BlogDigital Marketing / Inbound Marketing

Skyrocket Student Admissions with Inbound Marketing

By Rajesh Jhamb
November 21, 2017

“The education sector doesn’t need marketing!” “A good college doesn’t have to sell themselves!” You might have heard such statements quite a lot. But, the reality is something else. Every educational institute needs a good marketing strategy if they want to survive in this highly competitive industry. After all, with the increase in a number of colleges and e-learning platforms, it is pivotal for education institutes to market themselves appropriately to attract a suitable audience. Everyone who looks for information about universities or good schools for higher education has one thing in common – they do it online. Students and parents now primarily depend on the internet to access any information, which signifies the necessity to upgrade these marketing strategies to establish a presence on these digital platforms. If we consider the current stats of the marketing world, a clear understanding that we get is that using traditional marketing strategies is not going to yield significant results. After all, it has become pretty clear that the future lies in Inbound Marketing. Through the usage of dedicated inbound marketing strategies, an educational institute can efficiently use their marketing plans and increase their enrolment rates substantially. Inbound marketing is the process of creating and distributing relevant content across various digital platforms in such a way that it meets the audience where they are as per their convenience. Inbound marketing is more about educating and attracting your audience rather than selling a product or a service. While our traditional marketing strategies come across as intrusive to consumers, inbound marketing is the complete opposite and is meant to attract customers to your site via non-intrusive means. Inbound marketing can help an educational institute to attract potential customers and convert them to students. It works on the basic methodology which has four steps:

Attract
Convert
Nurture
Close

Let’s understand how this can help an educational institute to increase their enrolment rate.

1. Attract

The majority of the target audience that an educational institute wants to appeal to has an online presence. Students are digitally smart and are on a constant lookout for relevant information. Generally, the target audience for educational institutes are confused and search the web for information which can guide them on a certain path. By understanding the general buyer persona, i.e., the thought process of students, an educational institute can create content accordingly and market themselves better. When an institute understands the pain point of students and creates content that they are looking for, it creates a certain affinity towards the institute. By doing so, an organization can establish authority in their own domain and attract potential leads towards them. Consider an example where a student is confused and not able to come to a conclusion when it comes to whether he should opt for a 2-year MBA or a 3-year project management course. So, to gain information, he’ll look on the internet for relevant information about the courses with keywords like: “Job opportunities after MBA” or “Which one is better MBA or project management”. Now if your institute has written and published such content pieces on the internet, then there’s a good chance that this student will end up landing on your website. If you happen to have quality content that’s helpful to the student, then it will generate an affinity towards your institute and provide you with a potential lead.

2. Convert

Once an institute has attracted a potential lead to their website, the next task is to convert them. There are many institutes that are publishing the same content and thousands of students are reading that information online every day. How can an institute convert these readers into potential leads and get their valuable information? The answer is to optimise your website. While you might have relevant data floating around the internet which is being read by many students, all of it will go to waste if they simply can’t reach you. Therefore, it is essential for educational institutes to optimise their website and include landing pages and CTA’s in their content. Once you include these in your content and direct a reader to reach out and read your quality content, then they can simply click on the link and give their valuable information to you. This information is what helps you to understand the students better and provide them with personalized solutions.

3. Nurture

This is the stage where an institute can create a strong impact and convince the potential lead to take the next step and become a customer. Once students share their relevant information with an institute, it’s up to them when it comes to how they can close and convert them into a customer. For example, let’s consider a situation where a student filled a query form on your website and asked a specific question regarding the placement opportunities of a course. Now, either an institute can send a one-off information to that student, or simply add him to a subscriber list and share relevant content every week/month to establish a goodwill with that student. If the student likes the content, then there are chances that he/she might share it with others, which will create an authority towards the institute. When you send relevant information to that student, there is a high probability that he’ll enroll himself for a course in your college.

4. Close

This is where a lot of institutes make a mistake. Once they have the guaranteed business of students, they simply don’t focus enough on them afterward, which generates a negative impression towards the brand. Emphasising on the students that have already given their business to you is equally as important as giving importance to leads. Making communities for new entrants, forming alumni groups on social media, developing student engagement programs and many such activities can be done to engage the students in activities on these digital platforms. These activities will contribute immensely to the creation of a digital awareness about the institute in a specific age group, which will further amplify the online presence of the brand. Apart from generating awareness and getting admissions, inbound marketing can also help an institute to establish thought leadership, attract potential investors, build a team of esteemed faculty and so much more. All these pointers should ideally be enough to give you an understanding of how inbound marketing is beneficial for any educational institute, and how an institute can increase their enrolment rate.

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BlogPR

What are the best tactics to do Public Relations for startup? – #StartupPR

By Honey Singh
November 21, 2017

A Bootstrapped Startup is a startup where an entrepreneur uses very minimal capital investment and uses the company’s revenues to fund his business. This method can be beneficial as the owner is not compromising on his equity to raise funds. Also, he gets to make all the decisions as he is the sole proprietor. Though it's hard to turn quick profits, there is less liability of the owner (in case he was taking a loan), plus he is answerable only to himself.

