The business school marketplace is perhaps one of the most challenging sectors in education regarding student recruitment. While all digital marketing channels can play an important role in your recruitment efforts, Content Marketing for Business Schools is arguably one of the most crucial.
Highly educated, ambitious, and, in many cases, very experienced potential candidates for MBAs or business master’s degrees are often quite discerning. They will accept nothing less than the best possible study option to help them further their careers and achieve their goals.
So, how do you convince them that your school is the best option?
Quality blogs, videos, infographics, and other content help business schools position themselves to prospects as trusted authorities and communicate the value of a business school education without being overtly promotional.
Here are a few tips to help you put together a winning business school content marketing strategy.
1. Strike the Right Tone in Your Business School Content Marketing
When creating a business school content marketing strategy, your content creators must pay close attention to the tone of your content and strive to find the right voice for your institution.
This can be a difficult balancing act. Prospective business school students are likely to favour less formal or academic content than other university-level subject areas like STEM or the arts. At the same time, it’s important that the tone of your content isn’t too casual, as they will likely expect a professional air to your work.
A good tactic is to research content from high-end business publishers like Forbes or Fast Company and try to mirror their tone and style. Your prospects will be likely to read content from these publications or visit similar sites in their own time and are more likely to respond to content produced in the same mould.
2. Highlight the Value of a Business School Education
One of the most common questions business school prospects ask themselves before applying for a program is whether it will be worth the investment. A top-quality MBA or business master’s program can be expensive, and pursuing their studies may require candidates to take time off from the workforce. In other cases, prospects may receive funding from their employer to pursue their degree, and the company must be convinced of its value.
With that in mind, your school’s content must highlight the value and return on investment a business education can provide as much as possible. You can create blogs, videos, or other content that shows the increased opportunities or improved salary levels graduates enjoy, using statistics or examples to provide social proof of your claims.
However, it would help if you didn’t stop at communicating the value of having a business degree on their resume. You should also demonstrate the value of what they learn. You can produce content explaining some of the concepts and subjects they will study at your school and how this knowledge can be utilized throughout their careers.
Example: This blog from the Haas School of Business at the University of California Berkeley offers 16 benefits of completing an MBA. The benefits listed range from career benefits like expanding your network to skills learned like strategic thinking and time management.
In the case of business degrees with specific specializations, such as marketing or supply chain management, this might involve emphasizing how having specialized industry knowledge can help them advance quickly in their chosen sector. Meanwhile, when promoting more general degrees, you may want to underline the universality of the skills students acquire and how they can be applied to several different industries.
3. Showcase Your Business School’s Faculty & Alumni
Another great way to offer evidence of the value of studying at your business school is to focus on your successful alumni. Creating content that showcases graduates who have gone on to great things will give your prospects a sense of what they can accomplish by walking the same path.
Example: This inspiring post from the Rotterdam School of Management discusses how alumna and Syrian refugee Nisreen Mehlo pursued business education to build a better future.
This will excite them about their future prospects and strengthen your school’s case as the right choice for them.
Similarly, you can also build content around the successes of your faculty. Many business schools employ faculty who have held or continue to hold prominent positions in various industries. Their standing can be leveraged to produce insightful content where they detail their successes, discuss pertinent industry issues, or provide insights into what students learn in your courses.
Example: This article from London Business School features an interview with Costas Markides, the institution’s Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship.
This content will help convince prospects of your faculty’s credentials and assure them they will receive mentorship and guidance from the best possible sources.
4. Discuss Industry Trends to Demonstrate Your School’s Thought Leadership
Your school must appear to be at the cutting edge of the modern business world, and you can do this by creating engaging content for business schools. Prospects will want to know that you are keeping up with the latest trends, industry developments, and global business news.
You can convey this through your business school content marketing efforts by creating topical content offering insights and trends from different fields. This could involve spotlighting specific industries, particularly if you offer business programs with specialized focuses.
