Even in this digital age, many school websites don’t do an excellent job of attracting and keeping visitors interested. The website is the first point of information whenever someone is looking for a school online. However, they often repel people instead of attracting them because they are challenging to navigate and baffle users. As we know, many schools need proper functional websites. They need to meet the needs of parents and kids.
Schools can no longer rely only on traditional marketing methods. They need to do more than distribute flyers or host open houses. Digital marketing platforms are the key for schools to attract new audiences. These will help them improve their online presence. It also helps to interact with parents and students.
In this blog, you will learn about digital marketing for schools to improve enrollment. Everything will be covered here, from identifying the audience to using VR.
1. The Strategic Marketing Mindset
Marketing plays a significant role in your school. It helps you to get more enrollments. There are many schools, so you must promote your school to get noticed. Taking an intelligent approach to promotion works best.
You must determine what parents and kids think about when choosing a school. You can use this to make online ads for each group. The ads focus on what matters most to moms, dads, and kids.
Being strategic lets schools become more well-known. It helps them connect better with the community. Over time, more kids will want to join your school instead of others. This gives you an advantage over other schools.
2. Know Your Audience
Like any other industry, identifying your audience is essential for digital marketing success. Parents have a central role in the school choice process for their children. They should be the top priority.
Schools need an online presence to attract new students. They use targeted digital campaigns to reach different parent groups. The admissions team analyzes audience data. They look at demographics, interests, and location. This helps segment parents into persona-based groups.
Custom campaigns are created for each persona. Key messages speak to what really matters. They cover curriculum, extracurriculars, and affordability. Academic parents may see Facebook ads and blog posts. Active families get Instagram reels and emails. You will perform better if you match content to parent’s needs.
The Busy Bee: Needs efficiency and quick info.
Many parents get so busy with their work that they need more time to seek information. They search online for necessary information before choosing a child’s school. You can reach Busy Bees well using responsive websites, social media handles, and chatbots. Your website should contain all the necessary information.
The Deep Diver: Wants detailed curriculum & outcomes.
Some parents are critical and specific. They insist on complete and thorough information. This includes the curriculum, teaching methods, and academic performance. The school should describe its qualification program well and be available online. They should show the success of their students through their website and social media accounts. They should also provide evidence of academic excellence online. Deep consideration is necessary to address this.
The Social Butterfly: Seeks community & extracurriculars.
Some parents value community contributions. They also want activities that grow their child’s social circle. So, they pick schools that have these things. Your school’s ethos can be boosted by showing the energy of the extra-curricular programs. These programs have an engaged atmosphere. You can also use the community events. And you can create a proper place for the students and the parents.
Schools should dedicate an adequate page or section on their website to promote extracurricular activities. They should show proof of these activities through content like photos and videos of students participating in various activities.
This will help showcase the vibrant extracurricular culture and engage student participation to parents browsing the school website. The visual content can help parents visualize their child’s potential involvement and social development through such programs.
3. Content is King
Schools must focus all their efforts on digital marketing and content. Schools must go beyond general notifications. They must add narrative power. This helps people see the schools’ programs. It shows their stories of success and how students do their courses.
Schools can do this by making high-interest quality content writing. It will draw the target audience into the discussion. The content will stick in their minds even after the show.
4. Embrace the Power of Data.
Data is a big deal for schools’ online marketing. By watching website traffic and social media, schools can learn a lot. They can see how well their marketing is working and make it better. A/B testing can improve website prompts and get more people to act. Schools should also show that their online marketing is making money. This will get leaders on board.
5. Execute Email Marketing
Email is essential for digital marketing. When people sign up on a website, they give the website their email address. We can use email instead of just the website to talk to those people.
Lots of people check their emails every day on their phone or computer. Email marketing works better than social media, such as Facebook or Instagram, for getting messages to people.
The emails we send should give helpful tips and information. That way, people understand what makes us better than similar options. The customer stories help show why they should pick our product or service instead of somebody else’s. Email marketing allows the business to stand out from competitors on the internet.
6. Optimize for Mobile
Many people now use phones instead of computers to search the internet. Over half of all searches come from phones! That means your website needs to work well on phones, just like it does on computers.
Google wants to show people helpful and valuable information. Websites that are hard to use on phones will make people leave quickly without looking around. This means that Google will show those sites less.
The best thing to do is make sure your website looks good on phones first before computers. That way, when someone visits from their phone, everything is the right size for their screen and is easy to see. People from a phone or computer should find what they need quickly and easily.
You want visitors to focus on the critical stuff you share, not struggle to read small words or tap tiny buttons. Take care of people on their phones, and they will return to your site.
7. Long-Term SEO
SEO means making your website easy for Google to understand. When people search for things, SEO helps your site appear higher in the search results.
It takes a while for your work on SEO to start helping more people find your site. However, over time, Google has learned that your site is helpful and should be recommended. Picking the right keywords to focus on helps. Building links from other sites helps, too. So does making your site load fast on computers and phones.
The University of California kept working hard on SEO for a long time. Now, when people search for colleges in California, their website often appears at the top of the first page. They played the long game with SEO, which paid off by bringing more visitors to their site.
8. Consistency in Livestreaming
It’s hard to miss how popular live video has become with apps like TikTok and Facebook Reels. Watching videos happening live feels more natural and fun than videos that were already recorded.
The facts show that people like live video, too. 80% of people would rather see a live video than read a blog. And they spend 3 times longer watching live videos compared to standard videos.
