As consumers or customers, it can be hard to understand how much work goes into promoting a product. Massive chunks of an institution’s budget can be spent on marketing alone. Gone are the days of writing about your service on a park bench, or a notice at the bus stop. It’s where educational brand video marketing comes in.
For the most part, marketing has gone digital, and those who manage to navigate this brave new world must adapt to changing times. It is true that digital “natives” are mostly not old enough to have an innate sense of social media, video editing, and so on.
But these skills can be learned, and the return on investment for such an effort can be great.
This article explores how we can spice things up by introducing education video marketing, as a medium to enhance education.
Video as a Medium for Promotion and Content Delivery
By far, our most dominant sense is sight. People are very visual creatures, so it’s no wonder that most of us, if given the chance, will become highly captivated by visual media.
This is why most products that can afford it invest heavily in video commercials. Even for an educational institution, investing in a solid video marketing strategy can be one of the wisest investments.
It used to be said that video can be the highest form of communication because it doesn’t just involve video. Commercials and video marketing involve other forms of media as well, such as sound, art design, and so on.
In addition, complex topics can be very information dense. We all know the expression that a picture is worth a thousand words. Some ideas would take multiple paragraphs, but a marketing video for students can express the same in just a few seconds.
Regarding scripting for that video, it can be possible to find a freelance writer on an essay writing forum so they can put together a solid script for your brand.
Raising Educational Brand Video Awareness
Of course, the amount of awareness of an educational brand video are much higher when compared to someone trying to sell soda or vacuum cleaners. However, as far as the market is concerned, you are just selling another product or service. The regular rules of video marketing strategy still apply.
If your educational brand has not used video promotions before, you have the opportunity to start from scratch and define all aspects.
By all means, this does not mean your videos have to associate your brand with silliness, or elitism. You have to pick an angle.
Maybe your videos can emphasize that, in a time of financial crisis and skyrocketing debt, you can actually provide a quality education for an affordable rate. In this case, testimonials from successful alumni will be golden.
Increasing enrollment will most likely result from some strong marketing videos for students. Videos are easily shareable via social media, and if they are well-made, they will spark the interest of the new generation, which, let’s face it: is chronically online.
Characteristics of a Well-Made Video
As mentioned, the first rule of making a school promotional video is to know your audience. In this case, you are supposed to target all students or all engagement and interest levels, from those who want to pay for college papers and skip class to those who are aiming for scholarships and excellence.
Regardless of their background or intent, there are some common elements there. For example, nobody is trying to sacrifice time and money to get a useless degree. Many Generations Z young people are disillusioned because of the “higher education inflation” problem, where degrees are getting more expensive, but so many people attend college that it basically is not special anymore.
College today, is what finishing high school was back in the 50s.
As a result, your video should be structured like a commercial. And what do commercials do? Well, they outline a problem and then present their product as a solution: Do honest market research regarding the frustrations of young students, and structure your video production for college as the cure to those woes.
In terms of length, try to keep it short. Market research has shown that the most successful commercials are between 15-60 seconds, and even that is testing the attention span of most potential customers. The Internet is very good at destroying attention spans, by offering instant gratification with just a click away.
This short-circuits our pleasure centers, making it harder to pay attention to anything that is not immediate.
So, like it or not, when designing content, you have to accommodate this change in taste. Still, the video can later link to your website, or a longer video, which can present the details.
Try to Tell a Story
Even in our hyper-scientific age, people are still persuaded by stories.
If you had a product and just started listing ingredients and benefits, most people would not buy it. People want more than just dry information, even if that information is completely true.
Video marketing to higher education should avoid blandly listing the courses, benefits, schedule, and price. A story must be told, about aspirations to succeed, and how this degree can be a ticket to a better life, while still being affordable.
Stories about a campus that is welcoming, and a faculty that is eager to help. If possible, also include footage of people having fun during campus events. Young people are extremely motivated to socialize, and there are schools that get enrollment just because they are great places to socialize.
Livestream
An even newer development in the digital market is live streaming. It is, basically, a live video feed of…something—graduation ceremonies, campus events, a nice spring afternoon on campus, etc.
When making your main promotional video, you must develop a script and shoot or edit accordingly. However, as an additional video, you can also put together livestream highlights. That way, you don’t have to worry about composing and scripting. Just leave the camera rolling for 4 hours on multiple occasions, and just clip the highlights.
Educational video marketing can learn a lot from influencers and live-streamers.
Conclusion
To put things in plain English, one of the worst things you can be is boring or unremarkable in a competitive marketplace. By using modern tools such as the Internet, social media, and Video marketing, your educational brand can stand out and carve its own niche in the market.