But here’s the truth: most learning platform adoption problems don’t come from the tech — they come from a lack of marketing. Because buying a new platform won’t make people learn. Neither will new content. Or cupcakes. It’s marketing that changes the game, and makes people care.

It’s simple really, the £500k problem L&D leaders face, month in, month out comes down to one thing: a lack of marketing. You plan the implementation, you launch the platform, but you completely overlook the need to influence people to use it.

So if you’re sitting scratching your head, wondering why your new LXP isn’t being used, and tempted to go hunting for another platform filled with promises and dreams, hold your horses. Let’s fix the fundamentals first:

THE 5 REAL REASONS NOBODY’S USING YOUR PLATFORM

If I asked you why you think you have an engagement problem, what would you say? “People are too busy”? “They don’t have the time”? “They don’t care about learning”?

We’ve heard it all before.

But after 6 years of working closely with L&D, and hundreds upon hundreds of hours of market research with employees across the globe — we’re ready to share the real reasons that people aren’t using your learning platform:

1. THEY DON’T KNOW THE PLATFORM EXISTS

A lack of awareness is one of the biggest barriers we see in L&D. In fact, we’ve lost count of the amount of times employees have looked at us bewildered when we’ve asked what they think of an organisation's learning platform. Most of these organisations tell us they launched the platform — with all the bells and whistles. But their employees are none the wiser.

And that’s because typical L&D launches aren’t planned or built with a marketing mindset at all. Let’s be real, if Netflix marketed like L&D, you’d never have watched Stranger Things. So we shouldn’t be surprised that people don't know (or care) about your learning platform.

So give your learning platform launch the Netflix energy, here’s how to do it right:

• Tease it early. “Something new is coming” beats “Our new LMS is live.”
  
  

• Sell benefits, not features. Don’t say “AI-driven learning playlists.” Say “finally, learning that finds you.”
  
  

• Stagger your content. Build FOMO — drip-feed experiences and teasers, don’t overwhelm your audience.

But this all boils down to one thing: If you don’t market your learning platform like a product, nobody will buy into it.

2. IT TRIES TO SOLVE A PROBLEM EMPLOYEES DON’T KNOW THEY HAVE

We know you haven't gone and purchased a new learning platform for no reason. It’s probably come off the back of (many) conversations, discussions and planning. All very strategic to solve business issues. Like building capabilities, performance enablement or developing AI skills. All super strategic, but means absolutely nothing to your audience.

Because your employees aren’t walking around thinking, “I must improve my cross-functional leadership competencies today.” They’re thinking, “How do I survive this week?”

If your platform doesn’t help them do that, it’s irrelevant. You’re solving a future problem, while they’re stuck in the now. Now that doesn’t mean you ditch the strategic, business-led thinking. You just need to flip it, and highlight how those strategic initiatives will help them.

Find the daily frustrations, blockers, or ambitions that actually drive behaviour:

• “I need to handle difficult conversations better.”

• “I want to feel more confident presenting.”

• “I wish I knew how to manage my time.”

Then build learning campaigns that answer those pains directly. Remember, your platform isn’t a course catalogue. It’s a problem-solving engine. Market it that way.

3. THEY THINK IT’S JUST FOR COMPLIANCE TRAINING

Here at MAAS we’ve run hundreds of discovery sessions. Sitting down and getting into the nitty gritty of what employees across the globe really think about learning at work. And nine times out of ten, they tell us that the LMS is for ‘boring’ training. You know, like compliance, health and safety and the mandatory stuff they have to do every year.

That’s not a platform problem. It’s a positioning problem.

If you’re only driving people to your platform to do compliance, they will think that’s all your platform is for. If you want to really boost engagement with your learning platform you have to market the rest of your learning and development opportunities with as much gumption as you do mandatory training — and then some.

4. YOUR PLATFORM FEELS LIKE AN ADMIN HEADACHE

Be honest, does your LXP feel like something people want to open, or something they have to? The difference isn’t functionality. It's a feeling.

If your system looks like an intranet and sounds like a policy document, it’s game over. Nobody will choose to spend their time there. Nobody will optionally go to the platform for a peruse. They’ll just remember the admin headache and avoid it at all costs.

So if you want people to actually use your platform, you need to brand your learning platform like a consumer product. Give it a name. A voice. A personality. (And no, “The Learning Hub” doesn’t count.)

When employees feel a personal connection to the platform — when it looks and feels like their space — they use it.

Try this:

• Develop a visual identity unique to your platform.

• Give it a tone that feels conversational, not corporate.

• Build campaigns that feel part of your company culture, not bolted onto it.

Your platform shouldn’t whisper “mandatory.” It should shout “made for you.”

