How to Market a School Effectively
With enrolment numbers down during the pandemic and more families choosing home education, now is the time for schools to step up and get creative in their efforts to recruit new students. School marketing can seem daunting to school leaders, but it’s actually pretty simple. It all starts with a solid plan and then implementing that plan across multiple channels. For School Prospectus Design, go to www.fsedesign.co.uk/school-prospectus-design/
A great place to start is with your online presence. An outdated, unprofessional looking website will put off prospective parents and students. Consider a web redesign to give your online presence a modern look and feel that is more in line with the expectations of this tech-savvy generation of kids and their parents.
Once your school has a great-looking, professional-feeling presence on the web, consider adding a few other components that will help set you apart from the pack. For example, consider adding a video tour of your school that highlights the many exciting things that happen there daily (e.g., projects, sports, arts programmes, etc.). Videos get much more engagement on social media than other types of content, so starting to incorporate them into your marketing is a must.
As you build your marketing plan, think about how each component will work together to reach your enrollment goals. For example, a Facebook retargeting campaign can be used to target parents who visited your website but didn’t fill out an inquiry form. This is a low-cost way to target a specific group of prospective families.
Another key point is to develop what is called a ‘lead nurturing campaign’. This means that once a prospective family has submitted an inquiry form, you don’t let the conversation end. Continue to provide them with additional resources that will support their decision making process, like a series of emails with tips and information, or even videos that highlight your school’s strengths and values.
An important thing to keep in mind when building your marketing strategy is that families are your most powerful advocate. If they love your school and have a positive experience, they will talk about it on social media and with their friends and neighbours. They may also recommend it to other families, especially if they have children who will be attending school in the future.
Whether you’re starting from scratch or building upon an existing school marketing programme, it’s important to take the time to evaluate what worked and what didn’t. And then build on the successes!