For such start-ups, money is a limited resource and has to be used wisely. A bootstrapped startup will not outsource their PR work to an agency, as that can be expensive. However, focusing on PR is essential for any startup, from both customers and investors. To win over investors, you need to show them that your product or service is of consumer interest. For any startup, it is essential to gain popularity quickly. An all round PR coverage is essential, and the following tips can help you get one:

Build connections with Journalists:

Scout down the journalists that write about your industry, find out their contact information, connect with them and pitch your idea to them. Keep track of what they are writing about, what trends you can see in their writing and think about the way you can convey your communication to them. Whenever there is a significant milestone your company reaches, contact such journalists and persuade them to write about you.

Networking:

Any startup needs to form a vast web of networks to succeed. Whenever you attend a conference, a meet-up, talk to fellow founders, influencers and spread awareness about your product. This way you can also understand what people in your industry are doing, and if you can use their products too. The connections you make here can help in getting references and help down the road.

Amplification of Content:

Once you build connection, use your network and communities on social media to share information about your company. Try to analyse the industry trends and also determine how to showcase your product as the star among the competitors. Create high-quality content and educate your audience on your own.

Use innovative media platforms:

Traditional media is helpful only to an extent, in the digital age, you need to focus on innovative online and offline platforms to convey information. Analyse your target audience, ask them which channels they use to gather information, and target those platforms. This can range from generating SEO rich content, to releasing a Video about your company. Above stated tactics are some natural but essential things a bootstrapped startup can do to gain good publicity.

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All You Need to Know About HubSpot Agency Partner and HubSpot Tiers

By Rajesh Jhamb
November 20, 2017

With the rising prominence of inbound marketing, more and more businesses are shifting towards the inbound methodology. HubSpot provides modern software to marketers, which has many tools that can cater to all the marketing needs of modern-day marketers. To propel this effort, HubSpot also runs a Partner Agency Program, wherein it gives an opportunity to growth-driven businesses to partner with them, scales up their business and grows together. It gives its partners access to all its impeccable tools, which can cater to the needs of all teams within a business, such as the marketing team, sales team, tech team, etc.

HubSpot Partner Programs

There are three types of partner programs, out of which businesses can pick the best fit for them:

1. HubSpot Agency Program

This program is fit for all those businesses that want to provide exceptional inbound and sales services to their clients. Apart from giving access to its exceptional software that contains many unbelievable tools, HubSpot also believes in empowering and nurturing their agency partners. It provides them with all the guidance, support and training which the agency partner would need to grow their business, so they can subsequently help their clients grow and succeed. HubSpot can help your agency improve its client engagements in increasing the revenue per client, implement ROI-centric services, and improve your client retention.

2. HubSpot Sales Program

You can join the HubSpot’s Sales Program if you are a CRM implementation company, sales consultant or business advisor. Today’s sales reps spend too much time dealing with sloppy sales tools instead of driving more sales. Here is where a HubSpot Partner Agency can step in. Each category of a particular company can offer up different services to their clients. For instance, if you are a CRM implementation company, then you can be tech implementers that recommend software solutions and/or migrate data from software systems. These agencies can work with SMB’s and can recommend more lightweight CRM’s to their clients. If you identify yourself as sales trainers, coaches and consultants, then you can diversify your business as professionals who can add more value to their clients by giving them insights about current selling methodologies and encouraging them to adopt modern sales software. As business advisors, you can diversify your business as professionals who would work with executives to make organizational changes in a business.

3. HubSpot Integration Program

HubSpot's Connect Program is for companies that want to integrate their technology with HubSpot's software to grow their user base. Some of the best SaaS companies and applications in the world have already integrated with HubSpot. For a company to be connected with HubSpot, it should share its inbound philosophy with it, have a customer overlap and sport a software that should ideally complement inbound sales or marketing.

HubSpot Tier Program

HubSpot has introduced its Partner Tier Program, which aims to acknowledge those agency partners who have not only brought the inbound message to most of their clients but also those who executed inbound marketing services to the highest standards. HubSpot’s tiers are calculated using a combination of metrics, an analysis of the monthly recurring value (MRR), retention, software engagement, and actual inbound marketing success.

There are four tiers, with the following thresholds :

Silver

Thresholds for sold MRR : $625 Thresholds for managed MRR : $3,500.

Gold

Thresholds for sold MRR : $1,125 Thresholds for managed MRR : $6,500

Platinum

Thresholds for sold MRR : $3,750 Thresholds for managed MRR : $20,000

Diamond

Thresholds for sold MRR : $10,000 Thresholds for managed MRR : $50,000 As a policy of these tier programs, all agencies must complete the Agency Partner Certification in order to be classified as a tier in the first place. It is also required to have a medium app usage of at least 5. Upon completing this, a partner can unlock its tier benefits and move up through these tiers by attaining various thresholds of sold and managed MRR’s. Thus, by becoming a HubSpot Partner and joining in any of the following programs which would best suit your business, you can scale your business to new heights by providing your clients with powerful tools and solutions, which can lead you as well as your clients to a growth-driven path.

