Marketing Must-Haves: Tips, Tricks And Techniques To Launch A Winning Learning Program

eLearning Marketing Tips, Tricks, And Techniques
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Summary: Marketing an existing product is different from pushing a brand new one. What techniques can you use to get your eLearning program into the public eye?

Tips, Tricks And Techniques To Launch A Winning Learning Program

If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, did it really fall? This is a philosophical question that gets cited in a lot of situations, though the correlation isn’t always clear. In this case, we’re applying it to marketing tactics. You could build the best learning program in the world, but if nobody knows about it, your efforts are pointless. If one user/employee enrolls, they’ll love it and share it with industry peers. But to get it on their computers and phones in the first place, you have to do an effective launch. How? These 5 eLearning marketing tips can help you spread the word about your winning online course. I’ll focus on both eCommerce and in-house training promotion.

1. Leave A Trail Of Teasers

If you’ve been looking around the online space, you may have noticed a new way to promote movies. We’ve always had trailers, but now the trailers themselves are a series. Each release could have four or five teaser clips aimed at different audiences. And by dropping them strategically, movie makers extend excitement. Movies often have their own Facebook page and Twitter account too. There, they drop said teasers as well as cast interviews and crew profiles. These accounts post relevant nuggets about the product. Use the same approach for your launch. Social media accounts are free so you can open as many as you like. Use them to craft and disseminate teaser content for your eLearning course.

2. Form A Social Media Training Group

Your social media pages can be used to recruit members or engage in-house staff. It should be a closed group, offering exclusive goodies that aren’t available to the general public. The group can be a forum for trainees to exchange ideas. The instructor shouldn’t always run the show. You can allow group members to run their own independent conversation and step in strategically. That said, you do need to moderate online discussions. This keeps trolls out and helps you guide the conversation in the right direction. It can also be a handy data tool. By monitoring the goings-on in your group, you can spot the features learners (don’t) like. That way, you know what to add in or phase out in the next update. Incentivize membership with nuggets, like Facebook live sessions hosted by industry experts.

3. Host Live Events To Build The Buzz

Just because it’s an online product doesn’t mean you can’t promote it offline. The majority of your online training marketing spend will go to digital platforms but it’s worth making a splash offline as well. Hold an exclusive launch event. In this case, it’s not "the bigger, the better." You want an intimate power punch. You’d rather have 50 attendees who may become training advocates/buyers than 500 potentials. This means your guest list must be carefully curated. Pick purchasing managers over CEOs, they’re the ones that make the buying decision. You should also have industry press and key members from your social media circles. Make the event a multimedia experience, streaming it onto your digital platforms. And, record everything for future promotional campaigns. Live events are a gold mine for free eLearning program marketing material.

4. Develop Your Own Influencers

Hiring celebrities and industry experts as influencers can get pricey. These figures are aspirational and fans want to be like them. That’s their appeal in the marketing space. However, peer influence can sometimes be stronger, especially in the training niche. As you examine the daily interactions in your social media groups, pick potential influencers and recruit them. You don’t want to offer cash incentives. Instead, you want to invite them to the course development studio and walk them through the course development process. Or, have them interview potential buyers to find what they’d like to see in the app. Reward them with merchandise, free upgrades, and exclusive pre-order access. Make them beta testers too. In the case of employee influencers, give them a behind-the-scenes look at your L&D team’s workflow so they can see them in action.

5. Provide Sneak Preview Demos

Employees might be apprehensive to hop onto the training platform. Just as eLearning prospects may be reluctant to enroll if they don’t know what’s in store. Which is why you should give them a sneak peek of your learning program. It doesn’t have to be a full course. Just a little snippet, module or bite-size activity can get them excited about the online training experience. Then follow it up with surveys and focus groups to see what they thought, and gather valuable feedback. You can use this data to improve your eLearning course design before you launch, based on their requirements. For example, they thought it was too text-heavy or visually cluttered. Be sure to invite a good cross-section of your target audience so that you get input from different demographics.

Launching your online course doesn’t have to involve cookie-cutter eLearning marketing techniques. Do things a little differently from others in your industry. Create a trailer series and open dedicated social media accounts. Form training groups and use them to engage customers and identify brand ambassadors. Merge URL with IRL by hosting live events to interact with your audience on a more personal level. Finally, give them advance viewings of the eLearning course so they know what to expect and can start building the buzz on their own, such as sharing their online training experience via social media (along with the link to the sign-up form).

Marketing your learning program starts with a user-friendly LMS that breaks down accessibility barriers and gives learners a warm welcome. Adobe Captivate Prime gives learners the anytime, anywhere training they need complete with a personalized learner dashboard they can use to track their progress. And you can add all these perks to your online course USP list.

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