The increasing use of the internet makes the implementation of educational marketing strategies increasingly necessary.
Formal and non-formal education services are currently competing to get new students. To win this competition, the right promotion techniques are needed.
Nowadays, information search is no longer dependent on print media alone. Most Indonesians rely on online search to get various new information.
In 2021 alone, internet penetration in Indonesia has reached 70%. Indonesia is one of the largest online markets in the world with internet users increasing every year.
This is worth considering for those of you who are providers of formal or non-formal education services to move to promotional activities with digital marketing .
The educational marketing strategy8 Organic Education Marketing Strategies with SEO
That can be used here is SEO . But before going into that discussion, first get to know the concept of digital marketing and its techniques below.
Figure 1: Illustration of online search for digital education marketing strategies
Every business needs a reliable marketing strategy to ensure its survival.
In the education sector itself, this promotional activity requires attention because it is a form of service or product to fulfill consumer needs.
Educational services can be promoted by paying attention to the following things:
Marketing activities in the education sector need to be focused on highlighting educational goals, values and services to students, staff, parents and the community.
Educational marketing strategies are somewhat different when compared to commercial business promotions where the main focus tends to be on increasing conversions .
Educational promotion is a social8 Organic Education Marketing Strategies with SEO
Managerial process that needs to be planned professionally for optimal results and in accordance with the image of the institution.
Conventional Education Promotion Techniques
As mentioned earlier, the products offered by businesses in the education sector are services.
Therefore, the marketing approach taken needs to emphasize the promotion of the educational service itself.
The important points in educational promotion techniques that need to be known are:
1. External Promotion
Educational marketing strategy planning needs to be carried out by paying attention to target consumers or customers.
Here, the marketing target is guardians or parents of prospective students who will use educational services.
But in the middle of this digital revolution, there’s an underused resource: databases of WhatsApp numbers. These databases offer useful contact details that might aid in bridging the gap between whatsapp number database companies and their target markets. Knowing how to use these databases may change the game for anyone, be it a marketer trying to reach out to prospective customers directly or a small business owner trying to grow your clientele.
At this stage, make sure to prepare
The product or service to be offered and set the price before reaching the target consumers. Internal Promotion
Educational marketing strategies will not work optimally if the teachers and employees of the educational institution themselves are not appreciated.
Therefore, make sure to do internal promotions by giving awards or rewards to outstanding teachers or employees to increase their motivation.
In this way, teachers and employees will be more motivated to provide the best service to students who register at the educational institution.
3. Interactive Promotion
In addition to external and internal promotions, interactive promotional techniques need to be carried out to convince parents.
Interaction between parents and optimizer’s research into responsive search teachers or employees will help smooth the conversion process.
In addition, direction from the principal or institution will be the necessary encouragement in decision making by parents.
Education Marketing Strategies with SEO
Figure 2: Illustration of educational marketing strategy planning with SEO
In addition to the educational promotion techniques above, educational institution managers can also use online marketing strategies with SEO ( Search Engine Optimization ).
SEO is a website optimization technique that focuses on increasing online visibility in search results pages ( SERPs ) organically.
In other words, this educational marketing strategy does not rely on paid advertising. This technique canada email lead focuses on maintaining the website to ensure the online presence of educational institutions in search engines like Google.
When internet users perform online searches for educational services, your educational website will appear at the top of the search results.
That is the objective of educational marketing strategy using SEO. So, what are the tips that can be applied in implementing this technique? Here is the explanation:
Prepare an Operational Website
The first step in implementing an educational marketing strategy with SEO is building a well-functioning website .
Make sure all pages include the information that prospective applicants and parents need to know.
Of course, you will need a team of developers to ensure that the page is accessible smoothly, the links within it work properly, and the loading time is fast.
Also make sure that the website design and layout is easy to navigate and responsive across devices, especially mobile .
A mobile-friendly website will be more easily accessed by internet users in Indonesia, most of whom search for information via smartphones .
Conduct Keyword Research
Along with website preparation, conduct keyword research to find relevant and popular online search queries in the education industry.
Identify keywords that relate to the services or topics your agency offers.
The keywords obtained can be used to optimize website pages, such as the home page and products.
In addition, keywords with informative search intent can be used to create quality educational content to improve website performance in SERP.
To do this step, use keyword research tools such as Google Keyword Planner or SEMrush to find keywords that have high search volume and a level of competition that matches the website’s authority.
Create Quality Content
High-quality and relevant content can help improve a website’s search ranking.
Create informative and relevant content with search queries based on educational topics that match your website niche .
Make sure the content can answer the user’s question as intended by the search query.
Use relevant keywords naturally in the body of the article you create. Well-readable content will help increase your website’s visibility and authority organically.
Once the website is operational and the content is available, the next educator marketing strategy that needs to be carried out is technical optimization,
One of the things that can be done here is to ensure the URL structure , use relevant meta tags, improve internal linking , and provide image alts.
On the other hand, also pay attention
to the technical aspects of the website such as loading speed , indexing , and mobile friendliness .
Here, you can register your business on Google Business Profile and enter your contact information, address, and operating hours.
Also add local keywords, including the name of the city or region in the title or description of your educational institution on the website.
If students, also ask for positive reviews from students or parents to strengthen the credibility of your institution on online search platforms.
