Are you a school marketer looking for a new way to expand your enrollment marketing efforts online? In addition to having a LinkedIn page, and optimizing your school’s LinkedIn presence, schools should also consider LinkedIn Advertisements. 

Here’s how you can incorporate LinkedIn Ads into your school’s marketing plan.

First, why should schools be on LinkedIn?

With over 740 million LinkedIn users worldwide, LinkedIn claims to be “the world's largest professional network”. Gone are the days when LinkedIn was used simply for career advancement. While it’s still used for job searches and professional networking, (great to think about if you’re a school that is hiring!) it's also a place for users to learn about organizations and industry trends, stay up to date news and events, or engage with alumni and even school recruiters. This means Independent Schools should create a free LinkedIn Page where they can showcase what makes their institution special academically, socially, and culturally while having conversations with current students, parents, prospective families, and even employers, faculty, or donors.  Once you have a page, take it one step further with Ads. LinkedIn Ads can improve a school’s branding and awareness, generate admissions inquiries, increase admission event attendance, and increase alumni and donor engagement.

**Ad designed by Bennett Day School in Chicago.

Here’s what makes LinkedIn Ads powerful for schools:

• Its targeting is unmatched. It allows you to target users based on the name of their company,  job titles, years of experience, location, skills, degrees, and more. You can even retarget people who’ve been to your website!
• It has an affordable, self-serve platform. LinkedIn’s Ads platform is called Campaign Manager, which is fairly intuitive to use, even for beginners. What’s more, it has just a $10/day minimum per campaign, making it a great option for small schools with little resources. It also integrates nicely with Google Tag Manager and HubSpot for schools that leverage those marketing tools. 
• The data & reporting are powerful. In addition to seeing impressions, engagement, leads, and conversions, you can see the types of audiences (LinkedIn profiles, industries, job titles, etc.) who are engaging with your ads the most, which can help inform optimizations for your next marketing campaign.
• It has a variety of ad formats to choose from. Sponsored content, sponsored messaging (previously InMail), Lead Gen Forms, as well as Text and Dynamic ads are all options right in LinkedIn’s Campaign Manager. Specific ad placement depends on the format, but text, videos, carousels, and static display ads are some options to choose from based on your school’s campaign objective and goals.

*Ad designed by Enroll Media Group in partnership with  Saint Andrew’s School in Boca Raton.

How can your school develop a successful LinkedIn Advertising Campaign?

With anything - start with your goals! Maybe your schools need to build awareness about a new scholarship, or simply market your annual open house.  Work as a team to identify your top enrollment marketing goals, then develop a target audience that is on-point, and create messaging and ad formats that will stand out and engage those parents. Enroll Media partners with a number of schools that are using LinkedIn Ads in a variety of ways to achieve institutional goals. Some campaigns aim to:

• Build branding and awareness to professionals in feeder companies where parents often work.
• Drive leads or sign-ups for upcoming events by targeting parents who've already been to your website or engaged with you on LinkedIn.
• Reach teachers, counselors, and other influencers from feeder schools or companies.
• Highlight a school’s mission, values, and philosophies to professionals whose educational degrees or skills may align.
• Promote school rankings and offerings to realtors in order to help keep your school top-of-mind as they help place new families in the area.
• Target talent acquisition or human resource professionals from local companies looking to recruit new employees or form corporate partnerships. 
• Engage alumni or a donor community ahead of your Capital Campaign or fundraising event.

There are a number of options for schools to leverage LinkedIn Ads to accomplish various enrollment or advancement goals. Do you need help building a LinkedIn Ads strategy for your school? Reach out to Enroll Media Group for help. We are a digital marketing agency working exclusively with nonprofit schools to help them identify, and maximize, the media and marketing strategies that drive growth. Meanwhile, follow us on LinkedIn here.