How to Market Your Language School

In any economy, the difference between successful language schools and unsuccessful ones is how they market themselves. Marketing plays a significant role in any business’s success, particularly in the education industry. If you are an ELT Manager and want your language school to succeed and grow, you need to learn how to properly market your language school.

1. Encourage word-of-mouth

Word-of-mouth is one of the oldest, most effective, and cheapest forms of marketing (well, it is 100% free). Studies show that about 88% of people trust their friends’ recommendations over traditional media.

However, word-of-mouth is also one of the most neglected marketing types, as most schools generally focus on attracting new students. Instead, isn’t it easier and cheaper to keep your existing students and parents happy? 

For example, if your existing students like and enjoy your school, they will most likely talk about it to their friends. This generally leads to new students. 

Other ways to encourage word-of-mouth include: 

• Volunteering in your community
• Offering free trial classes and doing whatever it takes to exceed your students’/parents’ expectations
•  Showing your students/parents that you care by producing high student success rates 

2. Create a buzz around your school 

If you are located in a small town, getting involved in your community can give your school free publicity. 

For example, you can volunteer or participate in projects that improve your community. The reason is that local newspapers and TV stations like to interview people doing good for their community, leading to free publicity and eventually improving your school’s image. Here are a few activities you can participate in: 

• Participate in or organize park clean-ups
• Give free Christmas presents as Santa in hospitals 
• Offer free translation or interpreting services 
• Offer tutoring at your local community center, library, or bookstore
• Start a fundraiser or something to promote tourism in your area

We live in the social media era; I suggest you use every opportunity to encourage people to talk about your school and get it positive attention. That will inevitably lead to free marketing and more word-of-mouth advertising, leading to boosting your language school image. 

3. Organize cultural events 

Most language schools have diverse cultures; you can organize cultural events to celebrate different cultures, such as music, food, and traditions. 

You can even introduce a recipe from a different country and have all the vocabulary people will need to make it. It will create a fantastic experience for your students, encouraging other students and parents to visit your school and discover new cultures. 

This is a great idea, mainly if you are in an international language school. Most parents send their kids to an international school because they want them to experience diversity and interact with different cultures and traditions. 

Remember to collect your attendees’ contact information, follow up later, and ask them if they want to learn more about your school. You can also offer free classes or simply keep them updated for future cultural events. 

4. Offer free group classes on weekends

You can offer potential students free online or offline group classes on weekends. I suggest you provide ways for people to register in advance so you can prepare. Whenever possible, include math and English classes in these weekend classes. 

Offering free online or offline group classes on weekends to potential students will give them an idea of your school type. Make sure you bring your A games during these sessions. 

You can also offer discount codes to students who attend your free classes. And remember to follow up with students who registered but could not make it. 

5. Use international SEO techniques to market your language school

International SEO (search engine optimization) means organically getting people to find your school online. To achieve this, you will need to have a thriving functioning website and provide helpful content related to teaching languages. 

The idea is to have your school website rank at the top of search engine pages such as Google or Bing. 

Here are a few tips for getting your website rank:

• Write high-quality articles that are relevant to your potential students and their parents
• Make your web pages easier for search engines to crawl
• Add pictures whenever possible/relevant
• Optimize your website for mobile devices
• Invest in a successful SEO strategy 
• Develop multilingual web content: if you target a particular country, ensure you offer your website in that country’s language

6. Develop a dedicated social media strategy 

Pick two social media platforms and focus on these to grow your followers or subscribers. Whichever channels you choose, ensure they are relevant to your potential students or their parents. 

When choosing a social media channel, you need to ask yourself, where will my potential students or their parents spend their time online? 

7. Create a Youtube channel for your school 

Youtube is one of the most underutilized marketing channels by language schools. When I say Youtube, I don’t mean to pay for ads on Youtube; I mean creating a dedicated Youtube channel for your language school. 

A Youtube channel is an excellent way to create exposure for your school and can be an excellent way to attract new students as it creates credibility.

How should you use Youtube to market your language school? 

• Share everything that your school is doing
• Share practical and helpful tips for learning languages
• Think of Youtube as your own TV channel for your language school
• You can also embed your videos on your website
• Learn about video editing 

A Youtube channel combined with a website is a winning formula to market your language school. Why? Because Google, the largest search engine worldwide, owns Youtube.