Lead Generation for Technical Schools: How to Generate More Student Leads in 2024

Lead generation for higher education institutions is competitive in today’s marketing landscape, especially for trade and technical schools. To set your technical institution apart from your competitors, you need a multifaceted lead generation strategy that highlights the unique advantages of choosing your institution over another.

There are a wealth of ways technical schools can generate student leads, which can become a double-edged sword if your team doesn’t know where to begin. In this guide, you’ll discover some of the best lead generation strategies for technical schools, including social media advertising, content marketing, and website optimization. 

Do you want to speak one-on-one with a lead generation expert? Call 888-601-5359 to talk with a WebFX strategist today!

Technical school lead generation strategies for 2024

Here are the top three ways technical and trade schools can generate more student leads.

1. Social media advertising

Brand awareness is crucial for technical schools. Many high school students don’t know attending a trade school is an option. One of the best ways technical institutions can advertise their programs is through social media advertising — as 86% of people use social media at least once a day. Plus, 79% of social media users are 18-29.

The best part? Social media advertising enables you to segment your campaigns to reach people of different ages, regions, and interests to market to diverse leads. You can reach high school students or those interested in returning to school after many years through Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and more. Plus, your ads are more likely to find qualified leads when you create highly targeted ad campaigns.

When developing social media ads, use strong calls to action such as “Apply Today” or “Learn More About Our Programs.” 

Remember to make lead generation ads that collect users’ information, too. For example, you can collect a potential student’s email address within an ad campaign form. Next, you can send them a highly personalized drip email campaign to help them learn more about your school and programs. Leads that open your drip emails are more likely to be ready to apply when an advisor reaches out to them.

2. Content marketing

Students are curious about their higher education options. They also have many choices, so your trade school must stand out. However, you also want to attract qualified leads — students genuinely interested in applying to your technical school. Content marketing is an excellent solution. Roughly 75% of companies use content marketing to boost the number and quality of their leads.

With content marketing, you can create gated and ungated content. Gated content refers to content your leads must enter their contact information to receive, such as an email address if they’d like to access an exclusive webinar. Examples of gated content include:

• Courses.
• Ebooks.
• Resource libraries.
• Recorded presentations.
• Newsletters.
• Templates.

Ungated content refers to any content your leads can freely access online. Examples of ungated content include:

• Blog posts.
• Guides.
• Videos.
• Infographics.
• PDF pamphlets.
• Quizzes.
• Surveys.

Why does content marketing work for technical schools? High-quality, informative content provides leads with the insight and knowledge they need to make the right decision for their circumstances — which is vital when choosing a higher education program. 

For example, many of your leads likely have families and full-time jobs. They might need to study part time, and they might be worried about how time-consuming and financially taxing school could be. You can create content emphasizing the advantages of your school’s online or part-time programs while highlighting your flexible payment installment plans.

3. Website optimization

We’ve discussed the best ways to find and nurture your leads with social media advertising and content marketing. When your leads finally visit your school website to learn more about your offerings, you’ll want to ensure it’s optimized to capture your leads’ information.

Why is this important? Capturing your leads’ information allows you to warm them up or remarket your programs. For example, if you capture their email addresses, you can send custom remarketing email campaigns. Likewise, if you have their phone numbers, an advisor can reach out to them to answer any questions or concerns they have.

There are many ways to optimize your website to capture your leads’ information, including:

• Chatbots.
• Quizzes and surveys.
• Contact forms.

While answering every question is impossible, an embedded chatbot can do the work for you. Chatbots are especially useful for those who do not work traditional hours and can’t contact an advisor during the day. You can also help students narrow down their choice of program and capture their email information with a fun, interactive quiz about their skill sets, interests, and career ambitions.

You’ll also want to create target landing pages for different audiences. For example, it’s best to direct leads interested in an engineering program to a landing page that highlights your engineering program’s benefits. Oppositely, if someone interested in auto body repair comes across your auto repair program Instagram ad, ensure the embedded link takes them to an optimized landing page. 

Meet WebFX:

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Partner with an award-winning lead generation company

When you need help generating leads for your technical school, turn to our award-winning digital marketing team at WebFX. We offer top-caliber lead generation services to help your school reach and nurture qualified leads.

Why WebFX? We’re an all-inclusive digital marketing company that specializes in social media advertising, content marketing, and lead generation services. Our lead generation experts use data-driven, customized strategies designed for your trade school. We’ll help you drive the best results for your technical school.

Call 888-601-5359 today to speak one-on-one with an experienced lead generation strategist, or request your free quote online! 

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