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Current Digital Marketing Stats and Trends in Education Industry

By Shashank kaushik
November 16, 2017

In recent times, the environment of higher education has been completely revolutionized. Increases in the level of competition, availability of information, and changing trends in the job market among others have contributed to this monumental paradigm shift. The question that arrives in one’s mind is – what brought all these changes in the well-established education industry? The obvious answer would be the advent and availability of technology across the entire world. The education industry has seen constant changes since then. With technology taking center stage and increasing pressure to keep the enrolment rate high, colleges/universities are opting for a more business-centric approach. According to a survey(1), a typical educational institute spends about 11% of their annual revenue on their digital marketing activities. If this pace at which educational institutes are spending to differentiate themselves from competition remains the same, then the number will end up rising exponentially. Effective digital marketing can help an institute to expand their physical reach and increase the enrolment rate. If that wasn’t enough, a good marketing strategy for educational institutes can help strengthen their fundraising capabilities and position in the market. Here’re a few trends that have caught on in the education industry.

1. Hiring external agencies

It has been observed that the educational institutes are now shifting towards the marketing-centric approach and are preferring an external agency with some expertise to market their brand better. This approach lets institutes focus more on other activities and create a better overall experience for students. Also, outsourcing places these marketing tasks into the hands of the people who can execute it better.

2. Web Analytics

Universities are utilising a data-driven approach to analyze and determine their target audience. With their TG present on multiple digital platforms, there is enough analytical software available in the market that educational institutes can use to get a better hold of the who, when and where when it comes to their TG, and helps increase the efficiency of their marketing campaigns.

3. Marketing automation

With digital marketing coming into the picture, there has been an increase in the usage of marketing automation platforms/tools. Through the usage of marketing automation technology, institutes are now able to connect and deliver better results to their students. These tools enable institutes to segregate the database based on the behavior and performance of their students on social media platforms, test results, involvement in co-curricular activities, which enables them to serve them better with more personalized and customized solutions. Along with the benefits of reaching out to students with better solutions, marketing automation solutions also helps to minimise the manual work and make the marketing process simple for educational institutes. Through the provision of an accurate campaign analysis, calculation of ROI, identification of leads, sending out personalized emails to students, developing the ability to manage the multi-channel campaign and many other key benefits, marketing automation has become a critical tool to attain sizeable results in the education marketing sector.

4. Websites

Your website is your digital face; it basically represents who you are. Many educational institutes are now focusing on designing a better website. As per few of the studies, it is observed that there’s a trend where educational institutes are now spending more on personalization and optimizing their website than ever before. An informative website can not only help a brand to provide relevant experience to those who come to gather information. If the website happens to be appealing enough, then visitors tend to share their details, which gives a chance to convert that particular lead into a student.

5. Mobile

If we go by numbers, then approximately 49.74%(2) of internet web page views come from mobile devices. This is perhaps the reason why most educational institutes are now looking to target the mobile audience for their marketing campaigns. It is estimated that mobile subscriptions will hit 9.3 million by the end of 2019, and a the major share of this population will be students between the age of 18-25. Also, more than two-thirds of these students say that they prefer to receive a mobile message for any updates or reminders, which makes mobile marketing crucial for the educational industry. To target this particular audience, educational institutes are now putting an effort to make their content crisp and in an easily accessible format, so that they don’t miss out on any potential business.

6. Social media

This is not something new, but we simply have to mention the changing trends in social media marketing. Social media holds the most significant role in one’s educational institute marketing strategies. With an increase in social media marketing efforts for various educational institutes, offline marketing has taken a serious hit. With a major chunk of the TG present on social platforms, educational institutes are now taking it way more seriously than ever before. With these aforementioned advancements, social platforms like Facebook and Twitter give the freedom of interacting and targeting the appropriate demographic from the giant pool that is present to them. Institutes are coming up with various innovative campaigns to engage students and garner their attention. But, with millions of content pieces floating on the surface every minute (couples with an attention span of less than 6 seconds), it is difficult to maintain this attention towards yourself. Therefore, educational institutes are trying to leave no stone unturned when it comes to attracting these students towards them. With things like VR, AR, IoTs and artificially intelligent bots evolving at a blisteringly fast pace, all we can say is that educational institutes must work in sync with these changing trends to achieve their desired results and not miss out on anything substantial. If you wish to understand more about educational institute marketing tactics and how digital marketing can help an education institute to reach out to a greater audience, then visit here.

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How Voice Search Will Change The Future Of SEO

By Pawan Kumar
November 15, 2017

The advent of the digital age has completely transformed our daily lives, especially the way we search for information. Voice search is no longer viewed as something that’s nothing more than a sci-fi trope. It has arrived and is being used in full flow right now. Consumers have made voice search a vital part of their interactions, including everything from handheld to home devices. So, voice search optimization being one of the top SEO trends in 2018 is also something which needs to be looked at seriously. But like all things new and shiny, search for voice also comes with its list of doubts and queries. And it is addressed to all concerned parties – consumers, technology providers and marketers as well.