5. YOU FORGOT THE HUMAN

You might have been sold on the dashboards, tech and automation. But none of that is going to increase your learning platform adoption. Learning is emotional and personal. So people engage when they feel seen, supported and successful. Not because your platform is AI powered…

So you need to switch your thinking between the procurement process and the marketing of your new platform. You need to flip from RFP checklists to storytelling and capture the hearts and minds of your audience.

When it comes to marketing your learning offering, focus on:

• Showing employees like them succeeding because of learning

• Use your star learners as ambassadors and influencers

• Highlight the wins, not the tech features.

Because people don’t want to “use a platform.” They want to feel progress.

WHAT CONSUMER BRANDS KNOW THAT L&D DOESN’T

Consumer brands spend millions of pounds figuring out one thing: why people buy.
Whereas L&D spend millions of hours wondering: why don’t people learn.

You see the problem?

So now we’ve addressed the 5 real reasons why people aren’t using your learning platform, it’s time to switch it up and work out how you can boost engagement. And we’re going to do that by stealing from marketers who’ve cracked attention, loyalty and habit (and then we’ll apply it to learning).

1. THEY GET TO KNOW THEIR AUDIENCE FIRST

Every great marketer leads with empathy. That means before designing and creating products, they get to know their audience. They know what keeps their audience up at night, what gets them excited and what language they use.

L&D, meanwhile, often launches based on assumptions: “Managers need leadership training.” Or worse, orders from others: “we need more eLearning!”

No. They might need confidence. Or clarity. Or fewer emails.

It’s your job to get under the surface. Run interviews. Create learner personas. Identify motivation triggers. When you understand your employees as humans, not learners, your whole marketing approach will change.

2. THEY CREATE CAMPAIGNS, NOT COMMS.

Marketers don’t send a single email and hope for the best. They build multi-channel, multi-touch campaigns that nurture attention over time. They hook, tease, and build momentum.

L&D needs to adopt that same approach. We need to ditch the ‘send-to-all’ email, and utilise all the platforms and channels at our disposal to hook in our audience. We need to walk them through the entire decision making process – from awareness all the way through to action – and stay front-of-mind at all times.

3. THEY BRAND THE ENTIRE EXPERIENCE.

Marketers know branding isn’t just a logo or a colour palette. They know it’s consistency, it builds trust, and it shows value. But when it comes to branding in L&D – slap dash is the approach most often taken. The learning content has one look and feel. The promotion of said learning has another. And that’s a grave error.

Your platform, messages and assets must look and sound like you, and they must all look and sound like one another. Or you’ll never build trust or recognition with L&D at your organisation.

Give your learning brand a voice employees actually want to hear from — something bold, human, and unmistakably yours.

4. THEY TELL STORIES, NOT SPECS.

Great marketers don’t say “cloud-based productivity software.” They say “get your day back.” See the difference?

But all too often L&D lead with features. “Bite-sized learning modules”, “AI based journeys”, or “SCORM content” mean absolutely nothing to your target audience. You should be selling confidence, outcomes and momentum. For example…

Bad: “Complete your annual data protection training.”
Good: “Stop being the reason IT sends another warning email.”

Bad: “Access our on-demand coaching resources.”
Good: “Get unstuck in ten minutes.”

Bad: “Log in to explore our new AI-driven learning playlists.”
Good: “Finally… learning that actually finds you.”

Remember, people don’t care about your content, tech or platform. They care about how it improves their day-to-day life.

5. THEY BUILD HABITS.

Marketers don’t just want one sale. They want loyalty. Habit. Obsession, even. So they use nudges, personalisation, community, rewards — whatever it takes to keep you coming back. L&D should be doing the same. In fact, it’s how you turn learning from a task into a habit. Not through force. Through design.

So next time you’re promoting your learning platform, consider:

• Creating drip email campaigns instead of sending one-off announcements

• Reward progress, not perfection. When completions ≠ learning, we know habits matter more than tick boxes!

• Personalise the journey and the communications, always answering the ‘what’s in it for me?’ to make people want to come back time and time again.

So next time you’re left scratching your head wondering why your learning platform isn’t getting the engagement you want — think “What would a consumer marketer do?” and take a leaf out of their playbook. Because when you stop chasing engagement, and start earning it, you’ll see the difference.

HOW TO MARKET YOUR LEARNING PLATFORM LIKE A PRO

So now we know what the problem is. We’ve dragged the lazy launches. And we’ve highlighted the tricks to steal from the marketing playbook. It’s now time to put it into practice, and finally increase learning platform usage in your organisation.

But don’t worry, you don’t need to start from scratch, here’s our fool-proof, step-by-step plan:

1. GET TO KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE (LIKE, REALLY KNOW THEM)

If your comms are written for “employees” — or worse “learners” — you’ve already lost the battle. Because your people are way more than their job title or their learner status.