Facebook and other social media want users to see live content. They make it show up more in people’s feeds. Brands that try new live features get rewarded with more views.
Instead of fighting how the algorithms work, it’s better to use popular live options. That way, more people will find your videos happening right now instead of missing out on recorded ones.
9. Promote Where People Invest Their Time Most
People spend a lot of time on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter nowadays. So, it’s brilliant for companies to advertise on these social networks. They can reach the same people who use them.
Good social media marketing uses free posts and paid ads at different stages. You can share what your company is about through profiles and posts. Or show off new products and upgrades through photos and videos.
Posts, ads, and stories push helpful info, fun updates, and deals. They move people toward becoming customers. You use social media tools throughout. They guide people from first learning about you to trusting you. Then, to buy from you. Advertise where audiences already spend their time online for the best results.
10. Right Time to Set Ads
Programmatic ads use information and technology to show ads to the right people at just the right time.
Colleges compete a lot to attract new students. Programmatic advertising gives schools an affordable way to aim ads at families and students who are the best fit. The ads can target people based on their details, location, interests, etc.
Instead of spending a fortune to reach everyone, programmatic tools help colleges spend less and get the exact prospects most likely to enrol. This targeted approach makes advertising dollars go further in the competition for top students.
11. Use Videos for Storytelling
Video is a great way to tell your company’s story in a visual way that words alone can’t match. Pictures and moving images make it easy for people to understand what makes your business unique.
The good thing about making videos is you can clip and share parts of them in different places. You get longer videos for your website and social media. But you can also extract short clips and snippets for ads or stories. This “evergreen” content keeps bringing people to learn about your company for a long time.
12. Utilizing Influencer Marketing
Research shows students care about what past graduates did. Hearing about alumni getting great jobs gets students interested. It makes them more interested in a school.
Look through lists of past students who graduated from your university. Find the ones who are very successful now, like working at famous companies. Ask if they would be willing to help promote some of your school’s programs.
These alumni could share their experiences online. They could use social media or video. Talking about how much a specific program helped them could inspire new students. It could encourage them to enrol.
Connecting with influencers who are also proud past graduates is an intelligent way to excite new students.
13. Search Engine Marketing
Search engine marketing (SEM) means paying for your school or business ads. They appear near the top of search results on Google and other sites. You pick important words called keywords. You bid to have your ad appear when people search for those words.
Most students use search engines. They use them to research colleges and classes. It’s a good idea for schools to set aside money for SEM. That way, when students search keywords for your programs, your school’s ad will be one of the first things they see.
This gives you a better chance of attracting top students to apply. Investing in SEM is worth it to reach more potential applicants online.
14. Valuable Content for Press Releases
Public relations (PR) is essential for raising brand awareness and sharing new ideas. For colleges, it means collaborating with journalists and professors to highlight novel research. Good public relations captures attention by sharing discoveries in a way that makes people want to know more.
One education nonprofit wanted to expand its public profile as a tech in-school resource. Working with its experts, PR developed messaging that generated continuous positive press coverage. This ongoing publicity kept more audiences informed about its work. Done well, PR fosters ongoing interest in an organization’s expertise.
15. Demonstration of the Importance of Education
Clear goals guide a business. Schools need clear reasons why a program is valuable to attract more students.
Share success stories of alumni who benefited from the program. Use numbers and facts to show how the program pays off. Stats, like high graduation rates and post-degree salaries, convince students. They show the program leads to opportunities.
Focusing the message around real examples and proven data sells the program better. It’s better than just describing what’s taught. Highlighting previous success motivates more enrollments.
Cutting-Edge Strategies for Digital Marketing for Schools
Schools should explore new ways to improve teaching and keep up with the latest technology. Here are some excellent ideas to help a school succeed at digital marketing for private schools.
Virtual Reality Open Houses: Offer immersive school experiences.
VR can make a school look better to parents and students. They can experience it from the comfort of their own houses. The open houses will show virtual reality tours. They will show off school buildings, classes, and activities. This will give visitors a more immersive experience. They will get a better idea of what the school offers.
Micro-Influencer Marketing: Partner with local parent bloggers.
Working with famous local parent bloggers could increase how far a school is known. It could also increase its influence. Micro-influencers can share the school’s message on many channels. They do this by sharing good reviews and recommendations. These target a specific group of followers.
Eyes on Solution can help identify relevant bloggers. They look at bloggers’ online presence. They consider their followers, location, and content focus. This helps EoS find bloggers whose followers may like the school’s programs and values. By checking bloggers with these things, EoS can get you the most reach and engagement. This comes from important micro-influencers. They support the school in the local parent community.
Chatbots for Personalized Communication: Answer FAQs and streamline inquiries.
Adding chatbots to a school’s website improves communication. It also offers customers personalized engagement. Chatbots can address repetitive issues. They do this by answering common questions and giving directions. This frees up school staff. It allows them to focus on essential questions.
Conclusion
Digital marketing for schools as a form of advertising has become very effective. It helps schools to reach their teaching goals and work with the people they want to achieve. As the needs of parents become more specific, schools will be able to meet those needs. You can do this by being strategic, engaging content, using data, and creating new solutions. This will help them build a solid online presence. It will also make them competitive.
The best choice for improving your school’s marketing strategy is Eyes On Solution. They offer digital marketing services tailored to schools’ needs. They ensure effective engagement with parents and students.
