Print is dying. Television is too expensive. Internet leads are too hard to reach and direct mail just gets thrown away. If you have ever invested a lot of money in any one of these advertising mediums, you have probably been disappointed with your results.
One of the most common things we have seen with trade schools and career colleges who market their own schools is the usage of some of the best marketing methods in some of the least effective ways. The fact of the matter is that, if implemented in the right way, all of these mediums are still highly-effective, and can result in huge gains for your school.
A lot of concerns over the past decade have been raised about the effectiveness of print advertising. Many schools have seen their marketing dollars put towards high-quality display ads with little to no results.
Education leads still read newspapers, but for different reasons than they did in the past. Understanding these reasons will help you create better ad copy and choose better ad placement. Doing so can result in high converting leads at a fraction of the cost of traditional print advertising.
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For many schools, the notion of putting out major branding campaigns similar to those of ITT and Lincoln Tech seems out of reach and unaffordable. However, what most schools don’t realize is that these types of branding campaigns rarely result in a significant number of qualified leads.
However, research shows that branded marketing can have a direct effect on the conversion to enrollments in other advertising mediums. In addition, producing the right kind of TV spots, leveraging other companies to help you cover costs and selecting the right stations and time spots can have a huge effect on the quantity and cost of the television leads your campaigns do generate.
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An effective internet marketing campaign goes well beyond traditional pay-per-click campaigns offered by a lot of marketing agencies. Most schools are missing out on a large share of local education seekers who are actively looking for schools online. This organic traffic is free, converts at a higher than normal rate and, in the right marketing mix, should account for more than 65% of your total internet lead generation efforts.
This does not mean that schools should ignore the potential of PPC campaigns. If your campaigns and follow-up processes are tailored towards the specific leads that your school should be targeting, these types of leads can convert just as well as other lead types at a lower cost.