The first rule of marketing is segmentation, because not everyone cares about the same thing. Your store managers, new joiners, and senior leaders aren’t waking up with the same priorities. So stop sending them the same messages.

Get curious. Who are your audiences? What do they care about? What frustrates them? What drives them to act?

Build learner personas that go beyond job titles. Think about:

• Motivations: What gets them out of bed in the morning?

• Barriers: What stops them from learning?

• Pain points: What’s annoying them in the day-to-day?

• Inspirations: How do they want to be? Who do they look up to?

When you start thinking about your learners as real human beings, and consumers of your learning content — your messages will finally start landing.

2. BUILD LEARNING CAMPAIGNS, NOT COMMS

A single email doesn’t change behaviour. But a learning campaign does.

If you want to get people using your LMS, LXP or TXP, you must think of it as a product. And launch it like one! Because that’s exactly what it is. You’re asking people to buy into something new. So create a journey that earns their attention step by step:

• Tease: Build curiosity before launch. “Something new is coming.”

• Launch: Go loud. Big visuals. Clear WIIFM (what’s in it for me?).

• Reinforce: Share stories of people using it. Show it working in real life.

• Sustain: Keep the momentum with nudges, new content drops, and challenges.

This is what we call the ‘decision making journey’ here at MAAS. And it walks your audience through every single stage and emotion they might go through between learning about your platform and actually using it.

Remember, your new learning platform needs more than a one-and-done announcement. It needs continuous promotion that evolves with your audience and keeps learning front-of-mind.

3. LEAD WITH BENEFITS, NOT FEATURES

We’ve already spoken about the fact nobody cares that your platform has AI-driven playlists, adaptive learning paths or gamified dashboards. (Other than your fellow learning geeks, obvs!)

But what your audience does care about is what your learning platform can do for them. They care that it helps them nail that next presentation, feel confident with new tech, or finally have a good 1:1 with their manager.

So stop marketing the tool. Market the transformation. And remember, every message should answer one simple question: why should they care?

4. TELL STORIES THAT STICK

Storytelling is one of the most powerful tools in a marketer’s toolkit. And that’s because as much as data proves impact, stories drive action.

Humans remember narratives — not features, frameworks or “learning pathways.” So if you want people to connect with your platform, make them feel something. Tell the story of someone like them — someone who solved a real problem through learning. Feature real voices. Real faces. Real wins.

And if you haven’t got real influencer stories to share — tell a narrative through your copy. For example, don’t write a subject line saying:

“Boost your presentation skills with our latest eLearning module”

Say:

“Smash your next presentation with our 5 tips”

Remember, you want to tell a story that makes your learning hyper-relevant to your audience.

5. MAKE YOUR PLATFORM PART OF THE CULTURE

If your platform feels like admin, people will ignore it. If it feels like another HR admin tool, they’ll roll their eyes. But if it feels baked into the day-to-day culture of your org, they’ll use it naturally.

So how do you make your platform part of the culture of your business? Well it starts with promoting it where your people already are: team meetings, intranet homepages, comms channels, even payslip notes if you have to.

And then for the extra sparkle: partner up. Work with internal comms, marketing, and leadership. Get them saying the same things you are. Because when employees hear one clear, consistent message from multiple directions, it sticks.

Learning shouldn’t be a side hustle. It should be part of the company’s daily rhythm.

6. MEASURE WHAT MATTERS

We’ve already spoken about the importance of continuously marketing your learning platform. But that doesn’t mean doing the same thing over and over and hoping for peak engagement. It means measuring to see what works, what doesn’t — and then strategising based on that.

But platform logins aren’t the metric you should be tracking. You want to make sure you’re looking at what really matters to see if your marketing works. And that means looking at behaviour:

• How often do people come back?

• What do they actually do once they’re in?

• Are they applying what they’ve learned?

Use the outcomes from that measurement to refine and enhance your marketing — and then keep at it!

WHAT IS THE AIDAL MODEL?

AIDAL stands for Awareness, Interest, Desire, Action, Loyalty. And it’s the funnel every person travels through when deciding whether to engage with your learning platform (or not!)

But the harsh truth is, most L&D teams stop marketing at awareness. They’ve sent the email, mentioned the platform in a town hall, maybe even thrown in cupcakes for good measure. And finish there. Then they wonder why engagement flatlines.

That’s because awareness isn’t adoption. You can’t stop at “they’ve seen it.” You’ve got to move them through the entire journey.

And the truth is, the AIDAL model is one of the most effective LMS adoption strategies out there — because it’s rooted in how people really make decisions, not gut-feelings and hunches. So let’s get stuck in:

AIDAL AT A GLANCE:

AWARENESS: “I KNOW IT EXISTS, BUT I DON’T CARE (YET).”

