Outdated marketing tactics within the private schooling sector have attributed significantly to a disappointing lack of growth in private school enrollments. Actually, enrollment percentages have not grown in nearly half a century. For decades private schools have relied on mail campaigns, local ads, and billboards. There is little to be said about their marketing campaigns or websites in our very digitally driven world. So how can the marketing that is available in 2019 help boost enrollment for private schools across the country? Here are some ideas.
Responsive and User-Friendly Web Designs
This should be common sense, right? Unfortunately, websites are the most lacking aspect of American private schools. With the oncoming wave of millennial parents deciding where to enroll their children, it is important now more than ever to step onto a properly built, user-friendly, and creative web design to market private schooling. The first impression a parent will receive about a private school will come directly from their web presence and this is how parents will gauge a school’s vision and mission for its students.
Use Content to Drive Communication
Programs, academic achievements, sports, and news are great content initiatives for a school’s online presence. These topics can be thoroughly described and shared on websites, social platforms, and even blogs. It’s important to build an active relationship with your community, not just physically but digitally as well. Recent surveys by the Council for American Private Education have shown that the information parents are searching for when choosing the right school is:
- Accreditation
- Curriculum and Courses
- College Acceptance Rates
- Religious Instruction
- Standardized Test Results
These topics should be the focal point of content on your web platforms. Share success stories and academic achievements that showcase the discipline as well as the successful culture of your private school. Another study found that 61% of parents were searching for more responsive teachers and administrators, a perfect way to make parents feel you’re more responsive and easier to communicate with is to get them involved in your school’s blogs, forums, or social media accounts.
Always be sure that your content is SEO optimized for local keywords and trends within private school networks so you are easily found by your community on search engines.
Set up a Pay per Click (PPC) Campaign
Pay per click ads can be set up to display to anyone who is searching online for private school education providers locally or within the guidelines you set. It is very likely PPC campaigns will lead to conversions as your market prospects are already actively seeking to make a decision when they are browsing. PPC campaigns can also drive traffic to your updated content and responsive web design which will further entice parents and students to finalize their decision.
Provide Guidance to Parents and the Community
This new and trending marketing concept entails the school to come up with some hard-hitting topics or questions that seem all too common for many parents and students. Pull together information on this topic and present it to them along with who you are in the form of a free webinar. You can also offer this web service in exchange for lead information such as email addresses and phone numbers. Providing this online service will help you develop a relationship with your prospective clients and get your foot in the door to continue marketing to them later.