Is Your RTO’s Student Engagement Falling On Deaf Ears?

In order to attract the right target market to your Registered Training Organisation’s (RTO’s) content, you need to use terms and phrases they’ll understand and relate to. The language should be easily readable, engaging and it should address both their needs and challenges. If your inbound marketing content is aligned with their interests, you’ll naturally attract inbound traffic that you can convert and close. So how do you go about doing this? In this blog post we’ll explore a few key ways you can increase student engagement.

How is student engagement defined?

Student engagement is viewed as the amount of interest students are exhibiting towards a piece of content, their interaction with the content and whether they are sharing it with their fellow students. In the classroom or the lecture room it’s easy to see if students are engaged, but in the online space, this can be more difficult. Here are some ways you can ensure you are engaging your prospective student:

• Create a link between their interests and careers

In order for you to attract students to the courses your RTO is marketing, you need to link them to students’ interests. Social Media coverage tends to emphasise the importance of finding the career path that suits students and how happiness comes from feeling fulfilled in their careers. Tap into this methodology and show how your courses will ensure their happiness beyond graduation.

• Talk to your prospects as equals

Your RTO has a wealth of knowledge and experience at its disposal, but it’s important you use this to guide students and not talk down to them. Don’t use clichéd lines like “Your future starts here” or “Today is the first day of the rest of your life”. Aim for an informal and personal tone with relevant, engaging images. If prospects start engaging with your content on social media, their comments and sharing will attract other students and help position your RTO as a thought leader in the educational space. Peer-to-peer recommendations will give your content credibility and value, as well as encourage other prospective students to engage with it.

• Communicate on multiple channels

It’s important that your content appears on all the relevant social media and online platforms. Today’s students will be engaging with multiple channels and sharing content between one channel and another. If they see content on Instagram, they are likely to share it to Facebook or tweet about it.

There is no longer a dominant media channel and it’s important your inbound marketing content reaches them at all the possible touch points that they engage with during the day. Your content should not alienate students with strong sales messages but should engage them with meaningful, relevant messaging appropriate to the channels it’s appearing on. Visual images work strongly on all channels, but on twitter, your text needs to fall within 140 characters. Facebook and LinkedIn give you the opportunity to post longer articles or link to longer blog posts.

• Use relevant campaigns that are meaningful to your prospects’ lives

Students want to feel part of a group. Relevant creative campaigns that make them feel they’re part of a wider network will assist in your sales and recruitment process. There is a wealth of data on digital platforms like Facebook that document the key influences in your target market’s lives. Use this and your detailed personas to create a campaign that will both engage and add value to your students’ lives.

• Communicate your availability

Choosing courses that are going to define careers and lives is a stressful process and your students are likely to get anxious and stressed if they feel you are unavailable or they can’t contact you. Communicate your RTO’s email address and phone number. Advise them of your office hours and whom the best person is to contact with regards to a particular course.

You can also create online office hours and use Adobe Connect or Google Hangouts to connect with your students. These communication platforms allow you to share your screen with your students if you want to share relevant information or diagrams with them as you chat.

Lupo Digital is an inbound marketing agency that specialises in inbound marketing for RTOs, helping them with their student engagement and building strong on-going relationships with their prospects and students. We have a passionate, experienced team dedicated to bringing all the benefits of inbound marketing to RTOs. For more information about how inbound marketing works for RTOs, download our executive guide to inbound marketing for RTOs.