3 Important Questions You Should Ask Of Your Education Marketing Agency

Navigating the UK education marketplace to get your message in front of the right people can be an extremely tricky business; tracking down your various stakeholders and then communicating with them in a way that is effective can be a hard task. Enlisting the help of an education marketing agency can be the best way of achieving your marketing objectives; but picking one that will deliver the results you want can prove to be a headache.

To make things simpler, here are three important questions that you should ask of anyone offering you their education marketing services: whether they understand the target market, whether they understand how to reach and communicate with stakeholders in a digital age, and whether they have a proven track record of delivering results.

1) Do they understand the Intricacies of the Market?

The education sector, more than most, contains within it a multitude of different audiences – from pupils, students and parents to teachers, primary and secondary schools, universities and independent institutions, to governmental organisations and the general public.

Your education marketing agency must understand the nuances of communicating with your various stakeholders and know how to get your message in front of them in the most effective way possible.

2) Do they get how to Communicate with People in a Digital Age?

When getting your message across, any good education marketing agency will understand that the most effective campaigns take an integrated approach, through a mixture of traditional PR and marketing methods, social media, search engine optimisation and video content. When combined, these methods make for the most effective way of getting your message heard.

For example, social media provides a powerful tool not just for identifying potential stakeholders, but learning more about their preferences and methods of communication. Facebook alone has nearly a billion active users, and LinkedIn 225 million. Employing an education marketing agency that has expert knowledge in navigating the various social networks to track down the people you want to connect with is a must. They must also be able to produce compelling content to win them round.

Moreover, everyone knows that in an ever-digital age, the search engine is vital to getting found online. A good education marketing agency will underscore all online activity – be it online PR or social media – with a solid understanding of search engine optimisation and the best way of getting your company ranking in the right search results.

3) Do they have a Track Record of Delivering Results?

End results are crucial, and any education marketing agency worth its salt will be able to support any claims to greatness with proven, quantifiable outcomes.

A strong education marketing campaign will have clear, measurable objectives, and any agency you appoint should be able to show you in detail how it has helped companies in the past and how it will achieve your objectives. They should also be able to regularly report back on progress.

Hannah Stacey is an account manager at integrated education marketing agency, TopLine Communications