The questions that are often asked are

Can voice search be monetized? If yes, how?
What kind of questions is suitable for voice search?
Is voice search performance trackable?
Why is voice search used at all?

Let’s start at the very beginning with a background on what Voice Search really is. Like the name suggests, it’s fairly simple to comprehend. Voice Search lets users talk their heart out – well, not really, but it does allow them to directly ask queries to a search engine through their cell phone, or any other desktop device. Following the voice command, the search engine then looks for data that answers the consumer’s question. When it comes to providers, they use voice search to understand a user’s profile as well as gauge any intentions through the questions asked. They also take into consideration their geography and their browsing history when they attempt to answer the query in a jiffy. Since it’s been around for over 10 years or more, voice search has had its fair share of funny moments, with weird bloopers and gaffs. So, users found it safe to type in the questions, rather than go with voice search in the past. But now, things are transforming at a frankly unbelievable rate. Google’s Hummingbird algorithm has helped users get closer to conversational searches. This indicates that Voice Search seems to be next natural step that will see development alongside movements in the conversational search. Moving ahead, as we witness natural language processes progressing, we’ll realize the importance of digital P.As. like Alexa and Siri. They will second guess our conversations, participate with us in our banter, and even go forward and shoot questions at us and, on the way, comprehend the true meaning of our sentences. Google Assistant is already out there doing all this and more. With the ability to ask questions, this technology understands the user better and performs actions such as the booking of tickets, setting up reminders, and so much more. But Google’s not alone; Amazon, Microsoft, Apple and Baidu are all part of the game and are investing fantastically in what is apparently poised to be the next big thing.

Why is voice search so significant?

Voice recognition, voice search and natural language processing are of utmost importance to the world’s biggest IT companies. They are incessantly striving to make it both all-pervasive and seamless. Digital assistants, driven by the technology that fortifies voice search, can connect everything from your home to your car, and even your workplace. Voice search optimization will also gain significance, not only because of the enhanced technology at the consumer's’ disposal but also because a lot of people have grown up with this feature and are accustomed to using it as a matter of convenience. Voice search also offers the chance to give its users exactly what they need, regardless of the size of the business. For example, if the customer says, “Give me directions to the closest cafe,” he will in all probability reach one of the independent ones.

Some tips on how to tackle the rise of voice search SEO:

1. Use speech the way you speak - naturally

Most of us speak in one manner and type in another form when we are looking for something online. While speaking, it is generally a full sentence like – “where can I find a flea market in the UK?” or something along those lines. However, when one puts this into words, it can become as short as – “Flea market in the UK.” So, it is imperative for voice search to know and understand the user’s natural way to converse. With advancements in voice search, the error rates have come down to almost 8% from 20% in just 5 years. It’s becoming more adept at picking up our speech styles and quirky pronunciations. This will obviously be considered in the strategies devised by marketers, who are interested in voice search. There are tools available online that assist with the development of language as well. These tools present the natural speech patterns of users who prefer voice search over anything else. Your content should also be a reflection of your interest in voice search. Incorporating natural speech into your content will help you improve your ranking considerably. Using a chatty or informal tone will help pick up on the shades of colloquialism or everyday language.

2. Long-tail keywords

Short-tail keywords seemingly come across as irrelevant, especially in the case of voice searches. This is because consumers use natural phrases when using voice search. A recent study shows that around 20% of mobile queries are voice searches, and the trend is growing faster as compared to type search. So, it is gaining more importance by the day to make sure that the right keywords are used so as to capture the essence of voice searches. Conversational, long-tail keywords will also aid in boosting your SEO. Long-tail keywords encompass some extremely detailed keyword phrases that are generally utilised by users who are intent on buying something. Taking this into consideration, the keywords should be able to flesh out product characteristics, features and advantages. For example, if you deal with modern lighting solutions, the succinct keyword “lights” will not help you engage users or even capture their attention if they are using voice search. But keywords like “modernist architecture inspired ceiling light” will better showcase what your prospective customers want or are looking for.

3. Mobile should be a major focus

The fact that mobile is big news is a very old statement. But, with voice search becoming so big, mobile has become even more important than before. More than 50% of search queries come from mobile, so marketers are leaving no stone unturned when it comes to boosting their SEO with regards to voice search. Marketers know that most voice searches are done while on the move. So, they need to ensure that the content is optimized accordingly in context of voice search optimization. Some vital pointers to be taken care of:

Search will take the route of a more natural, conversational approach.
The need and the norm of the day will be long-tail keyword terms, as voice search becomes detailed and longer.
Report on voice search through Structured Query Reporter (SQR) information, and Search Analytics will be made available in the near future, with digital assistants sharing their data.
Content will give users straight and direct answers to the queries that have been asked. The focus will be on precision and accuracy, not succinctness.
The leaders in the game will focus and grow on the basis of providing the best answer for any voice search queries.
Amazon might go ahead and use augmented reality to synergize its offline stores with its e-commerce experience.
There will be a rise in the search results where videos are concerned. This will be so because the medium is apt for voice search results interface.
Google will try and come up with innovative ways to monetize its products.

