Mastering Marketing Tech: 6 Steps for Marketing Leaders in the Education Sector
This guide will include distinct steps that will make your job of mastering marketing tech much easier! Each of these steps is distinctly tailored for marketing leaders in higher education, education management, and post-secondary education organizations. Let’s dive in!
1. Implement Learning Management Systems (LMS)
A pillar of the education sector is having a robust learning management system. The platform in which your organization delivers content must be streamlined and facilitate interactive learning experiences. A robust LMS enhances educational offerings and makes them more engaging and accessible. All of which are vital for retaining and attracting new consumers in a highly competitive market. Some organizations are large enough to develop their own LMS while others may opt for a system such as Canvas or Blackboard.
2. Leverage Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR)
Understanding how to integrate Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality into your mar-tech stack can seem overwhelming. There is also a predisposition to the expense of the hardware. If you haven’t seen it, look up how John Deere utilized these technologies in their marketing during the 2021 CES event by CNET. Of course, they are not an education-focused company, but it just shows how this technology can impact your marketing efforts. Develop a plan to offer a half-dozen or so virtual reality headsets at your organization’s next tradeshow or convention. This will be sure to bring more people into your booth! Offer these experiences coupled with real-life looks into your products and offerings.
3. Adopt Marketing Automation Platforms
Tools such as HubSpot and Marketo have an incredible amount of functionality for managing and personalizing marketing campaigns at scale. These tools also offer segmentation capabilities of prospects based on their engagement, behavior, and interests. Segmentation within these types of software allows organizations to tailor the messaging of their email campaigns, social media, and other marketing channels. Automation also allows organizations to ensure consistent communication with potential consumers. The goal of this technology and these efforts is to keep your offering, organization, and value at the top of your audience’s mind by nurturing leads on your contact lists.
4. Utilize Chatbots for Engagement and Support
Consumers are generally appreciative of chat support on websites that they frequently visit. Now looking at it through the lens of your organization, do you want your organization’s website to be a site that consumers frequently visit? Of course, you do! So, let’s assume that having a chatbot is going to add value if this is the type of engagement you are building to experience. Chatbots should funnel consumers quickly through to live support and should be designed to limit and customer journey issues. These issues tend to generate more frustration than not having a chatbot would altogether, so make sure you are building the chat sequence in an effective way that considers the pathway consumers will take to get their questions answered. If done correctly, not only will you increase the satisfaction of your consumers, but you will also open up bandwidth for your team to focus on other pieces of your marketing efforts.
5. Explore Predictive Analytics for Strategic Planning
Predictive analysis tools allow marketers to forecast trends, enrollment, and demand with greater accuracy. The analysis of historical data and market trends allows your organization to make more informed decisions about strategic partnerships, course offerings, organizational development, and more. Tools such as GA4’s Predictive Metrics and Salesforce’s Einstein Analytics offer capabilities to analyze engagement and predict future behaviors. Insights are offered across various platforms and create the ability for your organization to implement more targeted and efficient marketing campaigns.
6. Invest in SEO and Content Marketing
SEO technologies and content marketing tools can enhance your organization’s online visibility. To understand where to begin with any time or monetary investment into these technologies, first define your budget and goals. Then you can begin your keyword research into high-value search terms related to your audience, offerings, and industry. Tools such as Ahrefs, Moz, and SEMRush should be used in conjunction to find high-performing keywords and key phrases. Your content strategy should segway off of your keyword research. Aim to provide valuable, informative, and engaging content that addresses the needs of your target audience. Mediums of delivery to utilize would be blog posts, infographics, and downloadable content that highlight the strength of your organization’s offering.
Mastering these marketing technologies is not just about adopting new tools, it is about leveraging expertise that retains your audience and drives growth for your organization. Each of these steps builds a pathway to better-utilizing tools that are available to you for building out your organization’s Mar-Tech stack.