Top 10 effective Online Marketing strategies and Tips for Schools/Colleges

Top 10 effective Online Marketing strategies and Tips for Schools/Colleges

Aug 22, 2023

Matt Gemi

Woman holding books
Woman holding books

The Internet is a powerful tool for marketing your school, but it's also one of the most competitive marketing spaces out there. To be successful, you need to know how to optimize your digital presence in 2023. Online marketing can help increase your reach, but only if you know what you're doing!


The power of online presence.

  • A website is a must. It's the first impression you make on prospective students and parents, so it needs to be beautiful, professional and easy to navigate.

  • Make sure your site has everything your audience would want from it: information about academics, campus life, athletics and more. Don't forget about extracurricular activities! If you don't have something listed on your website yet but offer it in real life (like community service projects), consider adding an "other" category where people can fill out information about themselves or their interests so that other users can find them later on down the line when they're looking for friends who share similar passions as theirs.*

  • Consider using social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram alongside traditional marketing tactics like print ads in local newspapers or radio spots during drive time hours.*

Create a social media strategy/schedule.

Social media scheduling tools are essential for staying organized and making sure that you're able to post consistently on all of your channels, especially if you're working with multiple platforms or have multiple people collaborating on content creation. Use one of these tools to schedule posts in advance so that they go live automatically as intended, without having to remember or double-check everything manually each week or month (or even day).

  • Hootsuite

  • Buffer

Robust email marketing strategy.

Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to grow your audience and engage with them. It's an easy way to reach out to people who have already expressed interest in what you're doing, and it helps build a relationship with those people over time.

If you want to make sure that your emails are reaching their intended audience (and being read!), then here are some tips:

  • Build a robust email list by asking for contact information at events or on websites where people can sign up for more information about what you do. You can also use social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter as another way for people who visit those accounts regularly (and like or follow them) to sign up for updates from your organization through direct message inboxes there as well - this way they won't miss any important news from us!

  • Create engaging newsletters that offer something useful every time they open one up again after receiving one earlier this week; maybe even include links back into other parts of our website where relevant resources might be found so users don't feel overwhelmed when reading through all our content at once (which happens often). For example: "Here's how much money each grade level spent last year on books/supplies/etc., plus here are some tips we've learned along the way so far..."

Find a Digital Marketer

Find a digital marketer or a digital marketing agency that can help you with online outreach and engagement.

  • What you are looking for in a digital marketer

  • What to look for in a digital marketing agency

  • How to find the right digital marketer or agency

  • Tips on how to work with a digital marketer or agency

Don't neglect your website!

Your website is the cornerstone of your online presence. It's where potential students and parents go to learn about your school, so it's important to make sure that it's well-designed, informative, and engaging.

If you don't have a website yet, start planning one now! There are plenty of free web hosting services available that can help you build and host a simple website without needing any technical knowledge or experience (just do some research before choosing one). Once your site is up and running:

  • Include information about academic programs offered at the school - including descriptions of each program as well as links to any additional resources such as syllabi or textbooks used in courses taught by faculty members who teach those courses at other schools/universities around town/state/country/world

  • Showcase student work through photos taken during class projects or field trips; include captions describing what type of project this was (i.e., "Students working together on their group project for history class")

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a way of optimizing your website for search engines so that it ranks higher in results. It's not the same thing as advertising; rather, it's an ongoing process of making sure that your site is easy to find and use.

Many people think SEO only involves keyword stuffing and buying links on other websites, but this isn't true at all! If you want your school's website to rank well among other educational institutions' sites in Google searches for relevant keywords like "school" or "college," then you'll need good content on the page--and lots of it! That means blogging regularly about topics related to education--and not just once every few months either (though that would be nice).

Facebook Advertising

Facebook is one of the most popular social media platforms and an excellent place to advertise your school.

  • Target specific demographics: Facebook lets you target people based on age, gender, location and interests. You can also choose to show your ads only to users who are already interested in your school or its programs (based on their past browsing history). This will help ensure that you reach people who are likely to be interested in what you have to offer.

  • Make sure it's worth it: While Facebook may seem like an affordable option compared with other forms of advertising like radio or television spots, keep in mind that there is no free lunch when it comes to marketing--you'll still need some budget set aside before getting started!


Mobile-friendly website

It's important to make sure that your school is optimized for mobile devices. Google has confirmed that mobile-friendly websites are ranked higher in search results than non-mobile-friendly ones. This means that if you don't have a site that works well on smartphones and tablets, people won't find you when they're searching online from their phones or tablets.

It's also worth noting that most users prefer to use apps over visiting sites in their browser window--so it's helpful to have an app as well!

Building Social Media Presence

Social media is a great way to build your brand's social media presence and community.

  • Build a strong brand voice on social media: You want people who follow you on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram to know that they're following the same account across all platforms. That means having consistent images and messaging across all channels so that when someone visits one of your pages and sees something familiar there (like an image), they'll recognize it as being from one of your other pages too.

  • Use social media for engagement: Social media is also an opportunity for schools to connect with current students, alumni/alumnae/parents/family members, prospective students--the list goes on! It's important not only because these relationships are essential but also because they can increase visibility online through sharing posts with their networks (and thus expanding reach).

  • Develop strong relationships with local and national news media outlets.

  • The importance of local news media: News stories about your school can reach parents, students and alumni in your community, who may not have heard about you otherwise. Getting your story in the news also helps build credibility for future marketing efforts (like a website redesign or new programs).

  • The importance of national news media: National publications are good for exposure outside of your immediate area or state/province/country; they're also useful for recruiting students from outside of the area where you're located.

Using Channels

School marketing needs to use as many different channels as possible to reach their target audience.

When it comes to online marketing, there are two key elements that can make or break your campaign: knowing your target audience and knowing how to reach them. That's why we've put together this list of tips for schools looking to boost their outreach in 2023.

  • Know Your Target Audience

First things first--you need to know who you're trying to reach with your ads. If you don't know what type of person would be interested in what you offer, then chances are no one will be interested! Seek out insights from other teachers or community members who have used similar services before; get an idea of what types of people might benefit from using them too (e.g., "I teach math at a high school" vs "I'm an undergrad student looking for tutors"). This will help narrow down who exactly would find value in using the service being advertised so that only relevant information is shown when someone clicks through from an ad link later on down the line...

The best way to reach your target audience is by using as many different channels as possible. You should not neglect any channel, such as the power of the internet and social media, email marketing or SEO.

The web is an important part of our lives and it's no wonder that schools are using it more than ever before. Most people spend their time online rather than offline these days! This means that if you're not already using this platform for your school marketing needs then now could be a great time for you to start doing so - especially since there are so many different ways in which you can use it effectively.

Conclusion

After the pandemic, most businesses realised that online marketing is more than just a way to get your name out there and the best to attract new customers. It also includes higher education marketing campaigns as well. Better social media strategy, higher conversion rates, and more video contents are what appealing to Gen Z. It's a way to connect with potential students and parents, so they feel like they have a personal connection with your school. And if you want to stand out in today's competitive market, then you need all the help you can get!

Social Media on Computer and on the phone
Social Media on Computer and on the phone

Matt Gemi

When I’m not busy transforming the digital landscape at Urest, you can find me attempting to perfect my coffee brewing skills or passionately debating the merits of pineapple on pizza. With a knack for turning data into dazzling insights, I’m here to sprinkle some marketing magic into your day—one blog post at a time!