Certainly you ever heard of inbound marketing? Correct? If you have not yet come into contact with this methodology, know that it is the most effective way to attract leads and generate conversions on the internet.
This strategy has been integrated with other educational marketing actions to prepare future students for the decision-making moment for an educational institution, saving time for the commercial team when enrollment closes.
The good news for us Brazilians is that inbound is still little used in the education sector. But those who invest in it have a lot to gain.
What you find in this post:
- What is Inbound Marketing?
- Why do Inbound Marketing?
- How to apply Inbound Marketing in your institution?
- ATTRACT or turn strangers into visitors
- CONVERT or turn your visitors into leads
- Call to Action (CTA) or "call to action".
- Form
- Landing Pages
- CLOSE or turn your leads into customers
- ENCHANT or turn your customers into promoters
What is Inbound Marketing?
This is a work methodology that aims to attract, convert, delight and retain customers. Its main pillar lies in content marketing, which arouses the interest of the online public through relevant and useful information.
The visitor who is attracted by the content of your website and blog, when he sees his questions answered, starts to relate with his educational institution. Then, the moment comes when he is able to make a simple exchange: some contact information for exclusive content, an e-book, for example.
From the moment you obtain that visitor's contact information, you have a lead. This lead is then educated with personalized content so that, at the end of their sales funnel, they are ready to make the decision to enroll.
After enrolling, it's time to use as digital marketing strategies for education to delight and retain this new student.
The time has come for you to understand the importance of Inbound Marketing for the education sector and how your institution can use this technique to improve student acquisition and retention.
Why do Inbound Marketing?
Most educational institutions still do not realize that consumer behavior has changed dramatically in recent years. By 2025, 80% of the buying journey will be done through digital channels, which means that having a strong digital presence is essential to attract future students.
Think like someone finishing high school and considering going to college: what's the first thing you would do to know your options? Search on Google.
Your search would be based on keywords and the results listed according to the relevance of the content published by educational institutions. The obvious trend - and already proven - is for Internet users to click on the first organic results (unpaid).
That said, the answer to our question is: you should do inbound marketing to increase the relevance of your educational institution and in search engines, achieving better online positioning.
But the benefits don't stop there: by sharing quality knowledge with thousands of people, you contribute to the institution's reputation, become a reference in the market, show what the educational institutions' differentials are and form a huge community of admirers.
How does this influence your results? First, it makes it easier to approach potential students and convince them to join your educational institution. Second, Inbound Marketing saves up to 60% on your marketing budget.
Finally, you have a strategy that generates results for much longer, after all, a blog post, for example, can be read by thousands of students, each at their own pace.
How to apply Inbound Marketing in your institution?
One of the great beauties of inbound marketing is that this strategy can be shaped, adapted and customized according to the needs of a company or a client. However, there is a cycle to be followed so that you can carry out conversions. This cycle is divided between ACTIONS and PEOPLE.
Using the example image, remember that there are no hard and fast rules when applying Inbound Marketing. "Can I continue using post-sale emails?" Clear! "I use networks in after sales". All good! The important thing is that its cycle is constant in each new action that implies capture and retention.
With that in mind, how can you apply the cycle at your institution? Let's go!
Read too:
- How audiovisual content works in inbound marketing
- 5 reasons to unite Inbound Marketing and CRM to your strategy
- Growth accelerated with Inbound Methodology
ATTRACT or turn strangers into visitors
The most important rule of inbound marketing is: you don't go to your customers, they come to you. And how does it work? Through presence, posture and, of course, strategy. Some of the most used techniques are content and SEO.
Content marketing is something that has changed a lot and very quickly in recent times. With changes in the audience of social networks, algorithms and the consumption of certain formats (videos, for example), making content that attracts is not easy. But you must invest in it.
The first step in doing good content marketing is defining your personas, or, in other words, your target audience.
Who are the people you want to reach? How old is it? What behavior? What kind of media do they consume?
Regardless of format or persona, content marketing is essential. And it is up to your Institution to find the best way to produce this content to attract your target audience.
