Flight School Marketing—How to Reach Potential Student Pilots this Year

If you lead marketing at a trade school, one of your primary goals is to attract new students and retain current ones. Highlighting the intrinsic value of your flight academy is one of the most important priorities.

But at smaller flight schools, resources and marketing dollars can be harder to come by. 

It's time for admission staff to talk about why marketing is essential for trade institutions—and how to enroll more students with the right tools.

Why is Marketing Crucial for Flight Schools?

Trade schools and industry-specific institutions have a more segmented target audience. While this market is often more narrow than many higher education institutions, the right marketing playbook can help you overcome known hurdles.

Good marketing is crucial for trade schools and flight programs because it delivers the best response to the following issues.

• Brand recognition – Smaller schools need to generate buzz and increase awareness about lesser-known programs. Brand awareness is accomplished through marketing initiatives that represent the value of your training to new student pilots.
• Market competition and saturation – The best marketing campaigns can quickly distinguish your aviation school from competitors, whether those flight training programs are local or national.
• Enrollment challenges – Niche training programs face similar recruiting challenges as other schools, particularly since training schools receive private (rather than federal) funding.

Flight School Marketing Tips for Increasing Enrollment

If you want to fast track your flight school marketing success, there are a few strategies you can implement based on your school’s exact goals. The tips below are relevant regardless of the 

Know Your Target Audience

As a trade school, you might be marketing to a smaller portion of the general student population than you’d expect to at a large state school or liberal arts institution. This means that you need accurate and reliable data about prospective students who are interested in learning more. Knowing your audience is the foundation for attracting the ideal student.

Consider the entire academic journey in your planning, and hone in on specific demographics. You can leverage student personas to build fictional profiles that help you promote new aviation skills to students more efficiently. 

Get Consistently Creative on Social Media 

It’s widely reported that the demand for trade school education is on the rise, with since students are hesitant to embark on costly four-year degrees. As social media becomes a primary channel for research, capitalizing on those channels is crucial.

Create a branded profile on popular social media platforms for your flight training school. Then, develop consistent content and posting schedule to build your audience. Use social media to establish reputation and value in light of shifting student expectations.

Test Paid Advertising Strategies

To branch outside of your local or immediate market, you may choose to experiment with paid ads. You can place paid search, social media, or display ads to capture interest when potential students are searching for flight school choices.

Knowing your audience and connecting online are key to successful digital advertising. Start advertising when you have the budget, time, and creative resources to launch ads that attract more leads and convert potential pilots.  

Factors to Keep Your Trade School Marketing Flying High

Trade programs and flight training schools aren’t exempt from following the legislation that applies to larger institutions. To build a thriving and sustainable marketing engine, you need to follow guidelines that protect students and ensure that you’re in line with your available resources.

Regulations

Legislation like FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) limits how you share information about students. Get familiar with other privacy protections that apply once you enroll new students.

Budget and Business Needs

Based on your flight school marketing budget, you may need to refocus and shift priorities. Delegate more money at times of the year that are high traffic for enrollment, or when you’re communicating with prospective students more often.

Flight School Resources

Marketing automations can reduce some manual steps, but many campaigns require time, attention, and resources. Think critically about your recruiting, enrollment, and marketing resources to increase efficiency and results.

Potential Student Pilots Deserve Personalization

If you’re following a marketing playbook and striking out when it comes to the recruitment process, personalization could be the missing piece. By crafting a student-first marketing experience, you’ll place ideal recruits at the forefront of the journey.

At Element451, we know personalization like you know your subject matter. Start marketing with student-forward strategies that lead to better recruitment, enrollment, and retention results in the aviation sector. 

>> Schedule an Element451 demo today. <<