For parents, getting a child into the right private school means competing with dozens of other parents, all trying to do the same for their child.
And none of those parents are picking schools blindly. They’re online, researching which private schools are the best for their kids.
That means private schools need to be online as well, mounting a strong inbound marketing campaign that keeps their school at the front of the pack. If you’re a private school, having the right marketing strategy will let parents find the school, learn its story, and come to you to learn more.
Here are five inbound marketing strategies private schools can adopt.
1. Focus on SEO
When parents research schools, they’re likely to use very specific search terms. “The best private schools in the Philadelphia area” or “best private schools for special needs “or” private schools and class sizes”.
Make sure you research the right SEO-friendly keywords for your site. Keep on top of your website, making sure it contains the right search-friendly keywords and content to get people to you.
2. Create Helpful, Interesting Content
You want your content to be SEO friendly, but it also needs to be useful. Remember the parent in the last section searching for “private schools and class sizes”? It would help them if they came to your site and found a blog post that detailed all the benefits of smaller class sizes, and then spoke in general about how your school provides those benefits.
You can stretch out a bit when creating content. Write about what’s happening at your school, but also give parents tips on homework, study habits, healthy snacks, etc.
3. Your Social Media Isn’t Just About You
Do more with your social media accounts than just promote the school. You can also talk about education at large, and the ideas and values of your school. As with the content you create, a private school’s social media needs to be interesting and helpful. It also needs to be a two-way street. If you engage with your school’s fans, they’ll become advocates for you, and tell your story to others.
4. Turn Your Visitors into Prospects
All the steps we’ve touched on so far dealt with getting parents to you. Now it’s time to focus on turning these visitors into prospects by getting their contact information.
You can do this by giving them something valuable. Put a call-to-action on your homepage: “Download this e-book” or “Sign up for our mailing list,” things they can do in exchange for giving their name and e-mail.
5. Stay in Touch
Now that you have those leads, treat them like eggs waiting to hatch. Stay in touch with your prospects through e-mails, blogs and on social media. Let them know what’s happening at your school. They’ll think “That could be OUR daughter working in their new science lab,” or “That could be OUR son out on that soccer field.” When it comes time for these parents to start looking at schools, yours will be at the front of their mind.
Your school has so much to recommend it to parents who want the best education for their children. It’s just a matter of you telling the school’s story.
