marketing plan for education companies

Disruption.

Best Education Marketing Strategies In 2024

12 min read

Education marketing is a type of marketing that promotes valuable educational content and helps institutions and individuals take advantage of it.

Educational content includes everything from courses and how-to videos to research papers and books to software applications for desktop computers and mobile devices. With the right education marketing strategy, educational content can spread like wildfire and ignite curious minds from all over the world.

In 2023, education has taken on new forms. The challenges of the early part of the decade have now been overcome and left a changed educational landscape. As the world now faces new challenges, including high fuel costs and inflation, options for distance learning are still being chosen by many. Educators have continued to use apps to supplement in-classroom learning as well. Education marketing will continue to evolve to meet the moment and increase the reach of apps to the students, teachers, and families looking for digital learning solutions.

In this article, we explain the top education marketing strategies that professionals in the education sector need to know about in 2024, providing several specific examples to consider when planning marketing activities next year.

Why Does the Education Sector Need Education Marketing?

The education sector has been experiencing a massive boom thanks to the numerous opportunities created by the internet and modern technologies in general. According to Orbis research, the global e-learning market worldwide is set to reach $458 billion in value by 2026, driven largely by the escalation in the number of internet users and growing access to broadband internet and mobile phones with online capabilities.

Traditional educational institutions, as well as private developers, have so far released over 567,000 educational apps , many of which are available on the App Store and Google Play. Besides education apps, the e-learning market is also saturated with online courses, videos, eBooks, and websites, making it very difficult for new players to get noticed.

Education marketing’s purpose is to implement various marketing strategies to promote valuable educational content. And it is often the only way for new educational content to reach students and gain traction. In fact, doctorate courses in education underscore the importance of marketing in the industry to drive revenues and growth. Education industry leaders must leverage education marketing to survive in the cut-throat competition in the field as well.

Education marketing shouldn’t be confused with education-based marketing, a specific marketing strategy that involves the education of prospects, rather than pitching them, to establish trust. On the other hand, education marketing encompasses all marketing activities in the education sector, including the following:

• School marketing : There was a time when schools didn’t need marketing because they relied solely on their reputation and word of mouth. That time is forever gone because millennial parents are more tech-savvy and use the internet to support their decision making. Schools that don’t actively market themselves are destined to be ignored by many millennial parents who would otherwise be greatly interested in what they have to offer.
• Marketing for higher education : Education marketing and higher education are a match made in heaven. Colleges and universities benefit from marketing for higher education because it helps them elevate their brand and drives enrollment. Students benefit from it because higher education marketing helps them make the right choice when choosing their education path.
• Digital marketing for the education sector : In today’s digital world, traditional marketing strategies are no longer suitable for targeting younger demographics. Educational institutions must embrace digital channels if they want to convey their message to a large audience in a cost-effective manner. Such channels include email , web content, social media, paid search, and others. Harnessing these and other marketing channels is not easy, but the potential to greatly increase revenue and decrease cost per lead is huge, making digital marketing an important cornerstone of every education marketing strategy.
• Social media marketing for educational institutions : Parents and students alike spend a lot of time on social media sites, and educational institutions should establish a presence on sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to engage with them and learn more about their wants and expectations. Content published on social media should be bite-sized, captivating, and in line with the image the institution is trying to build.
• The promotion of educational apps : The current educational app market is so competitive that it’s no longer enough just to have a great product—one must also have a great educational marketing strategy that is executed to perfection to get ahead of the competition.

While leading providers of marketing services to educational institutions, such as ComboApp, often use education-based marketing when promoting education services and products, the fact remains that it is just one of many effective education marketing strategies that can be used.

12 Best Education Marketing Strategies in 2024

The best education marketing strategies—regardless of whether they’re used in marketing for schools or in marketing for educational apps—take advantage of the tremendous opportunities created by the internet.

That’s not to say that traditional advertising strategies, such as billboards, flyers and brochures, print ads, and face to face meetings, have no place in the digital era, but their return on investment makes them far less attractive than modern digital marketing strategies.

Let’s take a look at these twelve strategies for marketing education.

1. Use Social Media Platforms to Connect with Your Audience

There are now approximately 4.89 billion social media users worldwide, which equates to about 42 percent of the population. Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Reddit are the most popular among millennials, followed by Gen Z, Gen X, and baby boomers.

Since their early days, social media platforms have matured in every way imaginable, and they now provide a myriad of different ways how they can be used in higher education marketing. Regardless of which social media platform you decide to target, your goal should always be the same: establish meaningful connections with your target audience by providing engaging content.

It’s helpful to create a social media marketing (SMM) persona to represent your target audience. The marketing persona should include information such as age, gender, education, goals, challenges, and primary values. When deciding what content to create, always keep your social media persona in mind but don’t be afraid to experiment.

As you build your social media following, you gradually reach a position where a single piece of content can instantly reach millions even if your actual follower count is much lower. Unlike other schools marketing methods, SMM lets you see exactly who’s sharing your content, providing you with useful information that you can use to tweak your promotional efforts.

2. Include Digital Advertising in Your Marketing Budget

Digital advertising can be a very effective way of marketing education services, which is part of the reason why worldwide digital advertising spending is predicted to reach over $700 billion by 2025. Projections show that advertisers in the United States will spend 68.8 percent of their advertising budgets on digital ads by 2025.

The biggest advantage digital advertising offers over traditional advertising is precise targeting based on demographics, intent, engagement patterns, and other things. For example, a higher education marketing agency that’s marketing for schools can target only graduate students who live in a certain area and have in the past shown an interest in a certain product or service. Such targeting can have an incredibly positive effect on the click-through rate of advertising campaigns as well as all other important metrics.

Some of the most commonly used digital advertising channels in 2024 include search engine advertising, social media advertising, display or banner ads, and video ads. Each of these channels has its pros and cons, which is why advertising experts generally recommend using a mix of all channels.

Regardless of how much of your marketing budget you dedicate to digital advertising, make sure to gather as much data as possible so you can monitor its effectiveness and make educated decisions to improve it.

3. Create a Mobile-Friendly Website with an Optimized Landing Page

It has been several years since the number of mobile internet users has exceeded the number of people who access the internet from desktop computers and laptops. In 2027, the number of smartphone users worldwide is projected to reach 7.7 billion , which means that nobody who wants to succeed in education marketing can afford to not have a mobile-friendly website with an optimized landing page.

For a website to be mobile-friendly, it must look and feel great on mobile devices, which means that all links and navigation elements must be easily clickable, the site itself must be responsive, and page loading times shouldn’t exceed three seconds (that’s how quickly a half of the online population expects a website to load).

In 2024, it’s also worth considering using AMP , which is a web component framework and a website publishing technology developed by Google that provides a straightforward way to create web pages that are fast, smooth-loading, and prioritize user-experience above everything else.

If nothing else, make sure your website passes Google Lighthouse’s mobile friendly test the purpose of which is to determine how easily a visitor can use your page on a mobile device.

To use it, enter the URL of your website and wait for the tool to finish testing. Google Lighthouse’s test will tell you whether your website is or isn’t mobile-friendly, and it will also provide you a detailed overview of all the page loading issues it has encountered so you can fix them.

The next problem we face in this discussion is how to create educational websites that prioritize user-experience. This will depend on the needs of your users and the educational product you offer. Some parts are universal though, and that means being easy to navigate and having engaging content. You want people to want to use your website, and these are two of the biggest factors that make people navigate away and never return.

This is especially true when you create a website for education institutions. Make everything easy to access and without a user needing to drill down through several levels of menus to find what they are looking for. You also want to keep a steady flow of content that will benefit your users and keep them visiting to see what is new.

4. Encourage Students to Leave Online Reviews

It’s a well-known fact at this point that 90 percent of consumers read online reviews before visiting a business or paying for a service. That’s why online reviews should be an integral part of all higher education marketing strategies.

The best way how to encourage students to leave online reviews is to make the review process as easy as possible. Better yet: make it fun! Instead of forcing students to fill miles long forms, you can implement a star-based rating and make verbal feedback completely optional.

When you receive an online review, make sure to respond to it as quickly as possible. Don’t ignore negative reviews but, at the same time, avoid being dismissive. You should see every negative review you receive as an opportunity to show potential customers how you deal with worst-case situations.

If you find that you aren’t getting as many reviews as you’d like, you can always incentivize the review process by offering discounts, gift cards, bonus points, and other incentives. Often, it’s enough to politely solicit reviews in emails or some other one-to-one communication channel.

5. Create Engaging Video Content

An increasing number of marketers say that video content gives them a great return on investment , and it’s easy to see why. After all, audiences spend 19 hours a week watching online videos, according to HubSpot . That’s a lot of potential viewers that can be targeted by creating engaging video content and publishing it online.

Because educational content is among the most popular types of video content, education marketing professionals seldom have to look far for content ideas. They can simply transform existing products or services into entertaining videos and publish them on leading video-sharing platforms, such as YouTube.

Video content can have many different forms, including demo videos, brand or event videos, expert interviews, educational or how-to tutorials, explainer videos, animated content, case study and customer testimonial videos, live videos, virtual reality videos, and others.

You should let your audience tell you which video content to produce, and that’s possible only if you keep an eye on important metrics like watch time, average view duration, average completion rate, audience retention, re-watches, click-through-rate, engagement, subscriber growth, peak live viewers, and others.

6. Use An Education Marketing Agency

Whether you are marketing an institution or an education app, it is best to put your efforts in the hands of those who are experts in their field. A company that specializes in educational services marketing such as ComboApp will help to ensure that your digital marketing for education industry efforts are successful.

Educational marketing services offered by a full-service marketing agency will encompass everything from website and app design, to helping with the development of a strategy of content marketing for education apps. Using educational marketing services such as ComboApp will save your company time and manpower that can be put towards being educators and developing education content.

7. Promote Safety

While the pandemic of 2020 is behind us as far as most are concerned. On top of that, there are other safety concerns that have parents considering alternatives to in-person learning or ways to limit time on campus. When developing an education marketing strategy for this era, this presents both new challenges and opportunities. The challenges will come from an increase in the amount of competitors moving into online educational spaces, which will be balanced out by more parents and students seeking options for learning at home.

Leaning into promoting the safety and convenience of learning from home is going to be a winning strategy for educational marketing. Let your audience know the benefits of using your service as part of their education plan, and how it contributes to the safety of students or families. Distance learning websites and apps are well positioned to take advantage and rise to the moment, but even traditional educational institutions can lean in by promoting their home based options when marketing education offerings in 2024.

The more you focus on developing great distance learning tools for students, the greater the opportunity to develop marketing strategies for schools that make the best of this situation. If you do not already have any, develop educational apps in order to take advantage of the added convenience of being able to access your content and courses from anywhere with a mobile device.

8. Create Educational Apps

While it has been mentioned in a few of the previous points, the benefits of having an app are even greater in 2024. With the explosion of people now seeking ways to learn or access educational materials online, having an app is another fantastic way to both attract and keep users. Rather than having to navigate to your website, having a simple button on their home screen that they can click and go right into their lessons is a convenience that cannot be understated.

For traditional educational institutions , apps can serve as a great way for students to access course material, schedules, activities, and more. It also can give students a way to solve simple problems or ask questions without having to come to campus in order to do so.

9. Promote Education Apps

Educational marketing for an app requires all of the same tools that are needed to market a website, alongside tools for marketing the app itself. Education marketing strategies for apps need to include paid ads, reviews, SEO, a social media strategy, content development, and more.

Some examples of educational advertising to promote your app should include:

• Having a website for your app that is designed for SEO marketing, attractive, mobile friendly, and filled with interesting and relevant content.
• Paid ads on app stores
• Social media marketing and advertisements
• Influencer marketing
• Encouraging and incentivizing reviews
• Video based educational ads

Working with an education marketing agency such as ComboApp will ensure that your app has education marketing strategies that set it up for success from day one.

10. Increase App Engagement

Having students using your app for learning is great, but an excellent education digital marketing strategy will keep looking for more opportunities to make sales. The more you keep them coming back for more, and giving them a reason to stay engaged, the more services you can get them to buy.

A great example of this is the Duolingo Owl. More than just a mascot, the owl also serves to encourage users to not miss days, sending them push notifications and emails to remind them to not break their streaks.

Personalized content, engagement reminders, and offers for more services within the app such as new courses and course upgrades are all great online education marketing strategies for engaging existing users.

11. Get Personal With Educational Content Marketing

Marketing for schools, educational apps, or any other form of education content benefits greatly from personalized efforts. People tend to have personal reasons for the things they choose to learn, and they all learn in their own individual ways. This means that one size fits all education marketing strategies will be less effective than ones that speak to the individual needs, tastes, and personalities of students or their families.

Personalization can take many forms. Language learning apps and schools might find that starting with an advertisement on travel sites is a first step towards personalization. From there, they can narrow that down by advertising the specific language for the country whose page the advertisement is placed on. This speaks to the audience by telling them: “Hey, why not learn a little of the language before your trip.” From here, you can gather information on the user and re-target them with personalized emails and more.

Marketing strategies for schools can use similar techniques, reaching students by talking to them about their interests and showing them courses they might be most interested in. When it comes to digital marketing for educational institutes, personalization can be essential to attracting the highest quality students by speaking directly to them, and matching them with alumni that they can identify with.

As you can see nearly all marketing strategies for educational institutions and apps will benefit greatly from these and other personalization techniques.

12. Be An Educational Thought Leader

An effective education marketing strategy is to establish your brand as being a thought leader in your field. Producing high quality content that shows you (or your organization) are educational experts, will cause audiences to see you as an authority. The greater the authority you have with your audience, the more they will trust you and your brand.

Being a thought leader will make educational marketing campaigns even more successful. One reason is that it will get you, or representatives of your school, guest posting opportunities on sites and apps with a larger reach. These opportunities are perfect for educational marketing strategies because they will help your brand to expand its reach and grow your business further.

With the 12 education marketing strategies explained in this article, you shouldn’t have any problem successfully marketing your education service or product to students of all ages. Well rounded approaches to marketing education programs will take advantage of most or all of these strategies as part of their educational marketing plan.

The challenges of the current evolving world and changes that have come in the wake of the pandemic also present an opportunity to those who are prepared. School marketing strategies can benefit from a focus on safe learning in their marketing content. Educational websites and apps can also benefit by presenting themselves as safe alternatives to in person education.

