ASQA | Spotlight On - Marketing and advertising, Chapter 1
Promoting your training provider the right way
In this chapter of Spotlight On, we discuss how training providers can effectively market and advertise services, while remaining compliant with legislative and regulatory requirements.
The video below provides a quick introduction on this topic:
Why compliant marketing and advertising practices are important
Your marketing and advertising is the first point of interaction for most students. While the training sector can be a competitive space for providers, it is also important for students to receive clear, accurate, factual and readily accessible information about the available services.
We provide:
- real life examples of recent court rulings related to marketing and advertising practice
- easy-to-understand tips to help you design compliant marketing and advertising campaigns.
In Spotlight On - Marketing and advertising, we will learn what compliant marketing and advertising practices mean for a:
- training provider or someone looking to become a training provider
- marketing service supplier working with a training provider in a third-party agreement.
Legislative and regulatory requirements
Every training provider needs to remain compliant with the Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) 2015 throughout all your marketing and advertising practices.
ESOS providers will also need to comply with the National Code of Practice for Providers of Education and Training to Overseas Students 2018 (National Code 2018).
The following clauses and standards outline the requirements to ensure your information is accurate, transparent and accessible to potential students.
- Clause 4.1: Provide accurate and accessible information to prospective and current students
- Clause 5.2 and 5.3: Informing and protecting students
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Standard 1: Marketing information and practices
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Standard 2: Recruitment of an overseas student
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission provides an advertising guide. Additionally, the Consumer vulnerability business guide can help your business understand key responsibilities under Australian Consumer Law (ACL) on engaging potential students experiencing vulnerability. There is a useful rating tool at the end of the guide to assess your approach and identify areas for improvement.
Promoting your training organisation in a compliant manner
There are many ways that you can correctly and accurately promote your training services. This can include:
Face-to-face opportunities:
- organising meetings with industry and potential employers
- attending career/study forums or events
- setting up stands at a local fair or agricultural days.
Broadcast and digital media:
- using social media
- using Google Ads or similar products
- media advertising.
Course advertising or marketing content needs to comply with the regulatory requirements listed above. This applies to all media – including social media such as TikTok, Facebook or Instagram and print materials e.g. pamphlets or brochures.
Our factsheet includes tips for specific types of marketing and advertising, including social media, print, digital and broadcast channels.
Our specific guidance material on marketing for online learning provides further considerations, if this is your mode of delivery.
Make your advertising work for your market
One of the ways to get the most from your advertising is to understand your market. You can:
- consult with industry and local area representatives to identify their training needs
- investigate what potential students are looking for in courses, and the most effective ways of reaching out to those students
- outsource marketing and advertising services, while ensuring that the end-product is compliant
- ask satisfied students or clients for permission to publish their testimonials, references or reviews.
Any course information mentioned in advertising needs to include course codes and titles and be free of any misleading information.