Content production is one of the biggest challenges marketing and admissions departments face. Your team is already working at maximum capacity and the thought of adding more to the to-do list can be daunting. Yet, content is vital to a successful inbound campaign and lead nurturing strategy.
Don’t worry...not all content needs to be produced by your team. There are other ways to fill the content funnel for your lead nurturing campaigns. Before we dive into the three types of sources for content, we recommend taking note of the following tips:
- It’s about THEM, not YOU. Talk about what interests your audience (persona) and not about what you want “sell” them.
- The content you choose should be tailored for the persona you're targeting.
- Content should be relevant, educational, entertaining, and for the most part, not sales-focused.
Despite the current load on your team, with some advance planning and strategic alignments within your school, you can procure additional content for your lead nurture campaigns.
As mentioned above, there are three types of content when it comes to lead nurturing campaigns:
- Original content
- Curated content
- User-generated content
1. Original Content
Original content is, well, original. Your team (or an outside consultant whom you’ve hired) created it and your school owns it. It can take various forms including blog posts, eBooks, white papers, videos, etc.
This is where you can create pieces that tell your school’s story. Again, think about your persona and consider their challenges as well as their interests.
- What do they want to know about?
- What are they interested in that may actually not have a direct connection to your school such as family-friendly community events or the various ways they can learn more about the local culture?
Take this opportunity to serve your audience with content tailored specifically to their wants and needs.
2. Curated Content
This is content that comes from other sources and must be attributed as such. You can educate your audience by sharing blog posts or short videos from industry thought-leaders. This is also your opportunity to entertain your readers with updates on local pop culture and other happenings within your city.
3. User-Generated Content
School’s have the unique benefits of access to a resource pool that most organizations do not. Faculty, students, administrators, and even parents number in the hundreds, if not thousands, and there will be many talented writers in that pool.
Develop a group of student and parent ambassadors who will be the champions for your school. These individuals can share everything going on within the walls of your school and out in the community with current and prospective families. This type of content is excellent lead nurturing material and is content people trust.
According to a Nielsen Report, “Global Trust in Advertising and Brand Messages", 92% of customers prefer word-of-mouth or recommendations over any other kind of marketing.
Your faculty and admin are some of the best educators in the world. Ask them to contribute articles about the latest developments in teaching methodologies or share innovative programs they are piloting in their classrooms.
Not all content is created equal and not all content needs to be produced by your admissions and marketing teams. By investing time into planning your content calendar and tapping into the resources you have at hand, you can create lead nurturing content that is relevant and engaging, and will move prospective families through the admissions funnel.
To learn more about how lead nurturing will help fill your admissions funnel, click the image below to download our FREE lead nurturing eBook for international schools.
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