The edtech industry has boomed exponentially in the past decade. Previously, edtech was a buzzword that seemed to be an offshoot of the digital age. Today, it’s a revolution and a movement. Traditional classrooms are being gradually swapped for digital classes and teaching aids. This change is also reflected in revenue as the edtech market is currently worth $244 billion and this number is expected to reach $605 billion by 2027.
Unfortunately, despite this industry’s glorious coming of age, not many edtech companies have broken through yet. What is the problem? An increase in competition.
To break through the crowd and reach your target audience, it’s essential to utilize and amplify effective marketing strategies. Thus, whether your edtech startup teaches math for first graders or highschoolers, the following marketing solutions will come in handy:
Story Stages
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Search Engine Optimization is a standard practice for any startup looking to reach their target audience and amass a large number of users or customers. While it’s too broad a topic to explore in one article, we’ll go over the basics.
In today’s world, anyone seeking the answer to any question goes to the internet for help. The internet directs people to websites that provide the answers to said questions, which ultimately leads to conversions for the websites.
By prioritizing search engine optimization, you can improve your SERP rankings and build conversions. Users who search for edtech-related questions or solutions will automatically be directed to your website.
Pro Tip: It’s important to note that with SEO, you don’t get results within a day. It takes months of constant strategizing, link building, and keyword research to see results. However, the results are instrumental to your startup’s growth.
Therefore, it’s essential for startups to invest in reliable and efficient SEO services for startups. With the right SEO strategy and implementation, your startup can achieve higher visibility on search engine results pages (SERP) and attract more potential customers, which can ultimately lead to long-term growth and success for your business.
Email Marketing
Email marketing is yet another marketing strategy to consider for developing an edtech startup. However, this strategy is slowly declining as less people read brand emails today. Therefore, startups looking to utilize email marketing must put in extra efforts to ensure that their target users read all the emails.
To build and implement a successful email campaign, you should first consider the target users’ pain points. What do they need? What are they interested in? The answers to these questions will help ensure that your emails offer a receiver the very thing they’re after.
In the same vein, you must avoid spamming your users. While three emails a day may seem like an effective strategy, it’s an active repellent to your audience.
Finally, automate your email marketing campaigns to reach more users in less time. Using email marketing tools, you can manage your email creation lists more efficiently.
Personalize Messages and Carve out a Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
Personalization is a useful tool for any startup edtech company looking to hack marketing campaigns. The more personalized your messages are, the higher your chances of a positive reception. But how exactly can you personalize your brand message?
To begin with, avoid focusing your campaign on your competitors. Instead, concentrate on their pain points. For instance, don’t tell how your product is superior to product x. Instead, tell the audience how your product can help solve their problems.
In the same vein, ensure that your startup has a unique selling proposition. The edtech industry is quite competitive, and for every solution you can think of, chances are that it already exists. Brighterly provides math lessons for kids in Pre-K, Kindergarten, and Grade 1. Udacity equips job-seekers with job-ready skills. What makes your edtech startup different from the rest? Why should users pick your company over these solutions? Once you’ve figured out the answers to these questions, you’ve arrived at the unique selling proposition.
Your USP should highlight the benefits of your solution and must be a direct reflection of your target audience and their needs.
Harness and Leverage the Powers of Social Media
Social media is really a powerful tool for any company. In fact, it would be a grave mistake to overlook this tool when marketing edtech startups. Typically, social media platforms offer you an easy opportunity to promote your edtech solutions at cheap prices.
A great way to leverage the power of these channels is by targeting social media groups with members who belong to your target audience. Hire edtech influencers, run marketing campaigns (both paid and organic). You’ll certainly see the results.
Pro Tip: For a startup, it may be tempting to “purchase” bit social media followers to boost the company’s profile. Avoid this pitfall as it could damage your integrity and get you banned.
Utilize Video Marketing
Videos are fastly becoming one of the most effective marketing tools. In fact, according to a survey by Optinmonster, about 72% of customers say that they would rather learn about a product through videos.
Thus, with attractive videos and graphics, you can easily win the hearts of customers and get conversions with each view.
To begin with, use high-quality videos to showcase your product’s features and USP. The videos must be short and informative to ensure that viewers don’t lose interest. You may also want to consider hosting on YouTube to extend your reach and make your videos more accessible.
Final Thoughts
EdTech has significantly grown and evolved over the past few years. However, in line with the industry’s rapid growth, it has become increasingly competitive.
Hence, edtech startups need effective marketing strategies now more than ever. With the latest marketing approaches and channels outlined above, you’re well on your way to success.
Good luck!
