5 school marketing trends you need to know in 2024
2024 is not the year to be running with the “same old” marketing and communications. With campaigns in the education sector looking ever-more slick and professional, and with the rise of discerning consumers who will keep swiping through the schools directory until they find the perfect fit, it’s important that your school’s collateral is informative, engaging and consistent.
Here’s what you need to know in order to successfully market your school this year.
Social proof is the new word-of-mouth. Prospective parents are Millennials and members of Gen Z - they’re looking for schools online and cross checking information with a Google search. Schools should ensure a Google search reflects positively on their brand and provides an accurate narrative. You can start by registering your business with Google, updating contact details and then reporting any reviews on your profile that look like spam or are offensive. You can also leverage real student and parent testimonials in your ad campaigns to add trustworthiness and authenticity to your marketing.
Social media is social, again. Social media is an essential marketing tool for schools but it’s not the traffic accelerator it used to be. The ever-evolving algorithm can’t be “hacked” but it does reward accounts that post consistently and meaningfully. This year, social media is a place for community engagement and it will work for brands that know their audience and have a clear content strategy.
Robots crunch numbers, people create things. Sure, you can use Chat GPT to write your Instagram captions, but they’re typically generic, vacuous and easily spotted as inauthentic by audiences. 2024 is the year to stop wasting time trying to get AI to write content and design collateral, only to re-do it yourself. If you need to outsource marketing creative, do so, and learn to use AI for processes like analysing data from a social media campaign, doing basic market research or suggesting trending hashtags or topics for a specific platform.
There are many ways to be smart (and successful). Schools have always aimed to deliver students a comprehensive education, with a balance of academic learning and growth in other areas. But to-date, public interest has been limited to ranking schools using NAPLAN and HSC results, which are, arguably, the only real tangible and comparable scores available. However, with university enrolment declining, more Australian schools opting to run the International Baccalaureate Diploma and a greater awareness of youth mental health, parents are looking to see evidence of students being supported to grow on the sporting field, in their values, in business and in their communities, which is great news for your content marketing.
Hook, line and sink ‘em…within two seconds. Since the arrival of TikTok, audience attention span, already woefully short, is at an all-time low. Landing an instant blow with a good hook for your story has never been more crucial. Other technical specs that make a difference to your engagement include using short-form video strategically, turning on closed-captions and accessible descriptions and delivering content using the optimum dimensions for each platform.
