Best Ideas On Promoting Your Corporate Training Courses
Have you already been utilizing an educational marketing strategy? That's great. However, from creating top-class corporate training courses to actually building a buzz around them, there's a long way to go. Worry not though, because there are plenty of companies out there who are looking for the best corporate training programs to develop the talents of their organization. The same goes for independent professionals who want to improve their skills and excel at their careers. All you have to do is reach the audience that will be most interested in what you've created!
After spending so much time to create a content strategy, develop the curriculum, and design your course, the next step is to start getting revenue from it. But how can you increase sales and enrollments if you have a limited budget? Content marketing, outbound marketing, and being active on social media (and relevant channels) are vital. As you've managed to validate the demand for your course topic, you must do the same for the channels you'll need to utilize when developing a course promo strategy.
It won't take long, I'll just need a few minutes of your precious time to get that brainstorming process running. Here we go!
How To Market Your Online Training Courses Cost-Effectively
Anyone who has had the chance to create an online course knows that that's only half the work done. I'm certain that before creating that compelling course title you must have done a lot of keyword research. We all do before deciding to publish content online. Why? Well, all content needs a purpose. And, time is too precious to waste it on an asset that won't bring results.
So, what did you find during your initial research? Surely, there must have been plenty of competitive corporate training courses out there. Now is the time to investigate what kind of promotional activities your competition uses to get value from all this effort. If it's been too long since you've done your research, or if it's your first time actually trying to create a digital marketing strategy to let the world know about your corporate training courses, you'll need a stepping guide to follow.
For this very reason, I've decided to share with you the most effective digital marketing solutions to help you increase sales and help more learners become familiar with your course. Here are 9 smart ways to promote your corporate training courses:
1. Write Articles On Your Blog
Yes, you guessed it. Content marketing is the number one solution to set everything in motion. Promote your course on your blog by writing relevant content around similar topics. The key here is to always come up with a new content strategy that will give you the opportunity to link between articles on your blog. In addition, it will also help you use the most valuable anchor texts making it easier to link to your corporate training course.
Keep the flow normal, give as much educational information as you can and make your readers thirsty for more. If they want the whole deal of your expertise, all they need to do is decide to enroll for your course or download your gated asset for a certain amount.
Need more details for a successful plan? Don't forget to check the ultimate guide on how to create a successful content marketing strategy!
2. Be Active On Social Media And Other Platforms
Of course, after spending the time to write fresh articles on a regular basis you'll need to promote them on different channels. One way is to start sharing content that is related to your training course on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Another solution could be to leverage Quora and Medium by creating new content for these specific platforms and then linking to your corporate training courses. Or, you could also make a compilation of several articles and try to reach a more knowledgeable audience by creating long-form epic content pieces.
Don't expect to get reactions right away. Being active means that apart from posting regularly, you must also interact with other writers, course creators, and readers. Content is all about communication. So, make sure to write comments, give likes, and share interesting content. Other users will reciprocate, it just needs some time to start rolling.
3. Focus On Email Marketing And Lead Nurturing
The benefits of email marketing (including its cost-effectiveness) are undeniable for eLearning course creators. Email marketing helps you build awareness and improve engagement by nurturing prospects and customers. What's more, it is a great way to get new leads.
First off, you need to build an email list. If you don't have one already, then doing some lead generation is crucial to start reaching the right audience with your content. Using email marketing and outsourcing campaigns might prove fruitful if your want to expand your reach.
Don't forget to include a link to your course in your email signature. Sometimes it might be the only CTA you need. I plead guilty to scrolling fast through emails. But, I always paying attention to the signature section...Pretty sure, I'm not the only one.
Finally, apart from lead nurturing, it's actually a great opportunity for upselling. However, quality content always comes first. Meaning, if they liked one of your courses, the chances are they might sign up for more.
4. Publish And Promote An eBook
In fact, if you've already created articles on your blog to promote your corporate training courses, you could pile them up and create an eBook. This asset wouldn't be as time-consuming as writing a new eBook for promotional purposes but it could help bring some leads your way. Let's say that it can also work as a free trial for your course. After all, before taking a course, plenty of learners do want to take a glimpse at the curriculum before signing up.
