People in the higher education industry work at a different pace. When summer is winding down, you’re winding up to welcome students and start off a new academic semester. As the year comes to a close, you’re working to have your faculty and classrooms ready to hit the ground running as soon as the holidays are over. The to-do- list is long, and time is a precious commodity.
Why You Need a Digital Marketing Agency in Higher Education
Because running a higher education organization can be so consuming, it can be difficult to find time to think about advertising, which is why many institutions look to bring on a digital marketing agency. Finding the right marketing partner can help:
- Free up personnel and resources to better focus on the needs of the school and students
- Increase leads and enrollment by better targeting the students who truly fit the school’s culture
- Take advantage of the full slate of digital marketing tools out there without having to spend the time and resources
- Stay competitive within the dynamic landscape of higher education
Keyword here being: the right marketing partner. There are a lot of digital marketing agencies out there, but not all of them have the in-depth knowledge of the higher education industry necessary to be truly effective. Schools and colleges need an agency that understands the unique challenges and goals of education marketing, that can balance student demographics, program and educational branding, and enrollment outcomes.
7 Things to Consider When Picking the Right Higher Education Marketing Agency
What experience does the agency have in the higher education landscape?
You probably expected this to come up pretty early on; obviously, an agency that has worked closely with schools, colleges, and universities in the past will have a wealth of real-life experience to draw from. And the greater the variety of higher education institutions that they’ve worked with, the better. An agency that already recognizes the different approaches required for trade schools versus traditional colleges will be able to move quickly without you having to handhold them through the onboarding process.
What are you hoping to see from your agency partner?
There are a lot of different types of agencies out there, and not all of them will be a good match for your particular goals. Take agency size, for example. A large digital marketing agency might have more personnel and resources at their disposal, but may not be able to move as fast or give as much personalized attention depending on their client list. A smaller digital marketing agency might not have the same resource library, but are more likely to be nimble, adaptable, and more personalized to your needs.
Is the agency powered by data-driven decision makers?
To be frank: if an education marketing agency isn’t building their strategies and campaigns off data, they’re not worth your time. Your prospective students are generating a constant stream of information about themselves, their preferences, their interests, and their daily lives. Collecting it, analyzing it, and using it as the foundation for marketing is essential, and they should be able to walk you through exactly how they do it.
What is the range of services that they offer?
The best campaigns these days are multichannel or even omnichannel. They’re personalized, coordinated, and consistent across a wide variety of media. Big or small, a higher education marketing firm should understand this and be able to offer services to match, including:
- Website development and management
- Content strategy and marketing
- Search engine optimization
- Paid digital media
- Social media management
- Reputation management and social listening
- Email marketing and retargeting
- TV and print media
- Consulting
What is the value they offer for your money?
Depending on the nature of your higher education organization, you might not have a huge marketing budget to offer them. There are agencies out there who can only deliver big returns when they have big money to spend on it. The right digital marketing agency for you will be able to work with what you have, not what they wish you had, and still deliver on your performance goals.
What is the agency’s track record?
Every agency will tell you that they’re the best; the right higher education marketing agency will be able to prove it. They’ll be able to show you how they are growing, what their customer retention rate is, what kinds of testimonials they’re receiving from clients. They’ll have examples and case studies on how they’ve delivered for clients that are similar to you, both in industry and in budget. They’ll give you concrete, straightforward answers, not meaningless sales lingo.
What level of accountability do they have?
The students at your school have to show up and do the work in order to pass. You should expect the same from your digital marketing partner. A good education marketing firm will be able to communicate the kinds of metrics and benchmarks they’ll use to measure campaign performance and be transparent and accountable throughout the process. You shouldn’t have to guess where your dollars are being spent; you should have that information delivered to you regularly with an A+ level of clarity and detail.
Get More From Your Marketing With EdwardsSchoen
If you’re ready to connect with a digital higher education marketing agency who can be a true partner to your institution, then now is the perfect time to start a conversation with EdwardsSchoen. We combine large agency experience with the nimbleness and accountability of a boutique firm, resulting in a proven track record of results. Learn more about us or contact us.