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Way to Increase College Enrolment Online

By Riya Arora
November 14, 2017

According to a study (1), over 50% of the colleges will go out of business by 2030, which is obviously a scary stat. In past few years, with the advent of online education, the traditional education mediums have taken a severe hit. The sheer degree of change that the education sector has observed in recent times is nothing short of revolutionary. Access to information, change in gender ratio, diversity of students, technological advancements and increasing competition are just a few of the many factors that are affecting the industry. With so many changes going around, institutes feel a dire need to revamp their educational marketing strategies, so that they can improve their enrolment ratio. The primary process of higher education marketing is a two-step process: a.) Create awareness to attract students and parents towards an institute b.) Transform the enquires into successful enrolments While many colleges that are adopting these changes, and leveraging the digital platforms to reach out to their TG right where they are supposed to be. However, the conversion rate of enquires to enrolments is still an issue that simply can’t be ignored. Just promoting the college campus and facilities is not going to work, and colleges must consider other factors like demographics and the financial circumstances of students.

Here’s a list of strategies that can help improve the conversion rate:

1. Fix a number

This is the most crucial step in deciding the marketing strategy, budget and other aspects of any campaign. It is highly recommended to set your expectations and goals beforehand, and failing to do so will lead to institutes spending more resources for virtually no rewards. These goals are not just about numbers, it must also include aspects like the sex ratio of students and geographical reach.

2. Analyse and list down the resources to meet your enrolment expectations

Marketers/college authorities need to make a call and decide the limit when it comes to the resources they want to spend on achieving their enrollment targets. You don’t want to spend all your resources just to reach a target and then end up with nothing for other aspects of your business.

3. Develop both short and long-term plans

Yes, it is important to focus on the present and work on achieving your targets, but it also important to set a bigger goal as well. It is important to develop a realistic strategic plan for a set number of years, and plan out a course of development for your institute. Without a bigger picture in your mind, the smaller ones will fizzle out in the long run.

4. Mark your presence everywhere

Having a presence on digital platforms is more than a requirement now; if you’re not on Facebook, then you’re just outdated. Make sure your institute is present on every platform where your TG is visible. A strong interactive website, an informative Twitter account, an up-to-date Facebook page, and blogs to educate the audience is something that you simply can’t miss out on if you want to win the race.

5. Offer early decision benefits

Confirmations, early bird discounts, and getting a desirable accommodation near a particular college are just a few of the reasons why some students focus on getting enrolled early in colleges. Institutions that don't offer such early bird attraction points or activities are losing a lot of potential business.

6. Influence parents

If there is anyone else that an institute must target other than students, it’s definitely the parents. Colleges must market themselves such in a way that parents can resonate with them and understand the potential of the educational institution in question.

7. Encourage communities

The more the students interact, the greater is the buzz generated for the institute. Creating Facebook groups, communities, and alumni networks for students to communicate with each other is a great way to engage students and improve the bonding between them. Especially now, when students are active on social media platforms more than ever, every conversation on a digital platform about your college can be used to market yourself better.

8. Create surprising experiences

The ultimate hack to keep anyone engaged is to make them feel special. When you make an effort to do something special for someone, then they’re bound to appreciate it. If a college works to give something beneficial to students and parents that they never expected, then it creates an affinity towards your brand in their minds, and they’ll undoubtedly spread the word about something like this. And let’s face it – no publicity is greater than word of mouth.

9. Track your marketing and recruiting activities

One mistake that most of the educational institutes make is that they don’t measure the metrics of their marketing campaigns. However, you’ll soon realize that when you start measuring these metrics, then you’ll get a firm grip on what is working in favor of the institute, and what’s nothing more than a waste of resources. If you’re a college that’s just looking to improve the enrolment rate, then we recommend you to consider the strategies mentioned above for a successful turnaround. Of course, these are just some tricks that pretty much any institute can apply, and if you want to improve the reach and visibility of your brand then you can visit here to properly understand how to make your strategies work.

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Rising Phase of Digital Marketing in Education Sector

By Riya Arora
November 9, 2017

How often do you come across a situation when you see a brand using old-school marketing tactics? We guess that it’s not so frequent as it used to be. Ever since digital platforms have taken center stage, offline marketing/traditional marketing has taken a backseat. Digital marketing not only helps a brand to promote themselves to the right audience but also strengthens the authority of the brand and improves their business procedures. There’s a widespread belief that the education sector doesn’t depend on marketing, but – as odd as it may sound – it’s simply not true. With online education practices making a noticeable impact in the industry, there has been a lot of changes when it comes to how students consume information. If we compare today’s scenario with how the education industry was ten years ago, we can confidently say that it’s a complete revolution. The way in which information is consumed and people interact with each other has completely transformed with the advent of the digital landscape. This has directly influenced how universities and colleges reach out to their TG. Digital marketing is the best possible solution for educational institutes to mark their presence and attract students towards them.

