Teachers, by nature, are information junkies. We love to
know stuff, but we want our information easily accessible and organized. Which
is why having an easy to navigate website, with SEO optimization for
education-related key words and phrases, is important if you want to market to
educators.
With 40% of the world’s population having access to the
internet, chances are your potential customers are already searching the web. Over
50% of Americans purchased a product online in 2015, and we were fourth behind
the UK, Germany, and South Korea (wearesocial.com). Imagine how many potential
customers you are missing out on if you don’t have a website!
Considering the average internet user spends almost 4 ½
hours on the web each day (wearesocial.com), here are some benefits to having a
dedicated website for your business:
- a website increases
your credibility, visibility, and accountability
- a website promotes your brand awareness
- a website promotes
your business 24/7
- a website allows
you to compete with your competition
How does all this translate to the education arena? The same
benefits apply as with any other business, small or large, but the education
field is becoming more technologically driven. We are tapping into myriad
social media platforms and technological tools, so keeping up with current
trends is important if you want to market to this field.
Having a hard time visualizing an education-based website?
Here are links to three popular and successful websites that cater to the
education-minded:
- Edutopia: Edutopia offers myriad
resources, both video and written, for educators, administrators, and parents.
The website has multiple avenues for visitors to research a specific
topic, making it accessible.
- Scholastic: Yes, the company
behind the little book magazines you took home as a child has a fully-functioning,
dynamic website, where teachers, administrators, librarians, parents, and
students can go for information and inspiration.
- Education World: This website is
more geared towards educators and administrators. It provides information
on all things current in education, from Presidential Candidates’ views on
education to non-profit organizations that help students and families.
These are just three examples of education-related websites.
To find one that reflects your product or service, simply conduct an internet
search of your company’s key words.
Having a website doesn’t guarantee its effectiveness,
though. You have to market your website with the education field in mind. Here
are some suggestions for marketing your company’s website to the education
arena:
- Blog: Add a blog to
your website and post regularly. Sharing your blog posts on social media
sites, such as Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin, will drive more traffic to
your website.
- Online Discussion
Forums: Join education-based online discussion forums, such as The Educator’s PLN. Visiting discussion
forums focused on your area of interest allows you to collaborate with
like-minded individuals. This can then lead to website visits and clients.
- Comments: Many of
the websites I have highlighted in this blog post allow for reader
comments. Adding meaningful comments to these online conversations can
give your business a “voice”, drawing visitors to your website. I have
found, one of the most stimulating websites to engage in intellectual
conversation is TED Talks.
If you are unfamiliar with TED Talks, please click on the link! You will
be inspired, educated, challenged, and, hopefully, engaged. Consider one
video, “To This Day…for the bullied and beautiful”, in the education archives
generated over 600 comments! You don’t want to participate in these types of
conversations for the single goal of promoting your website, though.
Instead, you want to engage in intellectual conversations that allow you
to share meaningful content, as this will establish your authority on
education-based topics and build your brand awareness.
What does all this mean for you? Put simply, a website lays
a solid foundation on which businesses can build their online presence and
promote brand awareness. If you don’t have a website, you don’t have the
groundwork to build a successful business.
Need help writing content for your website, or do you have
content that needs optimizing? Contact me to see if I can help!
References
We Are Social (2015). Retrieved from http://wearesocial.com/uk/special-reports/digital-social-mobile-worldwide-2015
