Why Promoting the School is Essential in 2021

Written by Torleif V

One can think of a language school as a fisherman named Bob. He tries to catch fish every day. Some days He gets 7 fishes, other days He gets 3 fishes. But on average the quantity is 5 fishes per day for every month. Everyone is happy, Bob can eat 1 fish and also sell 4 fishes to the store.

But one day the sea is infected with a virus. A heavy Covid virus. The fish can't swim as it used to. It has to stay at home and not talk with other fishes. Even though it can see some bait outside his window, he will not bite no matter how much it's tempting to do so.

Bob gets a bit confused, he thinks it's just a coincidence and goes home with no fish. But then a week goes by and still he doesn't get any fish. He gets anxious and starts to ask the community for answers. Nobody knows what's going on. All the other fishermen are struggling as well. They don't seem to get any fish anymore!

The scientists said on the news that the decrease in fish is caused by a new virus called Covid-19. Therefore the fishes won't bite the bait anymore. Bob had to change his strategy now. He had to change his bait somehow to actually catch the fish. He invented FB ads for the fish. He promoted the bait he made on TV. The promotion said: "If you see this fish (bait), it has the cure for Covid-19. Make sure to eat it!"

The following month Bob got back on track and made even triple income from fishing, he got 15 fishes per day! He found a clever way of triggering the fish and to get money in return. A very wise business tactic.

1. What bait is best for getting students?

The example with the fishes and Bob is a very simple, but relevant topic when it comes to getting students to sign up to the language school. When signing up a student the FB-ad have to be intriguing. The student have to feel like the ad talks to him/her and can make a change in their life. It has to stand out. But how?

When making an ad it is essential to have images of real life students. Images of people who are having fun and learn the language with great teachers and interesting materials. They need to see that the school offers something which provides good learning methods, and interactive classes with fellow students. It's also important that the school has qualified and experienced teachers. This makes the courses legit and credible.

The other day I found an ad which literally just had a heart as a description and then a 20 second video. The video was good, it had text and was intuitive. But to grab the attention of students the text needs to be a bit more convincing. The pillar of success when running ads is the message, and when one key is missing the the song can't be played. Therefore every part of the ad needs to get attention, and get a clear point to take home for the student.

The ideal FB-ad is an intriguing ad which shows an informative but engaging desciption. It needs to hook the student and just make them excited enough to click the link and check out the offers. If the ad is a video it needs to be between 15-30 minutes long, and ideally with a student testimonial or some form of human interaction.

2. Why not just stick to organic reach - and not ads?

Good question. There are many schools that are excellent with social media. They have their main source of traffic from their Instagram posts or Facebook pages. When making these medias it's also a good way for sharing the content with other people around the world, and get a good reputation. In fact this is something every school should do.

But something which every school is craving for is to get those few extra spots filled for each class. There are always some seats open which didn't get filled by a new student. This is where the paid ads comes into play. When running the ads; FB-ads, Google Ads, LinkedIn Ads etc., one can get the extra payout each month when doing it correctly. But only with a proper strategy.

Where most schools fail is when they publish a few ads here and there with a heart or some simple text. The ads don't have a very predictable tracking system; They don't measure the traffic for each ad with pixels or conversions etc., the ads are simply a black hole of money entering with no goal and no intent other than making a quick buck.
This is the same as flushing money down the toilet.

So the best way of actually running the ads to get those few extra seats every month is by having a strategic plan with every ad. We have to test each ad with care and see the response of them. When we have filtered out the best adverts we can start increasing the budget, and observe the massive change in sales on a weekly basis. We evolved from a novice in advertisement - to complete ninjas in the field, and the students are stacking up.

But how is this possible? It's possible if the school has that extra fund in their pocket, and are willing to make a small leap with their finances to turn €1 into €4 by being smart with their thinking.

3. The wave of students in 2021

The pandemic has caused a lot of grief for all businesses in 2021. It made schools decrease their flow of students they normally used to have, especially in Jan 2021 - which was a horrible year. The students dreams of travelling abroad have been put on hold, and they just have to wait with their computer and Netflix while swiping on Duolingo every day.

But this situation won't last forever. Suddenly the borders will open again and our lives are back to normal. The students will start looking around for schools online, and thats when we have to be ready to welcome them to our schools. There will suddenly be a huge demand for language courses and the students expect to find something.

The best way to receive those students is by being strategic and clever with the advertisement. We have to prepare the offers on the table for when the wave of fish is rushing in the stream of the lake. When the fish is swimming by the river, only the most engaging advertisement will get their attention, and that will be you who got that fish on the hook!

Conclusion

To sum everything up in a few paragraphs.

1. Pick the right bait

Do the research and prepare some good value adverts that catches the attention of the students. The last thing they want is some mediocre fake image with a lousy text. We have to grab their attention in the glimpse of an eye, and make them click and book a course with us right away.

2. Don't just do organic reach

To be able to fill those extra seats and be able to maximize the profit we have to make investments. We have to try to grab those eager ready students waiting for the perfect fit, and then let them join our amazing school and make their dreams come true!

3. Take advantage of the wave

We need to get a hold of the stream of students that will be lining up soon. To get them we need to make intriguing adverts, and make sure that they know who we are with genuine advertisements and retargeting to get all the eggs in one basket.

If you are eager to start advertisement today, and grow your language school right now then you should definitely consider booking a Strategy Session with me below right away. See you soon!