Nalizé van Rooyen, Digital Marketing & Communications Manager at The Really Great Teacher Company, dives into the world of global, digital marketing and provides some strategies and tools that make the online learning industry tick.
Q1: Before we dive into the business side of things, please tell us a little bit about yourself.
I was born and raised in South Africa but my family moved around a lot growing up. We eventually settled on the sunny east coast of Kwa-Zulu Natal in 2007 and have been here ever since.
I have always had an interest in writing and content, so I started work in a media house straight out of school while studying freelance journalism, before moving into the private security industry where I spent majority of my career. Throughout my time here I furthered my studies into digital marketing.
I also had the privilege of spending some time at local digital marketing agencies, where I was further immersed in the world of digital marketing.
I joined The Really Great Teacher Company over a year ago, after discovering so much alignment with my own values and beliefs, and it has been a great opportunity to apply my knowledge and skills in a new industry, while learning so much at the same time.
Q2: What is your experience in Marketing and Management?
I initially started out in traditional marketing, very old school in the form of print and radio advertising, before discovering the world of digital.
I was shifted into a digital brand manager role where the execution of strategy resulted in the immediate delivery of key metrics – such a stark contrast to traditional marketing!
After 4 years in this role I was promoted to marketing manager where I oversaw a big marketing department across different proficiencies – from graphic designers to digital marketers and events and promotions.
From there on I've remained in a management position overseeing marketing teams before joining The Really Great Teacher Company in this capacity.
Q3: What exactly are you responsible for at The Really Great Teacher Company?
Externally, I am responsible for lead generation on our Business Development side, as well as for assisting our Recruitment team in attracting really great online teachers to join our team.
Internally, I oversee how employees experience the brand and provide support to departments as they need for internal communication.
Lastly is brand management, overall looking after the brand and how it’s portrayed visually as well as verbally, both internally and externally, to ensure consistency. It’s an area we’ve invested in from the beginning and one that we’re proud of.
Insight: If you don’t have a positive employer brand to start with, it makes your job of attracting candidates even more difficult.
Q4: Why is Digital Marketing important in the online learning industry?
It's become one of the main media sources of consumption in society over recent years, and growing rapidly.
Online platforms such as websites, LinkedIn and digital job boards have become popular forums where users look for work, which means your company needs to be findable in these places.
If you're in online teaching you will already have a well-established platform for your students, why not use this for your teachers too?
Another important aspect of online usage is Reviews. If prospective candidates are researching your company as a place to work, what will they find online about what past employees have said about your company? It's important to establish your company as an appealing one.
Q5: What are some of the strategies, platforms and tools that online teaching companies can implement to attract their ideal teacher?
The first question is always, who is your ideal teacher? Have you done the work to define their persona and truly understand the type of person you want working for your company? Not just in their demographic, but in their pronunciation and their values and their work ethic?
Insight: SEMRush Persona is a great, free unlimited tool that helps you unpack this.
Once you've done that, you can start looking into where your ideal teacher spends their time. On which platform, group, forum, university etc so you can plan on how to best reach them.
Insight: We track all sources where our candidates are applying from, so we can measure which is most effective, and we can know where to better spend our marketing budget. For us, LinkedIn and Google are most effective, so it's crucial to invest in your SEO efforts and website performance, UX and UI.
And because you now understand your ideal teacher so well, you know which messaging will appeal to them most – whether it be compensation, flexibility, their passion for teaching, etc.
Insight: Our secret is always to ask, "what's in it for them?" This puts us in our target market's shoes to understand what would be of value to them.
Lastly, as previously mentioned, building and positioning your brand as the one that can deliver on the promise of those things that appeal to them most, is at the centre of it all.
Insight: We don't just hire teachers and only talk to them again when they leave. We have frequent teacher satisfaction surveys that give us some insight into their experience with our company, that further informs us how to adjust our marketing messaging.
Q6: What are some of the challenges in marketing an online learning company online?
It's a very competitive market and companies need to be very intentional to stand out.
There has also been a decline in organic results over time, so in order to stand out on over-crowded platforms, companies need to invest in their marketing ad spend to ensure their opportunities are shown to their target market.
Many online schools operate on a global level, and recruit teachers from all over the world, too. This brings its own set of challenges in marketing to languages, cultures, societal understanding.
Insight: One's first thought would be a blanket marketing approach, but going more granular reduces ad spend waste and improves candidate quality.
Things we also take into consideration when creating and releasing our content is marketing across different time zones for when our target audience will be online, knowing our content will be consumed in different languages, and being mindful of the nuances in cultural differences and perceptions when it comes to messaging and imagery.
Q7: What advice would you have for an online school looking to differentiate themselves in this competitive market?
We've spoken about platforms – don't be on all of them. Choose those most relevant to you and invest your resources there for a better return.
Give your brand some personality! Don't be just another corporate company who's messaging fades into the background. Be relatable to your audience and give them something they will remember.
Video is where it's at at the moment. Invest into the resources that can create and market your video content for maximum impact.
Give your candidates an enticing and effortless user journey. Whether they're still in the research phase or want to dive in and apply, make every step easy to understand, simple and error-free.
Q8: Where should online learning companies be investing in their marketing efforts?
In a nutshell, the key areas are:
- Brand development and position
- Consistent, quality content creation
- Flawless website and user journey
- Developing strategies for target platforms
- Source tracking and reporting
Q9: What have you learnt about the online teaching industry since joining the company?
It is an ever-growing, never sleeping beast! But one with endless opportunities for people living all around the world. At the end of the day we are matching passionate teachers with eager students at different life stages, but none less important.
The industry opens doors to foreign language speakers looking to improve themselves, that inspires me.
Q10: What do you love most about your job?
I love feeling like the work I do every day in supporting the company’s mission has a greater impact on society. It’s not just ticking a box to earn a salary, it’s contributing to something significant.