The Power of a Tailored Journey
EdTech brands have a unique opportunity to target diverse stakeholders, which can be great for business, but it can also present a great challenge.
Different people care about different things, right? So why do we think different people would positively respond to the same strategies and tactics? If you’re trying to use the same marketing channels to engage and convert them all, it can muddle the benefits and value propositions you present about your product. Personalization can help.
In this blog, we’ll walk through the magic behind personalization in education marketing, focusing on why a tailored journey is a game-changer for your brand. Let’s dig in.
Understand the Audience Journey
An audience journey is the route your target customer takes while exploring your products, services, or brand. In its simplest form, the journey involves discovering what’s on offer, gaining knowledge about it, contemplating whether to invest in it, and eventually, deciding to spend money on it (or not).
Identify Needs and Challenges
So, how do you go about mapping out your audience’s journey? Well, a good place to start is to identify who your audience is.
Who are they? Where are they? What are their interests? What are their distinct needs and challenges? How does your edtech product or service meet their unique needs and solve their challenges?
Is your edtech offering a gamified app teachers can use in their classrooms? Is it a learning management system or platform? Does it offer tutoring or make something easier for students?
To develop clear personas that you can build user journeys around, get specific about who your audience is and what they need. Then, define how your product can help.
Recognize Diverse Entry Points
Once you’ve developed personas for your target customers, think through where they first encounter your brand. Do they find you through an online search? Through social media? Word of mouth?
Consider all the potential entry points that could lead customers to your brand. Then, using customer profiles to target different subsets of your audience, create tailored journeys that lead them from an entry point all the way through to become buyers and advocates of your brand.
Pro tip? They also don’t need to land on the same homepage. Point different subsets of your audience to different places on your website that are tailored to their unique pain points.
Segmentation and Targeting: Transform Your Marketing Strategy
Now you know who your target customer is. You’ve done the research to understand who they are, where they are, and what they need. You’ve mapped out the varying ways they can learn about your brand. So, why does it feel like the marketing materials you’ve developed for these varying customer personas are just screaming into a void?
A lot of things could be creating this void, but we could guess that you’ve missed some key info along the way and you’re not able to segment your audience for the targeted approach you need.
Segmentation can help you zero in on who will click on your materials and convert, ensuring your ads reach who you want and when you want. From demographics to behaviors, leveraging the right data can create marketing strategies that hit the bullseye.
Connect with Your Customer on a Personal Level
Demographics are important, but checking the demographics box isn’t enough. You must immerse yourself in your audience’s experiences and view the world through their eyes.
In the marketing world, we like to throw around the phrase “psychographic segmentation.” But what the heck does that actually mean? It’s when you divide a customer group into various segments based on their beliefs, lifestyle, values, interests, opinions, attitudes, and other psychological nuances.
Doing this enables you to customize messaging in a way that resonates deeply with your audience. It allows you to forge an emotional connection and loyalty that will sear your brand into their mind – distinguishing you as a standout choice amidst the crowded edtech space.
Reach Administrators of Educational Institutions
Now, we know that education and campus administrators are key decision-makers in adopting edtech solutions. How can you reach these leaders?
Highlighting the efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and positive impact on administrative processes can be compelling.
Identify administrators based on their institution type and specific challenges. For example, if your edtech offering is geared toward efficient resource allocation and improved communication, you might want to target administrators in large school districts or large college ecosystems.
Reach them through professional platforms like LinkedIn and industry conferences. Craft content, case studies, and demonstrations highlighting the scalability and administrative benefits of your edtech solution, such as centralized data management and analytics.
Also, be sure to include impact numbers to show how your solution not only makes their lives easier, but has a positive effect on who they care about most: the students.
Personalization in Education Marketing: Your Strategy for Cultivating EdTech Success
Simply put, personalization is a game-changer in education marketing. It’s all about tailoring the journey to your specific audience, understanding their unique challenges, underscoring how your brand solves those challenges, and consistently communicating the positive impact on students.
If your edtech marketing strategies need a personalization overhaul, book a call with us to learn how we can help. And be sure to follow us on LinkedIn for all the clever tips and tricks for bringing your brand to new heights.