Ever tightening budgets and increasingly time pressed staff: it’s the oh-so familiar story of the UK’s K-12 market. But when an edtech product is valuable, research-led and focused on solving problems, there’s always opportunity to stand out from the crowd.
Edval Education is a reputable, innovative and much beloved timetabling company founded in Australia. Our mission was to create a successful new marketing strategy for Edval and ultimately drive leads into UK schools. The objective was clear and, in February 2018, Edtech Mark director, Natalie, designed a low-cost, high-impact strategy to amplify Edval’s brand and spread the word to as many decision makers as possible.
Let’s start with some metrics
- Drove a 237% increase in UK web traffic, primarily through high quality assets and targeted digital campaigns
- Grew contact database by over 600% and established email automation for lead nurturing
- Launched and promoted a successful webinar series for just £200, which generated £6,000 ARR within one week, as well as 46 sales qualified leads
- Reduced UK website bounce by 13% and increased average session duration by 90% through a regionalisation project that ensured relevant, UK specific content for UK site visitors
Customer knowledge brings powerful results
After researching some key buyer and user personas, we begun crafting forensically accurate, targeted messaging that we knew would resonate with each. If the aim is to serve education staff (and it should be) we must first understand their behaviours, motivations, challenges and solutions. From this, we were able to refine our brand positioning.
Out to impress the school business manager? We talk curriculum-based financial planning and audits. Appealing to the rookie timetabler? We provide quality resources, surgeries and support. Need strong messaging for MAT leaders? We know that flexible working is high on the agenda for many.
- Converted existing assets into high-quality, targeted website lead magnets, such as eBooks
- Secured presenting slots at 26 non-corporate education events throughout 2018, of which 10 were cost-free, unsponsored, and teacher-organised, including LeadMeet Canterbury, TeachMeet Suffolk, The Flexible Working Event, Ambition School Leadership training and a North Somerset Headteachers’ Group meeting
- Managed strategic partnerships with key education groups, resulting in unsponsored, cost-free third-party promotion at high profile events, like The Chartered College of Teaching Annual Conference and The Education Festival
- Created valuable digital assets, such as video and case studies
- Established a systematic customer referral programme to drive sales
- Developed a successful lead generation and nurturing strategy
Thought-leading content and press
- Created widely shared videos informed by brand positioning statements
- Launched and managed a traffic-generating blog
- Established various high performing influencer content– the majority of which was unpaid and produced by Edval brand advocates
- Prioritised employee advocacy and thought leadership from Edval team members
- Secured mentions in high quality educational press, including TES and Schools Week
Engaging key decision makers online
- Created low cost, split test digital advertising campaigns around key issues in UK education to appeal to identified personas
- Evaluated existing PPC advertising and removed under-performing, costly ads
- Developed multi-channel social media strategy to target identified personas
- Created a targeted database marketing campaign that generated £12,000 in sales within two weeks