Here are a few reasons why and how digital marketing can help educational institutes to market themselves better:

1. Reach your audience where they are comfortable

The Internet has changed the paradigms of how we look at things. Anything we want and need is now available online. This is especially true for the younger generation, who are completely hooked to the online world and spend most of their time using social media platforms. Therefore, marketing at the platforms where your audience will surely be present will pay off.

2. Digital marketing is more educational and informative and less of sales

Unlike traditional methods, digital marketing isn’t supposed to look like a sales pitch to parents and students. Today, when people have an attention span which lasts less than 7 seconds, it is impossible to keep them engaged with a typical sales pitch or long articles. It has to be engaging and informative to keep the audience hooked on your content.

3. Endless opportunities to engage a wider audience

With digital marketing tips and tricks at hand, an institute can reach out to a greater audience than it can connect with traditional strategies. Colleges can reach out to students at remote locations, and in places that they can’t reach physically. This will help them get more inquiries from a more significant geographic landscape.

4. Trackable results

Often, educational institutes end up spending a fortune on their marketing activities to attract students towards them and are never actually able to measure the return on their investments. With digital marketing, institutes can decide the metrics of their marketing spends and measure the ROI of the same. Once they know what’s working and what’s not, institutes can focus on the strategies that are truly generating dividends to amplify their results exponentially.

5. Marking authority

Using digital platforms, educational institutes can establish themselves as an authority in the domain and increase their awareness amongst their audience. When a brand establishes an authority over a specific domain, they don’t have to shout and declare this achievement to the world to convey a message. Whatever they say is read and considered by many. Similarly, when an institute identifies its TG and establishes their authority, they don’t have to go out and pitch themselves to people. The perfect way to do this is to use the inbound digital marketing tactics. For example: Over an extended period, Indian School of Business has established themselves as the premier school for business management, and didn't have to pitch themselves anymore to students since, at this point, students were mostly coming to them.

6. Mapping customer journey is a master trick of digital marketing

The process of generating leads and converting these leads into a successful business is complex, and mapping the customer journey helps simplify this process. The same model works for educational institutes, where mapping the journey of getting an inquiry from a person seeking admission to convert him/her to a student is essential. If an institute can map this journey, then they can correctly identify and understand the disconnect between the two points, and work to improve this particular aspect. While we have mentioned quite a few ways on how digital marketing can help an educational institute to market themselves better, here are a few case studies about how these institutes opted for digital platforms and increased their admissions with a sizeable number. Further, if you wish to understand better on how digital marketing can help your institute increase its reach to a wider audience, you can visit here.

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BlogDigital Marketing / Inbound Marketing

Importance of Online Marketing for Education Sector Industry

By Nishant Nayyar
November 8, 2017

The education sector has become more competitive and sophisticated than ever before. This is due to the increase in the number of digital marketing agencies. In today's era of competition, institutions need to adapt to effective digital marketing strategies to go through new changes. Nowadays, the invention of the internet has totally changed the way people consume products, especially the ones related to education. Although we haven’t reached the point where digital marketing has obscured traditional marketing entirely, the Indian context offers a promising premise – especially if we take the example of the education industry. But why is digital marketing becoming an important part of the education industry? Digital marketing for education is becoming a promising platform due to the increase of web and digital media in the education sector. This sector has transformed entirely, and this is partly due to the widespread access that people have due to the internet. Therefore, educational industries should keep this in mind and work on their digital presence to reach a large number of students & parents with ease. This is one of the many reasons why digital marketing is considered to be the best option when it comes to reaching out to both students and parents.

Here are some reasons why you should consider the utilization of digital marketing for your institution-

1. Cost-effective

Digital marketing is very cost-effective; it is the best medium to attract a broader audience at little to no cost. With the help of an educational marketing agency, the institution can get excellent results with smaller investments and can also avail services like search engine optimization, social media marketing, mobile marketing and email marketing. It implies that educational institutes can focus on a more significant audience at a low cost, and achieve greater benefits.

2. Enhance Brand Awareness

Digital marketing is the best way to generate brand awareness through social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc., as they comprise a greater section of the audience. This can help enhance followers and improve the conversion rate as well.

3. Facilitates performance tracking

You can track campaign performance with the help of relevant digital marketing tools, which can help extensively when it comes to measuring and tracking the overall effectiveness of your marketing campaign. This marketing strategy can also be changed if the statistics of the institution are on a low. Digital marketing in the education sector helps to redirect the focus of the strategy, so that can help optimise the marketing mix.

