When you think about it, we, as trainers, have a lot in common with people who work in advertising. We’re both trying to reach an audience, convey a message and, ultimately, change behavior.
Now, those clever people in advertising know that most people don’t want what they have to offer. Think about it. Do you turn on the television to watch commercials? Unfortunately, we have the same challenge. Most people don’t want to come to training. You probably won’t hear, “I can’t wait to attend that training session,” or “I’m a lifelong learner.” Well, our Langevin clients may use these phrases but they are in the minority!
So, how do we change this way of thinking? The secret is to develop a promotional action plan for your upcoming training.
Here are five key steps to get you started:
Step 1: Develop Business Relationships
- Build key contacts with executive level decision makers, managers, and learners.
- Find out everything you can about your organization’s business.
- Determine how training can contribute to organizational goals.
Step 2: Demonstrate Sponsorship and Buy-In
- Recruit a high-level sponsor to champion the course or program.
- Get the sponsor to communicate a message to create buy-in.
- Write an article on current topics or trends covered in your course to raise the profile of the session.
- Make announcements at meetings and other events about the course or program.
Step 3: Publicize Program
- Publicize the program four to six weeks before the launch.
- Publish the course in catalogs, flyers, brochures, etc.
- Provide a 100% satisfaction guarantee to your learners. This shows you are confident in your product and stand behind the value of the course.
- Create videos that can be posted on the intranet to increase visibility for the upcoming program.
Step 4: Deliver Program
- Create an event for the first offering; include the sponsor and subject-matter experts.
- Conduct a kick-off session with giveaways and refreshments.
Step 5: Publicize Success
- Compile participants’ evaluations.
- Publicize successes, reactions, and testimonials in newsletters, speeches, etc.
- Take a class picture of every course and post on social media. Make sure you have everyone’s permission to post!
- Add a quick caption to summarize a key moment from the session.
- Provide certificates.
- Recognize everyone involved, both personally and publicly.
For even more tips, check out our Marketing Your Training Internally workshop. We’ll help you define your product and target your message to the right audience. We also share 85 promotional techniques you can use to help improve participation, create buy-in, and generate awareness for your programs.
Let’s get creative and use these strategies to promote our training! What are you doing to market your training to your learners? What has brought you success?
