Every online LMS course creator is presented with a classic problem – how to reach potential learners. This problem is more acute for the people who are just launching their first course. There are a couple of mediums that they can use to market their courses. They can use social media platforms, emails, online education forums, etc. for this purpose. But the issue is that focusing on all these platforms simultaneously can be an impossible task for them. Because at the starting phase, they are short on both capital and human resource. Most of the educators work alone at the beginning so it becomes a hectic job for them to concentrate on all the different platforms at once. So, it’s a good idea to concentrate on one or two platforms because putting your 100% in one platform always delivers better results than giving 25% to four different platforms.
Question: In which platform should you put all your focus?
Simple answer: Facebook
Now let’s see why and how Facebook can be the best place to market your online LMS courses.
Let’s begin with some statistics.
- Facebook is the largest social media platform with 2.8 billion monthly active users.
- 1.84 billion people around the world visit Facebook on a daily basis.
- More than 200 million small businesses use Facebook’s tools.
- Users spend 19.5 hours on average on this platform each month.
- 65% of Facebook users are under 35 years of age.
For all these reasons and more, Facebook has become an ideal platform to leverage benefits for your eLearning business. Here is how you can use it effectively.
Create a Facebook page
The first step is creating a page for your eLearning business. It is very important that you create this page even before you start developing your course because the sooner you register for it, the better is your chance for its availability. To create a Facebook page –
1. Go to https://www.facebook.com/pages/creation/
2. Insert Page name, Category, and Description.
3. Create a short username for your page.
4. Add a profile picture and cover photo. You can use your logo as profile picture and use a short intro video as cover.
5. Select category for your page.
6. Insert your phone number and WhatsApp number.
7. Write your email, website and location. The last one may or may not be applicable for your business. If you don’t have a physical location for your business, leave the field blank.
8. Select your available hours and price range.
9. Publish your first post and start inviting people to like your page.
Post engaging content regularly
Publish posts daily to promote your online LMS courses on Facebook. Post at least once per day. And it is important to create quality content for your online LMS courses. Write posts on and around your course. Describe how your course will benefit people professionally. Ask questions to your followers and let them say what they think about your course. You can also write posts on current trends in the eLearning industry. And be active after publishing a post. See the list of people who hit like on that specific post and see if they are already your page’s followers. Surprisingly, you may find some ‘likers’ who aren’t your followers yet. And it’s a good opportunity for you to invite them to like your page.
Create a Facebook group
Building a community around your business is an excellent way to connect with your prospects on a personal level. Groups are more interactive than pages as members of the group share the same interest.
Use Facebook insights
Facebook gives you an insight on each of your posts and the page for free. Use these insights to know how a particular post is performing. See which types of posts perform better and try to create those posts as much as you can. Use images and videos to increase engagement of your posts.
Facebook stories and crossposting
Stories are placed on top of Facebook’s news feed which makes it an ideal tool to advertise your online LMS courses. You should also use the crossposting option to sync your posts on Facebook and Instagram simultaneously.
Facebook live
Another fantastic way to engage with your audience is going LIVE on Facebook. On a live session, you can take comments and opinions of your followers on your online LMS course and give replies to them in real time to establish a one-to-one connection with them.
Messenger
Messenger is also a good way to communicate with your audience personally. Send promotional and informational messages about your online LMS courses to your prospects and give them the opportunity to interact with you on a personal level. You can also select your message settings so that when people visit your page, messenger will pop up automatically. You can also select predefined questions that your visitors may have with your answers.
Paid ads
All the above mentioned strategies can be followed absolutely free. But if you find it tough to reach your audience organically, you can try Facebook Ads. Its tools are very effective and make it easy to target a specific audience for your online LMS course. You can target people who like your page or by location, age, gender and interests. Because Facebook collects user data, it can target your advertisement to those who are most likely to be interested in your product or service. The platform also features an analytics tool to help you understand which ads drive interest and sales.
Wrapping Up
In many ways, Facebook is the best platform to market your online LMS courses. Use it strategically to gain maximum exposure for your eLearning business. Let us know how you have used Facebook to your interest in the comments section below. If you are interested to know about how you can use other social media platforms for your online LMS courses, read this blog.