For example, our eLearning eBooks have constant downloads. Meaning, you can use a similar eBook strategy to get leads and then nurture them until they subscribe to your corporate training courses. Or, you could even create eBooks, like mini lead generation courses, which will help attract the right learners. And, who knows, you might have the chance to convert eBook leads into buyers.
5. Leverage Guest Blogging Opportunities
If you notice that your organic traffic is low and there's no chance to increase sales through your website, then another solution could be to contribute to other blogs and publications. On our platform, we publish plenty of eLearning articles as guest posts. Similarly, you can find several online publication sites that allow guest bloggers to share their stories. By implementing guest blogging, you get to be more social and expand your reach to a new audience that would be impossible to find on your own. The more relevant the site is to your topic, the better.
For example, maybe you have created some leadership development courses. A good way to promote them would be by guest blogging about them on a business website or on a site relevant to leadership development.
6. Utilize The Power Of Press Releases
In case you just created your new course, a good way to promote it cost-effectively is to turn to press releases. Why? Well, publishing press releases can have immediate exposure, especially to an established audience. Also, they have affordable costs that make potential sales increases even more valuable. Besides, press releases also offer major SEO benefits.
The main reason to implement this strategy is to increase web traffic to your website. At the same time, you get social sharing potential and more possibilities for return customers.
7. Host A Live Webinar
Hosting a live webinar and talking in real-time with attendees is the best way to go if you want to create hype and establish trust with your prospects, especially because by showing your true face on camera, you have more chances of convincing them that your method works. However, if you don't the time or the means to run a live webinar, you can always do a pre-recorded video and take your chances.
From my experience, learning events and webinars seem to get the attention of the audience. Actually, a person who registers to watch your webinar is more invested in the topic. Why? Because it needs a lot more time to attend a webinar in comparison to reading an article or an eBook. Besides, running webinars also gives you the opportunity to do some polls and interact more with your audience.
8. Start A YouTube Channel
Do you think you look good on camera? Yet another way to promote your corporate training courses is to create your very own YouTube channel. Remember consistency is key. No content creator made it to the top from the very first day. Having a YouTube channel to promote your courses is also good if you're looking to take advantage of keywords and SEO. Besides using the Google search engine, most users look for answers on YouTube. Thus, making it a good opportunity to reach the right audience with some good video content and SEO optimization.
9. Reach Out To Influencers
Surely there must be some influencers in your niche that will be interested in sharing their view on your corporate training course. You could ask them to write a review or even create an article on how good your training is. Along the way, they can highlight what benefits your course has for specific audiences.
If they are a well-known authority, their opinion will give even more value to your corporate training courses. For example, you could find an influencer that is a YouTube personality, or maybe they have a really engaging podcast. So, why not get interviewed by a thought leader? Or maybe you prefer to leverage their social media audience (i.e., maybe they have a large audience on Facebook, Twitter, or even LinkedIn). Then, you could simply ask them if they would consider sharing a post about your corporate training course (provided they see value in it).
Conclusion
Course marketing can be very useful and profitable. So, make sure you generate leads with content marketing non-stop. Besides, sharing top-quality content with the world will increase your thought leadership. However, please focus on building an audience. You'll find plenty of content around the web on how to market your training course. But, none of these tips will be as effective as when you master the way to reach your niche audience.
Also, note that lead nurturing is the key that will unlock your online course sales strategy. As mentioned above, there are plenty of content marketing solutions you can choose from like eBooks, webinars, and articles. Prospects will eventually get your corporate training course as you drive them down the funnel with your continuous digital marketing campaigns.
Or, maybe you prefer to try outbound marketing strategies. It's no secret that content marketing takes time, and sometimes we need more immediate results. Hence, in these cases, it's better to try fast response solutions like email marketing, popup banners, banner ads, or even browser notifications.
If press releases and guest blogging don't seem to do the trick, then maybe you need to do some paid advertising to test the waters. Whatever you choose, make sure to show off testimonials and reviews to increase trust around your corporate training courses. Social proof will give a nudge to new learners.
Above all, learning how to leverage content marketing will help you reach highly targeted corporate training buyers. Finally, don't forget to take advantage of course hosting platforms and always use multiple promotional channels.