4. High Conversion Rate

Online educational marketing platforms receive a high conversion rate. Messaging platforms like SMS and e-mails are some of the forms of digital marketing that receive a high response rate due to the fact that they are personal and educational institutes can easily reach their targeted audience in an effective way.

5. Digital Presence

Forming a great digital presence is imperative for any institution, and the education sector is no exception to this fact. With the majority of people finding their information online, it’s highly recommended to establish a strong digital presence to make sure that students and parents can discover you on these channels and consider your institution while making their choice.

6. Promote through paid channels

Search and display ads are one of the most effective ways to market an educational institution. Lead generation can yield more results through ad campaigns, as it directs a large section of the online audience towards your site. This is the most appropriate way to drive traffic to the website. Usage of relevant and best keywords will also help in increasing the total number of impressions.

7. Manage online reputation

Nowadays, managing your online reputation is a must. This can be done by promoting quality blogs, capturing videos, garnering testimonials from achievers and great inspirational personalities, gaining and implementing alumni feedback, and promoting positive campus news to gain the attention of the audience. This generates interest in the minds of the audience, which leads to a quality online reputation. Thus, for an educational institution to be successful in today’s era, it’s a must to utilize and implement a comprehensive and well-thought-out digital marketing strategy. This digital marketing strategy should be ideated and implemented properly so that the educational institution can enjoy all the benefits, such as high levels of student enrolment, improved cost-effectiveness, garnering a strong reputation, and also attaining a higher conversion rate and a higher rate of return when it comes to your investment. The time has come for every institution to trigger a long-term digital plan with a carefully thought out objective so that it can amplify its brand identity and presence. One of the most effective ways to do so is by enlisting the services of an online education marketing agency to help facilitate this transformation into a new era of digital marketing.

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What CMOs Should Expect From SEO Company

By Riya Arora
November 7, 2017

As a CMO, if you feel that your business is growing at a relatively slow pace, and the ROI is not as high as you had anticipated, then it’s obvious that you have to take the appropriate measures to handle this situation. You may have decided to prioritize SEO, and redirect a considerable amount of your funds for that purpose. After making the initial improvements yourself, you might find out that while you have the budget, you simply don’t have enough time to strategize and execute a proper SEO plan. Hence, you’ll consider outsourcing SEO services to a dedicated and professional SEO team. This leads to you finalizing an SEO company and finishing signing the dotted line with the agency. Now, you may have a question in mind as to what’s next, and as a CMO you really want to make sure that you have made the correct decision. You would also want to know how this SEO company works, and stay up-to-date about the current trends in the online world. Be informed about the Best SEO Techniques to Rank #1 in Search Engines. So, here are a few points that every CMO must take note of and expect from every SEO company so that they always keep you informed about how the company is performing online:

1. Provide a Brand Brief to the SEO Agency

After you have finalized an SEO services agency to look after your company’s online marketing, you should conduct an introductory meeting with their team, either in person, conference call or via video. This is to give them an introductory brief about your brand and introduce them to the other employees of your organisation. In this meeting, you will be introduced to the account manager and other employees of the team. This meeting would provide then with the opportunity to ask you additional questions about your business, marketing, and SEO goals. It would also enable them to outline their method of working and clarify their remuneration policies. This also includes laying down their expectations while working with them. While the company clarifies what you can expect from them, you need to ensure they have properly understood what your expectations are from them. Let them clarify things you do not know about, such as billing cycles and time allotment. It is also important to remember that the sales team you previously worked with were probably giving you generalities and some likely strategies which would work for the company. Once your team gets a chance to have a closer look at your website, they may have some different suggestions and strategies regarding internet marketing. The initial meeting also provides a great opportunity to reconcile the differences between what the sales representatives of the SEO company suggested and what your own in-house marketing specialists have suggested is the best solution. This provides an excellent opportunity for you to ask additional questions or express any concerns that you may have thought of. Make sure to list out these questions, and also make sure that all of these questions get answered.

2. Initial website SEO audit

The first thing a professional SEO company should do is to perform an initial SEO audit of your site. If you have a Google Analytics account, then your newly hired SEO team would seldom use it, since they would likely bring their additional tools and software with them to diagnose the SEO health of your site. The time it takes for them to finish the audit and declare the result will depend upon the size and complexity of your site. For example, a website with many pages will take much longer than a website with just a few pages. Someone from your SEO team would call to discuss the results of the audit. This person should be the person directly managing your account. He or she would clearly explain their observations, suggestions and lay out the next steps that need to be taken. The more interactive the call, the better it is. Depending upon the contract you have with the company, you should ideally get an e-mail with the account manager’s notes. Step-by-step directions on how to implement these changes should also be expected from the team. However, if you have given adequate website access to your team, then they can directly implement the changes for you.

3. Regular communications and check-ins

A good, reliable and professional SEO team won’t just give you a list of “to-do’s” based on their website audit observations and findings. Your account manager should always be available to answer any questions that you may have. Your SEO team should give you regular reports about all the metrics of SEO. Throughout your contract, your account manager will let you know if there is something wrong with any metric, what are the issues with it and how can they be resolved. He or she will also work with their team to troubleshoot any issues that may come up.

