From Monologues to Conversations: The changing face of Education Marketing

Authored by Surabhi Sharma, Sr. Director - Marketing, Hero Vired

It wasn’t long ago when you could easily spot a billboard promising to launch your career and have you race ahead of your peers. Or find a full-page advertisement dotted with tiny passport-sized photos of students having bagged their seats at one of the most coveted institutes. Or even come across a TV ad with college-goers who seemed to be going about their studies with a panache that was so compelling, it would make you want to go back to studying.

But that was then.

The rules of the game have fundamentally been altered since the pandemic. What was essentially a one-way communication with institutes and platforms bragging about their content and curriculum, was quickly becoming a pat-on-the-back that had gone on too long.

Marketing techniques used by today’s education and learning platforms have evolved over time. Their focus has shifted from monologues and passive advertising to more inclusive and conversational methods that ensure a deeper engagement with the brand in question. One of the most relevant, modern ways to do this is to harness the power of AI for having more meaningful conversations with your prospective learners. Take for example a Chatbot that can identify your skill gap, understand your expectations, predict your career path – all in an easy, Q&A manner – and recommend a program that would be ideal for you. Very unlike your friendly neighborhood uncle who gives out unsolicited career advice.

The growth of Whatsapp has also aided consultative marketing. Out of the 2 billion Whatsapp users worldwide, almost 1/4^th are in India, making this tool an extremely valuable asset within one’s media mix. With conversation being the bedrock of marketing & eventually commerce, it leads to infinitely higher engagement with the customer. Sharing real-time information, participation in polls and events, providing customized updates, taking and sharing feedback – each one being an important cog in understanding them better and establishing a connection with them over time. Not just that, you can use this tool to get real feedback from learners over their entire journey – before, during, and even after their core relationship with the brand is through, ensuring longevity of the relationship.

In a country where over millions of students graduate every year, only one in 4 MBAs, one in 5 engineers, and one in 10 graduates are employable. Therefore, the focus of the learner is squarely on equippingthemselves with the knowledge and skills necessary to secure that all-important job role and future-prooftheircareer. Meaningful information, active listening, discussion-based webinars, relevant topics, moment-driven content – all of these are collectively responsible for persuading a potential learner in favor of a skilling brand, with her seeing these as means of getting armed with the right knowledge.

The format of the conversation is also as relevant as the conversation itself. The same knowledge when shared in a manner of story-telling and discussion not only aids retention but also creates an opportunity for a longer window of contactability. It creates a positive disposition for the brand in question, knowing that this dialogue won’t just be a one-way street.

Marketing and branding methodologies in education today require to be reflective of the environment and era they are in and can go a long way in creating a compelling narrative. With the increasing accuracy and training of AI coupled with our own understanding of learners today, we can create marketing campaigns that are not only data-driven and personalized but also help strike the right chord with audiences, who are no longer satiated with vanilla advertising and monologue marketing.