If you still feel intimidated by marketing for education or just want to avoid making a potentially costly mistake, you can always rely on the educational marketing services provided by ComboApp to make your offering stand out with innovative digital marketing solutions that adhere to higher education marketing best practices as outlined below.

Simply call us at 773.305.0886 or click on the Contact Us button in the header of this site. We look forward to helping you become the next unicorn!

FAQs about Education Marketing

1. why does the education sector need education marketing.

Traditional educational institutions, as well as private developers, have so far released over half-million educational apps. Besides education apps, the e-learning market is also saturated with online courses, videos, eBooks, and websites, making it nearly impossible for a new product or service to get noticed without a carefully planned and well executed marketing strategy.

2. What is social media marketing for educational institutions?

Social media marketing for educational institutions is no different from social media marketing for any business. It is a means to communicate targeted information, gain referrals, and cultivate strong brand connections with existing and prospective educational product or service users.

3. What are the advantages of digital marketing for the education sector?

Digital marketing provides cost-effective, compared to traditional marketing methods, ways of introducing new educational products and services to a wide range of audiences. Allowing for both wide reach and precise targeting as well as accurate performance tracking of the campaigns.

4. Why does your educational product or institution need a mobile-friendly website?

Most of the content on the web is accessed from mobile devices, meaning that anybody who wants to succeed in bringing a new educational product or service to market can not afford to not have a mobile-friendly website with an optimized landing page.

5. How to use online reviews as an education marketing strategy?

Online reviews provide an invaluable opportunity to identify and address any issues with the product or service early on, highlight your brand’s strengths and competitive advantages, build relationships with existing customers and show potential customers how much you care.

6. How to market education services with video content?

Listen to your audience, they will tell you what kind of video content to produce and where to publish it. Use analytics tools, like Google Analytics, to keep an eye on engagement metrics such as number of views, average view duration, average completion rate, audience retention, re-watches, click-through-rate, subscriber growth, peak live viewers, and other audience engagement KPIs.

We use cookies to analyze the use of our website, keep track of visitors and offer you a better browsing experience.

The Complete Guide to Education Marketing

Updated: October 07, 2024

Published: November 08, 2023

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

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.

It allows educators to learn about the needs of their students.

Education marketing is not only about students, their families, or institutions themselves. There are also other stakeholders, such as educators.

Katie Stoddard, a former educator turned education marketer, sees marketing as a key piece of the education ecosystem.

“In a world where decisions on instructional materials and professional learning largely happen due to past relationships, marketing is a way for educators to learn about other solutions and tools that meet the needs of their learners,” Stoddard says.

Stoddard is the founder and managing director at Ed2Market . She notes that marketing allows small companies to compete with the legacy providers in the space.

“And most importantly, it’s the start of the cycle that gets the absolute best products and services into classrooms across the globe,” she says.

It helps student families get involved.

Education marketing should cover any possible information that the students and families might need, showing them what their options are, what they can expect, and why they should pursue education at a given academic institution.

Students and their families can easily access information by reading testimonials, watching videos, or taking virtual tours. This is true at all levels of education — from elementary schools to universities to online academies.

According to the RNL’s latest report , parents preferred to get important information via email. The same report suggests that parents are open to getting emails from different universities if they contain the following information:

• Cost (tuition, accommodation, etc).
• Academics (programs, subject area info).
• Admissions requirements, deadlines, and timeline.

Here are six fundamental steps to build an effective education marketing strategy.

For each step, we’ve sourced real examples of campaigns.

1. Understand your target audience.

First, define your audience. In this case, decide who is receiving your educational offer. By this, we don't simply mean prospective students.

Think about their families, too. Parents or relatives most often have the final say in their educational choices.

Have a clear understanding of the goals and expectations of both parties and make sure your educational offering is a great fit for them.

Pro tip: Conduct surveys and anonymous reviews to collect feedback on your target audience. What do they value, what factors impact their decision-making, and what expectations do they have from institutions?

Knowing the answers will help you find common ground to offer courses and programs that meet their needs.

2. Articulate your unique selling points.

Define what sets your educational institution or program apart.

Highlight your strengths, such as academic excellence, unique programs, experienced faculty, or special facilities. Recognize the qualifications and expertise of your faculty members.

For example, mention any faculty members or notable alumni who have received awards, grants, or recognition. If you possess modern facilities, laboratories, or other resources that provide exceptional learning opportunities, feature them prominently.

In the example below, Oregon State University uses pieces of concrete information to get visitors’ attention. The copy focuses on science and research.

The statistics further reinforce a positive impression.

Image Source

3. Choose social media channels to connect with the audience.

Social media channels are extremely popular among millennials and Generation Z, the members of your target audience.

Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and LinkedIn are the most used social networks, each with its specific characteristics.

From the beginning, stick to 2-3 social media platforms where your audience spends most of their time. Make sure to keep consistency across all your social media channels.

Central Michigan University posted an emotional video on TikTok showing the graduation ceremony where the brother of one of the graduates surprisingly came to congratulate her sister.

4. Roll out an email marketing campaign.

Education-related emails have an open rate of 35.42% , indicating that old-fashioned email marketing is still effective in education.

Create a monthly or quarterly newsletter communicating your institution's most important activities. Each email should have a clear and compelling call to action (CTA), such as “Enroll Now,” “Learn More,” or “Register Today.”

Use email automation tools to send targeted emails based on recipient actions, such as welcome sequences, nurturing campaigns, and event reminders.

Send follow-up emails, provide how-tos, tips, and tricks to engage with candidates, and nurture them through the enrollment or conversion process.

Pro tip: Use HubSpot’s FREE email tracking tool to get notifications as soon as someone opens your emails and keep an eye on their interactions.

Try our email software today.

5. Invest in digital advertisement.

Digital advertising will help you reach not only local but also international students who are interested in studying abroad or taking online courses .

Digital advertising platforms, such as Google Ads, Bing Ads, and social media ads, offer precise targeting options.

Set up advertising campaigns based on geographical, demographical, or interest-based targeting. Experiment with various ad formats, such as search, display ads, video, or social media ads.

In the image below, there are several search ad examples. All include the degree program as the title, as well as relevant CTAs prompting you to explore more.

6. Track the metrics and optimize.

Track the metrics to calculate the ROI of your marketing efforts. Understand what‘s working and what’s not so you can optimize your resources and use them wisely.

Depending on your objectives, the list of relevant metrics and KPIs may vary.

Tips for Education Marketing

How to succeed in education marketing? Here are a couple of actionable tips to implement in your education marketing campaigns.

1. Focus on informational content.

The key to educational marketing is to provide value at every stage. Identify the pain points and needs of your target audience throughout their user journey and create informational content around them.

The latest education marketing trends indicate that the most popular types of content include:

• Long-form articles.
• Case studies.
• Newsletters.
• Testimonials.
• Press releases.
• Checklists.

Want an example?

At HubSpot, we built a comprehensive academy that provides teachers and university instructors with the opportunity to access inbound education marketing resources and sales training materials, such as guides, templates, ebooks, and webinars.

As members of the academy, educators can use HubSpot's software for free and become part of a community.

2. Use subject spotlights to let students try before they apply.

How do you make sure that prospective students have a good perception of their desired program? Subject Spotlights is the answer.

Created by Springpod, it provides an interactive, cinematic course taster experience, which enables institutions to attract, engage, and inform prospective students about their course offerings.

Using this tactic, you also spot courses with low interest to promote them more.

3. Leverage student reviews.

Actively solicit reviews from current and former students, parents, and alumni. Address both positive and negative reviews and identify areas for improvement.

Create engaging video testimonials featuring students, alumni, and faculty members sharing their experiences and success stories. Incorporate them into your marketing materials, such as brochures, website content, and social media posts.

4. Grab students' attention with events.

Host days where prospective students can explore your campus, interact with faculty and current students, and get a feel for the educational environment.

You can also create a community with past students and organize events such as yearly reunions. Invite renowned guest speakers, industry leaders, or alumni to share their experiences and insights with students.

Get creative and host career fairs to introduce students to potential employers, internships, and job opportunities. This is especially beneficial for higher education institutions.

Here is a podcast from Education Marketer: Learn how to use events to grab students’ attention in detail.

Leverage Education Marketing to Maximize Your Institution’s Potential

Education marketing plays a pivotal role in the success and growth of educational institutions across all levels, from schools and colleges to universities and online academies.

To overcome shifts in student expectations, combine different education marketing strategies, gain insights, and optimize your campaigns accordingly.

Don't forget to share this post!

Data from over 1,400 marketers across the globe.

The weekly email to help take your career to the next level. No fluff, only first-hand expert advice & useful marketing trends.

Must enter a valid email

We're committed to your privacy. HubSpot uses the information you provide to us to contact you about our relevant content, products, and services. You may unsubscribe from these communications at any time. For more information, check out our privacy policy .

This form is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

You've been subscribed

Mastering Education Marketing: Effective Strategies for 2024 Success

Team CSG –

July 23, 2024

Schools and companies that provide education products and services need an education marketing strategy, just as companies in other sectors need a strategy when competing for consumers’ attention. Marketing in the education industry requires a fundamental understanding of your target audience and a clear picture of your goals and organization. Communications Strategy Group ® knows education marketing, so here’s a rundown of everything you’ll need to drive a cost-effective and potent campaign for your organization.

What Is Education Marketing in 2024?

Education marketing uses a blend of owned media content (blog posts, your website, email newsletters, guest articles, social media posts on your company accounts, etc.) and advertising (probably mostly digital ads), as well as activities that fall under the umbrella of public relations — think pitching stories to journalists or reaching out to influencers for earned media plaudits — to help a school or education product company meet its goals. These goals could be anything from increased enrollment and lead generation to thought leadership or brand solidity.  Choosing schools, or products to serve students is no small matter; it can change the course of their entire lives, particularly when it comes to higher education or graduate students. It makes sense that consumers in the education sector would weigh their options carefully. This makes it all the more important for you to devise your education marketing strategy carefully and execute it with precision. But in order to do so, you must first understand why marketing is important and the value it can drive ‌for education-based organizations.

Why Is Marketing Important for Educational Institutions and Products?

Building trust.

Prospective students or customers who have never heard of you and have no idea what you’re about probably won’t trust you very much, right? Education marketing gets you on the path to greater brand recognition, and as your reputation grows, people may even begin to seek out information about your services without coming in contact with your marketing content directly. Publishing useful, high-quality content will help you position yourself as a leader in the education industry. In marketing, the sort of trust that follows from that status will make all your marketing efforts down the line more effective.

Building Relationships with Your Company

Your marketing activities are a window into the heart of your company. When you take the time to let people in on your values, origins, distinguishing qualities, etc., they begin to see links with your company that connect your story to theirs. This relationship building is a core reason to pursue education marketing since it leads to a number of downstream benefits like brand loyalty and word-of-mouth recommendations. The bottom line is that no matter what, educational products and services are a way for customers to invest in themselves and their future. Cultivating a relationship is essential for consumers to trust your educational institution in helping them further their goals, whether it’s personal growth, entering a new professional industry, moving up in the world or helping their community.

Generating Organic Traffic

Organic traffic most often comes from ranking well in search engine algorithms, and one of the best ways to achieve that is by putting out content that is high-quality, serves users’ needs, and has enough authority to be cited on other well-traveled sites in backlinks.

If you’re marketing your school’s online courses, for example, and search engines are seeing users read the majority of the page, revisit it multiple times, cite it themselves in other places, and so on, your position among schools providing that service is going to rise and more and more people will find your page on their own as they search for remote learning options.

Establishing Thought Leadership

Are you an authority in your space? Great education marketing could make it so. The more people lay eyes on your content, and the higher the quality of that content, the more you will become a resource that they turn to when they have questions related to your industry. Becoming a thought leader doesn’t happen overnight, but when you publish pieces consistently that consider timely issues with expertise from a 360-degree viewpoint, your chances of bringing people into your circle goes way up.

Achieving Cost-Effectiveness

If your education marketing plan goes well, it may pay for itself and then some. This is why it’s better to take the time and allocate the resources necessary for a sound marketing strategy, bringing in outside help if needed than to go live with a lackluster campaign just for the sake of saying you did marketing. The more researched, balanced, and insightful your marketing materials are, the more likely you are to improve your ROI and see lasting results for your business. And what’s more, digital marketing can even be more cost-effective in comparison to traditional marketing methods because it doesn’t require large budgets or a lot of resources.

Marketing Trends for Different Education Products and Services

Education marketing trends come and go, but at the center of this specialty, within the various industry niches (P-12, higher ed, etc.), there are some time-tested strategies that will probably become important at some point over the course of a marketing campaign.

P-12 Education

Preschool through 12th-grade students need a solid learning foundation to set them up for success later in life. A school or company catering to this group could benefit from marketing that establishes authority and trustworthiness and highlights the resources and flexible learning options (in-person, remote, hybrid) available to meet students’ needs.

Higher Education

Higher education institutions need a marketing strategy that can give them a competitive advantage by differentiating them from others in the same space, and attract future students by showcasing their on-campus amenities, culture, traditions of academic excellence and notable alumni.

Corporate Training

For businesses that make corporate training products, the goal of a marketing plan would usually be to convince decision-makers at companies that the training they offer can have a company-wide benefit that lasts, in the form of increased productivity, reduced inefficiencies, better customer service, a more collaborative workplace environment or more effective internal communications such as increased staff rapport, consistent campaign updates and clear vision statements.

Lifelong Learning

Businesses in the lifelong learning industry, like other branches of education, will want to launch marketing campaigns that emphasize the quality of their course catalog, their flexible or asynchronous course formats and online course options, and the overall convenience and effectiveness of their programs, to attract learners who want to enhance their knowledge or professional capability but may already be absorbed in their careers or private lives.

For companies that make EdTech products, the single greatest goal of a marketing campaign should be to show prospective buyers, whether that be school superintendents, technology specialists at schools, teachers or others, that their products help provide students with a better education. As the EdTech landscape becomes more competitive with new companies entering the space regularly, you’ll also want to stress that your products can bring about meaningful benefits for students, with a focus on personalized learning and sustainability, which have become increasingly important selling points for EdTech products.

