How to Recruit Students for Trade School with Modern Marketing Tactics

For many high school students, making the choice between a traditional four-year program and a trade or vocational school isn’t as simple as it might seem. Several factors—including the COVID-19 pandemic and greater transparency around student debt—have contributed to flexible options for prospective students.

What does this mean for trade school enrollment and admissions teams? For starters, it means the window to promote and market trade programs is expanding more than ever. When you combine these factors with a steady rise in vocational jobs, the market is primed and ready for  

As a marketer for technical schools, now’s your chance to make a significant impact in the higher education market. With the right marketing mindset, you can recruit and admit more students this year. 

Trade School Trends and Selling Points You Should to Know

Before you build a marketing campaign to attract more students to a trade program, you must be able to effectively differentiate it from four or two-year academic programs. Students pursue degrees for different reasons and motivations, and they often have different long-range goals in mind.

To personalize your marketing messages to unique student experiences, it’s essential to know more about the characteristics that set trade schools apart.

And if possible, it’s always wise to positively illustrate how trade schools actually come out as the top choice for students within the right target audience. 

Trade Schools are Often More Affordable

Although the national average cost to attend public and private four-year institutions is increasing at a steady clip, many students still choose this route. The costs associated with college attendance may include academic expenses in addition to things like room and board, living expenses, and extra fees. Some of these costs are eliminated with a trade or vocational school model, which offers on-site classes that are easy for commuters to attend.

According to data from College Board, trade school tuition ranges from an average of $5,000 to $15,000 dollars for programs that last up to 18 months. These numbers are in comparison to the $35,000 dollar annual average for four-year programs at nonprofit private schools. 

If you want to market to your target audience, find a compelling angle, such as cost. Then, position your marketing campaigns to highlight the key differences in specific higher education options.

Skilled Trades Market to In-Demand Careers

In addition to cost savings, trade schools offer education that equips students for success in several fast-growing job fields. These career paths include in-home health sciences, physician assistant programs, and physical therapy. 

Jobs related to business administration, finance, and government contracting are also available for students enrolled in technical colleges. The rise in these “hands on” career fields (and having more focused expertise) demonstrates the potential for trade school marketing in the coming years.

Trade Schools Provide Real-World Experience

On average, trade schools also provide additional hands-on experience through internships, occupational scenarios with employers, and on-the-job training for specific skills. 

In four-year programs, these workforce opportunities are often reserved for the end of a degree, after basic liberal arts requirements are satisfied by the student.

For learners that want to jump directly into an occupation or field of choice, trade schools offer real discovery that begins early. Moreover, students don’t have to spend money or financial aid on courses that are unrelated to their vocational degree. These factors can be a major selling point in the recruiting process.

Trade School Marketing Strategies to Engage Students

If your goal is to increase admissions and enrollment at your trade school this year, building momentum is key. What does this look like? It means that your process should start with a foundation of knowledge, build upon who your ideal students are, and remove friction throughout the student journey.

Believe it or not—this approach to marketing is easier than you might expect, and you can experience major results for your school or program. Let’s start with the basics.

Learn Your Target Audience

Many trade schools recruit graduating high school students that aren’t quite ready to make the leap to four-year institutions, or to those with particular career aspirations in mind. To market effectively, you must have in-depth knowledge about the students you want to recruit.

This student profile is sometimes referred to as an “ideal student persona.” Your marketing team can construct this persona using:

• Demographic data from current students (including first generation college students)
• Market research
• Detailed competitor analysis

Equipped with such a detailed overview, you’ll be able to create well-rounded marketing campaigns that your prospects need and want on their path to becoming skilled workers. It’s not simply about your school; rather, it’s about how your school solves for specific needs that certain students have.

Don’t forget—your target audience (and ideal student) is on a journey, and your goal is for that journey to end with a successful enrollment. Learning more about your target audience allows you to close the gap, remove barriers, and provide exceptional customer service.

Choose Student-Centered Messaging

In higher education, it’s often easy to put a school’s brand, details, or accolades on display. But in today’s market, students have thousands of options, and they want to explore them. To honor this, your marketing team has to put students in the driver’s seat.

At Element451, we’ve learned that a student-centric experience often involves the following steps or characteristics.

• Personalized marketing that delivers individual attention to the prospective student
• Digital automations that make the student experience easier—not more taxing
• Real-time insights that help schools see and interpret student reactions
• Relevant data on specific student marketing messages 

As a trade program, the needs of your students come first. And even if you aren’t equipped with some of the resources or funding that large four-year institutions have, you can still deliver an above-average experience for every student that’s interested in your programming. Success comes down to knowing what students need and finding digital marketing solutions that are in alignment.

Go Digital in Your Marketing Approach

One thing that modern trade schools can’t ignore is the digitalisation of higher education. Students are online, choosing digital processes over analog ones. They spend an increasing amount of time using digital outlets for research and to help them stay in touch with colleges, universities, and trade programs.

If you haven’t yet taken your marketing digital—now’s the time. With a student engagement platform like Element451, you can deliver on-demand content and make information readily available when students need and want it. Not only does this help you stay on-brand, but it also removes tedious red tape from the enrollment process.

Expand your trade school’s potential this year by investing in digital marketing tools and processes. This could include:

• Digital student records and applications 
• Automated marketing messages based on where students are in the process
• Personalized reminders and messaging
• Relationship-building through social media posts and digital platforms

Personalize Trade School Marketing this Year

Whether your trade school is recruiting high schoolers, non-traditional students, or even early talent for employers, personalization is an essential component. A growing number of students are showing interest in alternative career paths, and now is the time to equip skilled workers and attract early talent.

At Element451, you'll find a platform that makes your education marketing simplified and effective. If you want to build awareness, create trust, and market your institution with modern strategies, you've come to the right place.

>> Schedule an Element451 demo today. <<