Growing Your Online Continuing Education Program
Online continuing education is the fastest growing education sector in the world; it’s quickly becoming a necessity for many organizations–not only for higher learning institutions, but associations as well!
In schools across North America, online learning is growing at a rate that has far surpassed traditional learning. For associations, the demand for online continuing education is just as significant.
Each year, more industries require the completion of professional development hours, skill-proving certification programs, and online training modules. Furthermore, a more globalized workforce means more training and education equivalency certification and testing. Conveniently, much of this is now done online.
The good news is that associations have dramatically increased membership because of this with the use of useful tools like learning management systems, which can improve membership retention and add value to memberships as a whole.
Yet, as many associations with online continuing education programs have discovered, continued growth doesn’t often happen on its own. Eventually, the benefits of start-up online learning programs will plateau if the program isn’t improved or expanded.
This is this growth that many associations find most challenging.
When it comes to expanding online continuing education catalogues, each association first needs to identify why it wants to offer online learning to members. Because the options for growing eLearning programs vary so greatly in the time, effort, and cost required to make it happen, knowing what your association wants to get out of the program will make the choice easier–and more specific!
For a variety of reasons, some options may not be feasible for certain associations, but that doesn’t mean e-learning growth is impossible. Even in the most cost-restrictive environments, online continuing education programs can be improved upon, course and certificate offerings can be increased, and an association’s brand can be expanded.
It should be noted that the methods for growing online continuing education we’ll be covering should ideally be used with each other, rather than instead of each other. Mix and match until you reach your desired effect!
1. Online Video Learning
Perhaps the simplest and most efficient method of growing an online continuing education program involves the use of online video learning.
For both the associations setting it up and the members benefitting from it, online video learning is inexpensive and easy to use. Whether it’s a tutorial, a lecture, part of a larger learning module, required learning for a certificate, or a standalone value-adding video, online video learning can accomplish what many associations desire with minimal effort. It’s engaging, too!
With the technology of today, almost every smartphone has a high-powered camera and the necessary editing software to create and upload clean, professional-looking videos. For those who don’t have editing tools at their disposal, there is a wealth of free software available online.
Though there are many options, the two most effective—and inexpensive—methods for online video learning are session recording and screencasting. Let’s explore them now!
Session Recording
If the choice is a session recording, always start with a script.
Even if your voice is being recorded over a slideshow presentation, a script will eliminate any thought pauses or verbal fillers, which can be distracting for viewers. Practice reading the script until you develop a natural, conversational tone.
Additionally, unless your video is very short, consider including visuals. The human brain processes visuals much faster than text, and large blocks of text do more harm than good. When combined with small blocks of text, images help the viewer associate what they hear and read with what they see, leading to better retention overall.
Once your video is recorded, edit out any rough spots to get a polished, audience-ready finished product.
Screencasting
While both session recording and screencasting can be used for any continuing education program, screencasting is typically used for software training, technical courses and computer tutorials, if only because the instructor’s screen and work can be made visible during the recording. The most basic and most common way screencast is to simply narrate over a PowerPoint presentation. This tool can be accessed in most versions of Microsoft PowerPoint by clicking “Record Slide Show” under the “Slide Show” tab. If you require the viewers to see another type of software on your computer screen, several options are available online, including both Screencast-O-Matic and Free-Screencast which offer free-to-use screencasting software. Screencasting allows you to record your voice, your webcam and your own screen all at once, perfect for step-by-step tutorial videos and lessons that require an instructor to show their screens.
For a more detailed explanation on creating and setting up online video learning, explore the following ebook.
2. Webinars and Events
There was a time when webinars were only available to the tech-savvy and those with big wallets, but that is not the case anymore. There are countless inexpensive and simple options for broadcasting seminars via the web these days, opening the door for any size of association to join the fray. At the most basic level, webinars are an excellent way to provide a service to members and generate additional traffic. As a live event, a webinar can lead to increased sales and revenue generation. In addition to that, webinars are another form of continuing educations, further establishing the delivering association as an authority in the industry and a provider of events. Furthermore, webinars are an incredibly powerful vehicle for content acquisition.
The content of a webinar can either be created specifically for the purpose of a webinar or it can simply be a recording of an in-person seminar. When an association creates and delivers a live webinar, members and other interested parties are drawn to the host website. A successful live webinar provides opportunity for increased membership, sales of other products and services, and increased likelihood of member retention. Additionally, live events open the door for advertising and sponsorship dollars from organizations with similar audiences.
In terms of content acquisition, webinars and recorded seminars allow associations to house and transmit unique and sought-after content. Whether the association records an in-person event or records a live webinar, the content within that event is effectively captured once it is recorded. Considering how fierce the online competition is for general information, the most effective and most profitable events are those that cover specific topics, such as “How to Deal with Legal Issues” or “How to Improve Member Retention.” When choosing webinar topics, research what other information is already out there. It’s possible that the more outside-of-the-box the webinar topic is the more interest it will generate, but that depends on the industry and if any similar content is readily available.
