We live in the Information Age, where data analysis becomes crucial for improving the performance of any higher education institution. Therefore, it is extremely important that you know what big data is and how to apply it in your institution.
What will you see in this post?
- What is Big Data?
- Big Data and the transformation of education
- How Big Data is applied in educational marketing
- Big Data and the learning experience
- Student retention with Big Data
We heard about Big Data, Data Analytics, Web Analytics, among other terms that, when added together, shed new light on the provision of quality education.
In this scenario, we can say that data is the golden key to having insights that guide quick and objective decision-making, in addition to helping the team to work with the data analysis predictive and correct possible gaps in the customer journey.
want to understand what big data is and the reasons why it is a very strong ally in Educational Marketing? Continue with us in this post and understand everything you need to know about Big Data and its application in educational institutions!
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What is Big Data?
When we talk about Big Data, we are talking about access to a large amount of data collected in large volumes and generally at high speed.
Big Data plays a strong role in university marketing, since we need to know the profile of our ideal student, find him long before the entrance exam and prepare him for the higher education journey.
Through some studies carried out here at 4revops, We identified that a lead begins to be prepared to become a student at an institution three or four years before enrolling in college. That is, it is extremely important to accompany this lead at every moment of this journey.
Another important point is that throughout graduation, we must provide the necessary follow-up to each student for a comprehensive training, focused on the job market and able to help the new professional for the possible challenges he will face.
In this scenario, will Big Data be applied to your educational institution? That's what we'll see in the next paragraphs!
Big Data and the transformation of education
Educational institutions are great producers of information. From the moment of capturing leads to the academic management of students, the main input of your marketing team's work is knowledge.
Demographic data of students, marketing channels used to attract students, interactions at each point of contact, enrollment control, profile of graduates, difficulties presented throughout graduation, all this is information that can be transformed into a competitive advantage for your educational institution.
In this scenario, the role of Big Data is to collect data from various sources, confront them in real time and extract insights that help in strategic planning and in conducting marketing strategies.
But not only that, this data collection can also help your educational institution in the choice of courses offered, in the setting up of curriculum grids and monitoring of students, offering an increasingly personalized teaching and aligned with the expectations of students and, of course, of the market in which they are inserted.
In short: when we talk about Big Data, we refer to a set of technologies that favor decision-making, identifying opportunities where the human eye cannot reach.
These technologies and big data tools have been part of the educational environment for some time, such as ERP, CRM, software marketing automation, virtual learning environment, among others. Together, they provide subsidies for your HEI to become better every day.
How Big Data is applied in educational marketing
One of the segments in which we see greater applicability of data analysis in educational marketing, where the concept of Big Data Marketing expands and attracts several teaching institutions by developing more assertive lead capture and student conversion strategies.
The internet is full of quality information that can be used in marketing campaigns. Whether on websites, blogs or social networks, Internet users leave traces of information that can be collected and analyzed by Big Data in order to understand what are the real needs of future students.
From such insights, your marketing team is able to build targeted campaigns and reduce investment needs, while attracting more qualified leads.
As tools of Big Data Analytics can be applied to monitor marketing performance in real time, allowing proactive action in adjusting campaigns, actions and budgets.
Thus, your HEI "misses faster" while getting the strategies right faster, no longer spending money where the results are not favorable to invest only in the channels whose potential for attraction and conversion really matters.
Big Data and the learning experience
One of the great challenges of higher education institutions is to respect the peculiarities of each student and offer personalized education that helps build new skills and improve existing ones, without losing sight of market demands regarding the professional profile that egress must present.
In this sense, Big Data is, today, the greatest ally of educational institutions. With the analysis of data history of each student, which can be followed since childhood, it is possible to determine what are the greatest difficulties of each one and create personalized curricula and content.
As in data analysis, the educational institution can assess the social and economic context of its region and adapt courses to local needs, generating value for the population and contributing to the social and economic development of the country. This study is of great value for technological courses, for example.
The unique experience lived by the students is also transformed into word of mouth advertising, visibility on social networks and a highlight for the HEI, which ends up with a strengthened reputation for using technological resources to offer quality education.
Student retention with Big Data
Another advantage of applying Big Data at your educational institution is related to student retention. In2021, we had almost 3.5 million students dropouts from private higher education in Brazil.
There are many reasons for dropping out: from the lack of resources to continue paying for studies, passing through the lack of identification with the chosen career caused by a lack of preparation in high school, to the performance regarding the proposed activities in the classroom.
With the use of Big Data, educational institutions can predict future cases of dropout. The student who he leaves paying tuition fees will soon be forced to leave classes, students with many absences tend to have very low grades and may end up dropping out of the course, among others.
Candidates who did not go through a vocational guidance process or who were pressured by their family to pursue a certain career are another strong candidate for dropping out.
Proactive action in these cases can prevent an increase in the dropout rate and build student loyalty, keeping them engaged with the institution not only during graduation, but also in graduate school.
A systematic follow-up of data generated within the educational institution itself is capable of reversing situations like these and assisting in educational management, in the development of internal student retention programs, in monitoring the performance of the academic community and in many other cases.
Even teaching performance can be monitored through Big Data, contributing to the development of continuing education programs for the public.
Would you like to know more about the important role of data analysis for your sales funnel? How about taking the "cue" and checking out our 8 tips on how to analyze your data properly? Click on the link and discover for yourself:
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