Example: This blog from WU Executive Academy discusses the impact of big data and digitization in the energy sector. Note that the post features a CTA prompting users to connect with the school’s Professional MBA in Energy Management program manager on the right-hand side.
Alternatively, you can examine topics that affect global business in general. Everything from the economy to new technologies to workplace culture trends could be considered fair game.
Example: This blog from Business School Lausanne discussed sustainability, a pertinent topic for many professionals.
Creating content like this will help you establish your school as a thought leader and reassure your prospects that your institution is forward-thinking and open to embracing new ideas.
5. Go Local: Talk About Business in Your School’s Location
It’s been easy to forget during COVID-19 just how much location can play in student recruitment. But as campuses around the world reopen, student mobility will resume, and prospects at all levels will consider study destinations far and wide.
This is especially true for business schools. Prospects tend to want the best possible location to pursue their degrees and will carefully consider the city or country they study in as much as they will consider your programs and what they have to offer.
They will consider the local business environment as an important aspect of your location. If students are going to be attending in person, they may settle in your location and may even stay beyond graduation. Even if they are attending online or commuting part-time to your city, they might be looking to build connections that would serve them well in their future careers.
As a result, it can be worth creating content relating to your local economy. Look at what industries drive business in your city or region, what exciting new opportunities are available for graduates, and how being based there during their degrees will help your students build their professional networks.
Selling a candidate at your location could be the difference between enrolling at your school or going elsewhere. Your content is an ideal place to start doing that.
6. Offer Tips for the Business School Application Process
Applying to business school can be nerve-wracking for candidates. Competition for places can be intense, and the application process can be challenging, often including several stages and elements.
Offering as many resources as possible in your content can make this easier for your prospects and build a lot of goodwill for your school. Create blogs or videos that offer general guides on your application process, giving students an overview of what to expect.
You might also want to delve deeper into specific elements of your application process and offer advice for how prospects can approach them. For instance, if you require essays, personal statements, or something similar, you could create a blog post that gives potential applicants tips for writing a successful submission.
Example: Harvard Business School created a series of videos offering tips for navigating various aspects of its application process.
If interviews or in-person meetings are part of the process, they offer applicants insights into what to expect and how to prepare. If references or recommendations are required, create content that helps candidates figure out who in their circle they should ask to provide them and how best to approach asking for them.
Additionally, if the GMAT, GRE, or any other kind of test is a part of your entry requirements, this can also be a great topic to create content around. Offer study guides, overviews of what to expect on the test, and preparation advice.
Your prospects will greatly appreciate this kind of content. Helping them deliver the best possible applications could give you a larger pool of great applicants to choose from.
7. Create Content That Helps Business School Prospects in Their Careers
It’s important to remember that many of your business school prospects may be looking to pursue their degrees while also continuing to work full-time. The proliferation of executive, part-time, and online MBA and business master’s options has made it possible for candidates to earn their qualifications without putting their careers on hold.
If you want to appeal to this audience, try creating content offering tips to help them advance their careers in your content. This could include content that focuses on helping them find opportunities, such as tips for job interviews or building a professional network.
Example: INSEAD Business School created this blog offering insights on preparing for a career post-COVID.
You might also create content around productivity, project management, or other areas of work to offer insights to help them improve their performance in their current roles.
Example: HEC Paris created this video offering tips for team development to managers and executives.
Another topic that could engage a large proportion of your audience is entrepreneurship. More and more students enroll in business school with the ultimate ambition of starting their own business. Delivering insightful content around various aspects of this topic could resonate strongly with them.
This content might also engage people in full-time programs who will still be considering their future career path, as well as your current students, who may be planning for life after graduation.
FAQs To Consider
How do you market a business school?
When creating a business school content marketing strategy, your content creators must pay close attention to the tone of your content and strive to find the right voice for your institution.
What is an example of content marketing in business?
Discuss Industry Trends to Demonstrate Your School’s Thought Leadership.
