The new year brings new opportunities and challenges to school marketers.
As marketing is evolving, staying ahead of the curve is imperative for increasing admissions and open-day sign-ups.
Engagement With Community Online
The communication with parents has changed dramatically. Millennial parents are different from older generations.
Parents are getting more actively involved online. This is why building communities online can help your School nurture communication with prospective parents.
You can leverage tools like Facebook groups for initiating conversations, event sharing, and posting highlights of your School community.
AI-generated Content
AI changes the way that as marketers we generate content. GPT-3 (the powerful free version generation model developed by OpenAI) created a buzz as it generates human-like text by using a few prompts – making it useful if you want to create long-form content like blog articles.
Semrush also offers a free AI Text Generator where you can choose to craft articles, blog outlines, social media posts, ads or even email copy.
Though these tools can be useful and save you time, you should always focus on creating content tailored to the needs of your audience and be authentic.
Being authentic always gives you points when it comes to effectively connecting with prospective families.
Google Search Generative Experience
Google Search Generative Experience (SGE) was first introduced in May 2023 with the goal of supplementing search results with AI-assisted insights.
It gives you summaries of what you’re looking for, displaying them as a compilation of sources at the top of the search results.
These results appear above any other sources that rank high and this impacts your organic growth.
Semrush recently gave us an article where it details more information on how to prepare for the changes and what the introduction of SGE brings.
Google Ads Automation
As Google Ads increasingly rely on AI tools for ad creation and optimization, school marketers must ensure their campaigns align with their overarching marketing goals.
Tools like Google Ads Smart Bidding can help you automate bid adjustments.
Strategic marketing
With more tools in the market and content creation, becoming more strategic is critical to make your School distinct from its competitors.
Tools like Brandwatch allow you to monitor brand sentiment and compare your School to your competitors.
This will enable you to develop a strong and consistent brand identity that resonates with your target audience.
Being intentional can help you reach your desired outcome, increasing the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns.
Short form videos
Short-form videos are gaining popularity. 50% of people say that short-form video is the most engaging type of social media content.
Short-form videos bridge the gap in communication between customers and brands.
It’s a great opportunity for your School to share, listen, and learn from its audience.
PPC to generate high-quality leads
PPC ads continue to be one of the most powerful ways for your School to generate open-day sign-ups.
By retargeting families and students who have shown an interest in your School, directing them to the right pages for applications, and booking their space for your open days you can increase your School’s admissions.
Rather than relying on increasing your website traffic organically, PPC ads give you the chance to more precisely target your audience based on certain criteria such as demographics or age.
The rise of micro-influencers
Have you ever thought about using famous previous graduates of your School to create content for targeting new students?
Just like your prospective students, your current students are also active on platforms like TikTok or YouTube.
Your current students can generate genuine content representing your School and help to attract new students.
Data limitations
Privacy controls and data restrictions pose challenges for education marketers, limiting your access to valuable behavioral data.
So, you can focus on conversions.
Instead of relying solely on email open rates or website visitor tracking, focus on clickthrough conversions to measure the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns.
Track clicks on links to downloadable resources, registration forms for events or webinars, and inquiries about admissions to gauge engagement and interest.
The new year brings some exciting trends in education marketing that can shape the success of your marketing efforts.
You need to embrace the change to stay ahead of your competition and find some innovative ways to approach new students to increase your enrolment rates.
If you would like more professional tips on marketing your School and navigating the education marketing trends for 2024 do get in touch with the Onlinko For School’s team who are always happy to help. Contact us here.
