great content showcases what makes your school special. Focus on stunning visuals of campus life, student/alumni stories, video tours, podcasts, and other multimedia that highlight student experiences. User-generated content and influencer partnerships also helps build authenticity.
