3 Not So "Game Changing" Marketing Strategies (But Will Help You Win In EdTech)
EdTech marketers juggle and straddle the line of sound marketing strategies against trendy, one-hit wonders, always asking if they should be chasing the next big thing. It's easy for marketers, especially in the EdTech sector, to feel overwhelmed by fleeting trends and quick fixes. But the secret to making a lasting impact lies in something other than digital gimmicks. Instead, enduring, value-filled marketing includes data-driven decision-making and a deep understanding of the target audience's ongoing challenges and objectives.
Understand Your Audience: The Power of Market Research
While it might not shatter the earth beneath your feet, the truth of marketing remains—know your audience like the back of your hand. For those in EdTech, this is your call to move beyond assumptions and become a digital anthropologist. A deep understanding of your audience is the foundation of any successful marketing strategy. Your experiences as a student, or even your tenure within school districts, can't be the sole compass guiding your EdTech marketing strategy. I was a teacher for almost 15 years, but that doesn't make me an expert on the current trends in education. I don't solely rely on my experiences. Rhetoric won't get you far; you must grasp the needs, challenges, and priorities of key school district stakeholders who seek your solution.
Let's break down some of these school district administrative roles and their pain points and objections:
EdTech marketers who understand these roles, struggles, and areas of contention will create messages that resonate and offer real solutions. Plain and simple.
How To Capture The Voice of Your Customer in 3 Easy Ways
1. Join, but don't spam social media groups. Be an observer or active participant. Not a promoter.
To connect and speak the language of school administrators and educators, you need to deeply understand those who lead and make decisions. Social media groups, where your target audience actively seeks guidance and shares experiences, are goldmines for insights.
For instance, if you're targeting building principals, one insightful resource is the social media group like "The Principal's Desk" on Facebook. These groups offer unfiltered glimpses into the daily lives of administrators. By monitoring the questions they ask, the advice they give, and the posts they interact with most, you gain a direct line to their immediate concerns, needs, and 'swipe-able' language.
2. Look for High-Engagement Posts
Look for conversations that garner a lot of attention. These discussions often reflect the pressing issues administrators face. For example, this post about balancing work-life commitments as a principal attracted many comments and indicated a wider concern for this target audience.
Use these insights to create campaigns or content that speak to these struggles. If the conversation revolves around re-engaging and uplifting staff spirits after breaks, consider creating an infographic with tips for a joyful return to work or a blog post with actionable steps to reignite the team's morale for teaching.
3. Create Lead-Magnet Based on Community Needs
In January, when educators return from winter break, the challenge of re-engagement is common. Make a lead-magnet, such as an e-book or webinar, focused on strategies to invigorate the school atmosphere. You'll provide value and position your brand as understanding and responsive to the needs of school leaders.
Key Takeaway: Regularly observe social media groups for market research (Do NOT self-promote. Be a contributor, not a spammer, if you want to participate). Swipe words and phrases from your target audience to mirror your solution to their specific needs and challenges. Note the recurring themes and questions. Then, design marketing efforts that address these points directly.
How to Outrank EdTech Companies (even with those competitive keywords)
Digital presence is more important than ever. SEO and keyword research help EdTech marketers increase visibility and attract more website traffic. Outranking competitors has many benefits. Higher search ranking increases website traffic, which leads to better lead generation. But finding that elusive keyword that yields high search results (1,000+), high cost per click, and low SEO difficulty (30 or less) is like eating an avocado at its peak stage of ripeness.
SEO Tips:
Identify keywords that your target audience uses when searching for problems to their solutions.
Optimize your website's content, titles, and meta descriptions with these keywords.
Regularly produce valuable content, such as blog posts and case studies, to improve your site's ranking and engage your audience.
Conduct keyword research specific to the EdTech sector. Optimize your website and content strategy to rank higher for these terms, making it easier for potential clients to find you online.
High Rankings (even for those competitive keywords)
At its core, SEO is the synergy between understanding the intricate mechanics of search engines and the multifaceted interests of your audience (but you already have that locked in because you actively complete market research). It's about appealing to algorithms, engaging human curiosity, and answering real questions. This dual-focus approach guarantees that when your content climbs the ranks of Google, it will garner views and spark engagement.
Strategic SEO Writing
Forget the myth that SEO writing dampens creativity. Instead, think of it as traditional copywriting strengthened by SEO tactics. It's about creating high-quality content that naturally includes strategic keywords to satisfy readers' curiosity and the technical savvy of search engines. To achieve this, I perform keyword research first but file the words away. Then, I write my content with a rough idea of those keywords, but they're not in the forefront of my mind. Then, I return to my list and weave the keywords and long tail keywords into the piece so it comes across as organic and non-spammy.
Here's a 60,000-foot view of SEO for EdTech marketers:
Begin with broad keywords from your market research that capture the essence of your content. Expand using tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, or SEMrush, and find the perfect balance between search volume and competition.
Search for the keyword you want to use and analyze the current top spot. Go beyond what currently exists, either by word count or, even better, by value. Create comprehensive resources that answer those unanswered questions with unique quality. Think original research, case studies, and actionable insights.
Organize content to address user intent, using logical headings and subheadings. Make your content scannable with H1, H2, and H3 tags to improve readability and SEO performance.
Let your first draft flow, then sculpt it into clarity. Refine your writing so it speaks to your audience and addresses their needs from your market research.
Place your primary keyword in the title, meta descriptions, and early in the content (the first 100 words). Integrate secondary keywords naturally, and remember, images need attention, too—alt tags and file names matter.
Share your content across platforms (email and social media) to propel engagement. Use analytics to monitor performance and refine your content based on user data.
Key Takeaway: By following these steps, your content will rank highly and deliver value that both search engines and educators appreciate. Remember, SEO is dynamic, so you must remain informed, adaptive, and reflective of your published content.
What Educators Really Want? Connection. How to Build Authentic Relationships
The final piece of the EdTech marketing puzzle is to foster genuine connections with your audience. One of the most powerful levers of influence, according to Robert B. Cialdini, is unity. When people feel they are part of a group and share an identity, they're more likely to be influenced by others in that group. This is because the sense of being 'one of us' leads to a willingness to cooperate. Unity and community lend themselves nicely to the education market. School administrators and teachers think in 'we' terms, and with education being such an inter-connected pursuit, EdTech companies can use the unity strategy to their advantage without feeling sleazy about it. This means engaging with educators, administrators, and decision-makers where they are: online forums, social media groups, and educational conferences.
Community Engagement Strategies
Participate in relevant LinkedIn groups or Twitter chats to share your expertise and learn from your audience. This will help form your market research while increasing your likeability with target audiences.
Offer valuable resources or host live challenges, like 'How to Write Your Monthly Home-School Newsletter in 3 Days, to solve everyday challenges administrators and educators face.
Attend and present at EdTech conferences to build relationships and stay informed about industry trends.
Key Takeaway: Identify online and offline spaces where your target audience gathers. Engage with these communities authentically, offering insights and resources without overt selling. This approach builds trust and positions your brand as a thought leader in the EdTech space.
Your EdTech Company Will Survive By Doing These 3 Marketing Strategies
While trends may come and go, the foundation of effective marketing in the EdTech industry remains constant. EdTech solution providers need
Deep understanding of your audience.
Strategic online visibility and SEO.
Genuine community engagement.
Focus on these timeless digital marketing strategies, and you'll create more sustainability and connection for your EdTech company over fleeting trends.
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