Challenge

As a leader in the tech bootcamp industry, Flatiron School is committed to helping adults learn the skills they need to change their life and world for the better. Courses are offered both online and in-person on campuses across the country, for students looking to launch a career in software engineering, cybersecurity, data science, or product design.

Flatiron School needed to orchestrate the efforts of its marketers, community managers and career coaches throughout the student journey. Although these departments are measured on different KPIs, ultimately, they are working toward the same goals: engaging prospective students, increasing enrollments, and building a strong alumni network.

Solution

Hitting on those goals perfectly aligns with a full funnel marketing approach, which the various teams at Flatiron School are putting into action on LinkedIn to great effect. The LinkedIn platform serves as a nucleus for these teams to converge with great success, enabling Flatiron to successfully leverage both organic and paid features throughout the funnel.

In the Awareness phase, the marketing team delivers LinkedIn Video Ads and Image Ads along with LinkedIn Message Ads for prospecting.

To stay top of mind with prospective students until they make a decision, Flatiron leverages retargeting across all social platforms. On LinkedIn, it uses Message Ads to retarget its website visitors.

Flatiron School remains engaged once someone moves from prospective student to enrolled student by fostering a community via two official LinkedIn Groups. 

Once a Flatiron student graduates, the next step is to find a job using their newly minted skills. Here the Flatiron Career Services Team offers career guidance and a supportive community for their alumni.

“Our career coaches educate and guide students on the critical role LinkedIn plays in students’ career goals post-graduation, and how to best leverage it in their job search. We cover everything from cultivating their online brand to expanding their professional network, identifying job leads, and more,” explains Vicki Aubin, Senior Manager Career Coaching.

Overall Impact

At every stage of the student lifecycle, Flatiron School sees impressive results on LinkedIn.

Converting to  Enrollment

While LinkedIn CPAs are comparable to the remarketing campaigns of the school’s other social channels, Flatiron has seen down funnel conversion rates 2-3x higher (from application to matriculation) with Message Ads compared to other forms of remarketing. “We’ll always take quality over quantity, especially considering the length of our lifecycle,” explains Hebert.

The school finds that the personalized touch and custom messaging of Message Ads resonates well with its target demographic: those in job functions such as Operations, Engineering, Business Development, IT, and Education. As a result, prospective students are more likely to engage and take the necessary steps to matriculate rather than simply just apply.

Finding and Securing Jobs

Flatiron’s Employer Partnerships team leverages LinkedIn for direct outreach to employers potentially interested in hiring Flatiron graduates. “The tool has been an invaluable method for our team to engage with hiring managers and recruiters all over the country,” says Amelia Tidona, Director of Employer Partnerships at Flatiron School.

In fact, Flatiron says its graduates overwhelmingly cite LinkedIn as an invaluable tool in their job search. Many credit LinkedIn for helping them land their first job after graduation, whether through a direct job application or a referral from a LinkedIn connection.

When an alum shares a job opportunity at their place of work, Flatiron amplifies that message on its channels. “LinkedIn is the social media gold standard for professional online networking. As such, it’s the perfect space for us to continue providing professional support and resources beyond a student’s initial course at Flatiron School and their time working with our Career Services team,” concludes Rodowicz.

Driving Applications

Sponsored Message Ads have been the main driver of applications for Flatiron via LinkedIn. According to Philippe Hebert, Performance Marketing Lead at Flatiron School: “We’ve seen steady applications coming from our Sponsored Message Ad campaign and, more recently, from our general awareness campaigns on LinkedIn that leverage video.”

Fostering Engagement

Flatiron’s Community Management Team keeps students engaged and motivated to complete the bootcamp and take the next step on their career path.

According to Emilia Rodowicz, Social Media Manager at Flatiron School,, they currently run two official LinkedIn Groups. One is for staff, students and anyone associated with the school, and the other is for alumni. Both channels serve as a space to share company updates, personal victories, and job opportunities that are relevant to the community. Students have also created their own groups in line with their specific cohorts across the disciplines of Software Engineering, Data Science, Product Design, and Cybersecurity.

Whether it’s announcing a student’s graduation, celebrating getting their dream job, or even sharing life updates like purchasing a home, the school celebrates. According to the school, organic posts, real student and alumni stories receive the highest engagement, hands down.

About

As a leader in the tech bootcamp industry, Flatiron School is committed to helping adults learn the skills they need to change their life and world for the better. Courses are offered both online and in-person on campuses across the country, for students looking to launch a career in software engineering, cybersecurity, data science, or product design.