Education brands don’t have the luxury of “marketing like everyone else.” Whether you’re selling an EdTech product to school districts, recruiting students to a university program, or helping coaches grow an audience, you’re speaking to people who need proof, clarity, and trust before they take action.
That’s where education marketing experts earn their keep. The best ones understand how long decision cycles can be, how many stakeholders are involved, and how to balance brand credibility with measurable growth. They know the difference between marketing that looks good and marketing that actually improves enrollment, demo requests, and retention.
This listicle features five vetted experts in education marketing you can hire for conversion rate optimization, paid social, SEO/content strategy, and paid search—each with a distinct strength depending on your goals.
You’ll also see how to think about hiring (and what to ask before you do), so you can match the right specialist to the right project.
What education marketing “done well” looks like
Great education marketing usually combines five things:
- A clear promise: what outcome the learner (or institution) gets, and how it’s different from alternatives.
- Trust signals: outcomes, testimonials, partner logos, accreditation, research backing, or transparent methodology.
- Audience alignment: students, parents, faculty, administrators, and procurement all care about different things.
- Friction reduction: shorter paths to “request info,” “book a demo,” “apply,” or “start trial.”
- Measurement that matches reality: pipeline impact and longer attribution windows, not just surface-level clicks.
Most brands don’t struggle because they lack effort. They struggle because their marketing team is stretched thin, and “good enough” decisions stack up over time: generic messaging, weak landing pages, under-optimized paid campaigns, SEO content without a plan, and reporting that doesn’t help anyone decide what to do next.
Hiring the right specialist fixes that quickly.
When it makes sense to hire education marketing experts
Bring in education marketing freelancers when you need any of the following:
- A conversion lift on key pages (apply, schedule a demo, request info, checkout)
- A paid social engine for lead gen, webinars, or product launches
- A paid search program that scales without wasting spend
- SEO + content strategy that’s tied to enrollment, demos, or revenue
- Better analytics and campaign reporting so decisions get easier, not harder
If you’re weighing full-time versus contract, GrowTal has a useful breakdown here: Why hire marketing freelancers.
And if you’re building your own path into this space or hiring for a growing team, this is worth a read too: freelance marketing.
How we picked these experts
Each person on this list brings a specific skill set that maps to common education marketing problems:
- CRO and website optimization for better lead quality and conversion rates
- Paid social for scalable acquisition and retargeting
- SEO and content strategy for sustainable demand
- Paid search and performance management for predictable pipeline
If you’re hiring for a university or large program, look for experience with longer cycles and stakeholder-heavy buying—traits you’ll see in several of the higher education marketing experts below.
Top Education Marketing Experts to Hire
Joel Polsky
Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO) & Growth Marketing
Joel Polsky is a digital marketing specialist with 7+ years of experience focused on improving website performance and driving measurable growth. As the Senior CRO Specialist at Adtalem Global Education, he works on turning more visitors into qualified leads through smarter page structure, clearer messaging, and better user journeys. Joel brings a blend of analytical thinking and creative website design skills, with experience across lead generation and e-commerce. He’s a strong fit for education brands that have traffic coming in but want stronger results from landing pages, forms, and key conversion paths.
Core Strength: Conversion rate optimisation for education and lead-gen funnels.
Best For: Higher education lead generation, EdTech landing pages, conversion-focused website improvements.
Alyssa Smeding
Paid Social Advertising & Marketing Analytics
Alyssa Smeding is a paid social expert with hands-on experience running campaigns across major platforms including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Pinterest, TikTok, Reddit, and more. With agency experience at Brand Networks and Wpromote, she’s worked across a wide range of clients—from financial services to e-commerce—bringing strong testing discipline and performance reporting to every engagement. Alyssa also runs her own marketing company that produces educational marketing content for coaches, giving her an added edge in education-style messaging and audience building. She’s known for being diligent, organised, and highly practical in how she plans, launches, and optimises campaigns.
Core Strength: Multi-platform paid social campaigns backed by solid analytics.
Best For: EdTech growth campaigns, education offers for coaches/creators, e-commerce-style funnels and subscription products.
Evan Broome
Paid Social Growth & Performance Acquisition
Evan Broome is a paid social marketer with experience running performance campaigns across platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn, Reddit, TikTok, and select Pinterest placements. He’s worked across industries including education, finance, B2B, and e-commerce, which helps him adapt quickly to different buying cycles and audience behaviours—especially useful in education, where some campaigns are direct-to-consumer while others are stakeholder-driven. Evan is also in the early stages of launching a social media agency and is open to freelance partnerships, bringing a strong ownership mindset to campaign performance and iteration.
Core Strength: Performance-focused paid social across multiple platforms.
Best For: Education lead generation, EdTech acquisition testing, brands wanting cross-channel paid social execution.
Nadine Landis
SEO & Content Strategy for Education Brands
Nadine Landis is an experienced digital marketing professional specialising in SEO and content strategy, with a broader background that includes paid media such as SEM and social media marketing. She approaches growth through the full digital journey—how users discover a brand, what they need to see to trust it, and what drives them to take action. Nadine has worked across many industries, including higher education, and is especially strong in diagnosing SEO issues through data and turning those insights into clear, practical fixes. Her work typically blends technical SEO, on-page improvements, and content planning that supports long-term visibility and steady lead generation.
