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Social media is no longer optional for any child care center. 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 child care center?

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 child care center through social media? Learn what tactics will increase enrollment for your daycare center.

A Quick Note About Social Media

Before we get started on 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. Social media marketing is just one tactic to generate leads for your preschool. 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 child care center’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 daycare center 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 actually 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 child care center’s phone number.

A strong call to action only works if you are prepared for them to follow through. Do you answer your daycare center’s phones regularly? If you have a “Contact Us” email address, do you check that email inbox frequently enough to get back to people in a timely manner?

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 about what your target market wants.

#5: Location, Location, Location

Families will be looking for a child care center 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 child care centers 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 child care 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 child care center 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 a glowing review 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 child care 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 social media.