Boosting Enrollment: A Guide to Marketing Online Courses Effectively
With the help of COVID-19, everyday business and school face-to-face interactions now have a computer screen barrier. Many institutions have been evolving and adapting to the new norm as they transition almost all classes online to meet the demand for online education. With it being the safer choice, nearly unlimited options in courses and degrees, and the flexibility to complete work on your time, it makes sense that people are gravitating towards this option. Not to mention its biggest perk of all…it’s more affordable.
For schools built on the premise of online education, the transition has been simple, but were you able to get your name out there and market yourself in a way that has people enrolling in your programs? You’ve got the goods; now it’s time to market them. Here are some tactics to consider in your overall marketing strategy to help increase online enrollment.
Increase Social Media Presence:
You have online courses, so it’s only natural that you have an online presence. With over 58% of future students using social media to research schools, it’s important to be active and engaging on your social accounts. Each platform is used very differently and reach different demographics, so it’s important to tailor your content for each. Familiarize yourself with all platforms, and stay on top of the new emerging trends and social media guidelines. Keeping your social media updated and relevant is also a perk for your online student body as it helps give them a virtual community to be a part of.
Optimize Website:
Enrolling in higher education courses is a big decision that requires extensive research by most people. Making sure your site is SEO optimized for frequently searched keywords and phrases will help your site rank higher on search engines. Do keyword research to incorporate phrases and questions on your site – and in your title tags – that potential students are searching, and try to include backlinks to trusted sites wherever possible. First ranked listings have a 30% higher click through rate than the rest, and less than 1% of people click to the second page of Google, so ranking high is critical to remaining visible to potential students and generating traffic to your site.
Invest in Paid Ads:
You have all the reasons why people of all ages wanting to pursue higher education should pick your school; the only thing left is reaching them. A surefire way to make people aware of your online programs is to put some money behind your name. Running pay-per-click (PPC) ads can help reach people actively searching options for online courses, offset low Google search rankings, and can run on social platforms, like Facebook, as well.
With hyper targeting capabilities, PPC marketing allows you to place your ad in front of the exact audience you want. You can target based on location, age (high school seniors, back-to-school parents, etc.), income, interests, and more. Most importantly you can target based on keywords from potential students like “affordable online classes” or “online degree programs.”
These are a few strategies to help get your marketing foot in the door. Getting ads up and focusing on social platforms is just the start. Make sure you are always analyzing performance metrics and making the necessary optimization changes. Need help along the way? Reach out to us and let us know how the Freestyle Creative team can help!
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