Marketing to Adult Learners on a Shoestring Budget Presented by Cíntia Miranda
Introduction Cíntia Miranda TREY 2 research
• Challenges • Vision • Plan • Tactics Agenda • Q&A TREY 3 research
Challenges You’re not alone! TREY 4 research
Common Challenges It’s hard being a marketer • Wearing multiple hats • Unsure about where to focus • Insufficient marketing training • Lack of marketing funds TREY 5 research
Vision Take control of your position TREY 6 research
Create a vision statement for your regional program to help you focus. The purpose of a vision statement is to help you create a roadmap Create a Vision between the present and the future. Stay ahead of the game TREY 7 research
Prioritize How should you be spending your time? • 70% of your time should be spent on your strengths • 25% of your time should be spent on new things • 5% of your time should be spent on your weaknesses TREY 8 research
How can you become a better marketer for Maine Adult Education? • Understand your target audience • Learn how to speak to them as individuals • Find out what their challenges are and Be Proactive figure out a way to solve them • Test new marketing tactics • Make more mistakes! Stay ahead of the game TREY 9 research
Commit Transform your vision into reality • Commitment separates doers from dreamers • Commitment is tested by action • Devote a certain amount of time per day to marketing TREY 10 research
Develop a Plan Every winning team has a game plan TREY 11 research
One Year Begin with a 12-month plan • Create a SWOT analysis • Identify your ‘low hanging fruits’ • Develop SMART goals • Establish a marketing budget • Determine how you’ll measure success (KPIs) TREY 12 research
Did you accomplish all the tasks you listed on your monthly plan? • Devote a minimum of 2 hours per day executing your plan • Create a spreadsheet listing individual tasks • Check the progress of your digital One Month campaigns daily • Make adjustments to your campaigns weekly Take stock of your performance • Run a month-end report of your accomplishments TREY 13 research
Three Months What does your quarter looks like • Did you meet your quarterly goals? • What does your website traffic look like? • Did your marketing initiatives work? • Make adjustments and focus on your goals for the next quarter. TREY 14 research
You’re halfway there. Will you get to the summit? • Collect data from current students to find out their perception of your brand, your product, and your service • Identify recent barriers to conversion • Analyze which marketing channels are offering the best ROI Six Months • Make sure your strategy is being executed as originally planned Halfway mark reality check • If need be, make modifications to adjust your plan to the market TREY 15 research
Tactics Define each strategy meticulously TREY 16 research
Your website is your front desk on the web. Keep it clean! • Navigation should be intuitive – no more than 3 clicks to conversion • Content must be engaging • Images need to resonate with your target audience Website • Every page should function as you’d expect on mobile and on desktop Keep your website updated • On page and off page SEO should be up to date TREY 17 research
Use your website data to help you market your courses Check your Google Analytics report on a monthly basis to find out: • which programs are generating web traffic and which are not • which keywords and search terms are being used to find your website • where your traffic is coming from • reasons for abandoned carts and high bounce rates • demographic information of your website visitors • the most commonly used devices • peak traffic times TREY 18 research
Create engaging content that will help your visitors convert Assure your potential new students that they’re making the right decision by offering information that supports it: • Write blog posts explaining what to expect from your courses • Encourage your instructors to write engaging bios and keep their LinkedIn profiles up to date • Offer testimonials of past students • Create simple infographics communicating relevant data about the ROI of your courses TREY 19 research
Social Media An inexpensive way to market your courses • Easy to maintain • Time consuming • Only works if you find a way to speak to your target audience • Requires consistency TREY 20 research
Social media marketing is essential to your success • Create a weekly editorial calendar with 1-2 posts per day • Design visually compelling images using canva.com • Make sure your content is short and engaging Facebook – 80-100 characters, 15-second videos Age group: 18-44 (75%) Twitter – 71-100 characters, 10-second videos Median age: 40 LinkedIn – 25 words, 30-second videos Age group: 25-54 (80%) Instagram – 100-150 characters, 10-second videos Age group: 18-44 (79%) Source: Pew Research Center TREY 21 research
Post suggestions • Blogs • Course announcements • Relevant data about the job market • Benefits of earning a diploma or certificate • Success stories • Tips for adult learners • Inspirational quotes • Support services • Sprinkle some fun TREY 22 research
Advertising Suggestions on Facebook and Instagram • Boost your best post of the week for 7 days (Budget at least $2.00 per day per boosted post) • Advertise your new courses • Create a Facebook retargeting pixel for your ads to build an audience for retargeting ads • Create video ads (15 seconds max) • Create slideshow ads using multiple relevant images • Change the imagery of your ads every 15 days to avoid fatigue TREY 23 research
Keep in touch with your students • Email marketing is not obsolete • 90% of adults actively use email 1 • Email marketing (not to be confused with SPAM) is an effective and inexpensive way to build a strong Email Marketing relationship with your current and prospective students Keep your past students engaged Source: optinmonster.com TREY 24 research
Ideas for email marketing content • Reach out to your General Enrichment students with a monthly newsletter • Keep your workforce preparation students engaged with tips to help them stay focused on the program • Share simple but informative infographics with your English Language Learners • Share success stories to help your students feel that they too can achieve their goals TREY 25 research
Geofencing Create a virtual fence around your target audience • Using GPS or RFID you can set a specific barrier around an area you wish to target • Only people within this virtual barrier will receive your mobile display ads • You can also retarget users after they leave the barrier TREY 26 research
• You can match a list of physical addresses with their corresponding IP addresses to show your ads only to a highly targeted audience • You can re-target your geofenced campaign to follow people who engaged with your ad within the fence to their home or work IP IP Targeting addresses • IP Targeting offers a higher click- though rate than any other type of Hyper-target your ads digital advertising. TREY 27 research
Programmatic Ads Video, audio, and display • Precise targeting based on their demographics and psychographics • Offers layers of filters, including ‘those who are in market for education’ • Much more cost effective than any type of traditional media TREY 28 research
Is traditional media dead? Yes, and no. • Traditional media is still highly relevant with Baby Boomers • Cable TV, radio, and print newspaper can be the best advertising channels for rural audiences What you should keep in mind: Traditional Media • Consumer behavior is changing across all generations • Base your advertising decisions on data, Radio, TV, and print media are still effective not on what worked in the past when it comes to traditional media TREY 29 research
Earned Media Take advantage of your media network • Press releases • Open house events • Public service announcements • Shareable content online • Word of mouth • Online ratings TREY 30 research
• Ask your instructors and past students to share your social media posts • Create a referral program for your General Enrichment students • Offer discounts for multiple registrations • Have monthly giveaways on social Grassroots Ideas media to keep your audience engaged Keep recruiting influencers to help you market your courses • Spread the word about your courses though tear-off flyers in community centers TREY 31 research
Conclusion Dare to make mistakes • Marketing is a very complex function • Focus on your strengths • Commit to your vision • Test, adjust, rinse, and repeat. TREY 32 research
Keep in Touch Cíntia Miranda 207-947-9333 ext. 9510 cmiranda@pulsemarketingagency.com pulsemarketingagency.com TREY 33 research
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