How Training Providers Can Attract Students Using Digital Marketing

This blog has been updated for freshness and relevancy… The last two years have presented new and unique challenges for businesses. Now, as we continue to move forward in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses are are implementing different strategies to reach their target audience. How can they update their business models to survive the difficulties of this unprecedented social and economic challenge? Training providers face their own unique hurdles. One of these is attracting students. This is understandable; after all, some businesses have closed and many lost their jobs or face reduced hours. It would stand to reason that this would cause people to press pause on any immediate future plans. However, many have embraced the positive and are now looking for opportunities for self-improvement. You may work at a training organisation with an online space for assessment and training and you are looking for ways to attract new students. We have a few ideas for how you can appeal to those who are looking for online study options. Here’s how to reach them:

1) Direct Marketing

Keep a list of all your prospective students. There are many Customer Relationship Management Systems available out there that can store contact details and provide a dynamic space for creating emails. Mailchimp is one example. Create an email that can be sent out to all of your prospects. This could be a campaign of several emails or you could send out a one off email. In your content have links to examples of courses and case studies of previous students highlighting their career pathways. If you favour the “drip feed” approach, send course content first then in the next email send out an enrolment form. Towards the end of the campaign, if your business plan allows for it, you could create a bonus piece of course material or a discount code for a course.

Top Tip: Email campaigns are an extremely effective way to reach out to a large audience. Just be sure to use an enticing subject line and include as much targeted content as possible. The more it resonates with the reader’s needs and interests, the higher the response rate will be.

2) Blogs that offer information about your courses (with links!)

Blogs are great way to reach potential students. People are spending more time online, searching for content to consume to pass the time. This has created an opportunity to share important information about you and your courses. Some blog ideas to generate interest from potential new students are:

• Courses that have the highest enrolment rates
• Courses that have the highest employability on completion
• Courses for the predicted in demand jobs for the next 5-10 years
• Case studies of past students’ pathways to success

Top tip: And don’t forget to include links in your blogs to the enrolment pages for your courses. Not only will this provide a call to action for anyone reading the blog, but it will help improve your website’s SEO. This can make a huge difference to the overall health of your website and how well it performs in search engines.

3) Social engagement

Your social pages are a great way to interact directly with potential students and provides a platform for staying top of mind. Most social media users log into their accounts at least once a day, and for many it’s multiple times a day. Become thought leaders by sharing informative, entertaining and “shareable” content that creates a tone of voice for your training organisation. If you join groups or create groups you can target your audience regularly. You can also increase website traffic, which in turn will help with your website health. Make sure to share your blogs and offers on your social channels to generate interest as soon as a new piece of content is live.

Top tip: Targeted social advertising is another way to get your message in front of a large group of potential students. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn all have sales staff who can help you get started with this. Experiment with a fixed budget and switch off under performing ads quickly. During this time of change, training providers are in the position to offer a solution to those seeking options for self-improvement.