There’s a higher purpose to higher education marketing
The higher education sector does much more than educate. It weaves the very fabric of society not a single person, business or industry can claim to be untouched by it, whether directly or indirectly. As the sector transforms, marketers now find themselves in a powerful position to drive impact beyond enrolment figures.
In today’s skills-based, lifelong-learning world, it’s not a stretch to say that the success of the higher education sector is inextricably intertwined with national economic prosperity. Through various offerings, higher education institutes solve for current and future workforce needs. Institutes equip learners with the rapidly-changing skillsets that employers demand. They collaborate to close the distance between academia and industry. They drive R&D with real-world applications. They enable a culture of learning that will put Australia in good stead for future change.
Although extensive challenges exist in an environment reshaped by economic realities, growing competition, and increasingly sophisticated workforce expectations, opportunity in the higher education sector is becoming clear. And marketing can help unlock this.
But first, the learner’s mindset
In the past year, learners’ attitudes towards higher education have shifted significantly. No surprise there. Many of these trends had been brewing for years; the pandemic only made the pot boil over.
When we conducted a research study in partnership with Kantar to understand how the current environment is influencing Australian learners’ interest levels, preferences and decision-making process, we found that more people than ever before are looking to upskill. A good 85% of those surveyed said they are likely to enrol in future study within the next three years, with a third attributing to this to the effects of the pandemic. What’s also interesting is that they’re turning to short courses to do so.
In short, more Australians now want and need to learn. And with the drop-off of international students proving to be less dramatic than initially forecast, higher education institutes find themselves in an interesting position. That’s where marketing comes in.
Building lasting brands and communities
The value of lifelong learning is waiting to be unlocked. Through our research, we discovered that 50% of people would connect with at least one alumni before enrolling in a course. An equal number of them also told us that they would return to the same higher education institute as previously enrolled over a new one.
For marketers, this is the cue to start playing the long game if you’re not already doing so.
Both findings underscore the importance of owning a place in the mind of alumni throughout their life — not only when they’re a prospective student shopping for a course. To achieve that, it’s worth taking a closer look at how well your communications would resonate with today’s learners. Consider:
- A single-track focus on performance marketing vs a balanced, full-funnel marketing strategy
- A one-off, high-ticket offering vs multiple offerings that meet learners where they are and how they want to learn
- In-person, on-campus networks vs digital communities
- A teaching approach that lectures vs one that entertains and inspires
- A timetabled experience vs a flexible blend of on-demand and scheduled learning
When higher education offerings are calibrated to learners’ preferences and marketing strategies are designed to communicate these effectively, you’re driving much more than brand preference and enrolment numbers. You’re feeding the lifelong learning mindset in people and nurturing active communities of learners, past, present and future, who encourage and enable one another in positive ways.
Across these opportunities, higher education marketers can capitalise on and flex the strength of their brands beyond an audience of learners. Marketers today are charged with engaging the full breadth of stakeholders across industry, the workforce, government and alumni. All of them can influence not only where a learner ends up studying but also how industry relationships are formed and how the sector itself transforms.
This means that higher education marketers need to occupy more minds, more frequently and in more contexts. The challenges associated with this are not to be downplayed but it is truly exciting nation-building work, particularly as Australia learns to respond to a world that continues to change in faster and more unpredictable ways.
More important than ever before, the future of the sector will play a significant role in securing long-term success for us all. The time is now for education marketers to do what they do best.