The United States has roughly 600,000 daycare centers, 32,000 private schools, 75,000 trade and technical schools, and 6,000 institutions of higher learning.
These statistics suggest one thing: Marketing within the education sector is essential. It’s the best way for schools to drum up interest among prospective students.
The top education marketing agencies? can help you build brand awareness, but you shouldn’t rely solely on them. You also need to know the best practices for successful education marketing.
Check them out here.
Identifying Your Target Audience
Who exactly is your school’s target audience? If you don’t know or your answer is vague (e.g., “anyone who wants to learn”), change this before implementing any education marketing strategies.
Even the best digital marketing strategies won’t do much good if you don’t have an audience in mind. Identify your school’s target audience and make it as specific as possible.
For example, the ideal audience for your K-12 private school is probably the parents of prospective students within your city. However, you should also take things a step further by targeting those who:
- Make a certain amount of money
- Want their Gen Z children to get a certain type of education (religious, STEM-focused, etc.)
- Have children with special needs
Engaging Your Audience With Content Marketing
Identifying your target audience is crucial but is only half the battle.
You must also generate marketing materials that resonate. Implementing a strong content marketing strategy for your website is an effective way to do just that.
Begin creating high-quality content like:
- Blog posts
- Service pages
- eBooks
- Case studies
- “How to” guides
Your school should also do more than crank out generic content to appease search engines. In addition to creating content for search engine optimization, you should create engaging content that informs and offers unique value.
Provide content that addresses your audience’s needs and touches on their pain points to produce the best results.
Connecting With Your Audience Through Social Media Marketing
About three-fourths of Americans use social media regularly. This illustrates why you should incorporate social media marketing into your education marketing efforts.
Sign up for social media platforms to connect with your audience. The best social media channels for marketing are:
- X
- TikTok
Post relevant content on social media platforms consistently and give it purpose.
Is your goal to target potential students’ parents? Share stats that put your academic institution in a positive light.
Is your goal to target working parents and convince them to enroll in online courses? Share how-to videos featuring current students who are also in this position explaining how to overcome work-life balance issues.
To boost engagement, you can even run daycare, private school, or college promotions and contests on social media.
Holding Your Audience’s Attention With Video Marketing
Video marketing is a fantastic way to capture more attention from your audience. It’s also an excellent way to showcase your beautiful daycare center, college campus, or other educational facility. Even an online learning academy may benefit from video marketing by walking prospective students through its digital interfaces.
Short-form videos will allow your audience to learn about everything from your school’s faculty members to its success stories.
Providing Your Audience With Transparency by Managing Online Reviews
Unfortunately, you cannot control what past and current students might write about your institution while leaving online reviews. However, you have the power to manage these online reviews to ensure they’re helping your school.
For instance, you can seek out online reviews left by students, collect positive testimonials, and incorporate them into your website. You can also respond to negative reviews to show your commitment to customer service.
Delivering Relevant Information to Your Audience With Email Marketing
Email is an incredible marketing tool for schools that generate online leads in the digital age. Whenever someone expresses interest in your school, ask for their email address to stay connected with email marketing campaigns.
Generate a list of email addresses for current students, too. This will enable your school to send out important updates and possibly improve its student retention rate.
You shouldn’t bombard students with too many emails, but sending one each week will keep your school front of mind. Many colleges do this as part of student recruitment admissions strategies.
Capturing More of Your Audience With Paid Digital Advertising
Many education marketing strategies won’t cost much money. If, however, you have a marketing budget to spend, think about investing in paid digital advertising.
A few great educational tools for schools that can afford paid digital advertising are:
- Google Ads
- Facebook Ads
- YouTube Ads
Any of these will enable you to target those searching for specific keywords online.
Tools like Google Analytics provide real-time, data-driven insights highlighting these campaigns’ success.
Start Taking Advantage of the Top Education Marketing Strategies
Whether you’re opening a brand-new private school or one of the many higher-education marketers working at universities, a winning content or social media marketing strategy could get potential students buzzing about your school and establish its online presence.
Need help deciding which of the best education marketing strategies you should use first? Connect with top marketing agencies and stay on top of the latest education marketing trends, including curriculum marketing, today!
FAQs
Have more questions about education marketing campaigns? Look for answers below.
Is Education Marketing Necessary?
Education marketing is necessary for daycare centers, private schools, colleges, and even e-learning platforms. Without an education marketing plan, your school may struggle to generate enough interest in its educational services.
Should I DIY My Education Marketing Efforts or Hire a Marketing Agency To Help?
You can DIY your education marketing efforts if you have a strong background in marketing and know how to implement strategies like the ones found here. Otherwise, hiring one of the top marketing agencies will provide access to industry experts who understand how to identify and target new audiences.
How Much Do Education Marketing Services Cost?
The cost of education marketing services will vary based on which services you choose, how much work is involved in marketing campaigns, and how long you want campaigns to last.