3. Content, Content, Content
Everything up to this point has been working with already-existing content or working on the assumption that content is able to be created by the association. Yet, many associations struggle with the content creation process itself. Obviously, without new content, it is impossible to grow an online continuing education program. While there are several solutions, there are two simple options for overcoming the content creation hurdle: external hiring and internal training.
The easiest but perhaps more expensive option for an association that needs more content is to bring in an outside content matter or subject matter expert (SME). While, admittedly, it does depend on the industry, SMEs should be easily accessible for most associations, but they come with a cost. SMEs can be brought in temporarily, but many associations choose to bring them in full-time with an eye on the future. The right SME will not only be able to create new content, new modules, new training exercises and whatever else your association’s online continuing education program needs, but they can also rework or repurpose existing content and/or participate in upcoming webinars and in-person events.
The other option for associations looking for new content is to train already-employed SMEs in instructional design. While practically all associations have content experts in their employ, the number of associations who have content experts with instructional design expertise are far fewer. By having an instructional design expert assist an SME transfer knowledge and expertise into a cohesive lesson plan, associations can continue to generate new, unique and in-demand content without the need for a new hire. While it may be required to hire an external instructional designer to come in and perform the training, the difference in time and cost required do go this route is dramatically less than hiring in an SME full time.
4. Digital Marketing and Marketing Automation
In order to grow online course offerings, associations usually need to increase membership numbers. For almost all associations, especially those who are employing an online continuing education program, digital marketing is no longer just an option, it’s a priority. Largely because of the legacy of traditional marketing, there’s a tendency to think that, to be effective, digital marketing requires a large investment, but that’s not necessarily true. While some aspects do show a connection between investment and return, there are simple and effective methods for using digital marketing to help grow your online continuing education program while keeping costs down, specifically with targeted advertising and retargeting. Instead of spreading a wide net over a vast number of people, wasting countless dollars in the process, both methods below target only those who have shown an interest in your association or are part of your target audience.
Targeted Advertising
The most basic form of targeted digital advertising is through email marketing. This requires having a list of member emails to send promotions, offers, eLearning information from your association. To further build this list of emails, consider building a landing page on the association’s webpage that requests the visitor’s email address. Whenever a new user searches for your association or is encouraged to visit the webpage, your association generates another lead. Since most internet users are quite wary of spam these days, you may want to offer something of value, such as a free course, in exchange for their information.
Another medium for targeted advertising is social media, perhaps the most effective for associations, specifically Facebook and its easy-to-use marketing tools. To utilize Facebook marketing, your association first needs to build a free business page, something visible and tangible for users to see and visit. Once that is established, your association can then send out Facebook ads to a specific target audience, an audience that can be filtered by location, age, events, interests and lifestyle. Ads can be sent out to anyone without restriction, meaning the audience doesn’t need to be part of your association’s Facebook network. Additionally, a maximum ad budget can be set, not to be exceeded, and ads only charge when they are clicked, ensuring that you only pay when your ad is actually seen and acknowledged by the user. Not only does this targeted ad feature allow the association to reach a desired audience, it also allows the ad to be designed for that specific group.
Retargeted Advertising
While Google also allows for targeted list-based ads, similar to Facebook, this section will deal primarily with retargeting, an advertising method through Google AdWords that targets internet users who have visited your association’s website but didn’t convert. The reality of the internet is that the vast majority of website visitors are just that, visitors. They don’t purchase anything or give any information. Through Google, however, visitors who clicked into your webpage will, in the future, be shown ads when they are browsing the web. Today, the typical internet user is trained in blocking out and avoiding ads. However, since these users have already been exposed to your association, the ads they will see in the future are considered less-intrusive than random ads and the users are shown to be more responsive to them. Google has also found that repeated exposure to ads, without overwhelming the user, makes them more likely to click them. The ads that are shown can be managed in such a way that certain ads are shown to users depending on where they went while on your website.
For a more detailed explanation on setting up and exploiting digital marketing, read through the following ebook.
5. Recycled Content
Another easy and useful way to generate more interest in your association’s online continuing education program is to repurpose and/or repackage existing content. The possibilities for doing this are endless and these types of offers work well in tandem with targeted digital advertising. Once online videos are recorded, the costs associated with them become minimal, if not null, so any gained revenues help. With all associations, new educational content enjoys its greatest surge of activity at the beginning and then slowly dwindles as members benefit from it. Once the interest levels decrease around the content, consider reusing it in other videos or combining it into a packaged deal. If you are aware of what members have already utilized the content, you may want to advertise to those who have not, offering the content at a reduced price point. As long as you have told your members upfront that special offers will be sent to them, most will welcome the chance to benefit from additional savings.
Conclusion
Associations looking to expand their online continuing education programs can leverage the power of video learning, webinars, and content creation to increase engagement and retention. Additionally, by adopting a comprehensive digital marketing strategy and repurposing existing content, associations can drive growth and reach new members. Overcome stunted growth with high-quality education–everyone wins!