Conclusion

You will come to know that you have made the right choice if the company is willing to speak to you clearly about their strategies, regularly conducts SEO audits and always keeps you informed about the outcomes of implementing those strategies. SEO is not a short-term profit, but a long-term investment, which has to show results. Hence, give time to your team so that they can provide you with the desired results.

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BlogTechnology

Evolution of E-Commerce Technology in the Last Five Years

By Anushree Bose
November 6, 2017

The emergence of the digital age has certainly impacted almost every individual in some way or the other. Now, people have access to any type of information in the world at the palm of their hand. This digital boom has hugely impacted the way marketing is being done. Many new trends in marketing have emerged over the years, and e-commerce is one of the major sectors that has been affected. It has certainly made shopping more accessible and easier, letting customers shop at the comfort of their homes or wherever else they might be, through their mobiles, tablets, laptops, desktops or any other device. Since the time it was first introduced in the market, e-commerce technology has undergone a lot of changes. With the mobile phone boom in the market, the e-commerce industry is only set to grow, with more and more users adopting this channel. Here, we have traced the growth ladder of e-commerce technologies in the past 5 years:

1. Online Marketplaces - the New Store Fronts

In the past ten years, online marketplaces have benefitted all categories of people. It has become a popular medium for product vendors to sell their products, marketers to advertise their products and consumers to shop. With many popular retail stores having their own online stores and making online shopping available, online stores can now truly be labeled as the new storefronts of these retailers. The online marketplaces today is able to deliver as many profits as physical stores, or in some cases, even more. The growth of online marketplaces such as Amazon has really changed how people shop, with added layers of security and confidence. Amazon was one of the major pioneers in the e-commerce sector when they launched mobile e-commerce as early as 2001. They continue to bring technological innovation in the e-commerce market by introducing drone delivery among other innovations. Online marketplaces have a big edge over physical markets since they offer a wider variety of products to the consumers. It gives them the benefit of comparing prices, brands, and analyzing customer reviews as well. Often, these online stores provide products below their retail price and offer big discounts as well. Hence, online markets help consumers make an informed decision while purchasing a product and enables them to buy said products at cheaper rates as well. There has been many technological advancements in the e-commerce sector, with Google releasing Google Checkout in 2006 to ease the process of payments for online shoppers. Another major player, Magneto, is an e-commerce Content Management System (CMS) that was first developed in 2007 and was later acquired by eBay in 2011. According to top million Alexa rankings, Magneto is here to stay as the most popular e-commerce platform with 26.1% market representation.

2. The Growth of e-Commerce, or Mobile - friendly Purchasing

Perhaps the most powerful innovation that has happened in the sphere of e-commerce has been the growth of mobile commerce, or m-Commerce. This innovation has made it possible for consumers to browse, compare, and shop from appealing and responsive mobile sites, or through apps. The introduction of m-Commerce has led users having a smartphone, tablet or laptop to experience an easier buyer's journey, by making the process more convenient and enjoyable, and also giving them the power to shop from any time and anywhere. As Google and Apple developed their app marketplaces, i.e., Android and iOS, app-based mobile commerce players have the opportunity to constantly experiment with methods to make their app much more interactive and engaging for the user in these platforms. Push notifications provide mobile shopping apps with an advantage that can aid them when it comes to re-engaging their customers and ultimately increase their sales.

3. The Growth of Digital Marketing and Social Shopping

The growth of m-Commerce has not only impacted the way consumers do shopping but has also enhanced their overall buying journey. It has a vast impact on how companies and the consumers stay connected with each other, and how companies market their product. Today, almost every person has an access to a smartphone, making it easier for marketers and advertisers to reach consumers where they are. Online marketing campaigns have now replaced traditional ad campaigns. There are numerous channels for online marketing campaigns, such as e-mail, social media, online games, apps, websites, blogs, etc. With the evolution of e-commerce, the potential of online marketing has become practically limitless to help them reach and persuade customers during every stage of their buyer journey. The latest innovation in this sphere has been the emergence of social buying as a concept. It refers to selling a product on different social media platforms and has opened many avenues for the businesses by providing them with multiple benefits. They can reach a wider audience, engage in an interaction with them, know about their interests and hobbies by following their social timeline, and can target a more specific audience by following these steps. For example, Twitter has now introduced “buy now” buttons, which is described by brands as a way for customers to discover and purchase their products in real time. Instagram has also recently enabled actionable advertisements, and their social selling initiatives are only expected to grow under Facebook’s direction.

Conclusion

With the rapid growth that the e-commerce industry has witnessed worldwide, it is safe to say that online marketing will dominate the future. With new technology trends being developed regularly, it is slowly finding its way in the online marketing sphere as well. Newtech trends, such as augmented reality and virtual reality, are already being used by many companies in different industries, like the real estate industry. And this is just the start – its popularity is only going to increase in the future.

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