How to Generate More Leads and Recruit More Students Directly From Your Website [Part 1]

Language schools can exponentially grow profits by recruiting more students directly from their website. So why aren’t EFL schools focusing more of their marketing resources on direct student enrolment?

A lot of big and small English Language Full Immersion Schools focus mainly on keeping good relations with those agents that send them the most students. Unfortunately a lot of the time, these will also be the biggest agents that take the biggest percentage cut out of each booking.

Smaller agents take a smaller cut but they also take more time to manage because you need many more to reach the same amount of bookings. Focusing on bigger agents can seemingly have better results – it results in ‘visible’ growth, by booking more students, but shows much slower growth in terms of profit.

Agents also represent a necessary evil – a bit like affiliates for the iGaming industry. So many schools don’t want to be seen advertising their courses directly online – at least not aggressively. This might make their best agents work more closely with their competitors because it can jeopardise trust.

However in view of all this, a solution still exists – Inbound marketing. It isn’t aggressive, and because it involves mostly organic strategies, it can easily go under your agents’ radar.

Full immersion language schools can employ several inbound strategies to generate more leads and book students directly from their websites. 

INBOUND MARKETING STRATEGIES FOR EFL SCHOOLS

Optimise for Search Engines (SEO):
Ensure your website is optimised for search engines to increase visibility when prospective students search for language immersion programs. In a competitive industry like this, it’s important to use the best tech tools to make sure your content gets due visibility when optimised.

Content Marketing:
Create valuable content that addresses the needs and questions of your target audience. This could include blog posts about language learning tips, the benefits of immersion programs, cultural insights, student testimonials, and success stories. High-quality content can attract more visitors to your website and establish your school as a leader in language education.

Social Media Marketing:
Use social media platforms to promote your programs and engage with your target audience. Share content from your website, student testimonials, and success stories to create a community around your school. Social media ads can also be a powerful tool to target potential students based on their interests and demographics.

Landing Pages and Lead Magnets:
Create specific landing pages for different language programs or offers. Use lead magnets, such as free language learning resources, e-books, or webinars, as incentives for visitors to provide their contact information. This can help you build a list of interested prospects to nurture into students.

Email Marketing: Use email marketing to nurture leads by sending personalised emails with information about your programs, special offers, and educational content. Segment your email list based on the interests and behaviours of your subscribers to ensure relevancy and increase engagement.

Video Content: Incorporate video content on your website to engage visitors and provide a more in-depth look at your programs. Videos can include virtual tours of your school, interviews with teachers, class previews, and student testimonials.

Alongside Inbound marketing some attention to conversion optimisation can improve your bookings too. Here are a three things you can do to close more students once they’re on your website:

Online Reviews and Testimonials:
Showcase positive reviews and testimonials from former students on your website. Positive experiences can greatly influence the decision-making process of prospective students.

Conversion Optimised Call-to-Actions (CTAs):
Place clear and compelling CTAs throughout your website to guide visitors towards taking the next step, whether it’s requesting more information, signing up for a newsletter, or applying for a programme.

Full immersion schools, along with other educational institutions, can leverage HubSpot to streamline and enhance their administrative, communicative, and marketing efforts significantly.

Live Chat or Chatbots:
Implement a live chat or chatbot feature on your website to answer visitors’ questions in real-time. This immediate interaction can improve user experience and lead to higher conversion rates.

PAID ADVERTISING
Finally you can also boost your results using Paid advertising – this will work faster but it might also take some time to learn from running experiments and might become a pricy exercise.

You can invest in paid advertising options like Google Ads or social media ads to drive targeted traffic to your website. Use these platforms to target individuals specifically looking for language immersion programs.

Want to know more about how full immersion English Language schools are using HubSpot to supercharge their inbound marketing and get visibility of the full lead generation and sales journey?

Book your free no-commitment demo here: https://calendly.com/alessandro-morreale/30min