The 21st century has revolutionized many things, but first and foremost, the 21st century has revolutionized how we know things. It used to be that companies were the sole expert on their products. Salespeople would be the trusted authorities in their fields.
Now… not so much. Enter educational marketing. Education-based marketing is a strategy that companies have started adopting all over—some without even realizing it.
So, What Is Educational Marketing?
Educational marketing is an advertising method that invites customers in with detailed information, transparency, and engaging subject matter. In short, educational marketing turns your customers into an insider. It’s a way of showing respect.
Like the Hip Hop artist Project Pat used to say, “real recognize real.” (When you want a good quote from the Hip Hop world, it’s only natural that you would turn to me.) Educational marketing is the same concept. By giving your customers value in the form of knowledge, you’re showing your customers that you trust them, and in return, your customers will trust you.
Through education as a marketing strategy, you also gain an amazing secondary benefit. You begin to become recognized as an authority in your field.
Knowledge Is Power
Don’t just take our word for the power of educational marketing strategies. Take a look at the impact education had on Renasant Bank—a 113-year-old Mississippi bank.
Renasant Bank regularly partnered with their local college’s business courses, giving feedback on proposals and offering financial support to young entrepreneurs. However, the pitches that the bank was getting were woefully under-prepared.
So, in 2017 the bank aired its own “Shark Tank” spin-off on their local PBS news station.
Students from colleges all around the state submitted pitches, judges from the bank and the community picked six contestants, and the games were on. Students got great feedback, and the bank’s partners got to hear fresh ideas. In the end, PBS aired four 20-minute episodes of Renasant Banks ingenious show idea.
When the show aired, Renasant Bank saw several bonuses:
- They were able to break free of the “boring bank” stereotype, setting them apart from their competition.
- They can now use clips from their show as more educational marketing material for their marketing strategies.
- They netted some free press from the contestants on the show.
Still, Renasant’s idea was never a marketing gimmick. Three winners each received $1,000 to chase their dreams. That’s the key to an excellent educational marketing plan; you can’t fake it.
You can watch the full episode below.
Another great example is a little closer to home. Rip Media Group (us!) offers a Video Marketing masterclass that runs students through all of the steps we take in our video marketing process. That way, our potential clients can choose to learn and produce their own stories before ever coming to us. Then, if a client does decide they want our help afterward, they’ll be able to hire us at a fraction of the cost because they will have already completed some of the work we usually do.
It’s a win, win, win situation!
Give Value, Get Dedicated Customers
Sales are as simple (and as complicated) as that. If you know when to give value, who to provide value to, and where that value needs to be distributed, then you’re in the green. Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done.
So, why not check out our guide to the customer journey? Learning everything you can is a great way to start your educational marketing journey.
If you have any questions, or if you would like help with your educational marketing strategy, why not give us a shout?