3 Simple Online Marketing Tips for Schools to Increase Enrolments
Schools are Businesses
Schools are businesses and, as we all know, attracting enrolments (or butts on seats as some like to say) are as important as finding customers.
As many discover a new climate for attracting customers to their school, we can often fall into the trap of using the same mediums each year because it’s what we know and we’re unsure of alternative online marketing tactics. Unfortunately, as trend is something that is ‘followed’ many of the mediums are over-saturated and decreasing in effectiveness – so it’s time to pivot!
Here’s 3 simple tips of online marketing ideas that may help you and your school….
Invest in SEO
Using SEO (Search Engine Optimization) as a tool is vital for you to attract and engage parents – remember your audience conducts research long before they come to you expressing interest. Put your ‘parent’ hat on – say you’re moving to a new area, and you’re looking for schools for your children. What would you Google? More than 1,830,000 people worldwide and 40,500 in Australia each year search for a keyword phrase beginning with ‘Best school in…?’
So, do the simple check – launch your browser, select ‘incognito mode’ and search your school. How does it rank in the search engine when you look for the best school in your area? Does it land on the first page? Majority of people never click through to Page 2! Ask your web developer about SEO and an appropriate budget. Even as much as $100 a month will achieve results. It’s a worthwhile investment and a great starting point for online marketing.
Link-In to the Professional World
While building a community on Facebook and social media for your ‘current’ and ‘prospective’ student community is about as important as the first meal to your day, LinkedIn is often overlooked.
LinkedIn has a broad range of company profiles, and while it might not sound relevant to you now, it provides an excellent opportunity for a school to create a profile and engage with a more ‘professional’ audience. This is the magic moment for your Alumni. Setup regular, engaging posts, write short blogs and market upcoming events through this channel. As an added bonus, LinkedIn provides a terrific way to engage with your fellow admissions and marketing colleagues from across the globe. Connect, share ideas and reap the rewards this platform offers.
Start by following us today.
Online = Data Capture
The ability to advertise online with publications or select medium outlets = data, and the data is where the gold lies for you and your school. For example, if you’re running an ad to drive families to your Open Day on Facebook, you need to make sure your tracking click through rates and audience measures to help you measure the effectiveness of the ad for the campaign. Don’t forget Google Analytics – it’s free and provides immediate data when set up appropriately.
When spending precious dollars advertising – the goal is to get them to your website. Through our research at Enquiry Tracker, we know that 96% of all enquiries come as a direct result of data capture achieved through easy to find forms on your website – so don’t hide them! For example, make your Facebook Advertising CTA (Call to Action) click through to your Open Day registration form.
If you need a bit of guidance to demystify this space and take the first steps, we’re always happy to chat to you. Grab a cuppa and speak with one of our marketing experts today.
