Social media is no longer optional for any preschool. What was once an online pastime has now become a dominant marketing tool. Businesses have been using social media for sales, but have you been using your social media presence to increase enrollment for your preschool?
Business owners can generate sales through social media if they know how to use this marketing tool properly. What can you do to start driving new enrollments for your preschool through social media? Learn what preschool social media marketing strategies will help you increase enrollment for your center.
A Quick Note About Social Media
Before discussing using social media for lead generation, let us first remember the etiquette of social media. If you are using your social media platforms for business, you are likely already keeping these things in mind.
The golden rule is as follows: If you wouldn’t tell little ones to do it in a sandbox, don’t do it online. What does this mean?
- Play nice in the sandbox. Throwing sand gets you nowhere.
- Make friends in the sandbox. It is called “social” media, after all. Use your platforms to interact and endorse other people and local businesses you support!
- Don’t hog the whole sandbox. If you are posting every 30 minutes, your audience will tune you out. Encourage dialogue and interaction on your platforms!
- Don’t spend all day in the sandbox. Preschool social media marketing is just one tactic to generate leads for your preschool. For one thing, there is only so much useful work you can do on social media before you end up watching cat videos for an hour.
1. Know Your Audience
There are so many social media platforms that you can use to engage with parents. Do you know which social media platform your target audience uses most frequently? Is it LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or something else? You can get the most out of your marketing dollars if you focus your attention on a platform that reaches your target market.
What time do parents hop on Twitter or Facebook? There is plenty of data out there to help you understand when young parents are on social media platforms during the day. You can use information about your target market’s habits to schedule your posts and tweets and reach prospective parents effectively.
2. Offer Quality Content
If you want people to pay attention to your preschool’s online activity, you have to offer something of quality. Remember that each post on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram is an opportunity for you to connect with prospective parents. If your current approach is not getting you leads, consider trying a post with a different tone or topic to mix things up. This deviation could be just what you need to get your preschool noticed on social media.
If you provide content that is both interesting and helpful to readers, you are more likely to entice prospective parents to follow through on your call to action. Before you hit the “post†button, ask yourself if the post is engaging and informative. Spammy posts could turn off potential customers. A good rule to follow is the 80/20 rule: 80% of your content should be informative, and the other 20% of your content can be promotional.
3. Include a Call to Action
How can your potential clients engage with your preschool if you don’t give them a call to action? On Facebook, use the buttons at the top of your Facebook Page to engage your audience in a call to action. You can tell parents to “Call Now” and include your preschool’s phone number.
A strong call to action only works if you are prepared for them to follow through. Do you answer your preschool’s phones regularly? If you have a contact list or email address, do you check that email inbox frequently enough to get back to people promptly?
Add more information and videos to your Facebook Page using the custom tabs feature.
The custom tabs live in the left column of your Facebook page and can feature information about your services or connect to your YouTube channel or Twitter account. These menu items add value to your Facebook Page, since mobile users may be more inclined to navigate through the Facebook application than go to your website.
4. Interact with Your Audience
Are people commenting on your recent post on Facebook or Instagram? You have an opportunity to engage with your audience and answer questions if people respond to your posts! Do you have someone on your team equipped to answer questions and respond to comments on your social media platforms?
You can also engage your audience and potential customers by posting a poll or survey to start a conversation. You can ask what are some favorite indoor and outdoor summer activities for kids! These polls and surveys can also give you insight into what your target market wants.
5. Highlight Your Location
Families will be looking for a preschool near where the parents work or live. Include your preschool’s location in posts and ads on your social media platforms to reach people who are actually in your area. It can be difficult to compete with all the preschools across the country, so focus your attention on making your preschool known in your area.
While older social media and search engine optimization (SEO) practices dictated that you need to mention your city frequently in all content, this suggestion has changed. You do not need the name of your city in every sentence of every social media post or blog post on your preschool website. Instead of using a region or city name exorbitantly, think about using it mindfully. Including your location can help parents on social media know if your preschool is close to their work or home.
6. Monitor Your Online Reputation
Are people talking about your preschool on social media platforms? You need to have tools in place to monitor if your brand is mentioned on social media platforms like Twitter or websites like Yelp. Include social media in your reputation marketing plan from Local Child Care Marketing.
Your online reputation is extremely important. People trust referrals from friends and family and online reviews. Encourage parents at your preschool to leave glowing reviews online. You can offer incentives to current parents of enrolled students with a referral program.
7. Use an Online Marketing Agency
Local Child Care Marketing can help you understand how to make the most out of your online marketing efforts. Local Child Care Marketing has helped over 75 childcare providers around the nation improve their web presence through website development, reputation marketing, social media marketing, Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising, and more.
You can take your web presence to the next level and increase enrollment before back-to-school season hits. Contact us today to learn how to generate leads through effective preschool social media marketing strategies.