Generating leads in the education technology (EdTech) industry isn't as easy as some people make it sound. You might have heard advice like "just post on social media a lot" or "go to conferences and hand out business cards to everyone." But guess what? It's not that simple. These methods often don't work as well as they're supposed to.
In EdTech, where you help educators and learners with technology, you can't just rely on luck or random efforts to find leads. You need a plan—a smart strategy. Think of it like building a puzzle: You need to put the right pieces in the right places to see the whole picture. That's where a strategic approach comes in.
However, some lead generation methods can be less effective and more time-consuming. Imagine building a puzzle by randomly picking up pieces and hoping they fit together. It would take forever. Right?
People try to find leads quickly by posting on social media or attending big events. But these flashy tactics often don't work well in the long run because they don't connect with educators who value real relationships and trust.
Using slow-burn methods, such as sending out a ton of emails or buying lists of contacts, doesn't usually work in the education space. These methods lack the personal touch that educators appreciate. They can seem cold and insincere, wasting time and effort.
In education, it is better to focus on making genuine connections through personalized outreach. This approach is more likely to lead to meaningful results than relying on quick fixes.
Remember, success in lead generation isn't about spreading yourself too thin by trying every new trend. It's about focusing on what works best for you and your audience and continuously improving it.
Here are some Slow-burn methods and the reasons that they might not be the most effective way of generating leads:
Handing out business cards at a conference:
Lack of Targeting: While you are getting yourself out there, you may not be reaching the right people. There is no guarantee that you will deal with the decision-makers or even the right audience.
Limited Connection: Simply exchanging business cards doesn't establish a meaningful connection or rapport with the person receiving it.
Competition: At large conferences, vendors usually bombard attendees with business cards and promotional materials. It's easy for your card to get lost in the shuffle or forgotten amidst the sea of other cards they receive.
Lack of Context: Without a meaningful conversation or interaction to accompany the exchange of business cards, there's little context for the recipient to understand who you are, what you offer, and why they should follow up with you.
Giving out business cards at conferences can help you meet new people, but it's not always the best way to find good leads. It's more effective to focus on building relationships by reaching out to specific individuals, talking to them in a personal way, and showing them why your product or service is valuable.
Posting on social media
Passive Engagement: While social media is a valuable tool for building brand awareness and engaging with your audience, simply posting content without a clear call-to-action or strategy may not directly lead to lead generation. Users may passively consume your content without taking further action.
Algorithm Changes: Social media platforms frequently update their algorithms, affecting the visibility of organic content. This means that even if you consistently post valuable content, there's no guarantee it will reach your target audience's feeds.
Audience Saturation: Social media is crowded, with millions of users and businesses competing for attention. Your posts may easily get lost in the noise, especially if your target audience follows many accounts.
Limited Targeting: While social media allows some degree of targeting through demographics and interests, it may not always reach the most qualified leads for your specific product or service. Additionally, not all social media users may be actively looking for solutions your business provides.
Relationship Building: Lead generation often requires building trust and establishing relationships with potential customers. While social media can facilitate initial interactions, converting followers into leads typically requires more personalized and direct communication.
Social media can help with getting leads, but it's usually better to have a plan that includes reaching out to specific people, sharing useful content, and building relationships. This approach often works better for getting leads who are genuinely interested in what you offer.
Paying for expensive Facebook ads:
Uncertain Results: Just because you spend a lot on ads doesn't guarantee they'll reach the right people or convince them to buy from you. It's like rolling the dice—you're unsure if it'll pay off.
High Costs: Facebook ads can be pricey, especially if you're targeting a broad audience or competing in a competitive market. You could end up spending a lot without seeing a good return on investment.
Ad Fatigue: People see tons of ads on Facebook every day. Yours might get lost or ignored if it doesn't stand out or provide something valuable to the viewer.
Limited Targeting: While Facebook ads let you target specific demographics and interests, it's not always easy to reach the exact people interested in your product or service.
Lack of Trust: People might be skeptical of ads and more likely to trust recommendations from friends or other sources. Simply seeing an ad might not convince them to take action.
While using Facebook ads can help get leads, depending only on them might not be the most effective strategy. It's important to think about other ways, like connecting with people, offering something valuable, and reaching the right audience. Mixing these methods can give you better results.
Sending cold emails to a bunch of people or buying a list:
Lack of Personalization: Cold emails are impersonal and often end up in recipients' spam folders. They're unlikely to generate positive responses without personalization and relevance to the recipient's needs.
Trust Issues: People are wary of unsolicited emails from unknown senders. Sending cold emails without prior contact or permission can damage your brand's reputation and lead to distrust among potential leads.
Low Conversion Rates: Buying email lists might seem like a shortcut but rarely leads to meaningful engagement or conversions. Most recipients on purchased lists haven't opted in to receive communications from you, making them less likely to respond positively.
Legal Concerns: Sending unsolicited emails to individuals without consent may violate anti-spam laws like the CAN-SPAM Act in the United States and GDPR in Europe. Violating these laws can result in legal consequences and fines.
Missed Opportunities for Relationship Building: Effective lead generation involves building trust and nurturing relationships with potential customers over time. Cold emailing bypasses this crucial step and fails to establish meaningful connections with leads.
Although cold emailing and buying email lists might seem like fast solutions, they often don't work well and can damage your reputation over time. Concentrating on creating relationships, giving something valuable, and getting permission before reaching out to potential leads is smarter. This approach is more likely to bring positive results in the long term.
When you're getting advice from many experts who don't know about education, it can be hard to know what to do. Ultimately, success comes from being consistent, honest, and always trying to improve. By listening to our audience, learning from our mistakes, and giving value, we can build strong relationships and get great results in EdTech.Finding leads in the EdTech industry needs careful planning and smart choices. Quick fixes like social media or conferences might not work well. It's better to focus on building real connections and providing helpful information.
For the EdTech world, platforms like LinkedIn can be effective.LinkedIn differs from social media sites like Facebook and Instagram because it's all about professional connections and business relationships. Unlike those other platforms where people mainly share personal stuff or advertise to consumers, LinkedIn is more focused on helping businesses connect with other businesses. When you're on social media, you might notice that posting stuff and waiting for people to engage with it can take a long time. This kind of waiting around is called "passive engagement," and it's not always the most effective way to get results.
However, a more proactive approach is called "direct targeted outreach." This means reaching out directly to the people you want to connect with instead of waiting for them to find you.LinkedIn is great because you can search for specific types of businesses or people and send them messages immediately. This direct approach can lead to quicker results and help you generate leads faster. It's all about taking action and reaching out to potential clients instead of waiting for them to come to you.
On LinkedIn, there are different ways to use the platform to grow your business. You can create content, like posts or articles, to show off your expertise and build credibility. This is still a good thing to do, but it might take a while to see results. LinkedIn isn't as crowded with content as some other places, so your posts might stand out more. While creating content can still help you stand out, the main goal should be reaching out to people who might be interested in what you offer. This targeted approach can lead to faster results and help you get new clients more efficiently. If you're looking for quicker results, it's a good idea to focus on reaching out directly to potential clients or partners. LinkedIn makes it easy to find and connect with the right people so you can start building relationships immediately.
You can get results fast by targeting the right people and sending them the right messages. It's all about understanding how LinkedIn works and using it to your advantage to get new leads quickly.
If you want to know more about using LinkedIn to create a lead generation system that brings you high-quality, high-converting leads on repeat… then join the waitlist to be the first to know when the doors open to my signature 3E EdSales Elevation Experience Program where we show you how to get 5-10 sales calls booked in your diary each week without pushy sales tactics.
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