Researching an Initiative
Selling to future buyers.
What is important to look at and note down when researching the education sector and deciding on whether it is going to be beneficial to market there? Markethub believe that the first three major issues that a company will encounter when entering the education sector are the budget shortages; being able to appeal in a new way “trendy” for the next generation that is interested in their studies and that entry barriers are going down which means a lot of competition ahead of you due to an increased awareness of other brands that tapping into the student market is a great way to introduce their product and make them pivotal to needs from an early age.
MarketHub go on to talk about the easiest ways to success in moving into the education sector and that it is vital to get these basics right to gain a piece of the market share. The first is Search Engine Optimisation; knowing what searches are trending with students and staff members will create a high level of awareness, this is also a very low-cost method of gaining product notoriety within a market that will always exist and is highly influential. You can read more about the key points here – http://www.marketerhub.online/importance-marketing-educational-sector/ . So why is it important to maximise your SEO performance? The majority of search engines users are more likely to click on one of the top 5 suggestions in the results pages (SERPS), so to take advantage of this and gain visitors to your web site or customers to your online store you need to in the top positions says Alex Christ from reliablesoft.net. A good sign of search engine optimisation is not necessarily the results given but the practice employed as those who are high up the search bar also tend to have an easily usable website and a clean, simple experience that users will return too. We know that students have to research through a lot, so giving them the results quickly that deliver what they need as soon as possible is vital for a company to succeed. Find more here – https://www.reliablesoft.net/what-is-search-engine-optimization-and-why-is-it-important/
The next key step is Social Media engagement (Facebook pages, Instagram, Twitter). Education centres, especially colleges and universities have moved into trying to use social media to boost methods of learning and exposure. The use of social media generally has exploded recently, 98% of digital consumers are also using social media (GlobalwebIndex, 2018). This shows how many people are constantly discussing opinions and events and how crucial it is to maximise your exposure in a positive light, especially as these methods of communication are mainly utilised by the younger generation. More of the figures to support this statement can be found here https://insight.globalwebindex.net/social-2?utm_campaign=Social%20Q3%202017&utm_source=ppc&utm_source=ppc&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI9fT2v_Kq2gIVqZPtCh2ICw5MEAAYASAAEgLX4PD_BwE Social media presence is not voluntary; you got to have your cool interactive page over Facebook, an Instagram account for the prospective students, a YouTube video sharing the cool experiences of past students. It is very important that you create a bond between you and your students’ therefore interactive pages all over the social media could take your students engagement to the next level.
In 2004, Warwick University was one of the first UK universities to introduce an institution-wide blogging platform encouraging staff and students to share professional or personal reflections in a trusted branded public space. Rolling out blogging tools and support across the university has led to a creative, thoughtful, and lively culture of blogging within the university including a rapid turnover of very high-quality content. This point leads on nicely to the final key area in gaining success when marketing to the education sector. That is creating a website and online blogs that allow students to be involved and informed in both an education sense and one in which you can advertise and market to them in a positive light. Drawing students into your website because it has other uses other than just purchasing products is an interesting method to gaining a sense of loyalty and necessity in the market, it will also allow you to gain favourability with educational influencers such as lecturers, teachers and possibly exam boards. If you help to supply something beneficial to the market as well as advertise your products, then your reputation will grow positively within the market. Of course, when setting something up like this, if a company is not too careful it can be seen as having an ulterior motive and this can discourage students and professors alike from viewing your site, and in turn, purchasing your products. More can be found on this topic at the IBM Developer works site – https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/library/wa-ind-educ-social-media1/ .
References:
Beydoun, A. (2017). Importance of Marketing in the Educational Sector. [online] Marketer Hub Lebanon. Available at: http://www.marketerhub.online/importance-marketing-educational-sector/ [Accessed 8 Apr. 2018].
Chris, A. (2018). What Is Search Engine Optimization And Why Is It Important. [online] reliablesoft.net. Available at: https://www.reliablesoft.net/what-is-search-engine-optimization-and-why-is-it-important/ [Accessed 8 Apr. 2018].
Insight.globalwebindex.net. (2018). Latest Social Media Trends | GlobalWebIndex Report. [online] Available at: https://insight.globalwebindex.net/social-2?utm_campaign=Social%20Q3%202017&utm_source=ppc&utm_source=ppc&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI9fT2v_Kq2gIVqZPtCh2ICw5MEAAYASAAEgLX4PD_BwE [Accessed 8 Apr. 2018].
Osborne, N. (2011). Opportunity, risk, and policy. [online] Ibm.com. Available at: https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/library/wa-ind-educ-social-media1/ [Accessed 8 Apr. 2018].