How to differentiate your online degrees
The low-hanging fruit for marketers is to talk about the flexibility and accessibility of online instruction. All you need is a good internet connection and you can access your coursework from anywhere in the world. However, those benefits are ubiquitous. Making your online offerings stand out from the crowd can be a challenge, but not impossible.
On-demand learning
The rise of video conferencing software has blurred the lines between online learning and simply giving lectures over Zoom. Universities often boast about flexibility in that students can take lectures from wherever in the world. And that’s true for 99% of online degrees.
The flexibility that will attract the most students will be time-focused, taking in the content whenever. If your online course has on-demand content, be specific about the flexibility of your asynchronous schedule. As most students studying online will have other work or family commitments, the ability to fit classes around their day-to-day will be the difference in where they choose to enroll.
Engaging content
Love them or leave them, video games have been well and truly ingrained into modern culture. According to recent data, 85% of Gen-Z now play video games, with time spent on immersive media platforms like Roblox and Minecraft also increasing. Demonstrate the interactivity between peers by demoing your course platform via video or a free trial to get your prospects engaging with your online learning community.
The rise of micro-learning apps like Duolingo offers a unique opportunity for universities to follow suit, with short 5-minute lessons, quizzes, and interactions providing snack-sized learning experiences. Producing taster samples of your online content can provide a strong lead magnet for students who are looking to learn on the fly.
Integrating AI
One area in which AI is anticipated to make a big impact is personalized learning. By using data on student learning behaviors, faculty can tailor experiences depending on the engagement and skill level of their student.
Given the stage of the AI hype-cycle we are currently in, make sure you explain in layman’s terms how AI is used in the course. AI can be polarizing, so make sure you explain that lectures will still be given by people, and the course content has been created by experts with critical thought. The only difference is that AI tools help educators increase the quality of education through more personalization.
Tangible graduate outcomes
Given the career-driven motivations of online students, clear graduate outcomes are a must. Analyze the data around the economic impact of your online degrees and how they drive upward mobility and show this in your messaging when promoting your programs. Courses that offer students opportunities to specialize are usually a key to driving more income post-graduation and can be a good place to start in terms of focused messaging.
The rise of online education is a unique opportunity for colleges to grow their reach to new audience pools. However, promoting online programs effectively is not an easy road. Colleges need to protect their offering against an even wider set of online competitors, as well as understand what prospective students want from their program. Linking all of this together can be a challenge, so align yourself with a partner who understands both your audience and your product.
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