7 Steps to Implementing an Audience-Centric Marketing Plan

Implementing an audience-centric marketing plan requires a strategic approach that places the prospective student at the heart of all your marketing efforts.

As we discussed in an earlier blog post, audience-centric content is not only a smart approach to content marketing, but also a way to serve your audience by helping them solve some of the biggest problems they’re facing in their decision to go to a higher education institution. 

This servant-oriented way of reaching out to your audience positions your education brand as the college or university that is interested in their needs, concerns, and goals. 

Shifting from an organization-centric mindset to one that prioritizes the audience’s needs can significantly enhance engagement and drive better enrollment outcomes. 

Here are seven essential steps to ensure a successful transition to an audience-centric marketing plan.

1. Conduct Audience Research

The foundation of any audience-centric marketing plan lies in understanding your audience. 

To gather insights about their needs, preferences, and challenges, you’ll need to engage in various research methods.

Surveys and Interviews

Conducting surveys and interviews with prospective students is a powerful way to gather direct feedback. 

Surveys can provide quantitative data on student preferences and behaviors, while interviews offer deeper qualitative insights into their motivations and challenges. 

By asking the right questions, you can uncover valuable information that will inform your audience-centric marketing plan.

Behavioral Analysis

Analyzing the behavior of prospective students on your website and social media platforms can provide additional insights into their engagement patterns and preferences. 

Tools like Google Analytics and social media insights can help you track which content resonates most with your audience and identify trends in their behavior. 

This data is crucial for tailoring your marketing messages to meet their needs effectively.

2. Develop Detailed Marketing Personas

Once you have gathered sufficient data about your audience, the next step is to develop detailed marketing personas. 

These personas represent different segments of your audience and help you tailor your marketing efforts to their specific needs.

Segment the Audience

Based on your research, segment the audience into different groups with similar characteristics and needs. 

For example, you might create segments for high school seniors, transfer students, international students, military students, and adult learners. 

Each segment will have unique needs and preferences that must be addressed in your marketing messages.

Create Your Marketing Personas

Develop detailed personas for each segment, highlighting their specific goals, challenges, and preferences. 

Include information such as demographic details, academic interests, career aspirations, and preferred communication channels. 

These marketing personas will serve as a guide for creating relevant and personalized content that resonates with each audience segment.

3. Craft Relevant Content

Creating relevant content that addresses the specific questions and concerns of your audience is crucial for an effective audience-centric marketing plan.

Content Mapping

Map out the content needs for each persona, ensuring that the content addresses their specific questions and concerns. 

For example, high school seniors might be interested in information about campus life, financial aid, and application tips, while transfer students might seek details about credit transfers and program compatibility. 

By mapping out these needs, you can create targeted content that speaks directly to each marketing persona.

Editorial Calendar

Develop an editorial calendar to plan and schedule content that aligns with the audience’s needs and the academic calendar. 

This calendar should include blog posts, social media updates, email campaigns, and other content types. 

Planning your content in advance ensures that you are consistently providing valuable information to your audience at the right time.

4. Leverage Data and Analytics

Data and analytics play a crucial role in optimizing your audience-centric marketing plan. 

By tracking performance and adjusting your strategy based on insights, you can continuously improve your marketing efforts.

Track Performance

Use analytics tools to track the performance of your content and understand what resonates with the audience. 

Key performance indicators (KPIs) such as website traffic, engagement rates, and conversion rates can provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of your marketing efforts. 

Regularly review these metrics to identify areas for improvement.

Adjust Strategy

Continuously adjust your marketing strategy based on the insights gathered from data and feedback. 

If certain types of content are performing exceptionally well, consider creating more of that content. 

Conversely, if some content is not resonating with your audience, analyze why and make necessary adjustments. 

This iterative approach ensures that your marketing efforts remain relevant and effective.

5. Personalize the Experience

Personalization is a key component of an audience-centric marketing plan. 

By delivering personalized messages and experiences, you can create a more engaging and relevant interaction with your audience.

Dynamic Content

Use dynamic content to deliver personalized messages to different audience segments based on their behavior and preferences. 

For example, you can use website personalization tools to display different content to prospective students based on their previous interactions with your site. 

This approach ensures that each visitor receives information that is most relevant to them.

Engage with Interactive Content

Incorporate interactive content such as quizzes, surveys, and personalized videos to engage the audience more effectively. 

Interactive content not only captures attention but also provides valuable insights into the audience’s preferences and behaviors. 

For example, a quiz that helps students determine which academic programs align with their interests can guide them toward more informed decisions about their future.

6.  Focus on Engagement and Interaction

Building a strong relationship with your audience requires ongoing engagement and interaction. 

Encourage feedback and foster a sense of community to keep prospective students engaged.

Encourage Feedback

Encourage prospective students to provide feedback on your content and use this feedback to improve your strategy. 

Feedback can be collected through surveys, comment sections, and social media interactions. 

Actively listening to your audience and responding to their feedback shows that you value their opinions and are committed to meeting their needs.

Build Community

Foster a sense of community through social media interactions, online forums, and virtual events. 

Creating opportunities for prospective students to connect with current students, alumni, and faculty can help build a sense of belonging and increase their engagement with your institution. 

For example, hosting live Q&A sessions with current students can provide prospective students with valuable insights and a sense of connection.

7. Foster a Student-First Culture

Finally, fostering a student-first culture within your marketing team and institution is essential for successful audience-centric marketing.

Train Your Team

Ensure that your marketing team is trained in audience-centric marketing principles and understands the importance of putting the prospective student first. 

Provide ongoing training and resources to help your team stay up-to-date with the latest trends and best practices in higher education marketing.

Align with Institutional Goals

Align your audience-centric marketing efforts with the broader goals and mission of the institution, ensuring a cohesive approach. 

This alignment helps to create a consistent message across all touchpoints and reinforces the institution’s commitment to meeting the needs of prospective students.

An Audience-Centric Marketing Plan is a Plan to Serve

Implementing an audience-centric marketing plan requires a strategic approach that prioritizes the needs and preferences of prospective students. 

This approach not only enhances the effectiveness of marketing efforts but also builds trust and fosters a deeper connection with prospective students, ultimately driving better enrollment outcomes.

At Caylor Solutions, we’ve been helping higher education brands craft high performance, audience-centric content for over 20 years now. 

We would love to help you achieve your enrollment marketing goals by joining our years of experience and expertise with your current team. 

By engaging our enrollment marketing or capital campaign services, you can double or even triple the impact of your marketing team! 

If you’re interested in how we could help you move the needle forward, contact us today!

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Featured image by Space Priest via Adobe Stock