Trends in Education Marketing You Should Know In 2024

Five education marketing trends to inspire your strategy.

Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) is Google’s new experimental search experience that uses generative artificial intelligence (AI) to provide users with information about the topic they’re searching for easily and quickly—without having to click on individual web pages. It is important to stay on top of new trends and technological updates to ensure your marketing is going to drive tangible results. 

Check on Your Google Ads

You should regularly check on your Google Ads to ensure they are performing well and to make the necessary adjustments if they aren’t meeting your desired marketing goals. Google Analytics is a helpful tool for this, as it will help you understand how users get to your site, when, and how long they stay on each page, and what devices they are using to interact with your content and ads. The data provided by Google Analytics will also be informative on what you need to do differently when creating marketing campaigns going forward. 

Stay Up to Date on Social Media

More than half of the world, 62.6% , uses social media with an average daily spend time of two hours across platforms. What’s more, within the last year, 259 million new users have come online. It’s safe to say that every education business needs to optimize its social media presence so it keeps up with social media trends, connects with its target audience and boosts engagement and conversions.

Intentional Marketing Campaigns

It is essential to be intentional about your marketing campaigns and the results you want to drive with them, especially in a field as competitive and saturated as education. By using social media to showcase social proof, such as testimonials, success stories or feedback from students, educators and educational businesses can more deeply connect with their intended users.

Create an Informed Marketing Strategy

With a well-designed education marketing plan, you can build trust with your audience, design effective promotions and impactful campaigns, reach your customers with targeted advertising, and track your business success with analytics. It is essential to have specific goals that will provide you with guidance as you continue to market your products and services. 

One piece of this is to understand how AI is driving consumers and impacting how they receive search results online. As the internet continues to advance and change, business owners must stay up to date on how these changes impact the user experience to create an informed marketing strategy. 

Practical Education Marketing Strategies for Success

Engage your audience through social media.

Social media can be a powerful way to grow a following and build relationships with your audience. You don’t have to use your accounts to achieve this, either. Influencer outreach could help you tap into followings that others within your field have already built, and give you the kind of favorable earned media coverage that research has shown is more and more replacing traditional advertising. Moreover, social media platforms provide highly specific data, which helps educational institutions not only build targeted campaigns but also gain meaningful insights that can inform marketing strategies going forward.

Include Digital Advertising in Your Education Marketing Budget

Teachers, students, parents — almost everyone spends most of their time online now, so whatever other particulars your marketing strategy ends up employing, in almost all cases, you’ll want to include a hefty dose of digital marketing. Paid media ads, social ads, website content and the like can all help you expand your school or company’s brand reach and boost conversions. Ultimately, digital advertising is a powerful way to engage both students and parents at different stages of their customer journey with action-oriented suggestions that match their level of engagement.

Create a Responsive and Mobile-friendly Website

On a related point, your website should be optimized for use on mobile devices as well as desktops, since many people viewing your pages may use their tablets or phones to do so. In fact,  67% of mobile users are more likely to buy from a mobile-friendly website, making it a tool to improve your bottom line and increase your revenue. You don’t want to lose leads just because your website was built on a rigid framework that can’t adapt to mobile formatting. A website that works well on mobile devices is also more likely to rank higher and be prioritized over other search engine results. Mobile users tend to type keywords instead of searching for a link, so a site that is easy to use on mobile devices can bring in more traffic and sales. A fully optimized website is a way to not only retain the attention of your target audience but also play an important role in attracting and building trust.

Allow Students to Leave Reviews Online

Recommendations carry a lot of weight in the modern marketing landscape. Online reviews are similar to a recommendation from a friend, serving as information that users are likely to act on. More than half of consumers read at least four reviews before making a purchase decision. It’s gotten to the point where a lack of reviews might even signal a lack of credibility to consumers, so if possible you’ll want to have good reviews on full display either in search results or on your own pages. Especially with how competitive the education space is, online reviews can be the divisive factor that pushes consumers to purchase your product over another.

Create Engaging Video Content

The overwhelming majority of online traffic now flows to video. A recent study even reflects that videos in higher education marketing have been shown to increase the number of click-through rates by 96% and boost open rates by 5.6%. Having the capability to produce videos in-house, or finding a good marketing agency that offers video marketing services, lets you capitalize on this trend and ensures that you’re conveying your message in the most powerful way. If you’re looking to connect with your audience deeply, tell your story and stand out in a competitive market, video content marketing is a powerful way to do so.

How to Choose an Education Marketing Agency in 2024

If you want help with your education marketing plan (and who could blame you — marketing is complicated), here are the steps you should go through to choose a marketing agency to partner with and bring them into your operation:

Set Your Objectives

Without a sense of where you want to end up, you’re liable to wander the marketing wilderness for a while, on your own dime, without making much progress. Defining your goals in advance will eliminate that inefficiency. Do you want greater enrollment? More sales? More awareness? A higher perceived authority among peers and audiences in your industry? Simply put, without targeted goals, content is just content. However, content created with a goal behind it is a powerful tool that can move the needle for your business. Once you have these goals set, you’ll be able to clearly communicate your expectations to a marketing partner.

Create a Budget

How much money, and other resources, are you willing to commit to your education marketing plan? Like setting goals, this step helps create parameters you’ll be working within and tells you and your marketing agency what kind of ROI you’ll need to see to make your marketing activities sustainable.

Research Education Marketing Agencies

Look into your options. Do you see positive reviews for the agencies you’re considering? Do they have case studies showing impressive results for companies in your space or with similar goals to yours? Do you think your values align with theirs in a way that would promote a good working relationship? Be critical when evaluating agencies’ self-marketing and don’t be afraid to cross them off your list if something seems off.

Write a List of Questions to Ask

Preparing to meet your prospective partners involves writing down a list of questions that you need answered so that you can stay organized during the actual meeting and get all the information you need to make an informed decision.

Have Meetings

Meet with the marketers you think would be the best fit for you. Ask your questions and record the answers so you can look them over later. Do you get the feeling they know your industry? Do they seem to have education marketing ideas that would translate to your goals? Are they confident without promising too much? Trust your gut and take time to debrief afterward.

Set Expectations

Once you’ve found the right marketing partner, collaborate with them to plan the work that will most effectively help you meet your goals, the timetable you’re using, delegate tasks to their team or yours, and set a schedule for regular campaign updates, status reports, etc. Once everyone agrees about who is responsible for what, and what the campaign parameters are, you’ll be ready to start marketing for your school or education company.

Onboard Your Education Marketing Agency

This is the fun part! Bring your marketing partner on board and start digging into the details of the strategy, messaging and channels that will underlie your marketing campaigns.

FAQs About Education Marketing

How do you market an educational application.

You market an educational application for a product by figuring out what your audience needs, what their pain points are, and then address those concerns in the channels — paid media, social, content marketing — that they are most likely to encounter.

How do I market my educational games?

You market educational games by promoting the educational value of the games, in places where your audience is most likely to congregate.

How do teachers advertise?

Teachers advertise like people in any other industry, through combinations of ads, social media activity, email newsletters, owned content including video, and other tools.

How do you market higher education?

You market higher education by speaking to prospective students through appropriate marketing channels and showing them how your school is equipped to give them the expertise they need for life after graduation.

How can the education industry increase sales?

The education industry can increase sales through education marketing, after conducting audience research, developing messaging, and refining a marketing strategy that lines up with individual company goals.

Develop Your Education Marketing Strategy With CSG

Ready to take your school or education company to the next level of marketing success? Reach out to us and let’s get to work.

How Public Relations for Education Providers Powers Success for Schools and Students

What Is A PR Agency and Why Do You Need One?

What is Digital Marketing: 2022 Comprehensive Guide

Insights. influencers. intellect..

Trends. Commentary. Analysis. You’ll find them all here.

Let’s get to work!

Education Marketing: Top Tips and Strategies

Explore the education marketing strategies, tools, and trends that schools, institutions of higher learning, and e‑learning platforms are using to reach their audiences.

In recent years, education has experienced profound changes. The global pandemic forced students and educators to rethink what school looks like and revise long-held standards and practices regarding how and where education is delivered. Meanwhile, technology has transformed what’s possible in and out of the classroom.

The impacts of this evolution have driven changes in thinking, preferences, and capabilities, significantly influencing education as we know it and driving many to seek help from an education marketing agency. Whether it’s a move toward distance learning or the integration of new educational marketing tools and apps, we’re seeing a sea change in how the world teaches and learns.

Educational marketing helps showcase these dramatic developments, especially as they relate to new and emerging education technologies. The practice is focused on introducing the industry to new means and methods and helping connect schools and other education brands with those who will be employing and benefiting from them.  

In this article, we will explore what education marketing is, why it matters, and some useful tools and strategies to consider as you address how to make the discipline work for you.

What is education marketing?

Education marketing comes in a few different flavors. For some, it refers to the creation and promotion of educational marketing content to teachers and educational institutions. The aim here is to help educators understand what new teaching and learning resources are available and how those aids can support the school’s goals.

For others, education marketing refers to the efforts undertaken by higher education institutions, online schools and courses, and even educational apps to inspire engagement or action among students, their parents, investors, and key industry leaders. Goals might include brand awareness, thought leadership, and increased enrollment or subscription.

For this article, we’ll concentrate on educational marketing as it applies to this second group of schools, e-learning platforms, and apps The content they create spans everything from blogs, newsletters, and social media platforms to digital advertising, guest articles, and even courseware.

Why is an education marketing strategy necessary?

As it continues to evolve, the education sector is eager for tips and tools for responding to the steady stream of modern teaching and learning challenges and opportunities. This speaks to the rapid growth of the e-learning market, which is expected to reach $458 billion in value by 2026.

Today, there are more than half a million education-related apps available, many offered on the App Store and Google Play. At the same time, there are scores of videos, e-books, websites, online courses, and other materials all created to support education needs.

The net result is an overwhelming variety of options that make it hard to produce content that stands out and determine which solutions are best. Thoughtful, customer-driven education marketing is a valuable tool for successfully navigating this rapidly changing industry and market. Here are just a few of the goals you can address through education marketing. 

Build trust with your target audience

Trust is a foundational objective and requirement for all kinds of organizations as they look to connect with their learner audience. That trust is built via regular, consistent communication of your brand values, organizational mission, and benefits. Until that bedrock has been established, the path to reaching your communication goals is likely to be challenging.

Education marketing offers tools and strategies for promoting and achieving positive brand recognition for your school, e-learning platform, or app. Key among them is providing useful, high-quality content created to support the needs and preferences of your target audiences. Reliably equipping students and education-minded consumers with material that helps them solve problems can go a long way toward cementing the trust that will power your ongoing relationship.

Develop thought leadership for educational institutions

No matter if you’re an institution of higher learning or a provider of online courses , establishing your expertise is vital for instilling confidence among your prospective students. Delivering the right content in the right places can also help position you not just as knowledgeable but as a thought leader in education.

Your marketing content can help make you a valued resource in the education sector. While academic papers may be too in depth for your audience, you can share key facets of the work and its value in your blog or social media. Doing so regularly and authentically can make you an influential thought leader among students and other industry watchers, promoting recruitment and possible investment to your school or education-related business.

Generate organic traffic through educational marketing efforts

Where your content ranks on search engines is a key indicator of how well your marketing effort is likely to deliver on your goals. This is especially true for organic traffic , which refers to the visitors to your website who get there via the algorithms on Google, Yahoo, or Bing and not through paid advertising like a banner ad.

Increasing organic traffic requires that you regularly put out high-quality content that reflects your audience’s interests. Ideally, this content should also be cited on other popular sites through backlinks. In addition, implement a search engine optimization (SEO) strategy to boost the performance of your blog or website. When done effectively, SEO can raise your rankings among search engines, driving more leads or subscriptions and contributing to other aims like increasing student enrollment.  

Create awareness of your brand

Education is a competitive marketplace and growing more so with the introduction of new tools, technologies, and models. Your content should help you rise above the noise and differentiate your offering in the eyes of your audience.

The effectiveness of your communications is directly linked to your understanding of the people you are attempting to reach. With a solid grasp of their pain points, interests, and aims, you can craft messages and stories that connect your audience’s needs with the unique value proposition offered by your brand or product. To grow brand awareness , your messaging should be regular, maintain consistency, and appear on the marketing channels your audience prefers.   

Drive product affinity and growth

Whether your ambition is increased student enrollment or a bigger user community for an app, education marketing strategies will play a key role in getting you to the finish line. Start by meeting your audience where it is, offering content that expresses an understanding of their challenges.

Education is about improving lives through learning. Your communications should convey your commitment to that objective. Selling will be a natural outgrowth of this relationship building, which can be bolstered through content that teaches and inspires your audience to visualize a brighter future for themselves.

Top 8 education marketing strategies

The internet forever changed the way schools and prospective students find each other, build relationships, and make decisions. Gone are the days when schools could rely exclusively on reputation or word of mouth to attract interest.

Most participants in education must now employ marketing tools and practices familiar across other industries. Today’s tech-savvy audience expects content aimed at their needs and interests, forcing schools and other educators to create modern marketing plans or risk being ignored.

Done effectively, education marketing strategies give institutions and e-learning brands a powerful tool for finding and building their audience. That means greater interest among students and larger enrollment. Students benefit as well by seeing content that helps them make the right educational choice.

Use social media marketing to connect with your target audience

Social media is a critical part of your digital marketing toolkit. It’s unique among your educational marketing strategies in that it is reliably used by both parents and students alike to research, connect with, and learn about schools and institutions. In fact, there are now approximately 4.59 billion social media users worldwide, or about 42 percent of the population.

Therefore, it’s important that your educational institution, app, or online courseware creates a presence on popular sites like Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, or TikTok. Not only do these platforms offer access to your audiences, but they also boast significant amounts of data to help you unlock the preferences of those audiences to refine your knowledge, message, and social strategy.  

Make digital marketing a part of your marketing efforts

We live in a digital world, and it’s no different for the education sector. As traditional marketing strategies lose relevance and traction among younger audiences, education marketers are turning to digital channels to reach students. This makes digital marketing a fundamental feature of any successful marketing effort.

