In today's fiercely competitive higher education landscape, colleges and universities must implement innovative marketing strategies that can efficiently attract and convert potential students. And, with the advent of the digital revolution, there has been a fundamental shift in the way marketing works. No longer is it enough to rely on traditional methods such as generic websites, print ads, brochures, flyers, and info sessions. In education institutions, YOU, therefore, need to embrace digital strategies like content marketing.
What is Content Marketing?
Content marketing is a type of marketing strategy that focuses on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience and ultimately, to drive profitable customer action. It provides your potential customers/students with information in a way that has traditionally been seen as non-intrusive and non-salesy.
This type of marketing is often used in the form of blog posts, videos, podcasts, infographics, e-books, emails, white papers, webinars, and other forms of content to create a powerful and consistent connection with customers and prospects and to build lasting relationships. It is not about selling or pushing your products, but rather about sharing and providing helpful information to build trust and create brand loyalty.
Why is Content Marketing Important?
By delivering valuable information that resonates with your intended audience, you can build connections with potential clients, boost website traffic, and generate leads. Moreover, it is an economical way to consistently promote your education institution's message and an evergreen strategy that can be recycled and repurposed.
Content Marketing SEO
SEO, or search engine optimization, involves developing web-hosted content to make it more visible and relevant for searches by prospective students, parents, faculty, and other stakeholders.
29% of marketers use a search-optimized website and blog to attract and convert leads.
SEO work is a long game, so some marketing teams looking for quicker wins sometimes overlook how powerful it can be. But once an institution sets up a blog and optimizes its webpages for search, it lays a foundation to significantly increase web traffic and inbound leads. Though it’s time-consuming, SEO work requires a relatively low financial investment, especially when compared to strategies like paid ads, events, and out-of-home ads (i.e., outdoor advertising). The low upfront costs and high success rate makes it one of the highest ROI channels used by marketers. And once it’s up and running, the sky's the limit.
Benefits of Content Marketing for Education Institutions
Content marketing can provide a variety of benefits to your educational institution. Here are some of the most important ones:
1. Cost-Effective and Measurable
One of the primary reasons why you should invest in content marketing is that it's good value-for-money. Unlike traditional marketing methods, content marketing requires little to no investment. By creating expertly crafted content, you can change the perception of your brand and attract potential students without the need for costly advertisements and promotions.
2. Build Authority & Awareness
Creating and disseminating educational content can be a great way to establish yourself as an authority in the education industry. By providing valuable information and insights into the topics and challenges that are relevant to your target audience, you can build trust and open the door for continued dialogue.
This type of content marketing helps demonstrate the capabilities of your institution, its thought-leadership, strengthen its brand and reputation and highlight its unique features and differentiate it from other institutions.
3. Increase Website Traffic
Tailoring content to specific keywords relevant to your institution's offerings can boost its search engine success, leading to increased traffic and engagement. By optimizing content and keeping it up-to-date, not only can you attract new viewers, but you can also retain their attention and interest.
Educational content increases website visits by 17%
To create a lasting connection with your audience, your content should be easily digestible and engaging, while also being optimized for the relevant keywords and up to date with the latest trends. This will make it easier for your audience to find and share your content across both traditional and social media platforms.
4. Generate More Qualified Leads
By offering informative and valuable content, potential students are given the tools to make informed decisions. This builds trust in your institution and sets you apart from your competitors, resulting in an increase in qualified leads and higher conversions.
Content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing.
5. Improve SEO
Creating high-quality and original content can significantly boost your institution's SEO rankings and visibility. Search engine algorithms prioritize content that is up-to-date and relevant to your target audience, so it's important to provide comprehensive yet concise explanations of important topics. To ensure your content reaches the maximum number of potential students and other relevant audiences, utilize effective search engine optimization techniques such as keyword research, link building, and website optimization.
70% of marketers view SEO as more effective than PPC (Pay Per Click)
6. Boost Brand Advocacy and Social Shares
When educational content provides valuable and informative solutions to students' problems, they are more likely to share it with their friends and family, leading to increased exposure and visibility for your institution. By showcasing your institution's values and beliefs and sharing news updates, student achievements, and faculty accolades, you can build a passionate online community of students, alumni, staff, and faculty who, in turn, become brand advocates. Make your content zippy (i.e., short, easy to consume, and readily available), which will make it more likely to be shared across social media platforms.
7. Increase Conversions
By providing potential students with informative and insightful content, your educational institution can increase its chances of being chosen as a provider. Through targeted content at various stages of the decision-making process, you can guide potential students through the sales funnel and nurture their interest and engagement. Effective content marketing strategies can ultimately lead to an increase in student enrollment.
Challenges and Solutions for Implementing Content Marketing in Education
Despite the clear benefits of content marketing in education, there are several challenges schools face when implementing an effective strategy.
1. Lack of Resources and Budget
With the increased focus on digital marketing, you may find yourself in a situation where you have to do more with less. In fact, many educational institutions are operating on a tight budget, and may not have the resources to fund an effective campaign or hire a full-time content marketing team or community manager.
The solution is to find creative ways to use your existing resources, like leveraging current staff, faculty, students, or alumni. Schools can work with blog contributors or set up an intern program to produce content. It is important to think creatively about where such content can come from. Sources for your pipeline could include the alumni network, student projects, faculty news, etc.
2. Limited Buy-In From Leadership
Another obstacle may be that leadership may not see the value in content marketing, either because they don’t understand its value or because they don’t believe or see immediate results. Without strong leadership support, it’s difficult to put together a cohesive strategy and ensure it is fully implemented.
The solution is to collaborate with internal stakeholders and establish a long-term strategy. Start by communicating the value of content marketing to your management team and make sure they understand how it can benefit your institution. Provide data and examples to show how content marketing has worked for you or your competition so far, while pitching clear and measurable goals for the future.
To summarize, content marketing is a cost-effective way to increase an education institution’s reach and visibility, while also highlighting the in-depth knowledge and expertise of its team. It helps build relationships with potential students, and strengthen the brand’s reputation. So if your education institution has not yet invested in content marketing, now is the right time to incorporate it into your marketing strategy.
