Influencing the education sector

The impact of Covid-19 has meant it is crucial for brands to understand consumer behaviour quickly in order to maintain their reputation.

A recent brand sentiment navigator report found that 58% of respondents felt their view of a brand was somewhat impacted due to the Covid-19 crisis; that clear and concise communication, as well as recognising the new normal, are some actions that received positive sentiment from consumers.

It’s clear that the brands that have decided to cut their marketing budgets, or fail to implement the infrastructure to innovate and adapt to the new normal, are the ones that will be hit the hardest in the long term.

How will education brands be affected by this, and will they challenge the traditional marketing approach in light of the new consumer expectations? Not only will they have to rethink their offering, but they will also have to rethink their communications strategy. Reaching consumers through the conventional methods is just not going to get the cut through they need to remain front of mind – especially in the current climate.

This leads to Influencer marketing – it tends to be linked to sectors like travel and lifestyle, yet the current situation provides a perfect opportunity for education brands to embrace influencer marketing and be part of the success.

Fortunately, some education brands have quickly realised the power of influencer marketing in reaching their target audiences and have begun to introduce influencer campaigns within their communications strategies to appeal to their target consumers in a more emphatic and personalised way.

Some education brands, like the online platform Lynda.com, have embraced influencer marketing and are reaching a 46 million subscriber audience, strongly boosting their social media marketing campaigns – all through influencer sponsored content on YouTube.

Another great example is the University of Central Florida which partnered with student and influencer Sonali Prahbu to produce videos that were promoting her experience at the University, resulting in over 20k views per video and a positive reaction for the brand.

However, an element of caution needs to be factored into the equation here. Some educations brands experienced a backlash from their influencer marketing activities. The University of Hull received a lot of bad reviews after partnering with influencers, who did not attend the University, to promote their experience of attending it – damaging its reputation and credibility.

This is why it is so important to collaborate with influencers who are authentic and aligned with your brand values. We have highlighted why education brands might want to consider adopting influencer marketing now:

• It builds credibility and trust for the brand by leveraging the influencers’ loyal audiences – influencers have worked hard to gain trust and build relationships with their fans and by sharing their content you can reach an already engaged audience
• It allows brands to effectively reach their target audience without having to spend additional budget on testing and finding the relevant audiences
• It enhances your content strategy with a fresh, new approach and it provides amazing value to your audience
• It’s cost effective and measurable, saves you time and in turn can provide a huge return on investment
• Lastly, it improves your brand awareness – influencers are always up to date on the latest trends and, by aligning your brand with an influencer who has a voice in the trends department, it shows your audience that your brand is an innovative leader in your industry

If you would be interested in finding out how we can help you build an influencer marketing strategy for your education brand, please give us a call: 01223 911 123 or contact ourAccount Director, Olly