Digital marketing methods include everything from your website and social media, to paid search and email. As each has its unique benefits, using a mix is a sound approach. Among the advantages of digital marketing is the targeting it offers, which can lead to greater response and click-through rates for your campaigns. It also returns performance metrics you can then use to sharpen your efforts.

Build and launch mobile-friendly educational websites

Our phones are our go-to devices for all kinds of tasks, from social media to banking. More than ever, our mobile devices are also used by people researching schools or educational apps. Therefore, it’s vital that your website is responsive and built to deliver a satisfying user experience for those choosing to engage with your content on their phone or tablet.

Mobile-friendly means that your page loads in no more than 3 seconds, it represents your brand accurately, the content is meaningful and easy to read, and all links and navigation elements are easily clickable. If you’re not sure yours passes muster, put your site to Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test .

Create and offer video content

If content is king, then video is certainly a member of the royal family. Video is increasingly the most effective lure to attract online audiences to stop and learn, delivering a welcome return on investment. Given this fact, it’s little surprise that 91% of businesses report using video as a marketing tool in 2023 .

The many forms a video can take is another reason for its wide popularity among marketers. Depending on your needs and the interests of your audience, you can create education demo videos, brand videos, how-tos or tutorials, customer testimonial videos, webinars, and live event videos. With each one, use the performance data you receive—like average view, completion rate, and subscriber growth—to adapt and improve your education video strategy.

Permit and monitor student reviews of the institution

As of 2022, 76% of consumers claim to regularly read online reviews for local businesses. More than 50% say they read at least 4 reviews before buying a product. In short, the opinions of our fellow consumers are an important part of our decision-making process.

The same research habits are true in the education sector as well, verifying the need to make student reviews available. Encourage students to leave online reviews and make the process as easy as possible. To build trust with your audience, respond to your online reviews quickly and treat any negative ones with sensitivity. You can repurpose the positive reviews by incorporating them into your website and elsewhere.

Develop and launch email marketing campaigns

There may be no more direct way to communicate with your audience than by email. Email marketing represents a cost-effective and popular means for delivering important content right to your students or customers. What’s more, you can personalize the outreach, segmenting your audience to ensure the material is relevant and timely for each portion.

Email also offers helpful automation and scheduling options so you can create nurture or drip campaigns composed of linked emails delivered on a set schedule. The focus of the content will depend on your goals and audience. You might want to promote other content like blogs, webinars, or how-to videos. The success of these campaigns will hinge on creating compelling subject lines and reliably delivering useful information.

Personalize relevant content for your audience

It’s well established that personalized content delivers the best results among most audiences. With your educational marketing, consider segmenting your audiences and creating personas for each that capture salient demographic details. You can use this information to tailor your content creation and distribution for each group.

For example, short social media marketing videos might be best for incoming students while longer-form articles on LinkedIn could be best for more corporate audiences. As you evaluate these options, remember that a mix of formats and platforms is usually the preferred scenario, providing your audience multiple touchpoints to engage with.

Use data to drive informed decision-making

Data and analytics have dramatically changed how we engage, sell, and buy. Education marketers are using the power of data to transform the education market as well. Data-driven insights enable institutions to improve decision-making, track key performance indicators (KPIs), measure campaign effectiveness, and develop a more nuanced understanding of audiences.

Among the most powerful dividends of data is the ability to use enhanced intelligence to develop personalized marketing content that resonates with those you’re trying to reach. Unique learning paths are also possible based on audience needs and interests, enabling more meaningful connections with students and users and better educational marketing strategy results.

Education marketing tools to support your marketing strategies

Education marketing success is the reward of thoughtful planning, actionable knowledge, and targeted, high-quality content. Like most relationships, it requires an ongoing commitment to improving the connection over time. Helping you manage your efforts is an ever-growing list of marketing tools and technologies. Here are a handful of resources to assess as you construct and advance your education marketing strategies.

Software to create video content

Given the growing popularity of video in education marketing strategies, your Social Media team could benefit from access to the tools necessary to build these valuable assets. The right software will equip you to edit, polish, and publish video content for sharing on your website, social media platforms, live events, and elsewhere.

Platforms for building online courses

If you intend to create and provide education courses, you’ll need a means for hosting and managing that content. Online platforms will provide an effective option for delivering all kinds of educational material. Additionally, many of these tools provide a venue for your students to interact as well as providing supporting content such as guides, e-books, videos, and tests to aid learning.

Graphic design software

Graphic design tools can help elevate and distinguish your education content. Design is also a crucial contributor to a successful user experience. Experiment with the growing number of free plans that are available, including tools like Canva or Visme. Use what you learn to determine if you want to upgrade to the more robust paid versions of the software.  

Email marketing automation software

Chances are good that email will play a part in your marketing mix. It’s inexpensive and targeted. You can get more out of email campaigns by integrating an email marketing automation tool. Whether software or an application, these tools help you build, design, send, and optimize your emails. They also provide detailed reports and metrics to enable you to continually improve and customize your email marketing program.

Project management platforms

Communication and collaboration are the cornerstones of any effective education marketing campaign. Today’s project management software can help you do that and more. The numerous options are designed to simplify planning and delegation, setting deadlines, tracking progress, and brainstorming ideas. Like the graphic design software, many of these platforms, including Trello, Asana, and Jira, offer free versions to get you started.

Landing page builders

Not every educational creative team has access to web development support. This is when off-the-shelf landing page builders can make a big difference. These user-friendly tools allow you to build professional-looking landing pages to support your education marketing strategies. Page options can include everything from templatized designs to e-commerce capabilities.

Customer relationship management software

For many organizations, customer relationship management (CRM) software forms the backbone of an educational institution’s or company’s communication and sales program. These systems enable you to automate many processes, including collecting data, creating customer lists, and launching marketing campaigns. Many universities are using CRM systems to analyze the student journey to better understand decision drivers.

Education marketing and digital advertising trends

If you’re ready to start planning your next education marketing campaign, consider making use of one or more of today’s most notable education marketing trends. It may be that adding the right technique or practice to your plan will make the difference you’re looking for with your audience—and your results.

Short-form video content is growing in popularity

Shorter, snackable video is proving especially influential with today’s student audiences. Fans of Instagram Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts appreciate brief stories told in a compelling way. According to Statista, 61% of Gen Z and millennial viewers prefer videos under 1 minute long .

You can use this popular marketing vehicle to share short testimonials, spotlight new institutional or product details, or showcase an upcoming tour or demo. You can also tease longer-form content and invite viewers to click through to see and learn more.

Conversational marketing is more important

Conversational marketing is a quickly growing practice of emphasizing real-time, one-to-one connections with your audience to build rapport, develop trust, and help answer questions. Academic institutions and others are seeing the benefits of exploring new ways to forge more immediate connections.

Integrated chat features and instant messaging represent some of the more familiar expressions of a conversational marketing strategy. Educational institutions and e-learning platforms will increasingly be expected to deliver such options. This strategy also helps those in the education industry to better interact with future students at scale.

Use of user-generated content is growing in educational marketing strategies

At a time when consumers expect helpful content to support them throughout their buying journey, students are looking to education providers to offer the same. Even with campus visits declining, today’s prospective students are still eager for a sense of what life is like at the institutions they’re considering. User-generated content (UGC) can help address that interest.

Make the most of this trend by inviting current and former students, faculty, and on-campus staff to participate in your UGC effort. They can be commissioned to create and upload photos, videos, blog posts, and other content to give the public a view of what the day-to-day looks like at the school. This authentic content can then be used across your marketing strategy from social to your website.

Chatbots are becoming more prominent in marketing strategy

The rise in conversational marketing was noted earlier, a trend that is driving the growing use of chatbots among educators and makers of learning tools and content. Today, your audience wants quick responses to their questions.

As a result, chatbots are fast becoming an expected resource. It’s easy to see how important the one-to-one communication they provide can be. Simply consider a scenario in which multiple schools are being evaluated at the same time and yours doesn’t offer this convenient avenue for getting questions answered.

Influencers are now helping your educational marketing strategy

Important contributors to marketing strategy in many other industries, influencers are now being employed by education marketers as well. These individuals bring large social media followings and a demonstrated skill at connecting with them, a great attraction for schools and app builders looking for an edge.

You may already know some of the education sector’s influencers. If not, explore via social media searches and tools. A digital advertising agency can help here. Then, connect with the influencers and discuss opportunities for collaboration. Note that influencer endorsements come with legal considerations, so be sure to check out the latest FTC guidelines .

Employing the power of education marketing to teach and grow

Choosing how and where to pursue educational goals are some of the most important decisions a person makes. Today, eager prospective learners have access to a growing number of options, from traditional educational institutions to convenient distance learning platforms to the thousands of education apps now available. To ensure your brand or institution attracts interest, you can engage an education marketing agency or tackle it yourself, creating and executing a thoughtful, data-driven marketing strategy that puts the student first.

Dive deeper into the data

Subscribe to get more marketing insights straight to your inbox..

By signing up, you are agreeing that we can use your email address to market to you. You can unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time by using the link in our emails. For more information, please review our privacy statement .

Related Topics

• Marketing Campaign Ideas
• Design Tips
• Voice & Tone
• Schedule Your Content
• Create Your Brand

10 Best Education Marketing Strategies

Education is a vital sector that is constantly evolving, and marketing plays an important role in its growth and success. Implementing the right education marketing strategies can help institutions connect with their target audience, boost enrollment numbers, and foster long-term relationships.

This comprehensive guide will delve into the 10 best education marketing strategies for 2023. Whether you are a school, university, or educational institution, these strategies will help you thrive in the competitive educational sector.

What Is Education Marketing?

Education marketing is a specialized form of marketing tailored to the unique needs of the education industry. It encompasses various strategies and tactics to promote educational institutions, products, and services to a diverse audience. This includes schools, colleges, universities, online courses, educational apps, and more.

Education marketing leverages various channels and techniques to engage with prospective students, parents, educators, and stakeholders.

Why Is Marketing Important for the Education Industry?

Marketing plays a pivotal role in the education industry for several reasons:

• Visibility and branding: Marketing helps educational institutions increase visibility and establish a strong brand presence. This is essential for attracting students and standing out in a crowded market.
• Student recruitment: Educational institutions need a steady stream of students to thrive. Effective marketing strategies help them reach potential students and convince them to enroll.
• Engagement: Marketing fosters engagement with current students, parents, and alumni. It allows institutions to maintain solid relationships and build a loyal community.
• Competitive edge: The education sector is highly competitive. Marketing strategies give institutions an edge by showcasing their unique features and advantages.
• Adaptation to trends: Educational trends like online learning are constantly evolving. Marketing helps institutions adapt to these trends and remain relevant.
• Financial sustainability: Effective marketing can increase revenue through higher enrollment numbers and donations, ensuring institutions’ financial sustainability.
• Global reach: Digital marketing allows educational institutions to reach a global audience, attracting international students and expanding their reach.
• Data-driven decision-making: Marketing analytics provide valuable insights that help institutions make informed decisions about their marketing efforts and programs.

Education Marketing Strategies: 10 Tips for Success

To succeed in education marketing, consider implementing the following strategies:

Use Social Media Platforms to Connect with Your Audience

Social media platforms have transformed the way we communicate, and they offer unparalleled opportunities for education marketing. In 2023, harnessing the power of social media is not just an option; it’s a necessity.

Students, parents, and educators spend significant time on these platforms, making them ideal spaces for engagement.

To leverage social media:

• Identify your target audience: Understand your target demographic, whether it’s high school students, parents, or adult learners. Each group may have different preferences for social media platforms.
• Create engaging content: Share informative and engaging content that resonates with your audience. This can include educational articles, videos, infographics, and student success stories.
• Utilize user-generated content: Encourage students, alumni, and faculty to create and share content related to your institution. User-generated content serves as authentic testimonials and endorsements.
• Engage and interact: Respond to comments, messages, and feedback promptly. Engaging with your audience fosters a sense of community and trust.
• Utilize live streaming: Live sessions and webinars can provide real-time interaction and showcase your institution’s expertise.
• Post consistently: Maintain a consistent posting schedule to keep your audience engaged. Utilize social media management tools to streamline your efforts.
• Advertise strategically: Social media advertising allows you to target specific demographics. Invest in paid promotions to reach a wider audience.
• Monitor analytics: Use analytics tools to track engagement, reach, and conversion rates. Adjust your strategy based on data insights.

Our Graphic Design services create captivating designs tailored for social media, helping your business stand out, convey your brand message effectively, and drive engagement and conversions. Elevate your social media presence with eye-catching visuals that make a lasting impression on clients. Here’s what you get:

• Professional designers: Get matched with a seasoned designer based on your creative brief.
• Original work: All designs are made from scratch and you have full legal ownership.
• Scalability and flexibility: Easily scale up or down your services, with the flexibility to pause or cancel anytime.
• Team collaboration: Invite team members and clients to help you request and manage designs.

Create a Properly Optimized Website

Your website serves as the digital front door of your educational institution. It’s often the first point of contact for prospective students and parents.

Here are some key considerations for creating an effective educational website:

• Mobile responsiveness: Ensure your website is mobile-responsive. With the increasing use of smartphones, a mobile-friendly site is essential for providing a seamless user experience.
• Search engine optimization (SEO): Optimize your website for search engines to improve visibility. Use relevant keywords, meta descriptions, and high-quality content.
• User experience (UX): A clean and intuitive design ensures visitors can easily navigate your website. Have clear headings, easy-to-find contact information, and a straightforward menu structure.
• Website speed: A slow website can drive potential students away. Optimize your website’s speed by compressing images, using content delivery networks (CDNs), and minimizing unnecessary plugins.
• Content strategy: Maintain a regularly updated blog that covers educational trends, insights, and news. Fresh and relevant content informs and improves your website’s search engine ranking.

Create Engaging Video Content

Video content is a powerful tool for education marketing. It can simplify complex topics, engage the audience, and provide a more immersive learning experience.

Here’s how to harness this potential:

• Virtual campus tours: Create virtual tours of your campus, showcasing facilities, classrooms, dorms, and recreational areas.
• Faculty and student spotlights: Highlighting your faculty members’ accomplishments and expertise and showcasing your students’ achievements can build credibility and inspire trust.
• Explainer videos: Use animated or live-action videos to explain complex concepts or highlight program benefits.
• Webinars and live Q&A sessions: Host live webinars on topics of interest to your audience. Encourage interaction and questions.
• Student testimonials: Capture video testimonials from satisfied students, showcasing their achievements and experiences.

