The Complete Guide to Education Marketing
Looking to grow your company’s reach? Education marketing is the answer. Here, you can grow demand for your product, services, or institutions as more people choose online education. The data speaks loudly: The global e-learning industry is set to reach $457.8 billion by 2026.
How do you develop your first education marketing campaign? How much money and time do you need to invest? What is the whole range of benefits?
In this guide, you’ll learn the fundamentals of education marketing. Understand the steps of building an education marketing strategy, as well as get actionable tips.
Table of Contents
- What is education marketing?
- Why education marketing is important?
- Building an Education Marketing Strategy
- 4 Tips for Education Marketing
What is education marketing?
Education marketing is the practice of promoting educational institutions, programs, products, or services to prospective students (aka clients), thus increasing student enrollment.
Let’s dive into an example. A nearby community college is seeking to increase the number of students enrolling in its vocational training courses, with a specific focus on healthcare programs. To achieve this, they create target ads, social media posts, and testimonials from past students who got rewarding careers.
Additionally, they host webinars and virtual open days to engage with prospective students and answer their questions by highlighting the high demand for healthcare professionals.
Note: Education marketing is often confused with education-based marketing. The latter is a specific marketing strategy used to educate potential customers on a particular topic by creating demand rather than directly pushing toward a sale.
Why Education Marketing Is Important
The online and offline education sectors are highly competitive. Here is why education marketing matters to stand out in today’s saturated market.
It boosts brand recognition.
Successful marketing campaigns lead to a strong and recognizable brand identity for educational institutions. They also have strong associations with specific qualities, values, and attributes.
An example may be a heartwarming welcome video, like one from Stanford.
It helps reach a broader audience.
Education marketing helps such institutions reach a broader and more diverse audience, including international students, non-traditional learners, and remote learners.
For example, non-traditional learners often require information about how the institution’s programs can fit into their busy lives and career aspirations. Effective marketing helps convey this information and demonstrates that the institution understands and supports its educational journey.
Invite world-known speakers to prompt students to enroll in the institutions. Here is the motivational speech from Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Computer and Pixar Animation Studios.
Back in 2005, at Stanford University‘s 114th Commencement, he delivered a speech urging graduates to pursue their dreams and see the opportunities in life’s setbacks.