This is where most of your people live. They’ve heard of your platform, maybe even logged in once. They might even think it’s just where the compliance training lives. But the truth is, your learning platform is not really on their radar.

So at this stage, your job isn’t to teach. It’s to intrigue. Think snackable comms, scroll-stopping visuals, bold headlines. You’re not building skills yet, you’re building curiosity.

Try this: Short teaser videos, bold “Something new is coming” posters, or manager shoutouts in team huddles. Keep it human. Keep it brief. Keep your message everywhere.

INTEREST: “HMM… THIS MIGHT BE USEFUL.”

Now your people are paying attention — but they’re still not sold. They’re asking:

• “Is this relevant to me?”

• “Will this actually help?”

• “Do I have time for this?”

This is your moment to connect learning to their world. Highlight quick wins. Solve problems they actually have this week, not theoretical “capability gaps.”

Try this: Talk about relatable scenarios. Messages like “want to finally nail that awkward 1:1?” sounds better than “enhance your feedback delivery skills.” Introduce a clear WIIFM, employee stories and content teasers to hook people in.

DESIRE: “I WANT THIS.”

Here’s where curiosity turns into motivation. Now they want to get involved. They’ve seen the value. Now they’re deciding how to get it, and comparing your offer to other options. (Spoiler: YouTube, Google and AI are your biggest competitors.)

Your job here is to sell the experience. Show the feeling. Show progress. Make it look so simple and relevant they can’t say no.

Try this: Short clips or testimonials from colleagues who’ve actually used the platform, and how impactful it has been for them. “Two clicks, and I got exactly what I needed.” That’s your social proof. Use it.

ACTION: “I’M IN.”

This is the moment they click, log in, or sign up. Y’know… the moment they take action. But don’t start celebrating just yet — this is where friction kills momentum.

If the process feels clunky, long or confusing, you’ll lose them before the first module loads. Action should feel effortless. Like ordering coffee, not applying for a mortgage.

Try this: Direct links. Clear CTAs. Personalised recommendations. “Three 5-minute hits to help you smash your first presentation” beats “Access your leadership development pathway.” Every. Single. Time.

LOYALTY: “THAT WAS WORTH IT.”

This is the step of AIDAL that L&D miss the most often. Yet, it’s the most important. Because it's the moment your learners become your marketers.

In the loyalty phase your employees are telling colleagues how useful the learning experience was, they’re sharing their new knowledge with their peers, and they’re coming back for more — not because they have to, but because they want to.

That’s when learning stops being a task and starts becoming a habit.

Try this: Spotlight your success stories. Create alumni networks or user generated content (UGC) challenges. Ask people to share quick wins (“What did you learn this week?”). Ultimately, take as many steps as possible to turn learners into ambassadors.

MARKETING TACTICS FOR EACH STAGE OF THE FUNNEL

The truth is, with internal marketing your audience will likely be spread across the entire funnel. Which means you need to cater to each stage within your marketing. So here’s some inspo of how to communicate with your audience at each stage:

But remember, the magic isn’t in the tactics or channels you use — it’s in the timing and the messaging. Answer the WIIFM for your audience at each stage of the funnel, and watch your learning platform engagement soar.

NOW GO MAKE THEM LOG IN (AND ACTUALLY STAY THERE)

Let’s be honest. You know you don’t have a learning platform problem. You also know the rest of your learning tech is up to scratch too. But what you do have is a people problem. Because the truth is, no amount of features, AI recommendations or shiny dashboards will save a platform that no one cares about. You can rebrand it, relaunch it, or rebuild the homepage for the hundredth time — but if you haven’t built belief, or answered the ‘what’s in it for me’, it’ll still be a digital graveyard.

People don’t log in to your LMS because you told them to. They log in because something made them want to. That something is marketing. It’s the difference between a platform that feels like corporate admin and one that feels like a movement.

Marketing is what transforms your LMS, LXP or TXP from “just another platform” into something people genuinely value. It’s how you shift from compliance clicks to curiosity-driven traffic. From “log in and complete” to “have you seen this yet?”. Because when your people believe there’s something worth finding inside that platform, they’ll come back — unprompted and engaged.

To get there, you’ve got to stop treating your platform like a tool and start treating it like a product. Build hype before you launch. Craft campaigns that make people feel something. Personalise every message so it sounds like it was written for them. And most importantly, don’t stop once you’ve hit ‘go live’. Great marketing isn’t a launch day event — it’s an always-on conversation.

That’s the MAAS difference. We don’t launch learning platforms. We build learning brands people believe in. And learning campaigns to sustain momentum. All powered by strategy, not hope. So go make them log in. Go make them stay. Go make them care.

And when your platform stops gathering dust and starts building real employee learner engagement, you’ll know you finally did it the MAAS way.