Marketing in Education: A Practical Guide for School and Course Owners
In short: Marketing an education business is more than advertising. It rests on two wings: brand marketing, which builds trust, and performance marketing, which can be measured; the recommended mix is 60% brand and 40% performance. Focus on clients rather than competitors, and keep existing students: it is cheaper than attracting new ones.
If you think marketing is just advertising on Instagram or Google, get ready to rethink your views. Modern marketing, especially in education, is much more than that.
Marketing is not just advertising.
Think of the Japanese business philosophy: every person in the company is a marketer, and everyone is responsible for marketing. Sounds strange? In fact, it is very logical. Your administrator who answers the phone, your teacher who runs the lesson: all of them influence whether clients choose you.
Every process and every detail shapes the impression of your brand. So when we talk about marketing in an education business, we mean the whole system of interaction with clients, from the first contact to finishing the course.
The two wings of marketing: brand and performance
Brand marketing: building trust for years
Brand marketing is everything related to positioning your school or courses. It is not about instant sales but about long-term relationships with your audience.
As Starbucks founder Howard Schultz said: “If people believe they share values with a company, they will stay loyal to the brand.”
The main brand marketing channels include partnerships and collaborations with other educational projects, kindergartens and sports clubs: a win-win for everyone involved. Opinion leaders and bloggers who share their own experience rather than just advertising products are also effective, because their audience trusts them. Media and outdoor advertising (TV, radio, billboards) give wide reach, but without precise audience targeting.
The main downside of brand marketing is that results are hard to measure. The effect may come not right away but in a year, two or even three. But it is brand marketing that builds trust in your brand and ensures a steady flow of clients in the future.
Performance marketing: everything that can be measured
Unlike brand marketing, here you see every step the client takes: where they came from, what they looked at, where they stopped and why they did not buy. This is your detective in the world of marketing.
The main channels include Google Ads, search ads and display banners on websites, which are ideal for people already looking for English courses or exam preparation. Meta ads on Instagram and Facebook let you target your audience very precisely by age, interests and behavior. Email marketing is one of the most effective channels for an education business, because parents often think for weeks before enrolling their child in a course. TikTok ads recently became available in Ukraine and show impressive results with young people: you can test them right now and be among the first. SEO and SMM are long-term investments that bring steady traffic and allow detailed audience analysis.
To track all of this, use UTM tags, Google Analytics, Looker Studio and social media ad accounts. They will show which channel a person came from and what caught their interest.
The ideal formula: 40% performance + 60% brand
Sounds like a magic formula, doesn’t it? In fact, it is the result of many years of experience at the Green Country school network. 40% of the budget goes to performance marketing (quick sales, measurable results) and 60% to the brand (long-term strategy, building trust).
But do not treat it as dogma. The ratio can be 50/50 or even 60/40 in favor of performance, depending on your goals. The main thing is not to bet on just one type of marketing.
ATL, BTL, TTL: abbreviations worth knowing
ATL (Above The Line): firing a cannon
These are channels for a broad audience without filtering: TV, radio, billboards. High cost, wide reach, but no instant feedback. Like firing a cannon: loud and far-reaching, but not always on target.
BTL (Below The Line): the sniper approach
Targeted interaction with a specific audience: flyers near a school, email newsletters to parents, personal calls. It gives instant results and precise feedback.
TTL (Through The Line): the best mix
A combination of ATL and BTL that takes the client through the whole AIDA funnel:
Attention: broad advertising introduces the brand
Interest: more detailed information sparks interest
Desire: personal offers create desire
Action: the client makes a purchase
An example of a TTL campaign from Green Country: when opening a new school, they launched billboards (ATL) and handed out flyers and held open days (BTL). For summer camps, they ran video ads on YouTube (ATL) plus test drives of camp games and personal discounts (BTL).
Strategy: focus on clients, not competitors
Michael Porter defined strategy as “creating a unique position in the market through a consistent set of activities that build a competitive advantage.” In simple terms, it is a plan of action from the moment the client discovers your product to the moment of purchase.
The main rule: be obsessed not with competitors but with clients. Study your target audience and understand their needs, fears and motivations. Qualitative and quantitative research are your best friends.
Upselling and cross-selling: how to increase profit from each client
In an education business, clients have a high LTV (lifetime value). At Green Country, the average period of study is 3 years. That is why it is important to make the most of every client.
Upselling: offering something better
Instead of a special exam preparation course, offer the full course. Instead of 5 one-to-one lessons, offer a package of 15 lessons at a lower price per lesson. The client gets more value, and you get a bigger order.
Cross-selling: adding related services
Add a discounted conversation course with native speakers to the general English course. When someone buys 5 math lessons, give them 5 English lessons as a gift. The key is to do it naturally, as extra care for the client.
Keeping clients is cheaper than attracting new ones
Attracting a new client always costs more than keeping an existing one. That is why loyalty programs are not a luxury but a necessity.
What works in an education business: referral programs, because parents trust other parents’ recommendations more than advertising. A cashback system: the more lessons a client buys, the more cashback they get. Family discounts, if several children or even parents from one family study with you. Discounts on a second course encourage clients to stay with you longer.
Marketing for startups: where to begin
In-house or outsourced?
If the team is small, the SMM specialist can partly take on the roles of ad targeting specialist and designer. The key is to test campaigns and increase budgets gradually.
Agencies take a percentage of the campaigns they run and are not always willing to work with small budgets. Freelancers are an option for one-off tasks.
But the best option for a long-term strategy is your own team. Even if it is a single junior marketer, they will be fully immersed in the project and understand the specifics of the business.
Free acquisition channels
A high-quality product is the best free channel. Satisfied clients recommend you. Low-cost channels: local forums, communities and neighborhood groups are often free. Partnerships: exchanging audiences without spending money. Direct communication: agreements with schools and clubs to invite their students to free events.
Group vs one-to-one lessons: what to consider in advertising
If you are moving from one-to-one lessons to group classes, your main task is to build communication that highlights the advantages of the group format.
Here you are competing not with a particular competitor but with the whole one-to-one segment. Show reviews and results from group students, and emphasize the social side and the chance to learn together with peers.
And finally, remember the main thing
Marketing in an education business is not a set of tools but a way of thinking. When you understand that every interaction with a client is part of their experience, you start to see opportunities where you did not notice them before.
Do not try to cover everything at once. Start with one or two channels, master them, and then expand. It is better to do one thing well than ten things in a mediocre way.
Save this guide and come back to it when you need a push or a fresh perspective. It is not about perfect strategies but about understanding people. Take care of your business with wisdom and patience.
FAQ
What are brand and performance marketing in education?
Brand marketing builds a school’s trust and recognition over years; performance marketing is everything you can measure (leads, sales, acquisition cost).
What do ATL, BTL and TTL mean?
ATL means mass channels with wide reach, BTL means targeted channels for a specific audience, and TTL combines both approaches.
How can a school earn more from each client?
Through upselling (offering a better or bigger product) and cross-selling (adding related services), and by keeping existing students.