Working on your annual education marketing budget? Here are some of my top recommendations that every marketer should have in their budget!
Budget time might not be the most fun part of education marketing.
It is a lot of work making sure you’re accounting for everything your team will need for the rest of the year.
However, if you look at it like a Christmas wish list, it gets a little more exciting.
Now, before you put in your request for an office espresso machine, make sure you have these items in your education marketing budget.
1. CRM Software
One of the crucial components of successful marketing is maintaining a current and accurate set of robust data on your audiences.
For more on how important data is to enrollment marketing, check out my conversation with J.P. Spagnolo on The Higher Ed Marketer podcast.
J.P. is the VP of Strategic Enrollment Management and Marketing at Capital University, and he breaks down how good data management helps you create strong relationships with your audiences.
There is no better way to get your audience data under control than a good enrollment CRM.
This tool will require a significant investment – but it really is that important.
Make sure you place this tool on the top of your education marketing budget priorities for the year.
It doesn’t have to break the bank, though.
There are lots of different options for all kinds of budget sizes.
2. Video Equipment
Ever since it became a valid marketing channel with the advent of high-speed Internet, video marketing trends have only gone up.
Publishing video content is now almost the price of admission to be a real competitor in the digital marketing space.
Think video production is beyond your fiscal grasp? Think again.
For the transcript of this video, click here.
Here are some must-have equipment and tools you’ll need in your education marketing budget.
Cameras & Digital Recorders
Spherical Camera – Ricoh Theta V 4k 360 Spherical Camera
Digital Camera – Ricoh Theta S Digital Camera
Live Event Camera – Mevo – Live Event Camera for select Android and iOS devices
Digital Recorder – Zoom ZH1 H1 Handy Portable Digital Recorder
Microphones
Lavalier Microphone – Audio-Technica ATR-3350IS Omnidirectional Condenser Lavalier Mic with Smartphone Adapter
On-Camera Microphone – Rode VideoMicro Compact On-Camera Microphone with Rycote Lyre Shock Mount
Stabilizers
iPhone & GoPro Stabilizer – BINKO Videook Handheld iPhone & GoPro Stabilizer Gimbal Compatible with Most Android Phones, Smartphones and Other Compact Action Cameras for Taking Stable Cellphone Videos
Mobile Stabilizer with 360° Rotation – Zhiyun Smooth Q2 Handheld Mobile Gimbal Stabilizer w/360° Rotation 17hr Working for iPhone 11 Pro XS Max XR 8 Plus 7 6 Samsung Galaxy S10 S9 S8 etc. Smartphone YouTube Vlog Video Recording
Stand, Screen & Paper
Telescoping Selfie Stick with Tripod Stand – Smatree Q3 Telescoping Selfie Stick with Tripod Stand Compatible for GoPro Hero Fusion/9/8/7/6/5/4/3+/3/Session/GOPRO Hero 2018/DJI Pocket 2/DJI OSMO Action Camera/SJCAM/AKASO/Xiaomi Yi and Cell Phone
Backdrop Support System Kit – Emart Photo Video Studio 10Ft Adjustable Background Stand Backdrop Support System Kit with Carry Bag
Backdrop Screen (Orange) – Photography Backdrop Background Screen Photo Studio Non Woven Fabric Cloth 5x10Ft / 1.6x3m 10 Colors (Orange)
Background Paper (Gray) – Savage Seamless Background Paper – #56 Fashion Gray
More Accessories
Cell Phone Holder with Selfie Ring Light – B-Land Cell Phone Holder with Selfie Ring Light for Live Stream, Flexible Mobile Phone Clip Holder Lazy Bracket Desk Lamp LED Light
See more on our Resources page!
3. Agency Partners
Ok, as a marketing agency, I know this one looks a bit self-serving…
But hear me out.
If you’re experiencing any of these frustratingly painful problems in your marketing, you should at least consider hiring an outside marketing agency.
While it will take up space in your education marketing budget, an experienced partner can level-up your own in-house marketing team.
Even when the project is done, or the contract period is over, your team will be better for it!
There is a beautiful partnership that happens when agencies and schools work together to boost enrollment.
So while your agency partner helps you solve a current problem, you’ll also reap the benefits of gaining a more experienced and informed internal team as well.
4. Student Ambassador Program (Unibuddy)
I wrote about student ambassador programs in an earlier blog.
Like many education marketers, I’m hopeful about the results I’m seeing from schools who are implementing these kinds of programs.
How do you get this on your education marketing budget?
Make room for tools like Unibuddy that will help you get your student ambassador program up and running with little to no hassle.
5. Augmented Reality
The next stage in the evolution of video marketing, augmented reality, is definitely only going to get better.
Colleges, universities, and independent schools all across the world are beginning to use augmented reality in many ways to improve learning. And they’re also using AR technology to improve enrollment marketing!
There are several ways you can make AR happen for your school by placing agency partners like YouVisit and Roundme in your education marketing budget.
But if you have the funding, you could also opt for creating an app like the one by American University shown in the YouTube video above.
6. Video Conferencing
If you’d like a thorough case for why Zoom or another video conferencing tool is a good investment to boost your enrollment numbers, simply read my article here.
However, I think the COVID-19 pandemic makes the ultimate case.
For education marketers, video conferencing tools like Zoom are the “new normal.”
Be sure that you place the correct tier of video conferencing services that your enrollment team needs this year in your education marketing budget.
7. CoSchedule
One tool I use weekly that I simply couldn’t do without is CoSchedule.
For me, it has become an essential WordPress plugin enabling us to automate our digital marketing.
Not only will investing in CoSchedule make your content marketing publishing frequency more consistent, you’ll be saving your marketing team hours of time throughout the year.
Time saved is money saved.
That makes CoSchedule (or a tool like it) an amazing investment for your education marketing budget.
8. Cameo
When I first saw Cameo, I knew it could be used in a big way to make education marketing more personal.
With this service, you can send prospective students messages from their favorite athletes, celebrities, YouTube stars, TikTok performers, and more.
Cameo is an incredibly simple way to leverage the power of influencer marketing for your school.
Put some margin in your education marketing budget for Cameo as it will save a ton of money in the long run trying to get a strong influencer marketing strategy going.
9. Project Management Software (Teamwork, Asana, etc.)
Running a creative and analytic team like a marketing department is a lot like herding cats.
The creative process is never a straight line.
That’s why I find project management software to be an absolute necessity for any education marketing budget.
At Caylor Solutions, we use a tool called Teamwork.
I really like how it keeps me up to date on all of our marketing projects and keeps our project conversations out of our email inboxes.
In a tool like Teamwork, your conversations can be grouped around the project, a task in the project, or around a file (like a Google Doc, AI file, or PDF wireframe).
This is really helpful to give meaningful context to the conversation and keeps our inboxes uncluttered from all the chatter from the team.
Most important, a good project management software will enable you to set milestones for your project, tie tasks to the milestones, and allow your team to track progress. It keeps everyone “singing from the same song sheet,” so to speak.
Other popular project management solutions for marketers include:
They all have their pro’s and con’s, but they all require an investment and need a spot in your education marketing budget.
Set yourself up for success.
That’s really what budgeting is all about.
This is the time where you get to dream big and plan how you’re going to move forward on your goals towards marketing success.
Of course, all of us at Caylor Solutions wish you the best, and we’re right here if you ever need us.
Feel free to contact us today!
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Featured image by Vinnstock via Adobe Stock