The keyword here is "stability". And that's why in this "attraction" moment, you're turning acquaintances into visitors. The person who is interested in your content will always be "following" you, demonstrating that he is on the way to a possible decision-making process.
Another important point to "be seen" by your potential customers is to invest in SEO techniques. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) ou "optimization for search engines" is a type of strategy to improve your positioning (whether your institution's website or blog) in search engines
What does that mean? That by applying SEO techniques to your content, you increase the chance that your personas will find your institution more easily and quickly.
SEO and Content Marketing are strategies that go together and can be your best way to win phase 01 of the cycle. Attracting correctly increases your chances of conversion and closing.
In short, your focus should be 1) producing cool, attractive and enjoyable content for your target audience and 2) finding the best way to make your persona find you.
CONVERT or turn your visitors into leads
Many companies believe that the conversion part is the most important part of inbound marketing. In fact, converting is essential for your business and the keyword of this stage is: induction. Don't take it the wrong way. Inducing someone to take action is something conducive to digital marketing.
But why "induction"? Well, consider your prospect's side for a moment: it's very comfortable to be in the "passive consumer" position.
Your visitors like your content, consume it because they believe in quality or identify with what is being passed, it's good to be there... Why then should they really connect with you? How to change their need for this conversion?
Some techniques can help: Call to Action, Forms and Landing Pages.
Call to Action (CTA) or "call to action".
This is a tactic to "pull" potential customers towards conversion. The words and ideas here need to be spot on.
A good method to get this click is to bring attention-grabbing concepts. For example, exclusivity. If your visitor is reading an article and you place a call that goes something like this: "did you like this content? Then download our exclusive e-book on the same subject".
This lead capture is done organically, because the person is not only attracted by your content, but also attracted by connecting in a unique way with your institution.
Form
It's more "practical". It can be inserted in social networks as a link, with a call to "receive more information", for example. It can have a single field, with the call sign up for Newsletter. The focus of the form is to get basic data from your lead so that the cycle can continue.
Landing Pages
LPs or capture pages, these pages are intentionally created to convert visitors into leads. Unlike a form, the LP brings more content and information on a particular subject.
If you offer an ebook on a Landing Page, for example, you can put some "spoilers" of what the person will find in the content if they download it.
Options abound! The best prospecting strategy is the one that makes sense for your audience and your institution. Applying them in different mediums can increase your conversion rate even more.
CLOSE or turn your leads into customers
The 3rd stage of the cycle is everyone's dream, right? And it's almost impossible to talk about inbound marketing without mentioning email marketing practices. Ah, it's worth remembering that despite the name, this technique also consists of messages via WhatsApp or SMS.
The keyword in this cycle is "convincing", it is to strengthen the relationship by sending incentives for making a purchase decision. It's important to have good arguments to convince someone to buy your product/service.
In the case of your Institution, what are the points that make it different and the best choice for your leads? Is it the renown? Custom programs? The discount?
Regardless of what the argument is, use it to win over your lead. Just emphasizing that persuasion and insistence are different things. Don't be "the annoying relative" of your leads, but the mentor who will guide your leads to another level, to the future they want to achieve.
ENCHANT or turn your customers into promoters
Few institutions care about who has already become a client. But investing in a pon-sale it's essential. Getting clients shouldn't be your last action, after all, the cycle always starts again.
Enchantment is an incredible strategy to make the other 3 steps of your cycle more organic and fluid in the next capture. And how can you do this?
Create content aimed at those who are already your customers, promote actions within your Institution, events, lectures... Carry out social monitoring, with satisfaction surveys. Create actions for your students to bring in new leads, such as "refer a friend and get a discount".
The keyword here is "continuity". Once your lead becomes your customer, why lose them? Look for a lasting relationship and make it happen! Always stay connected, keep showing your students that they are as important as they were when they hadn't enrolled yet.
Were you interested in learning more about the revolution that Inbound is making in educational marketing? Contact us!
Portugal