English UK's 2024 marketing conference sessions will take place in London on Friday 27 September. The programme promises to have something for everyone working in marketing, promotions or sales in UK ELT. The conference is sponsored by Disquiet Dog.

Overview of conference sessions and speakers

Herbert Gerzer - Lurn Media: From scroll to enrolment: short-form video marketing strategies for language centre growth

Short-form video platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts are transforming interactions with prospective students and providing dynamic engagement opportunities.

In this session, you'll learn how to develop a creative strategy and master short-form video marketing to deliver killer content on a budget for your language school.

Toju Duke: The responsible AI framework for marketing and sales: How to stand out and gain more sales through responsible AI principles

With the steady rise of Artificial Intelligence technologies which includes applications and models, how could you leverage this new and rapidly moving technology to your advantage? Could you use AI to stand out from competition, gain and retain more students, while increasing the trust and customer satisfaction for your school? In this session, we'll look at different ways you could leverage the benefits of AI, understand its strengths and weaknesses, and various ways to mitigate AI's challenges using a Responsible AI framework.

Patrik Pavlacic - BONARD: Navigating the future of ELT: market rankings, trends and opportunities in the global market

This insightful session will provide an essential overview of the latest trends shaping the ELT industry worldwide. Patrik will delve into recent source market performance rankings, highlighting key geographies driving demand and assessing future recruitment prospects in each major region. 

Additionally, the session will analyse the UK's competitive position in the global ELT landscape, exploring its strengths, challenges, and emerging opportunities. With 2023 and 2024 as the new benchmarks, attendees will gain valuable insights into market dynamics and emerging trends to stay ahead in the evolving ELT sector.

Sarah Mines - Alethea Global: Students, practitioners and the role of international education in the climate crisis 

Climate action and sustainability are at the forefront of students' minds and they are increasingly seeking brands that align with their values. Sarah will describe the intersection between climate action and sustainability, social justice and international education. 

You will learn how to connect emerging research about the carbon emissions of international education to our impact and responsibility as practitioners and analyse insights on student drivers and the business case for prioritising sustainability.

Laura Wilkes - Communicating for Impact: Podcasting for educators: building community and growing your business

With global listenership projected to reach 504 million by the end of 2024, podcasts present an exciting way in which we can nurture and grow a community who know, like and trust us. In this talk, we'll examine success stories from schools and educational institutions who use podcasting in this way so we can envision how it could work for us too. From here, we'll explore what we can podcast about, how to plan and prepare, and the technical equipment we need to start recording. If you're interested in leveraging podcasting to grow your education business, this talk is definitely for you.

Gina Rodriguez: Leveraging happy alumni for language centre success

This session will explore practical strategies to transform happy alumni into powerful advocates for your language school. Gina will cover building and maintaining a network of former happy students, from gathering compelling testimonials to strategically using alumni influence both online and offline to promote your language centre. 

Join the session to gain new ideas for alumni outreach and content creation that can be easily integrated into your overall marketing strategy to boost enrolments and enhance the credibility of your language centre.

Hannah Youell - IH World: Diversity in marketing for ELT - representation vs tokenism

Like it or not, diversity within our organisations plays a deciding role in the purchasing behaviour of our prospective customers. That all important first impression comes from our websites, brochures and social media channels, so it's now essential that we harness every opportunity for students to have that 'I can see myself here' moment. If not, we lose out. But it can feel like a bit of a minefield. We want to show diversity, yet we are afraid of getting it wrong or, worse still, being called out for tokenism. 

This session will break down some key concerns, unpicking what true representation looks like. You'll learn actionable steps to make your marketing materials more inclusive wherever you are in the journey.

You can register for this conference here.