Use an Education Marketing Agency

Partnering with an education marketing agency can be a game-changer for institutions looking to boost their marketing efforts. These agencies offer a range of services that can propel your institution forward, including:

• Graphic design: Agencies can create eye-catching visuals, including logos, banners, and marketing materials, to enhance your brand identity.
• Motion graphics: Motion graphics can be used in videos and presentations to add a dynamic and engaging element to your content.
• Copywriting: Well-crafted copy is essential for website content, brochures, emails, and more. Experienced copywriters can effectively convey your message and engage your audience.
• Data analysis: Agencies can help you analyze data and metrics to refine your marketing strategies and target the right audience.
• Campaign management: They can manage your marketing campaigns across various platforms, ensuring a cohesive and practical approach.

Navigating the complexities of education marketing can be challenging, which is why partnering with an education marketing agency like Get A Copywriter is a wise choice. We specialize in creating persuasive, audience-focused content that drives results. Our  copywriting services will help you convey your institution’s unique value, connect with your audience, and boost your education marketing efforts.

• Skilled writers: Our team will hand-pick a talented writer specifically for your projects. They will be briefed on your requirements to deliver high-quality content.
• Timely delivery: With our efficient ordering system, we’ll ensure your content is delivered on time.
• Revisions: Our experts will review the writing. If revisions are needed, we will work with the writer to refine the content.
• On-going or on-demand content: Choose what suits your needs at any time.

Increase App Engagement

If your institution has an educational app, maximizing user engagement is essential. An engaged user base is likelier to continue using the app and benefit from its educational offerings.

Here’s how to boost app engagement:

• Regular updates: Keep the app content fresh, including new courses, features, and improvements.
• Personalization: Implement features that allow users to customize their experience. Tailored content and recommendations can keep users engaged.
• Gamification: Incorporate gamification elements, such as badges, leaderboards, and rewards, to make learning more enjoyable.
• Community building: Create a community within the app by enabling discussions, forums, or peer-to-peer interactions.
• Feedback channels: Provide easy ways for users to offer feedback and suggestions. Act on valuable input to improve the app.
• Push notifications: Use push notifications strategically to remind users of upcoming classes, assignments, or app updates.
• Performance optimization: Ensure the app runs smoothly, without glitches or crashes, to prevent user frustration.
• Analytics: Utilize app analytics to track user behavior and identify areas for improvement.

Include Digital Advertising in Your Marketing Budget

In the digital age, where most of your audience is online, allocating a portion of your marketing budget to digital advertising is essential. Paid digital advertising offers precise targeting options and measurable results.

Digital advertising encompasses various strategies, including:

• Pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns: Use PPC campaigns to target specific keywords and demographics, driving traffic to your website and landing pages.
• Display advertising: Use display ads on websites, blogs, and social media platforms to increase brand visibility and reach a broader audience.
• Social media advertising: Run targeted ads on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn to connect with users interested in education.
• Remarketing: Implement remarketing campaigns to reengage users who have previously visited your website or interacted with your content.
• A/B Testing: Experiment with ad creatives, copy, and targeting to optimize campaign performance.

When executed strategically, digital advertising offers a high return on investment (ROI), making it an integral part of your education marketing strategy in 2023.

Allow Students to Leave Reviews Online

Online reviews have become a significant influence on consumer decisions, including the choice of educational institutions. Encouraging students to share their experiences online can significantly impact your institution’s reputation and credibility. Here’s how to encourage and leverage online reviews:

• Encourage reviews: Actively encourage students to leave reviews on platforms like Google, Yelp, or specialized education review sites. Highlight the importance of their feedback in helping others make informed decisions.
• Monitor and respond: Regularly monitor reviews and respond promptly to positive and negative feedback. Show that you value feedback and are committed to improvement.
• Showcase reviews: Feature positive reviews on your website, social media, and marketing materials. Highlight specific achievements and success stories.
• Provide incentives: Consider offering incentives like scholarships or discounts to students who leave reviews.

Create Educational Apps

Creating educational apps tailored to your curriculum and goals can set your institution apart and give students a unique learning experience.

These apps offer:

• Customized learning: Educational apps allow you to design learning experiences that align perfectly with your institution’s educational objectives.
• Engagement: Interactive app features, quizzes, and gamification make learning more engaging and enjoyable for students.
• Branding: An educational app with your institution’s branding reinforces your identity and professionalism.
• Accessibility: Apps can provide access to educational resources 24/7, catering to the needs of modern students.
• Innovation: Staying ahead in the education industry often requires embracing technological innovations. Creating educational apps showcases your institution’s commitment to innovation.

When developing educational apps, focusing on user experience, content quality, and ease of use is essential.

Promote Educational Apps

Educational apps have become critical tools for modern learning. Promoting your educational app effectively is key to reaching a wider audience. Here’s how to promote educational apps:

• App store optimization (ASO): Optimize your app store listing with relevant keywords, eye-catching visuals, and informative descriptions.
• Content marketing: Create blog posts, videos, and social media content highlighting your app’s benefits and features.
• In-app advertising: Promote the app within your institution’s ecosystem. Include download links, email communications, and other educational materials on your website.
• Social media campaigns: Run targeted ad campaigns on platforms like Facebook and Instagram to showcase your app’s value.
• Email marketing: Reach out to your existing audience through email newsletters, emphasizing the app’s advantages.
• Landing page: Create a dedicated landing page on your website with detailed information about the app and easy download links.
• Collaborations: Partner with influencers, educational institutions, or industry experts to endorse your app.
• Reviews and ratings: Encourage users to leave positive reviews and ratings on app stores to boost credibility.

By implementing these strategies, you can ensure that your educational app gets the attention it deserves, leading to increased downloads and user engagement.

Promote Safety

Safety and security have taken on a heightened importance in recent years. Assuring students, parents, and staff that your institution is a safe environment is crucial for building trust.

Here are ways to promote safety in your marketing strategy:

• Clear policies: Clearly communicate safety policies and procedures on your website and promotional materials.
• Campus safety tours: Offer virtual or physical campus safety tours to reassure prospective students and parents.
• Testimonials: Encourage current students and parents to share their experiences regarding safety on campus. Authentic testimonials can provide valuable insights and reassure others.
• Emergency preparedness: Highlight your institution’s readiness for emergencies and crisis management.
• Student support: Showcase your institution’s commitment to student safety, including anti-bullying policies and support networks.
• Community engagement: Foster a safe and inclusive community by promoting diversity and inclusion initiatives.

FAQs on Education Marketing

Let’s address some common questions about education marketing:

What is education marketing?

Education marketing involves promoting educational products, services, or institutions to reach and engage the target audience. It encompasses a wide range of techniques and strategies tailored to the unique needs of the education sector.

How do you market an educational application?

Marketing an educational app involves leveraging social media, optimizing app store listings, and creating engaging promotional materials.

How can the education industry increase sales?

The education industry can boost sales by implementing effective marketing strategies, enhancing its online presence, and offering competitive educational products and services.

Why does your educational product or institution need a mobile-friendly website?

A mobile-friendly website ensures that your institution is accessible to a broader audience, including those who use smartphones and tablets for research and inquiries. It enhances user experience and reflects your institution’s commitment to staying current with technology trends.

What is social media marketing for educational institutions?

Social media marketing for educational institutions involves using platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn to connect with students, parents, and alumni. It includes content creation, engagement strategies, and targeted advertising to promote the institution’s offerings and engage the audience effectively.

Oct 26, 2023

I’m an online marketing professional with over 10 years of experience. I have a background in web development and SEO, which I leverage to provide high-quality content strategy and content creation for businesses.

Getting Serious about Content Marketing?

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Recommended reading

Marketing for Manufacturers: Everything You Need to Know

This comprehensive guide will delve into manufacturing marketing, exploring its fundamental concepts, advantages, strategies, challenges, and steps for creating effective campaigns.

How to integrate AI into your marketing strategy

In this article, we’ll explore some ideas for integrating AI into your marketing strategy from marketing experts and offer some tips for getting the most out of your team and your tools.

Top 15 Church Marketing Strategies to Help Grow Your Church

In this guide, we’ll dive deep into 15 sparkling strategies to uplift your church’s outreach. Because, in the end, it’s not just about the number of attendees but the depth of connection.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.

Hi! Based in ? Switch to our local website version here.

• Skip to main content

For Online Courses & Coaches looking to scale their current successes.

We help you scale with Ad Campaigns while you can focus on strategy and running multiple programs.

Increase student enrollment with Ad Campaigns. Engage where your students are.

We help education providers reach potential students with a full-funnel digital recruitment strategy.

• Case Studies

Read the latest articles on everything education marketing.

Get access to tools that help your campaigns become more efficient.

Candid discussions with education marketers, creators & the Think Orion Team

• BOOK A STRATEGY CALL

10 Highly Effective Education Marketing Tips That Work

Over the past few years, the education industry has seen a number of notable changes. Exciting opportunities have been unveiled with modern marketing strategies.

The education realm is constantly evolving. Educational institutions must watch for new trends and technologies to keep up with the continuously changing landscape. Students have become tech-savvy, digitally connected, and much more aware.

To create a highly effective marketing strategy, education marketers must be aware of the latest education marketing tips and examples that can be incorporated to deliver timely messages to the right people.

Here’s why you need to consider why it’s important:

• Establish brand voice tone and maintain community consistency with high-quality content across platforms.
• Building trust and credibility among existing and prospective students who have never heard about your school or university.
• Building relationships by connecting prospective students through storytelling and word-of-mouth.
• Generating organic traffic through search engine algorithms and achieving enrollment goals.
• Achieve cost-effectiveness by maximizing ROI and long-term financial results for the institutes.

But what is setting you apart?

This post will help you explore the top 10 marketing tips and examples for higher education marketers to improve student engagement, boost enrollments, and strategize student recruitment.

Here’s what we’ll unlock in this blog:

• Developing a Consistent Brand Voice
• Establishing a Unique Value Proposition (UVP)
• Engaging in Content Marketing (Blogs, Videos, Webinars)
• Highlighting Success Stories and Testimonials
• Addressing Common Educational Concerns and FAQs
• Collecting and analyzing Student Demographics
• Engaging with Industry Influencers and Thought Leaders
• Hosting Joint Events and Workshops
• Broadcasting Live Q&A Sessions and Webinars
• Hosting Virtual Campus Tours and Orientation

10 Effective Education Marketing Tips

Educational institutions that provide education services require marketing strategies just like any other business to outperform the competition.

Here’s a rundown of 10 highly effective education marketing tips fundamental for the education industry.

1. Developing a Consistent Brand Voice

In today’s crowded place, you need a point of differentiation that helps you stand out. Creating a brand voice tone is the most basic and essential part of your education marketing strategy that sets your schools apart from the competition and resonates with your audience.

A powerful and consistent brand voice cannot go unnoticed. It helps prospective students to identify and quickly connect with the brand, creating brand advocates.

Here are some tips for building your brand’s voice:

• Brand voice must be aligned with your institute’s mission and vision
• Develop a buyer persona as an inspiration for your brand voice
• Review your best-performing content to take note of what your audience resonates with
• Determine a dos and don’ts list for your brand and stick to it
• If necessary, hire a higher education marketing agency or professionals to take your brand game to the next level

Here are some examples from the educational institutions and what their brand voice is like:

• Boston University – Vibrant, smart, bold, and authentic
• University of Guelph – Thoughtful, thought-provoking, inclusive, inviting, colloquial, conversational, friendly, and authoritative
• University of Norte Dame – Focused, timeless, motivating, powerful and truthful

Building strong relationships and emotional connections with your audience requires developing and maintaining a strong brand voice.

2. Establishing a Unique Value Proposition (UVP)

Vague statements like ‘our academics are the best in the state’ or ‘our faculty-to-student ratio is 10:1’ get lost in the crowd. You must communicate your unique value proposition to engage your target audience.

Establishing a UVP that explains why an applicant should choose your school and not any other will help you win the game. This requires understanding your ideal prospective students, their pain points, goals, and how your school can help them accomplish these goals.

Consider these characteristics when developing a UVP:

• Concise statement
• Defines what you do
• Resolves paint point
• Consistency across platforms
• Answer the question: Why your school?
• Backed up social proof

But do you know how to craft a UVP that hits the right cords? Here’s what you can do:

• Put yourself in the student’s shoes and start analyzing an ideal student you aspire to attract.
• Consider their motives for choosing a particular school and identify emotional and rational reasons for making the decision.
• Realign your beliefs and notable selling points, and narrow down characteristics that distinguish your school.
• Re-evaluate your final UVP and how your school fulfills the promise to the prospective students in the long term.

3. Engaging in Content Marketing

Anyone can create content. But content without purpose and goal in mind is useless.

Fresh and engaging content can drive traffic to your site and retain prospective students. Content marketing strategies for educational institutions help them attract prospective students’ attention and fuel engagement.

We’ve come up with a few content marketing tips that ensure engagement.

• Be original, authentic, and confident
• Create actionable content with metrics
• Give accurate and factual information
• Incorporate elements of storytelling
• Keep your audience engaged with thought-provoking content
• Use visuals, as pictures speak more than words
• Hook your audience with a mix of content

For example, MBA Voices is the Harvard Business School blog that provides prospective students insight into academics, student success, faculty, programs, campus life, research, and all other important areas.

Source: MBA Voices

For example, the University of Hertfordshire has a YouTube channel that shares relevant and consistent video content for the targeted audience. This video content enables the University to keep their students updated and on-trend, add perspective, and entice them to make decisions.

Source: University of Hertfordshire

You already know the need for social media marketing for higher education . But you need to know webinars conducted via social media or shared on the platform can immensely impact your school.

You need to promote your events on social media to expand your reach and generate massive clicks.

For example, the University of Manitoba shared a series of Fall Webinars for alums, professionals, and graduate students in AI.  This required registration before attending the webinar.

Source: Un iversity of Manitoba

4. Highlighting Success Stories and Testimonials

Highlighting success stories and testimonials can do wonders if you seek ways to boost student trust and credibility toward your educational institutions.

