The internet and Marketing on digital channels have brought companies a great opportunity to improve their communication with their audience and, consequently, their sales: all this through access to an immense amount of data relating to their audience. If previously executive decisions and marketing strategies were based on intuition and unfounded opinions, guesswork has no place and it is possible to analyze the behavior of customers and potential customers to plan and execute actions more assertively.
Consuming resources from your budget with Marketing and not knowing exactly what return this investment brought to your educational institution is a reality of the past. Currently, it is possible to monitor your investments and, based on the profile and behavior data of users who were impacted by your actions, your team can continually improve communication strategies and improve their performance, bringing more revenue to your institution (whether through fundraising leads and closing more enrollments or retaining your students).
As digital marketing evolves, the strategic priorities of marketing teams are also adapting. The top priorities for marketers in 2024 include demonstrating return on investment (ROI), generating revenue, and improving digital marketing strategies.
These priorities reflect the growing need to align marketing efforts with the financial results of the institution, ensuring greater efficiency and effectiveness in campaigns.
Using data is nothing new for those who work in Marketing. Good professionals have been working based on market research for a long time. However, in many cases, carrying out this research required a high investment, and they did not always provide such specific data for decision-making.
Currently, with Marketing Digital, data can be accessed without the institution having to spend a lot of financial resources. Additionally, there is the advantage that they are much more accurate.
If you have a website, for example, you can install the Google Analytics, monitor visits and understand the public profile (average age, gender, location), browsing behavior (whether people access the page via computer or cell phone, which browser they use, what times are most accessed, whether they access a single or are there recurring visits, which pages are most viewed), the channels from which the accesses originate (organic, paid media, social networks, etc.), among other information.
For educational marketing strategies, The collection and analysis of this and other data related to the interaction of students and potential students is fundamental to achieving the objective that any manager has: doing more with less (or doing more without necessarily increasing the budget).
This way of planning, executing and tracking actions based on data is also called data driven marketing. And if your educational institution still doesn't do data-driven Marketing, it's time to rethink your investments in the area, you could be losing customers and spending wasted time.
Furthermore, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into marketing strategies has proven to be a significant trend. By 2025, 70% of chief marketing officers (CMOs) are expected to consider ethical responsibility in the use of AI as one of their top concerns.
This highlights the importance of using AI tools ethically and transparently, especially when personalizing campaigns and analyzing student data.
Check out these additional resources:
- The Power of Growth Hacking and Web Analytics in Education;
- Data science in marketing strategy: reasons to use it!
- Data Analysis: really know your customer and make less mistakes.
Marketing for educational institutions: how data can help
With a data-driven Marketing strategy, your institution will gain agility and efficiency in decision-making, reduce costs and be able to better adapt to student demands and market changes. It is also possible to predict trends. In the education segment, a change that we can already mention is the growth of Distance Learning (Online).
Having an organized data structure that allows managers to analyze the behavior of their leads and students is a competitive advantage. In Marketing strategies, this information from data interpretation can be used to:
(1) improve your segmentation of paid media campaigns (Facebook, Google) or publications on social networks, so that you can impact people with the greatest potential to enroll based on the profile of your students, seeking a similar audience and not investing time and money showing ads to those who are not part of your target;
(2) create personalized messages based on the profile and behavior information of your visitors and leads, and thus increase your conversion into registrations;
(3) create more relevant content based on the interest shown by your audience based on the interactions of users on your website, considering the most accessed pages and the most searched terms on Google about your business, for example.
According to Gartner, a leading market research and consultancy company, data analysis is at the forefront of the priority list of top Marketing leaders. And the big challenge for these professionals is to combine the interpretation of quantitative and qualitative metrics to better understand customers.
After all, it's not enough to have access to a huge amount of data without knowing what to do with it. You need to have a strategic look to assess which information really matters and has a positive impact on your sales, bringing more enrollments to the institution.
To maximize the impact of data-driven marketing strategies, it is essential to implement an outcomes-based measurement framework.
This model allows you to align marketing objectives with business results, making it easier to demonstrate the value of marketing actions to stakeholders.
Using frameworks that directly connect key performance indicators (KPIs) to organizational goals, promoting more accurate and effective analysis of campaigns.
How to do marketing with little money?
In addition to greater access to data, Digital Marketing has brought small and medium-sized companies the possibility of carrying out actions without having a very large budget. There are tools free (like Google Analytics) and other paid, but low-cost. Investments in advertising (Facebook, Instagram, Google, Bing) are smaller compared to traditional media such as television.
To start Digital Marketing actions, it is interesting to use marketing automation software, such as HubSpot (which has a free version and paid options). This type of program records the interaction history of your institution's leads and students with your website (pages the lead accessed, materials they downloaded, emails they opened and clicked on, etc.).
This way, the work of data analysis is made easier, since much of the information you will evaluate and interpret will be gathered in a single place.
It is also important to have a specialized team that knows best market practices and knows how to bring results to your institution. 4RevOps is focused on education and HubSpot's only Diamond partner in Brazil. We exceed expectations in generating results with inbound marketing, capturing more leads and reducing costs in the Educational Marketing we carry out for our clients.
Finally, it is important to highlight that adopting data-driven marketing practices not only improves the efficiency of campaigns, but also strengthens the institution’s position in the educational market.
By using data to better understand student behavior and needs, institutions can offer more personalized and relevant experiences, increasing student satisfaction and loyalty.
This student-centric approach is essential to stand out in an increasingly competitive environment.
Summary: Data-driven marketing enables more strategic decisions and greater efficiency for educational institutions. With accessible tools like Google Analytics and HubSpot, it's possible to personalize campaigns, predict trends, and increase enrollments at a lower cost. Adopting this approach is key to staying competitive in today's educational landscape.
Do you want to increase the number of enrollments at your institution at an affordable cost? Schedule a conversation with us.
How does data drive educational marketing?
What is data-driven marketing?
It’s an approach based on collecting and analyzing audience behavior data. It enables more strategic, personalized, and efficient decisions, improving student acquisition and retention.
Why should educational institutions adopt data-driven marketing?
Because it ensures precise decision-making, cost reduction, better audience communication, and measurable results, such as increased enrollments at a lower cost.
How do data improve educational campaigns?
They help accurately segment audiences, personalize messages, create more relevant content, and optimize investments based on proven results.
What tools support data-driven marketing?
Google Analytics, HubSpot, SEMrush, and automation platforms are key. They centralize data and offer valuable insights for more effective marketing actions.
Can efficient marketing be done on a low budget?
Yes. Digital marketing allows cost-effective campaigns. Free tools like Google Analytics and affordable paid solutions make this strategy accessible even to small institutions.
How does artificial intelligence support educational marketing?
AI enables scalable personalization, predictive analysis, and task automation. AI-based tools like HubSpot Breeze AI Suite help increase conversion rates and campaign efficiency.
What is the ethical role in using data and AI?
Institutions must use data ethically and transparently, respecting user privacy and avoiding bias or misuse in automated processes, especially in education.
How to measure the success of data-driven campaigns?
Use goal-aligned KPI frameworks to prove results, enhance decision-making, and demonstrate the true impact of marketing efforts.
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