Core Strength: SEO and content strategy tied to the full user journey.
Best For: Higher education websites, EdTech content programs, brands needing technical SEO and a clear content roadmap.
Thomas Zanandrie
Paid Search Advertising (Google & Bing) + Performance Reporting
Thomas Zanandrie is a paid search specialist with 10+ years of experience managing campaigns across different budgets and industries, including education. While Google and Bing search are his core focus, he also has experience managing Google Display, YouTube, Lead Gen (Discovery), and Shopping campaigns. Thomas can run accounts end-to-end—strategy, setup, ongoing optimisation, and reporting—using tools such as Google Looker Studio and Datorama. He’s a strong option for education brands that want more predictable acquisition from search while keeping spend efficient and reporting clear.
Core Strength: Paid search strategy and ongoing optimisation with strong reporting.
Best For: Higher education program marketing, EdTech demand capture on search, teams needing better account structure and performance visibility.
How to choose the right expert for your education brand
If you’re deciding between these education marketing experts, match the person to the bottleneck:
- Traffic is fine, conversions are weak: start with Joel (CRO)
- You need new lead volume fast via social: choose Alyssa or Evan (paid social)
- You want sustainable inbound growth: go with Nadine (SEO + content)
- High-intent searches should be driving leads but aren’t: pick Thomas (paid search)
Education teams often do best with a two-step approach:
- Fix the conversion path (landing pages + tracking).
- Scale acquisition (paid or SEO) once the funnel holds up.
That’s how you avoid paying for more clicks while the funnel leaks.
A simple hiring checklist for education marketing projects
Before you hire, make sure you can answer these:
- What is the primary conversion? (demo, request info, application, trial, purchase)
- Who is the real buyer? (student, parent, admin, procurement, department head)
- What counts as a qualified lead?
- What proof points exist today? (outcomes, testimonials, case studies, data)
- What tools are required? (GA4, HubSpot, Salesforce, ad accounts, Looker Studio)
If your team is moving into a more automated growth model (especially for B2B EdTech), this GrowTal resource can help shape the plan: B2B Growth with Automation.
Example “quick wins” projects you can start this week
If you want fast progress without over-planning, here are practical starter projects:
- CRO sprint (2 weeks): Audit one funnel, ship page improvements, set up a testing backlog (Joel)
- Paid social test (30 days): Run a creative testing plan across 1–2 platforms, refine targeting and messaging (Alyssa or Evan)
- SEO foundation (30 days): Technical audit + content roadmap aligned to your programs or product features (Nadine)
- Paid search rebuild (30 days): Tighten intent, reduce wasted spend, improve reporting and landing page alignment (Thomas)
About GrowTal
GrowTal helps education and EdTech companies hire proven marketing talent without the overhead of building a full in-house team. Whether you need education marketing experts for a short-term campaign or ongoing support, GrowTal connects you with vetted freelancers across key growth functions—paid social, paid search, SEO/content strategy, conversion rate optimisation, and more—so you can move fast and stay flexible.
This model works especially well for education brands where priorities shift around enrolment seasons, product launches, and budget cycles. Instead of forcing one hire to cover everything, you can bring in the right specialist for the job, scale support up or down as needed, and focus internal time on strategy and stakeholder alignment.
If you’re deciding whether freelance support makes sense for your team, start here: Why hire marketing freelancers. If you’re hiring or building a freelancer strategy, freelance marketing is a helpful guide. And if your growth plan includes systems and automation for stronger pipeline results, B2B Growth with Automation is worth reading.
Conclusion
Education marketing rewards teams that stay clear, honest, and measurable. The five specialists above cover the most common growth levers—conversion, paid social, SEO/content, and paid search—so you can hire based on what’s holding you back right now.
If you want help matching the right education marketing experts to your goals, GrowTal is built for flexible hiring—whether you need a short sprint or ongoing support from experts in education marketing and higher education marketing experts who understand the space.
FAQs
What is education marketing?
Education marketing is how schools, colleges, universities, and training providers promote their courses and connect with the right people. It’s focused on reaching prospective students (and often parents), building awareness, and guiding them from “just looking” to applying and enrolling. Most of that happens online now, through websites, search, social media, email, and digital ads—using helpful information that answers real questions and eases concerns.
Why is digital marketing important for educational institutions?
Digital marketing helps institutions stay visible where students spend time and where decisions begin: search engines and social platforms. It supports brand awareness, lead generation, and stronger relationships with prospective students, current learners, and alumni. It also makes it easier to track what’s working, improve campaigns, and compete with other local and online options.
How do schools attract new students?
Schools attract students by clearly showing what makes them different—program quality, career outcomes, student support, campus life, flexibility, or affordability. They use targeted ads, local SEO and map listings, informative blogs and videos, virtual tours, open day promotions, and authentic testimonials from students and parents. Quick follow-up through email or chat also helps turn interest into action.
How long does it take to see results?
It depends on the mix of tactics. Paid ads can bring enquiries quickly, but costs can rise in competitive areas. SEO and content marketing usually take weeks to months to build momentum, trust, and steady traffic. The best results often come from combining short-term lead drivers with long-term growth channels.