Social proof is one of the main elements in marketing educational services worldwide. Prospective students need to know the real scenarios and want insights about the school. Follow these tips to create a success story database:

• Create a centralized content document to organize stories
• Categorize stories based on academic, sports, community, scholarship, and other milestones
• Maintain the database by ensuring it stays up-to-date and periodically new stories are added

Once you’ve sorted the stories and created a centralized system, you can now take advantage and leverage stories that will have the most impact on prospective students. Also, there are different ways to highlight these stories and testimonials for existing and future students. Some of the best practices include:

• Creating videos of students sharing their stories
• Having a student blog section on the website
• Showcase student achievements on social media
• Feature alum section on the website and LinkedIn
• Conduct live sessions with graduate students

For example, the University of Newcastle has created an Insta handle specifically for the alum network and community, where they share their life updates, achievements, and success stories. This helps the University boost credibility, gain engagement, and drive enrollment.

Source: University of Newcastle Alumni

5. Addressing Common Educational Concerns and FAQs

Another key concern for prospective students is addressing common educational questions and queries. At this point, the admission department is usually responsible for such questions, and it is the best time to put in all efforts, address their concerns, and clear the pathway to enrollment.

For example, the Royal Docks School of Business and Law at UEL launched a series of videos, clearing FAQs, allowing the students to ask questions, and the University will answer in a video.

Source: Royal Docks School of Business and Law at UEL

6. Collecting and Analyzing Student Demographics

Scaling marketing requires a clear understanding of the latest and modern enrollment trends in higher education . For this, higher education marketers must collect and analyze student demographics. This will give a detailed insight into creating a student persona and set a target audience for the school to direct all marketing activities towards.

Demographic data for an educational institution will include:

• Education level
• Residential environment
• Work experience

Data-driven marketing strategies will help educational institutions make better plans to attract and retain students and generate ROI.

7. Engaging with Industry Influencers and Thought Leaders

Collaborating with industry influencers and thought leaders can take educational services marketing to the next level. It is one of the most valuable tools used to build credibility. As prospective students perceive positive about a thought leader or influencer, their trust is automatically transferred to the brand.

Here’s how it works:

• Identify the suitable topics and audience
• Choose influencers and leaders that suit the best
• Determine goals with them
• Create high-quality content
• Leverage digital channels to share snippets
• Measure and demonstrate the impact
• Evaluate ROI

For example, the University of South Florida has launched a groundbreaking program where students, faculty, and partners collaborate with industry thought leaders nationwide. These thought leaders include innovators, speakers, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, authors, and turn-around artists.

Source: University of South Florida

8. Hosting Joint Events and Workshops

Have you ever considered hosting a joint event to create a touch point for a more prospective student? Co-hosting joint events and workshops can help educational institutions increase brand awareness, boost attendance, expand network, enhance student engagement, and maximize ROI.

With pinched time and resources, co-hosting events and workshops can help higher education lead generation . Follow these tips to ensure a seamless joint event or workshop:

• Determine whether the workshop type is industry-specific, skill-focused, career-oriented, or program-related.
• Establish a common goal and ensure that your target audience remains focused.
• Ensure you prepare for the event or workshop beforehand with everything written, adequately documented, and shared with both parties.
• Keep all the necessary equipment and ensure you have additional tools you might need depending on the nature of the topic.
• Create a well-structured schedule and ensure both parties follow to stay on track and avoid disengagement during the event.
• Incorporate activities that would interest the audience and maintain engagement with short breaks and time to rejuvenate.
• Market your event well beforehand, spread the word, build a visually appealing landing page, communicate through social media, and ask for registration to help you gather data.

For example, Boston University’s Center for Information and Systems Engineering (CISE) hosted a workshop for IBM, Red Hat, and Boston University on cloud computing topics for students and researchers.

Source: Red Hat

9. Broadcasting Live Q&A Sessions and Webinars

To be in contact with your prospective students and address their concerns, live Q&A sessions are the best choice. Broadcasting live sessions enable students to put their doubts in the spotlight, allow schools to answer their questions, and generate value for the brand.

To streamline the Q&A live session, follow these tips:

• Announce live session time and date to allow students to come up with questions
• Plan ahead of time to maintain the live session limit
• Consider possible questions and brainstorm the best answers
• Tackle inappropriate and odd questions gracefully
• Maintain order, define rules, and give an introduction

For example, the University of Suffolk conducted a live and welcome session for students in-person and online through social media.

Source: University of Suffolk

Don’t just make students watch out – deliver something worthwhile. A well-planned webinar can help schools and colleges achieve numerous goals.

But wondering how to keep prospective students engaged during a webinar? Follow these tips:

• Select a compelling topic that interests students
• Choose the right speaker for the webinar
• Focus on the quality of content
• Strive to build a stronger connection with the audience
• Use a proven format and ensure a time limit
• Make sure you test run to avoid technical issues

Pro-tip : Always remember that quality matters over quantity, presenting relevant information and materials that make sense for prospective students.

For example, EU Business School has created a separate webpage for upcoming webinars where students can visit and register themselves.

Source: EU B usiness School

10. Hosting Virtual Campus Tours and Orientation

Whether campus life would be virtual, in-person, or blended, orientation can provide an overall introduction to the school and experience. It allows prospective students to learn about the faculty, programs, and process and talk to the academic advisor.

Here are some simple ways to boost engagement and enrich the student experience during an orientation session.

• Share the orientation program schedule/agenda beforehand
• Communicate orientation expectations and benefits
• Create a great first impression with an energetic welcome
• Connect with students through icebreaker activities
• Build a sense of belonging among new students
• Provide information and resources to students
• Inform them about clubs, groups, and other networking opportunities

For example, the University of Maryland created a webpage for student orientation and transition to welcome them for an exciting journey and introduce them to the traditions.

Source: University of Maryland

Likewise, education marketing strategies must ensure that student engagement and communication are the key elements. And for this, hosting virtual tours has become imperative.

As a proactive step to reach prospective students, here’s why a virtual tour can help you with marketing.

• Reach a global audience in a cost-effective and time-saving way
• Include all your popular programs and exhibit them in an appealing manner
• A virtual tour with a live host will allow students to interact and ask questions
• Share interactive map of the campus through user-navigable maps and images
• Virtual reality tours offer a more experiential way to enter the campus and move around

For example, Ohio University offers an interactive map for students to explore the campus, a virtual tour option, and an interactive tour with a guide.

Source: Ohio University

Education Marketing Tips – FAQs

What is a unique value proposition (uvp) in education marketing.

A unique value proposition in education marketing refers to the distinct and valuable benefits offered by institutions, programs, and services for its target audience that sets them apart from their competitors.

How can I leverage content marketing in education marketing?

Here’s how you can leverage content marketing in education marketing:

• Define your target audience, such as students, parents, and professionals
• Define the goal that you want to achieve through content marketing
• Create relevant and high-quality content
• Optimize your content for SEO and visibility in search engine
• Maintain consistency across platforms and regularly update content
• Add a touch of personalization through storytelling
• Encourage user-generated content by your students and  alumni
• Stay updated with the latest trends and changing preferences
• Add CTAs in your content to guide prospects toward the next step

What role does data-driven marketing play in education marketing?

The role of data-driven marketing in education marketing is as follows:

• Personalization
• Optimization
• Segmentation
• Lead scoring
• Retention strategies
• Predictive analysis
• Conversion rate improvement
• Budget allocation
• Competitor analysis
• ROI measurement
• Prospect profiling
• Alumni Engagement
• Digital strategy enhancement

To Conclude

Of course, this list is not the end, but these education marketing tips will help you refine your strategy and stay ahead of the competition.

Ensure your prospective student stops and takes the required action with the assistance of a higher education branding agency . This requires time and planning to make a long-lasting impression. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a small school or a big institution; these tips fit all sizes.

Rayed is passionate about marketing and interested in learning new ways to hack (legally) marketing platforms to help businesses achieve growth using unconventional methods. Prior to starting Orion, Rayed has worked in various marketing positions and spent millions of dollars across different ad platforms.

• Higher Ed Digital Marketing Strategies:
• Higher Ed SEO Tips
• Higher Ed Social Media Strategies
• Higher Ed Lead Generation Strategies
• How to Promote an Online Course:
• How to Create an Online Course:
• Promote Online Courses Using Social Media:
• Webinars to Promote your Online Courses:
• Digital marketing strategies for Edtech:
• SEO Strategies for Edtech:
• Content Marketing Strategies for Edtech:
• Events Marketing Strategy:
• Promote Virtual Events:
• Social Media Event Marketing:
• How to Promote your Events:

Get your weekly dose of strategies, stories, and insights in one single mail.

The 2025 Complete Guide to: Higher Education Marketing

Discover how to keep up with innovation as the rules of engagement change.

Introduction

• 1 Welcome to the digital age
• 2 The role content marketing plays in the digital age
• 3 The benefits of content marketing for higher education
• 4 Guiding the student journey
• 5 Institutional branding
• 6 Measuring success
• 7 Engage faculty, staff and current students
• 8 Foleon for higher education
• 9 Conclusion

You're probably reading this because, as someone who works in higher education, you know that higher education marketers, recruiters, and communications professionals face challenges that didn't exist years ago. 

As pressures mount, leadership teams do everything they can to be as effective as possible while your teaching methods evolve, classrooms mobilize, strategies modernize, and departments adapt.

By now, universities are already used to accomplishing remarkable things with smaller budgets, staff, and support. Limited resources are nothing new in higher education, and schools have become incredibly proficient at succeeding with limited resources.

So what exactly has changed?

Quite simply, your audiences have.

Sure, countless obstacles complicate and exacerbate the current dynamics. But without a doubt, the most significant change is not the marketing tech, the shrinking applicant pools, or the decline in enrolment. Those are simply byproducts of the difference in your audience's behavior and expectations.

The rules of engagement have changed, the way people communicate has changed, and the way you decide to innovate must change.

Whether your focus is on students or alumni, the speed at which institutions can respond, adapt, and evolve to the ever-changing landscape isn't the same as it was five years ago.

This challenge isn't unique to higher education . Across industries and buyers, marketers struggle to keep up with the new standards of a mobile-first, on-demand, omni-channel, tailored experience. Fierce competition, network effects, and a fragmented media landscape have only poured fuel on the fire.

Most schools have already accepted that things will never be the same. A select group of top schools isn't just accepting this — they're fully embracing it. 

There's a massive opportunity for schools to rise to the occasion, communicate with impact, and share stories that show what makes your school genuinely unique. From your audience's perspective, the time to re-evaluate your communications plan was three years ago.

Both literally and figuratively, the answer to this challenge is not to do more but to do better. But how exactly?

Prioritize your audience's needs and see the future of education marketing in the digital age for what it truly is: an opportunity to close the strategic gap . Technological advancements, data-driven insights, and a more agile, collaborative workflow will allow you to connect and engage with more people. 

With change comes progress and growth so take advantage of it. Don't shy away. Higher education institutions have everything they need to drive meaningful change on a truly global scale for the first time. 

We'll walk you through various strategies, tactics, and examples that some leading institutions have begun to leverage to stand out from the crowd throughout this guide.

Without further ado, we present to you The 2025 Guide to Higher Education Marketing 

1. Welcome to the digital age

There's no denying that the digital age has significantly impacted the way schools and universities communicate effectively, from enrollment to advancement. Adding to this issue, the overall media landscape has dramatically changed for students and education marketers alike. Nowadays, it's almost second nature for people to read something from the palm of their hand even when a printed version is sitting right in front of them.

Of course, print communications will never go away, but its role within your marketing toolkit has already noticeably changed. Unlike the days when students would patiently wait for pamphlets and brochures from their dream schools to arrive in their mailbox, today's students are now taking the initiative to seek out the information they want, when and how they want it.

Nevertheless, universities still rely on older methods that aren't as effective with a new generation of people who are used to getting personalized communications. Institutions across the nation are still slow to adopt technology in this fast tech world. With decreases in tuition revenue and a downward trend in alumni participating in giving, schools must reconsider how they execute their communications plans.

4 reasons why your University should go digital 

• Let your audiences engage how they want (when they want)

Nowadays, students and alumni are used to accessing the information they want. However, they want. Unlike in the past, prospective students' research and selection processes are on-demand and self-directed. Give them a chance to direct their college journey and explore, interact, and converse with their preferred content to their preferences.

• A necessity for the mobile age

We are now living in the reality of a mobile-first world. Mobile-friendliness is no longer an option but a necessity. According to the Global Web Index, the typical digital consumer owns an average of 3.23 devices, and for Gen Zers, it's up to 5. Fifty-five percent of them are on their smartphones for 5+ hours a day, and some universities have even begun catering to their browsing habits with mobile-friendly college applications .

• Visually tell your school's story

There's a reason why digital storytelling is all the rage these days. Most university marketing can sound remarkably similar, so making your brand stand out is important. It's no secret that stories and visuals are scientifically proven to be more memorable and engaging. Using visuals to tell your school's story more authentically can be a huge draw in the age of social media. 

• Use data to make informed decisions

The increasingly competitive admissions landscape means universities can no longer afford to lose out on their leads and prospects to their competitors. Digital content gives universities the power to perform closed-loop reporting . The numbers can be used to further optimize content that is more likely to move leads down the admissions pipeline. This allows progressive institutions to measure, target, and engage.

Key challenges of higher ed marketing 

There is no shortage of challenges to tackle in the ever-changing and increasingly digital world of educational marketing. But change doesn't happen overnight, and implementing something new for the first time can be met with some resistance. With that in mind, we've identified three significant challenges for higher education marketers to focus on overcoming in 2025.

Getting institutional buy-in

Universities will require cooperation from more than a single team or department to innovate strategically, operationally, and technologically. Before you think about shaking up your school's marketing plans, the first step is to unite all units of your institution.

Whether that means getting approval from your board of trustees or your finance department, every function must be aligned to ensure your institution will move forward to facilitate this new plan.

Slow-tech adoption

Any large organization that has relied on legacy technology and tools for a long time can be susceptible to slow technology adoption, and universities are no exception. Transferring old information to a new system can be time-consuming. It's easy to understand why your marketing department can be hesitant to switch to a new CRM tool. Reluctance to change , an overwhelming variety of solutions, and cost are all barriers to adopting new tools.

