Having an online presence and engaging with your target market is a great way to stay ahead of the curve. As of March 2021, 79% of Australians (20.5 million of us!) have at least one active social media account. Creating a social platform to engage with even a fraction of these people generates word of mouth and general awareness of your brand. Here are our 6 ways RTOs can improve their social media presence.
1) Identify your objectives, create goals and make a strategy
Before you start posting, make a plan! Who are you trying to reach? You’ve got to start with identifying the right social media platform? It’s likely that those looking for more professional content will be on LinkedIn, while those looking for a more personal connection will head to Instagram (which ranks as the second most downloaded app on the internet) and Facebook. Twitter is great for sharing industry related content and updates about your business.
Each platform also allows for sponsored posts with specific audience targeting. Determining where your audience is and what content they are looking for will enable you to decide which platform best suits your specific needs. It may be a combination of a few. Create a marketing calendar and add all upcoming events, news releases, blogs, anything that you want to share. This will keep you organised and help you to understand which platform delivers the best results depending on the content you are sharing.
2) Listen and respond!
Social media isn’t just a way for customers to find your information, the platforms can also serve as a way to gain feedback and to understand what your learners want. Ask questions, create polls and surveys and interact with your audience!
Comments on posts and discussions in forums should be monitored and replied to quickly and efficiently. It can be a much more effective way to answer a question that many people may have on a public platform. This can also stop multiple emails of the same question and help analyse where improvements can be made.
People may not always feel comfortable contacting professionals through email or telephone. With the increase of social platforms, it has become much more common to contact each other through different mediums. Having social media accounts can also be a way to communicate with people in a non-intrusive way that was not available before.
3) Produce valuable content
Once you know what your audience wants, give it to them! And do it better than your competition. Creating the best, most informative blogs, articles and infographics will help showcase your business and bring visitors back to your social media pages and websites.
4) Learn to love #hashtags
Everyone is using hashtags these days. They can keep engagement high and lead new users to your social media accounts and website. Just make sure the ones you’re using are relevant and related to your content.
5) Forums are your friend
Make sure to get involved in forums like the National RTO Network on LinkedIn. It is a great way to research topical information in the VET industry. You will also stay up to date with the news and share learnings with other RTOs who may be sharing similar experiences.
6) Share share share!
Once you have determined the best social channels, listened to your audience about what they want, produced valuable content and optimised it with appropriate hashtags, get it out there! Don’t be afraid to share with people you know in the industry. But don’t be spammy. It’s a fine line between giving people what they want, and bombarding them with unsolicited messages.
Before You Go On Social Media….
Make sure you know all the regulations for the VET sector regarding social posts and user engagement. You must include your RTO code and any code/title for a training product that is posted on the platform.
Top Tip: If you are creating a group or profile for your RTO, include your RTO code in the name. That way, it will automatically be on each and every post. #winning
Be sure to check ASQA for all marketing and advertising requirements before creating that first post.
Get in touch with us by Following us on Twitter and LinkedIn today!
UPDATED: 22 March 2021
Source: https://www.genroe.com/blog/social-media-statistics-australia/13492
