This article is the third and final part of a series that follows our second article, “Steps to Effectively Develop Online CE Courses for Healthcare Professionals”.

You have worked diligently with the planning and development of your CE course. Now you are ready to publish and promote your course online. Summarized below are the considerations and steps to do this effectively and insure the best outcomes for your efforts.

Publish CE Courses Online

Once a course is complete and accredited, it is ready to be published online.

You will need to consider where your CE courses will reside. This will likely include a learning management system (LMS) if you want to easily manage enrollment, learner tracking, and reporting.

Choose the Right LMS Platform

Choosing the right Learning Management System (LMS) is an essential part of offering online CE courses for healthcare professionals. An LMS can provide various features and tools to support course delivery and administration. It is a centralized location for learners to access and interact with course content. There are several factors to consider when choosing the right LMS including:

  1. Ease of use: The LMS should be user-friendly and easy to navigate for learners, instructors, and administrators.
  2. Compatibility: Ensure that the LMS is compatible with all major web browsers and devices, including desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. This will ensure that learners can access your course from anywhere and at any time.
  3. Customization: The LMS should be customizable to meet the unique needs of the course and the target audience. It also should be customizable to incorporate established corporate brand standards and potential integration with other systems such as Salesforce.
  4. Tracking, reporting, and analytics: Choose an LMS that provides detailed tracking and reporting capabilities. This will enable you to track learner progress and monitor engagement levels. You will be able to understand what courses are the most popular, helping to determine what future topics you should choose. Captured data will help guide you to improve your course content and marketing strategy.
  5. Certification: An LMS can automate the issuing of certificates of completion. This will enhance the learner’s experience. It can be frustrating to have to wait for weeks to receive a certificate that is needed to satisfy licensure requirements. Learners appreciate the instant gratification they receive by accessing their certificate immediately after successfully completing a course. An LMS will also decrease the administrative time needed for the CE course. The administrator does not need to monitor who completes a course on a daily or weekly basis and then fill out and mail the completed certificate.
  6. Security: The platform should be secure and provide a safe and confidential learning environment for learners.
  7. Support and maintenance: Choose an LMS provider that offers reliable technical support and regular maintenance updates. This will ensure that your course remains accessible and functional for your learners.

Market the Courses

Promotion is key to the success of any CE course. Utilize social media, email marketing, and other forms of advertising to reach your target audience.

Marketing online CE courses for healthcare professionals requires a comprehensive approach that includes both inbound and outbound marketing strategies. Here are some fundamental steps for effectively marketing online CE courses:

Inbound Marketing:

  1. Publish: Create a banner or announcement on your corporate website and/or link to a microsite. Consider creating a microsite specifically for the roll-out of your new suite of courses that provides information about the courses and their benefits. This microsite also directly connects to the LMS that hosts the courses.
  2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Optimize your website for search engines to ensure that it appears high in search engine results when users search for keywords related to your course.
  3. Blogging and Content Marketing: Develop blog articles and other content related to the course topics that will appeal to your target audience. Share these articles on your website and social media channels to attract potential learners.
  4. Social Media Marketing: Use social media to promote the course and engage with potential learners. Share information about the course on your social media channels and engage with users by responding to comments and questions.

Outbound Marketing:

  1. Direct Email Campaign: Develop a targeted email campaign to reach potential learners who have expressed interest in a specific course or related topics. Offer them relevant content and information about the course and invite them to sign up.
  2. Trade Shows and Conferences: Attend relevant trade shows and conferences and offer information about the courses. Provide potential learners with a way to sign up or request more information.
  3. Sales Representatives: Train your sales representatives to promote the courses to potential learners. Equip them with the necessary tools and information to effectively promote.
  4. Advertising: Develop targeted advertising campaigns to reach potential learners. Consider advertising on relevant websites, social media platforms, or in industry publications.

Evaluate the Courses

Measuring the success of the online CE courses is pivotal to determining if the courses are meeting their objectives and delivering value to the learners. Here are some best practices to measure the success of a course:

  1. Set clear and measurable learning objectives: The course should have clear and measurable learning objectives that align with the overall goals of the organization.
  2. Analyze usage and completion rates: Tracking usage and completion rates can give an idea of how engaged learners are with the course and if they are completing it in a timely manner.
  3. Monitor learner performance data: Collecting data on learner performance can help identify areas where learners are struggling and where the course content may need to be revised.
  4. Surveys: Collect feedback from learners who have completed a course by conducting surveys. Surveys can be used to gauge the effectiveness of the course in achieving its intended outcomes and gather feedback on areas for improvement. Is the content relevant and increasing their learning? Is the course engaging? Is the navigation intuitive and easy to use?

By implementing these strategic steps, you can better measure the educational and marketing success of your CE courses. With continuing measurement and evaluation, you can adjust where needed to update and improve your courses, increasing customer satisfaction.

Offering CE (Continuing Education) credit courses will provide a significant advantage for your organization in providing business growth.

With KDG InterActive’s experience, we can help your organization anywhere in the process to successfully develop and launch online CE courses for your customers.

Contact us today for a free consultation.