Since most institutions are slow to adopt new technologies, this provides an opportunity for your school to have a unique advantage in executing marketing plans for the new generation.

Gonzaga University increased the ability to handle after-hour support requests by 71% within one month of the few schools that do. Additionally, the tool offered users information about the university even before setting foot on campus.

Unforgettable brand traits

Higher education marketing has its own aesthetic . Taglines such as "more than an education" and "start here" is commonly used to promote an institution. Admittedly, it's hard for your university to stand out if you're making general statements and sound like any other institution.

These statements will not work on Gen Z, who have the most refined lie detectors of all generations and will see right through irrelevant information. Growing up in the age of social media, they crave authentic storytelling and digital experiences, so don't be afraid to dive specifically into what makes your school unique.

3 traits of an unforgettable brand

Your university must stand out and be more memorable to stay top of mind with younger audiences. For your university to be unforgettable, your brand should be:

• Based on values rather than attributes
• Connect with audiences on an emotional Level
• Tell stories with rich details that bring them to life

If you want to stand out from the "start here" language that dominates most university marketing, your brand manual is the first place to start. A brand manual allows you to have a centralized resource to refer to when creating marketing collateral and ensures you have guidelines. This white paper is an excellent place to start if you want tips on strengthening your brand identity and creating a top-notch brand manual.

How Foleon can help

Foleon helps top brands conquer content overload and communicate more effectively by providing tools to produce engaging, personalized content experiences.

Replace your PDFs with smart web publications that are mobile-friendly, interactive , and measurable.

With our intuitive platform and suite of templates, you can shed your dependence on designers and quickly produce visually immersive content that looks great on any device.

Drive enrolment, boost student engagement, raise new funds, and get the data-driven insights you need to optimize your content and grow your ROI continually.

To learn more about how other top institutions use Foleon to connect with prospects, students, and alumni, visit Foleon for Higher Education .

2. The role content marketing plays in the digital age

From recruiting materials to research papers, content has long played a significant role in helping universities attract students and engage with people in the academic world. But as reading habits change, the content should too.

In today's digital age, direct mail and print materials are no longer the primary content sources. As the demand for digital content increases, companies turn to content marketing to create their media. In fact, content marketing produces 3 times more leads at a fraction of the cost relative to other channels.

What used to work: 

• Direct Mail
• Generic Websites
• Program Pamphlets
• Print Magazines
• Flippable PDFs
• Generic Newsletters
• Broadcast Email

What works now

• Personalized Content
• Virtual experiences
• Videos & Social Media
• Interactive Content
• Mobile Apps
• Tailored newsletters
• Personalized, triggered email

Some higher education marketers are beginning to jump on the content marketing bandwagon with that in mind. From podcasts to video series, schools are getting creative about how to better engage with their audiences.

To further your position as a pioneer of higher education, your institution needs to keep up with modern-day technologies and leverage them to maximize the return on your university's communications efforts.

Take a look at some statistics to get an idea of why you should ramp up your content marketing efforts.

Going digital: Where it all started

Most higher education marketers would agree that the print materials that they have long relied upon aren't nearly as effective nowadays. As competition increases, universities that can engage with students and prospects on their terms are the ones that are positioned to stay ahead.

But how do universities go about creating digital content at such a scale?

Back in the '90s, when schools first transitioned to digital publishing, PDFs were the standard for digital collateral. Many universities and business organizations still use them for their communications. But because they've been around for more than a quarter of a century, PDFs are no longer suited to the modern digital reader.

Can you remember the last time you read a PDF on mobile? I can't, and for a good reason, PDFs require you to pinch and zoom, which is not something you want your readers to do.

They are inaccessible and hard to read on smaller screens. These are important factors to consider if you will appeal to Gen Z and your Millennial alumni. Additionally, PDFs aren't measurable, interactive, or media-friendly.

Whether you're targeting alumni, faculty, or prospective students, you want to ensure you're producing quality content that engages and drives them to act toward your goals. We'll show you why content marketing is the best way for you to stand out and capture your audience's attention.

Discover:  How to Create Effective Education Brochures

3. The benefits of content marketing for higher education 

From outbound to inbound.

It's no question that traditional, outbound methods quickly lose their effectiveness. Students and alumni don't want to be told what to do; they want to discover it themselves.

Today's audiences are smart and take the time to evaluate before buying products and services. You must entice your readers with valuable content to keep them coming back — and that's exactly what content marketing is .

Leading with value 

As previously mentioned, valuable content is key to securing a prospect's interest and starting their journey down your marketing funnel. In exchange for your prospect's time and attention, give them valuable content to keep them coming back to you for more.

Consider what questions they are asking, the information they need, the challenges they have, and the solutions you can offer across every stage of the journey.

Flexibility and agility

Relative to print, content marketing can be seen as your swiss army knife, ready to be whipped out at just a moment's notice. Unlike the 8.5x11 page, you have complete flexibility over the type of content you can create, such as the structure, format, visuals, layout & length.

Why does that matter? It's because some people prefer visual stories (infographics, slides), some video stories (YouTube, GIFs), some audio (podcasts, webinars), and others with varying degrees of text (short-form, long-form, eBook ). On this level, traditional offline formats can't compete.

Longer shelf-life

Every institution is trying to maximize resources, including content creation, distribution, and everything in between. Digitizing is the best way to preserve your content archive, allowing them to live forever online rather than get thrown out. You will get more bang for your buck, but you can repurpose, revise, and update assets more efficiently.

Distribution

Imagine a world where all it takes for anyone from anywhere to view your content is merely hitting the publish button. Unlike print materials, which require you to mail them, your content will be live for anyone with an internet connection. The future of distribution lies in multi-channel publishing. Think mobile, tablet, desktop, and social — all at the click of a button.

Accessibility

ADA compliance and increased scrutiny over digital accessibility have become a growing challenge for schools nationwide. Since most publishing formats being used by schools, such as PDFs and Flipbooks , are not ADA compliant, many schools are on the hunt for more compliant formats. This is becoming a top priority for higher education marketers to address with lawsuits on the rise in 2019 and beyond.

Content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing methods but generates three times as many leads. If there's a better method that will save you money, why not go for it?

Ask any marketer how they feel about metrics, and their eyes will surely sparkle with joy. Then ask any marketers about measuring their content's effectiveness , and their needs will begin to clam up.

Every marketer knows that the future of marketing is rooted in data-driven growth. To truly scale an effective marketing team, you need to understand what works and why. From conversions to engagement, your ability to turn data into insights is the quickest path to predictable, scalable growth

According to LinkedIn, interactive content generates 4-5x more page views than static content. Unlike static PDFs or print materials, interactive content lets you embed vibrant visuals, media, and animations that breathe life into your collateral . With this in mind, your interactive content also generates twice as many conversions as passive content.

For more information on how to build and apply a content marketing strategy, click here . 

4. Guiding the student journey 

Suppose your ideal prospect — perfect grades, strong test scores, a well-rounded mix of extracurricular activities — showed up on your campus. Would you let them wander around by themselves or give them a guided tour to pique their curiosity? It should be no different digitally. Engaging prospects early in their decision process is key to ensuring you have high-quality student leads.

To drill this point home, let's consider three scenarios where a prospect lands on your website on mobile from the Google Search results page to learn about your business program. Assuming your site loads quickly enough, you might find yourself in these three scenarios.

• Visitor lands on a gated landing page where they can request more info (static)
• Visitor lands on a landing page with a flippable program brochure (originally a PDF)
• Visitor lands on a digital publication, interactive program brochure (responsive)

Scenario A is most common but risks the highest chance that readers will bounce from the site since you haven't yet established enough trust or value to warrant an email. Scenario B is also common but limits the prospect of finding the information they need without flipping through every page. But Scenario C is where you want to be. Why?

It's the best approach that reflects how Gen Zers prefer to engage and consume content - visual, responsive, on-demand, and interactive . Most importantly it's much more engaging than passive or gated static content . Just like in the real world, first impressions do matter. 

As the recruiting environment quickly evolves, having an effective and measurable acquisition strategy will help your school stay ahead in finding the best applicants. Because generating leads is in the early stages of student acquisition, it's a good idea to create some top-of-the-funnel content that your prospects can find, such as the following:

• Admissions microsites
• Program brochures
• Admissions guides
• Course catalogs
• Student stories, insights, and testimonials
• Alumni spotlights, features, and interviews
• Faculty profiles and video introductions
• Orientation guides

The good news is that these materials are something your university and many others have long been creating. They're also effortless to optimize for closed-loop reporting when you publish them digitally.

Unlike print brochures that may convert some leads or wind up in the recycling bin (you'll never know), digital brochures and interactive admission guides let you integrate forms to track lead information, which helps you establish the first step of your student's journey.

Learn from the best: our top picks

Babson college | "the entrepreneurs" video series.

As part of "The Entrepreneurs" campaign, Babson College created testimonies of successful alumni and entrepreneurial pursuits. Edited in the style that's reminiscent of those used by film trailers, these 2-minute videos have a unique edge, unlike the standard video Q&A.

Rhode Island School of Design | Website

This website looks more like a fashion brand's website than a university website. For RISD, this is an excellent thing because it shows their design consciousness as an art school. The colorful images stand out against the black background. Minimal use of text makes the information easy to process and the website a breeze to navigate.

UC Merced | Interactive Admissions Brochure

UC Merced's interactive admissions brochure allows prospects to get information, view social media pages, and even apply for admissions directly from the brochure itself.

5. Institutional branding

During the college application season, high school seniors will only apply to a handful of universities out of thousands. Creating a strong brand identity ensures your university will stand out and have the edge it needs to make that shortlist.

Universities tend to focus on similar ideas around "building leaders of the future" or "preparing students to contribute to society" in their marketing communications. Still, these are very bland and generic phrases. Any institution can prepare students to do these things. You must find your unique edge to show how your university is the perfect choice for students, and you can achieve that with a solid brand identity.

For big institutions with multiple specialty colleges, tailoring your mission, vision, and values (MVM) statement to align with an individual school is a good start. You'll be able to show how each college reflects your school's overall MVM statement at a more granular level.

Positioning

Many organizations confuse positioning for branding, but they are not the same. Your positioning statement is how you differentiate from your competitors. In other words, positioning is more about occupying a market space that fulfills an unmet need. Before revisiting your positioning statement, do some research on how your competitors are delivering their content and messaging around similar offerings.

For example, many universities now offer online graduate programs, be it an MBA, MS, or JD. But if your school is the only institution to offer an accelerated JD/MBA program, use that to your advantage.

You can't create a positioning statement without knowing what's currently in the market, especially if the competition is fierce. You must stay on par with and ahead of your competitors. The more you can show you are the only option that meets your prospects' needs, the more likely they are to show interest in your institution.

At the center of every institutional brand is a mission, vision, and set of values. Understanding your school's purpose and personality will help you differentiate yourself from your competitors.

Showing how your students, alumni, and faculty embody your values will help your university build more credibility. Your brand will shine more authentically that resonate with your core audiences.

Discover: 4 Trends Shaping the Future of Higher Education Marketing and Design

6. Measuring success

Creating goals around your content objectives

Even if your community enthusiastically engages with your school online, your content will mean nothing if it doesn't lead to any outcomes. It's great if you can share your content across your social media channels. The more you have, the longer your content calendar will last.

But it's even better if those posts have a goal attached to them. If you're hosting an alumni meetup, create content related to or leading up to that event and include the appropriate calls to action. This will help you analyze the turnout at your events and determine whether or not promoting it through social media was a good investment.

Segment, Test, & Adapt

Tailor your content to each group to get the most engagement from your audiences. Segmenting your audience is the first step before you begin distributing your collateral .

Consider A/B testing your websites and landing pages once you're ready to put it all out there, consider A/B testing your websites and landing pages. Eighty percent of high school juniors and seniors rank an institution's website as the most influential resource when exploring schools.

This means that schools need to ensure that the design and messaging speak directly to their ideal student profiles. Institutions need to refrain from using the typical stale and static messaging that can quickly get lost in a pile.

Focus on delivering an experience that cuts through the noise by showing what makes your school genuinely unique. In addition to establishing your brand, universities need to ensure that they present the information that prospects value most.

Even if you can't devote all your resources to A/B testing, you can still make minor changes to your content for each test. It can be as simple as changing the wording of your call to action button or reordering the components of your forms.

Once you have collected your data, you'll begin to see a pattern of what works and what doesn't. Use this to weed out the less effective copy or layouts and continue to adapt the ones that work best for your future digital marketing efforts.

Setting goals and measuring success

When it comes to marketing, setting goals can be a little complex. Some prospects require more nudging than others before they eventually convert, so developing strategies around your digital content can be challenging.

One way to combat this is by having a closed-loop reporting system on your campaigns. That means setting goals that you can measure with key performance indicators (KPIs) . Knowing your media's exact returns, leads, and conversions can help you strategically invest in content that guarantees ROI .

Unlike traditional media formats such as billboards and television ads, online content can be updated continuously and has smart targeting features. Institutions should leverage user data to learn and improve results over time. Having this data allows you to be accountable and prove your results to all your key stakeholders.

7. Engage faculty, staff and current students

Despite your success in wooing prospects into applying to your school, your job is not entirely done yet. In the past few years, many schools have invested a significant amount of resources into improving their student's experiences, and rightfully so.

You need to nurture and support student and faculty relationships from enrollment to graduation day. Additionally, schools realize the importance of building an internal community that fosters inclusiveness and participation. After all, your staff, faculty, and students represent your institution.

Internal communications can be tricky. Like it or not, your internal communications materials are competing with cat GIFs, BuzzFeed quizzes, and news articles. You are trying to get your audience's attention, but you also want to keep all members of your school community informed and aligned with relevant information.

Typically, university communications come in the following formats:

• Student newsletters
• Faculty newsletters
• Annual reports
• Staff magazines
• Event marketing collateral
• Faculty onboarding handbook

Whether your materials are aimed at students or staff, the one thing they should all do is energize and empower your school community to represent your school best.

Discover:  Creative Brochure Examples for Students

Making students and alumni brand ambassadors

The best way to boost conversation and buzz around your university is by building social proof. And there's no better way than collecting testimonials from your vast network of faculty, staff, students, and alumni who already have a connection to your institution.

