Organic Social Media Marketing for RTOs: How to Sell Courses Online in Australia

In the digital age, leveraging organic social media marketing is a powerful strategy to sell courses online. By effectively using platforms like LinkedIn, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram, training organisations can reach and engage with their target audience, ultimately driving course enrolments. Here’s a comprehensive guide on how to use organic social media to sell courses online.

Organic Social Media Marketing: Assess Where Your Audience Spends Time

Before diving into organic social media marketing, it’s crucial to understand where your audience spends their time online. Different demographics gravitate towards different platforms, so knowing your audience’s preferences will help you sell courses online more effectively.

• LinkedIn: Ideal for B2B interactions, professionals, and corporate training. Best suited for career-focused and professional development courses.
• TikTok: Popular among younger audiences, including Gen Z and Millennials. Great for creative, engaging, and bite-sized educational content.
• Facebook: Has a broad user base, spanning various age groups. Suitable for community building and detailed informational posts.
• Instagram: Highly visual platform, popular with younger to middle-aged users. Perfect for visually appealing content like infographics, videos, and stories.

Research What Your Competition Is Doing

To stay ahead in the competitive landscape of selling courses online, it’s essential to understand what your competitors are doing on social media. By analysing their strategies, you can gain insights into what’s working well and identify opportunities to differentiate your content. Here’s how to effectively research your competition on social media:

Identify Your Competitors

• Direct Competitors: Identify other training organisations or course providers that offer similar courses to yours. These could be local competitors or large, well-known brands in your industry.
• Indirect Competitors: Look for organisations that may not offer the exact same courses but cater to a similar audience or fulfil a similar need.

Analyse Their Social Media Presence

• Pages and Profiles: Check what your competitors are posting, how often they post, and how much engagement they get. Notice the style and format of their content. Look for common themes, trends, and popular challenges or hashtags they use.
• Groups: Join groups where your competitors are active. Observe the discussions they participate in and the content they share.
• Hashtags: Note the hashtags they use regularly. Use tools like Hashtagify and other alternatives to assess the popularity and relevance of these hashtags.
• Engagement Metrics: Pay attention to the number of likes, comments, and shares their videos receive. High engagement can indicate effective content strategies.

Identify Content Gaps and Opportunities

• Content Gaps: Look for areas where your competitors may be lacking. For instance, if they are not utilising video content effectively or are missing out on certain trending topics, these could be opportunities for you to fill the gap.
• Unique Value Proposition: Identify what sets you apart from your competitors. Highlight these unique aspects in your social media content to attract your audience.
• Engagement Strategies: Observe how your competitors engage with their audience. Are they responding to comments, hosting Q&A sessions, or using interactive content? Adapt and improve upon these strategies to increase your engagement.

Implement and Monitor

• Incorporate Insights: Use the insights gained from your competitor analysis to refine your organic social media strategy. Incorporate successful elements while ensuring your content remains unique and aligned with your brand.
• Continuous Monitoring: Regularly monitor your competitors to stay updated on their strategies. Use social media analytics tools to track the performance of your own content and adjust your strategy as needed.

Understanding your competition is a critical component of a successful organic social media strategy. By analysing what your competitors are doing, you can gain valuable insights, identify opportunities, and refine your approach to stand out in the crowded online course market.

Combine this research with a deep understanding of your audience and effective use of social media platforms like LinkedIn, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram to sell courses online, drive course enrolments, and grow your training organisation.

LinkedIn: Professional Networking and Engagement

1. Grow Your Following

   • Invite to Follow Feature: Use LinkedIn’s “Invite to Follow” feature to grow your page’s following. This feature allows you to invite your connections to follow a page you manage, expanding your reach.
     • Go to your LinkedIn page.
     • Click on “Admin Tools” and select “Invite Connections.”
     • Choose the connections you want to invite and send invitations.

2. Find Related Groups

   • Join and Engage: Join LinkedIn groups related to your industry or the topics of your courses. Engage with the group by sharing valuable content and participating in discussions. This will help you build credibility and attract potential learners.
     • Use the search bar to find relevant groups.
     • Request to join and once accepted, start contributing valuable insights.

3. Hashtag Use

   • Research Hashtags: Use relevant hashtags to increase the visibility of your posts. LinkedIn allows you to follow hashtags and see which ones are trending.
     • Use tools like LinkedIn’s search function or external tools like Hashtagify to find hashtags with high volume and relevance.
     • Incorporate these hashtags into your posts to reach a broader audience.

TikTok: Engaging Short-Form Video Content

1. Create Engaging Content

   • Educational Videos: Use TikTok’s short-form video format to create engaging and educational content. Demonstrate quick tips, mini-lessons, or interesting facts related to your course topics.
     • Keep videos under 60 seconds to ensure they are easily consumable.
     • Use popular music and effects to make your videos more engaging.

2. Leverage Trends

   • Participate in Trends: Stay updated on trending challenges and hashtags. Participate in these trends to increase your content’s visibility and attract a younger audience.
     • Follow trending hashtags and create relevant content that ties into these trends.

3. Use Hashtags

   • Maximise Reach: Use relevant and trending hashtags to increase the reach of your videos.
     • Research hashtags using TikTok’s search function to see which ones are popular.
     • Include a mix of popular and niche hashtags in your posts.

Facebook: Community Building and Detailed Content

1. Build a Community

   • Create a Facebook Group: Start a group related to your course topics. This will allow you to build a community of engaged learners who are interested in your content.
     • Promote your group on your page and other relevant groups.
     • Regularly post valuable content and engage with group members.

2. Share Valuable Content

   • Educational Posts: Share detailed informational posts, blog articles, and course updates on your Facebook page. Use a mix of text, images, and videos to keep your audience engaged.
     • Schedule regular posts to maintain a consistent presence.
     • Use Facebook’s Insights tool to track engagement and adjust your strategy accordingly.

3. Host Live Sessions

   • Facebook Live: Use Facebook Live to host Q&A sessions, webinars, and live tutorials. This real-time interaction can help build trust and showcase your expertise.
     • Promote your live sessions in advance to attract more viewers.
     • Engage with viewers during the live session by answering questions and addressing comments.

Instagram: Visual Storytelling and Engagement

1. Post Visually Appealing Content

   • Infographics and Videos: Use Instagram to share visually appealing content like infographics, short videos, and behind-the-scenes photos. This helps to visually convey the value of your courses.
     • Maintain a consistent aesthetic to create a cohesive brand image.
     • Use high-quality images and graphics to attract more engagement.

2. Utilise Stories and Highlights

   • Instagram Stories: Use Instagram Stories to share daily updates, quick tips, and course highlights. Stories are a great way to engage with your audience in a more casual and immediate manner.
     • Use features like polls, questions, and quizzes to increase interaction.
     • Save important stories in your highlights for new visitors to see.

3. Hashtag Strategy

   • Research and Use Hashtags: Research relevant hashtags and use them in your posts to increase visibility.
     • Use Instagram’s search function to find popular hashtags in your niche.
     • Include a mix of broad and niche hashtags to reach a wider audience.

Conclusion

Using organic social media to sell courses online involves understanding your audience, creating engaging content, and leveraging platform-specific features. By effectively using LinkedIn, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram, training organisations can reach their target audience, build a community, and drive course enrolments.

Remember, consistency and engagement are key to successful organic social media marketing. Start implementing these strategies to effectively sell courses online and watch your course enrolments grow.