By Craig Spooner
Generating leads is perhaps the most important job of the ed tech marketer, but in an ever-changing marketplace, the methods we use have to adapt to the times. Here are five lead-generation tactics to help you keep up with this rapidly changing market.
1. Use Not-So-Scary Search Engine Optimization
Does search engine optimization (SEO) sound scary and expensive? It doesn’t have to be! SEO can be simple and manageable for even the smallest marketer. The art of SEO is simply ensuring your potential prospects can find your content.
Often the first step in the sales cycle for ed tech purchasers is a simple search to understand the players in the market. By using a keyword planning tool (like Google’s—it’s free!), you can ensure that you will be included in the conversation early and often. Once you determine your list of keywords, go crazy. Use them as often as possible in your content, URLs, tags, etc. It’s likely that implementing SEO will only add a bit more time to your current efforts, but it can have big payouts.
2. Building Thought Leadership in Education - Showcase Your Thought Leadership
If you are a player in the ed tech market, you undoubtedly have a deep understanding of the modern learner. As the education market shifts to make way for never-before-seen ways of teaching and learning, your prospects and customers need resources on how to support and foster this change.
Seeing a common problem or hearing a common question? Create content and offer it at the price of an email address to help fill your marketing pipeline. Have a great network of ed tech experts? Ask one to host a webinar. However, make sure your content is not a thinly-veiled sales pitch—establishing yourself as the expert is the pitch. This post on Creating an Ed Tech Marketing Calendar can help.
Sharing thought leadership is the 21st-century version of scratching backs: support your prospects and customers and they will support you.
3. Show the Power in (Your) Numbers
As David Packard, the co-founder of Hewlett-Packard, said, “Marketing is too important to be left to the marketing department.” Similarly, lead generation does not have to be just the responsibility of one person or one team. Embrace the idea that anyone can be a marketer. Communicate your desired brand and messages to your team, but do not be afraid to let them create content, share information, and show their perspective on your product. The more touch points you can create, the better!
4. Don’t Forget the Oldies but Goodies
The times of throwing traditional marketing at the masses are largely over, but keep in mind that older marketing strategies can be renewed to generate leads. For example, e-newsletters are a great way to nurture leads, show off your expertise to clients and prospects, and announce changes in your products and company leadership. Again, make sure your content is worthwhile to its recipients and not just a sales pitch.
5. Find Your Lead-Generation Focus
All of the strategies suggested here are entirely doable, but they all require focus. Social media is fast and free, but should be part of a larger plan.
Be sure to give your strategy and execution the time and focus it deserves. Do you have a blog with inconsistent or weak content? Think about putting that time and effort into an outstanding e-newsletter or bolstering your demand-generation content. Your generated leads may only be as good as the content that captured them. And remember, marketing is no longer a one-way street—use your leads generated to guide your strategy.
Thank you for sharing!