Are you finding it hard to get your day care’s name out there in the public?
Do families really know why they should come and look at YOUR pre-school above your competition? How can you get these key messages out to families so that they decide to enrol in your school BEFORE they step in your door?
The answer is SOCIAL PROOF.
What is SOCIAL PROOF I hear you say?
Social Proof is giving evidence for the claims you make on your website, in other online channels or through marketing to entice families to enquire and enrol in your school. Social proof can be in many forms, such as testimonials, reviews on Facebook or Google.
But there is another way that is more powerful…
First let me step back and give a bit of context:
When marketing day care centres, we are dealing with people’s most prized possessions: their children. We’re not selling bitcoin, shoes or Marmite (table spread from my home country of New Zealand), so it needs a different approach to conventional marketing. We’re selling and marketing ‘TRUST’. People want to know, without a doubt, that their children are going to be safe, cared for, educated, have a whole lot of fun every day when they are at your pre-school, and you can show them all this through social media. This is a more holistic view of branding which is necessary in the child care and education industry.
How do I start?
Most pre-schools or childcare centres will have a Business Facebook or Instagram account but, just in case you don’t, here are the steps for Facebook and Instagram to get you started. In this day and age, you can not be without a social media platform to promote your business.
The next step is to start creating regular posts on Facebook or Instagram. Decide on how many posts per month, week or day you can manage on a regular basis. Consistency is key! Once per day is a good start. When you have become comfortable with how to post you can increase the frequency.
Here are some hints to help you create posts that are engaging and show those families interested in enrolling with you how good you really are:
- Take photos of your children doing some thing fun and simply add some text to the post describing what they are doing. Make sure you take high quality photos. It does not have to be professional like a photographer but the latest smartphone will work great. Remember we want sneak peeks not the perfect Instagram photo so keep a balance.
- As you become more confident, create posts that focus on what makes you different to your competition. If you offer Yoga, second languages, healthy meals be sure to create posts around these themes.
- Add helpful information for your families and show that you are experts in the field. for example, explain why construction play or singing is educational.
- Mix it up. Facebook likes variety and so do families. Create posts that are single images, multiple images and add in the video. In general, video is more engaging than photos.
- After a while of doing all this, you will hear repeatedly from your new families “I saw your Facebook page and just had to enrol!”
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out.
Childcare Marketing Team