With the advent of the internet and technology, the need for digital marketing has been rapidly increasing. It is slowly taking over the traditional marketing methods and almost every business require it.
The need for digital marketing for educational institutes is something that goes ignored. But surely, digital media is the future and gone are the days when people used to find contact details of schools and colleges in the local directories.
For educational institutes, digital marketing is eradicating is the future. There were times when we used to see school posters on the roads and front-page advertisements in newspapers. Students and their parents used to ask for suggestions from their friends to find the best educational institutes. However, now the trend is completely changed. Not only generation Z but generation Y is also relying on technology. Even they can find everything on their own with just one click, thanks to their smartphones and the internet.
Undoubtedly, the education sector is the backbone of every society. Because of the rapid growth of the internet and digital media, it is necessary for it to step ahead of conventional marketing methods. There are several benefits for educational institutes if they use digital media as a part of their marketing strategy.
Importance of digital media for students
After the pandemic, the whole education system has shifted to digital media. It has made the concept of classroom learning outdated. There are several pros and cons of it. However, we cannot deny the fact that online learning is the future.
The need for digital media for students has increased exponentially, and it will continue to grow. The trend of remote learning will stay for a long period of time. Even the job opportunities are more for those who are tech-savvy and know the digital media in and out.
Nowadays, students cannot expect any learning without the internet and digital media. Therefore, educational institutes have no choice but to make digital media an essential part of their teaching methods.
However, they have not faced any losses because of it. Though a drastic shift has been witnessed in the learning scenario, both students and educational institutes are benefitted.
With e-learning becoming a trend, educational institutes have saved a lot on infrastructure and its maintenance. Undoubtedly, digital learning is cheaper than classroom learning. The efficiency of digital media over classroom learning is still debatable because many prefer the traditional method of studying and teaching.
Following are some of the benefits of digital media and e-learning for students
- Students have a vast array of learning and have greater flexibility.
- Undoubtedly, e-learning is self-paced. Unlike classroom learning, where professors are in a hurry most of the time, students can adjust the pace of learning according to their convenience. One can repeatedly watch video lectures and read scholarly articles thousands of times.
- E-learning surely improves the technical skills of the learners.
- Digital media and e-learning are environment-friendly (Paper free!).
- E-learning is cost-effective, both for educational institutes and students.
Also read- How digital media hampers marketing for luxury brands
Digital marketing provides better results
There are still many conservative educational institutions that think newspaper, radio ads, TV ads, flyers and billboards will bring more students to their doors. However, digital marketing is way better than traditional marketing because of different factors. Cost-effectiveness is a major one.
Thanks to the technology, even social media marketing campaigns can do wonders and can generate qualified leads. Also, the good part is that it is controllable. Other than that, these are way cheaper than the newspaper, TV and radio ads.
With the help of Facebook’s Campaign Budget Optimization (CBO), advertisers can set a budget accordingly. It means that you can decide how much money you want to spend on your educational institute’s digital marketing campaign. You can even decide locations, the target audience etc.
These social media platforms make sure that advertisers do not waste a single penny they spend on promotions.
The other important aspect of digital marketing is website’s SEO. For any business’ online presence, the first and foremost requirement is a good quality website. However, as there are millions of websites on the internet, what brings your education institute’s website on top? It is SEO and digital marketing.
It is said that if you want to hide something, the best place is Google search results’ second page. Because no one bothers to move from the first page to the next one. SEO and digital marketing are two essential techniques that help businesses appear on top of SERPs.
Better conversion rates
With digital marketing, one can expect better conversion rates than traditional advertising methods. TV ads can provide immense reach; the same can be done through Google AdSense and social media at cheaper rates. Also, with geotagging, the educational institutes can accurately select their target audience and place their ads accordingly.
Digital marketing has different methods, different platforms for promotions. One can even decide the type of marketing campaign and decide the goals. Whether the goal is brand awareness or lead generation, everything is achievable with digital marketing.
Performance tracking
With digital marketing platforms, it is very easy to track your performance which is not possible with the traditional methods. With tools like Facebook Creator Studio, YouTube Creator Studio, Instagram Insights, Google My Business, Google Analytics, educational institutes can easily track how their ads and the online business platforms are performing.
Advertisers have the leverage to set their objectives and targets. Educational institutes can strategically invest in digital marketing and even benefit themselves in off-seasons. When they already have qualified leads, they will just have to pitch to them again.
A great platform of communication
Online media, especially social media, is a great way to connect with your target audience and potential customers. In the case of educational institutes, the target audience is students and the youth majorly. And nowadays, youth cannot stay away from social media.
So social media is a great place to interact with them, know what they are looking for, understand their interests, and then strategize your marketing campaign accordingly.