Interviewing your network is also an excellent way for you to keep in touch with them from time to time. Taking a journalistic approach to your marketing and sharing stories from an angle will help you break through the content noise.

Thanks to the proliferation of social media, Millennials and Gen Zers are experts in all things digital and social media. You can leverage their affinity for social sharing to promote your school's successes.

Encourage alumni to share university content with their networks

Graduation and college photos can evoke nostalgia. Encourage your alumni to share this kind of content with their networks. Their friends, family members, and colleagues are likelier to find value in their social proof than via Google search. Their positive associations with your school will create opportunities for your school to reach more prospective students.

Enable alumni to be your best advocates by capturing unique testimonials and stories

To attract your incoming class of Gen Z students, enable alumni to be your best advocates by capturing unique testimonials and stories. This can build enough credibility for your school. Luckily, Millennials love posting on social media, which makes your recent alumni the perfect candidates to recommend your school to Gen Z. You will have plenty of user-generated content to fuel your marketing machine in no time.

8. Foleon for higher education

After spending a lot of time coming up with content, researching it, and writing it, it's time to publish. But that doesn't mean the hard work is over. 

It's important to promote what you have and develop a strategy that helps create traffic and raise your brand awareness.

There are a variety of options when it comes to the content promotion that you should be using. Let's deep dive into some of them: 

Social Media

Social media is the place to start and build conversations with your audience (around your company and niche) and it allows you to reach more people at once.

You can share your content directly to your own or someone else's page. You can also communicate with the groups that you’re in. This means that you have an infinite number of ways to share on social media.

Social media is also how most content becomes viral. Just think of memes, videos, hashtags, etc.

Here are some social media promotion tips: 

• Target specific people with mentions and tagging
• Cross-post, but change up the messaging for each platform

On Your Blog

Your content has to live somewhere, and there's no place better for it than your blog.

Your blog acts as your content hub. Articles, brochures , eBooks , etc., can live here. Your blog is also a great way of sharing updates on new services or products set to launch.

It's essential to keep your blog as relevant as possible by doing regular content audits. No one wants to see an article published years ago. Keeping your content up-to-date can be enough to get people to redistribute it.

Tips for promoting on your blog:

• Update outdated or irrelevant information
• Promote guest post content
• Write a roundup

Email Broadcast

You likely have a newsletter or an email drip campaign which are great places to share your content. 

Newsletters mostly have the main message and then relevant articles linked throughout. While readers may not click on all the links, they may be intrigued if something catches their eye.

You may have also seen some people share a recent guide or webinar in their email signature before. Again, people may be intrigued enough to click on it, and at the very least, they know it exists.

Ideas for sharing your content via email:

• Drip campaigns
• Email signatures

Guest Posts

You can earn your backlinks by contributing to roundups and guest posting.

If you can find a non-competing company with similar customers to yours, you can write content that will benefit them and help drive traffic back to your content. For instance, you could add the link to your blog in your author bio. 

With guest posting, you have the potential to discuss relevant new content and have the opportunity to promote your content and build a new audience while doing so. 

You can also build up your authority in the space because you're more likely to be found in searches through guest posting, which can build up your audience's trust in you. This could lead to more guest post requests, and in turn, greater content promotion opportunities for you. 

Tips for getting a guest post:

• Make sure to bookmark blogs that guest writers are on
• Contribute to roundups when you can
• Ask partners if they'd be keen to do a guest swap with you

You may have to pay to promote specific content on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. Display ads are an option for getting your content seen by more people.

A paid post is worth exploring because you can target who sees it. In most cases, these all fall under pay-per-click (PPC). This essentially means that even though many people may see your ad, you only have to pay only when someone clicks on your post.

You might want to consider driving paid ad traffic to a landing page so that you can get your audience to engage with your content. 

Here are some tips on how to create paid ads that help with promoting content:

• Use high-ranking keywords
• Set yourself a budget per month or quarter, and choose who you want to target
• Make sure your ad copy is compelling
• Drive traffic to a landing page first

Promoting your content is essential because it creates brand recognition and awareness, enables you to become a part of the conversation, and makes it easier for others to share your content too. 

9. Conclusion

Higher education marketing has come a long way since the days when recruiters used to visit their prospect's homes. As the world increasingly adapts itself to the new generation of mobile-first digital natives, so should your content.

Leveraging it to maximize your reach and minimize costs lets you tell your institution's story and help new audiences experience a visual and narrative journey before they set foot on your campus. 

Industry Solutions

Foleon for higher education.

Surpass admissions targets and exceed your fundraising goals.

See your brand in a Foleon Doc

Want to see your content in a Foleon Doc without lifting a finger? Here's your chance! Let us create a mock-up that's packed with media-rich features — just for you.

Why Your Company Needs Education Marketing Strategies: a Masterclass

The education market is a growing industry, accelerated by the unprecedented adoption of technology since 2020. Technology has impacted how people learn and teach. And it's contributed to new innovative solutions and competition for education companies.

The education market is unique for businesses selling into schools. There are tight budgets, various stakeholders, and long sales cycles to consider.

Marketing that turns on and off isn't successful for education businesses. Instead, thoughtful, effective education marketing strategies help education companies continually reach customers, despite competition and hard to reach buyers.

Like building a house, successful marketing strategies take some time to design and plan. A marketing strategy framework is the most important - it sets the foundation for scalable marketing capabilities.

In this five-part education marketing strategy masterclass, we'll walk you through the key components of a successful marketing strategy framework.

Lesson #1 Why Your Company Needs Education Marketing Strategies

Lesson #2 Attracting the Right Customers with Buyer Personas and Messaging

Lesson #3 Why Marketing Campaigns Fail

Lesson #4 What is a Marketing Stack?

Lesson #5 How to Structure a Marketing Team for Your Small Business

What is Marketing Strategy?

Why do you need education marketing strategies, 5 education marketing strategies.

Wondering what the difference is between a marketing strategy and a marketing tactic ? That's a common question. There are over 800 Google searches each month on the topic! A marketing tactic is what people commonly refer to when they talk about marketing. It's all of the marketing activities you interact with as a consumer. A marketing tactic is an email, Facebook posts from a company, a whitepaper you download, or an ad see you. They are small and short-term.

A marketing strategy is what connects all of those individual marketing activities. For example, a whitepaper you download is part of a marketing strategy to promote a company's thought leadership. The company likely also has blog posts, webinars, and social media posts on the same topic. The marketing strategy connects many tactics into a high-level integrated plan.

You need to plan a marketing strategy framework and its related education marketing strategies because of the complex way people buy. When you understand what's behind buying behavior, you will communicate to potential customers in the right way, at the right times, in the right places.

Professor Kit Yarrow has been researching consumer buying behavior for 20 years. Her latest research has found two new trends in why consumers are motivated to buy. The first is because of FOMO (fear of missing out). FOMO comes into play when they see a bargain or an exclusive deal; they don't want to be left out, so they buy. Her research has also found that people are motivated by doing business with companies that meet their personal values. In marketing, this translates to establishing a brand that appeals to the right people.

But before someone takes out their credit card, there is time spent researching which brand or product to buy. You have probably heard about the marketing funnel, an upside-down pyramid showing the decision-making buying process. A more realistic visual is McKinsey's consumer decision journey , which shows this process is more fluid than a linear funnel. It has six phases:

Trigger (awareness): When someone first realizes they have a pain point or need.

Initial Consideration Set: They think about what brands or products they already know of that can help them.

Active Evaluation: They research online or ask friends and colleagues and evaluate all options.

Moment of Purchase: They buy.

Postpurchase Experience: They use the product and decide if they would buy again.

Loyalty or back to the Initial Consideration Set: Depending on how positive their experience was, they will buy again, or they will go back to research other solutions.

The amount of time spent in this consumer journey varies. It's shortest for low-priced B2C purchases, longer for B2B purchases. In the education sector, when selling to a school or company, the B2B buying cycle can be six months to two or more years because of the number of people involved in the buying process and the amount of oversight that goes into budgets and expenses.

As a company, it's necessary to structure your education marketing strategies around this consumer decision journey. Your marketing needs to speak to people at all stages - from when they first realize they have a problem to the moment they are ready to buy. There is a buyer in every stage at any moment in time, which is why tactical marketing is not effective. If you're focused solely on trade shows, for example, you're only going to capture people who are in the evaluation stage. You're missing out on other potential buyers who are just realizing they have a problem.

There's another reason why tactical marketing doesn't work. People are inundated with hundreds of messages per day. They need to see and hear from you multiple times before noticing your company or product. It takes six to eight marketing touches to generate a lead ready for a sales team . That means you need to get your brand in front of them wherever they are - in their inbox, on their phone, on the web, at an event, etc. And as you're doing that, be consistent in how you're communicating your brand so that they realize it's the same company they keep seeing. Make sure you are sharing a consistent logo, colors, and messaging.

Here are five education marketing strategies, proven to work for a range of education businesses - selling to companies and L&D professionals, universities and professors, K12 schools and teachers, and parents.

1. Create a content marketing system

Content marketing is an effective marketing strategy for businesses selling to schools and other companies. It also works well for schools recruiting students. In these scenarios, the process of making a decision on what to buy and from where takes time. Making a high-priced purchase, especially one that will impact large groups of students or employees, takes time because the buyer needs to trust the company they are buying from.

Good salespeople build trust. Marketing can support the sales process by building trust at a greater scale than a one-on-one sales conversation. By sharing content, including videos, blog posts, images, or case studies, marketing can showcase the company's expertise and experiences. This content fuels a demand generation system that produces leads and nurtures them into buyers throughout the consumer decision journey.

Tracom Group is a B2B corporate training company that uses content marketing. On their website, they post to a blog and have a range of resources, including infographics, whitepapers, success stories, and videos. They also co-host webinars with respected industry groups and share links, short video clips, and graphics on social media. These pieces of content don't focus on promoting their services. They provide helpful information to potential buyers to get to know the company's expertise.

2. Run online advertising for acquisition and retargeting

If you have the budget, investing in advertising can help you stay in touch with people when they are actively researching where to buy. By advertising on Google, you can pay for your ad to show up at the top of the search results for specific keywords you bid on. If those keywords mention the type of product you're selling, you'll get quality traffic to your website. When someone gets to your website, you will want to drive them to purchase or provide their email in return for a piece of content or product demo so that you can follow-up with them.

Another powerful advertising strategy is to run retargeting ads. Those are the ads that show up on websites or in your social media feeds for products you were looking at on another website. You can serve those ads to people who visited certain pages of your website with messages that encourage them to return to your site by reinforcing your value proposition or providing a discount or deadline to buy.

Boston University runs both Google search ads and retargeting ads. When searching for "robotics degree Boston," an ad shows up for their degree program. That ad drives to a streamlined landing page made specifically for advertising. It highlights the program's key selling points and includes a form at the top of the page to provide your email address in return for a fact sheet. After leaving the website, they serve ads for their Robotics degree on other Google network websites.

3. Nurture and upsell leads with marketing automation

One of the most underutilized tools for companies is a marketing automation tool. There are many of them on the market, like ActiveCampaign or Keap. If you have a tool for emailing your customers, look to see if they offer marketing automation. Marketing automation is essentially emailing to the next level. The tool allows you to automate emails to send after a certain amount of time or based on interactions, like after a purchase was made or after someone clicked on an email.

With many of these tools, you can also integrate other ways of getting in touch with prospects and customers, like sending an SMS or serving them a Facebook ad. Marketing automation offers ways to segment and personalize messages, like a SaaS edtech company sending an automated email to a customer when they visit the website's pricing page. For B2B companies, marketing automation tools provide you with data around who is engaging the most so your sales team can focus on who to follow-up with.

Outschool , an edtech company offering online K-12 classes, uses marketing automation to stay in touch with customers and upsell them to take more classes. For new customers, they send an automated welcome series of emails covering FAQs, tips, and links to resources to connect with other parents. They continue to stay in touch with customers after their first purchase by sending personalized emails with recommended courses based on the child's age and interests provided when the profile was set-up, along with a discount code for taking another course or referring friends.

4. Build a community of ambassadors

Word of mouth is powerful. 86% of adults in a survey state that they trust friends, family, and colleagues for recommendations when shopping . There has been a lot of emphasis on the customer experience in recent years, with companies hiring teams to focus on just that. People who have positive experiences with the buying process and in using the product will buy again and recommend it to friends.

One way to support word of mouth with marketing is by building a community of ambassadors. Ambassadors are your best customers. They are the people who purchase with you repeatedly, refer people to you, and support you at events or on social media. Thank them for their support by creating a community that connects them and provides them with perks related to your product. Educators and parents are especially interested in connecting with other people like them and willing to engage in a community.

Quizlet , an online study aid, has an ambassador community for teachers who love Quizlet. They are encouraged to share their expertise at their school and at professional development opportunities. They are also asked to post about Quizlet on their social media. In return, ambassadors get access to an online forum with other teachers like them, coaching from Quizlet employees, beta testing of new features, and Quizlet swag. Teachers fill out an application to join.

5. Test pricing strategies

Everyone likes getting a deal. Whether you are selling to a parent buying an educational service for their child or an administrator signing a 6-figure contract, giving them a discount or extra benefits will help close the deal. There are many pricing strategies, and it's worth putting together a plan to test which has the most significant impact on your sales.

The most popular for edtech companies is the multi-tiered good-better-best strategy presenting three pricing options. For B2C companies, test out different discount amounts, including percent discounts vs. dollar discounts or discount amounts based on the value of a shopping cart. For B2B companies, highlight "added-value" benefits to what you're selling, like a dedicated customer service team, training sessions for staff, or early access to new features.

Masterclass offers online courses taught by celebrities, accessed with an annual subscription. They have tested various price promotions and continually make small changes to their website to perfect how to display their price. Over the holidays, they offered a buy one, get one half off promotion to encourage gift-giving. They also run ads on social media promoting discounts, and they regularly test pricing strategies and price placements on the website. For example, on their homepage, the monthly price has been displayed above and below the form, and they've tested a banner with a 30-day guarantee.

Recent Posts

2 Things Businesses Need to Attract the Right Customers: Buyer Personas and Messaging

Why Do Marketing Campaigns Fail?

What is a Marketing Stack? And Does My Small Business Need It?