Marketing 101: Enrollment Strategies
•Download as PPTX, PDF•
0 likes•148 views
Boosting your school’s enrollment is a sure-fire way to ensure that your school thrives Any enrollment marketing program should be designed to positively impact your charter school’s viability by increasing enrollment numbers through targeted marketing efforts. We’ll share actionable strategies that focus on generating awareness primarily through digital marketing, and strategies that include “ground game” marketing to convert applicants to enrollment.
Recommended
Recommended
More Related Content
What's hot
What's hot (19)
Similar to Marketing 101: Enrollment Strategies
Similar to Marketing 101: Enrollment Strategies (20)
More from Charter School Capital
More from Charter School Capital (17)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
Marketing 101: Enrollment Strategies
- 1. Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Enrollment Marketing 101 Learn How to Attract and Engage Potential Students and their Families
- 2. 2 Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved. WHY AM I HERE? • Technology marketer for 36 years for: – NWEA – DreamBox Learning – Learning.com – K12.com – KC Distance Learning | Kindercare • Student of social media for 17 years – My first year – called “pond scum” publicly – Earned BusinessWeek Award for Top 10 Business Blogs in 2004 • Led Marketing and drove enrollments for: – Six iQ Academy charter schools – Keystone School (global credit recovery distance learning high school) • Adjunct Professor at Portland State University – PR 402 – Developing a PR Strategy – LinkedIn for Career Changes • Leading Marketing and Enrollment Marketing services for Charter School Capital
- 3. 3 Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved. I LOVE CHARTER LEADERS – YOUR WORK IS SO COMPLEX!
- 4. 4 Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved. WHAT WE’LL COVER • What is Enrollment Marketing? – Establishing Your Vision – Know Your Audience – Set Goals and Objectives • Strategies & Tactics – Building Story Arcs – Your Website – Search – Paid advertisements – Social media – Email – Events
- 5. 5 Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved. WHAT IS ENROLLMENT MARKETING? • Talking with just the right person at just the right time, via mobile, online, or in person, in a meaningful way • Enrollment marketing can help your charter school raise community awareness, increase fundraising, and grow your enrollment numbers • Enrollment marketing can be a vehicle for gaining and nurturing support from your community Enrollment marketing defined
- 6. 6 Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved. BUILD YOUR STORY ARCS • Define: your school’s unique position • Understand: How is your school different from other options in your community? • Clearly Articulate: What is the essence of who you are? • Build Internal Advocacy: How will you and your staff, volunteers and teachers consistently deliver on your school’s promise? Use your school’s purpose to create powerful marketing messages
- 7. 7 Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved. STORY ARC EXAMPLES • A for Academics! The state gave our district an A rating. • Building Endless Opportunities through education, leadership, sports, music, art and theatre. • Safe and Secure Learning Environments in our uniquely small classroom settings.
- 8. 8 Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved. SAMPLE A-RATED ACADEMICS POSTS When does education matter most? Elementary, middle or high school? If you think it's all three – we agree! High quality education is always a top priority. That’s why we deliver rigorous, traditional curriculum at all three of our free charter schools in our A- rated district. Learn more about us and our commitment to every student in our schools... Set up a tour today!
- 9. 9 Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE • Millennial Moms and Dads • Grandparents /other caregivers • Press and influencers in your area • Your Board of Directors • Your students! They are all different and unique! Who are you trying to reach?
- 10. 10 Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved. BUILD A PLAN • Capture your ideas into an actionable plan – and share it! – What tactics will you need to achieve your goals? – Who will be responsible for each piece of the plan? – What is the cost of each tactic and how confident are you that it will work? – How will you measure (and report on) success?
- 11. Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Strategies and Tactics
- 12. 12 Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved. THE MARKETING FUNNEL Awareness Engagement Conversion Loyalty Who is this school? Who might I talk to there? I think I’d like to send my kids there! I’m going to recommend our school to others!
- 13. 13 Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved. STRATEGY AND TACTICS Awareness Engagement Conversion Loyalty search paidweb
- 14. 14 Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved. STRATEGY AND TACTICS Awareness Engagement Conversion Loyalty search paidweb email social tours
- 15. 15 Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved. STRATEGY AND TACTICS Awareness Engagement Conversion Loyalty search paidweb email social events tours
- 16. 16 Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved. YOUR WEBSITE: YOUR ”HOME BASE”
- 17. 17 Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved. FIX THIS FIRST! SECURE YOUR SITE
- 18. 18 Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved. WEBSITE SHOULD QUICKLY ANSWER QUESTIONS • Who is this school for? • Why should I choose this school? • What’s the address and phone number? (remember, Millennials use their phones!) • Make sure you’re giving visitors this information: • What grades do you serve? • When do you start enrolling? • How can I arrange a visit? • Give people (clear!) options to engage with you: • Open houses and tours • Chat with the ED / teachers / parents • Request more information Your website is the foundation of your online presence
- 19. 19 Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved. WEBSITE: CHECKLIST Make it secure Answer “new parent” questions Make it easy to Enroll Make it mobile Additional Resources
- 20. 20 Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved. MOBILE SEARCHES: (HELLO MILLENNIALS)!
- 21. 21 Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved. “NEAR ME” SEARCHES HAVE BOOMED WITH MOBILE Charter School Near Me Indian Restaurant Near Me ATM Near Me…
- 22. 22 Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved. LOOK WHO’S ADOPTED “NEAR ME” SEARCHES THE MOST
- 23. 23 Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved. SEARCH (SEO) Typical search Google My Business result Organic result “Charter school near me”
- 24. 24 Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved. SEARCH (SEO) Typical search Google My Business result Organic result “Best charter school near me” [in city] Paid ad
- 25. 25 Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved. SEARCH (SEO) Get listed! Encourage parents to review your school. (Parent reviews help in listings, and in organic search – because Google depends on reviews and content to tell that your school is high quality!)
- 26. 26 Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved. SEARCH (SEO) • SEO stands for “search engine optimization” – which means your site speaks to the Google as well as it speaks to new parents • SEO is dependent on high quality content – the search engines have to know they’re sending visitors to a high quality site. • The more often you post fresh content on your website, the more often your site will be indexed –Social media feeds –Event notices –Blog posts –Board Meetings Grow your online visibility and get found by potential students/families!
- 27. 27 Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved. SEARCH CHECKLIST • Best user experience – Mobile website – Easy site navigation – High quality content • Set your school up in Google My Business • Get parents, staff and students to review your school • Get on lists – niche.com, greatschools.net, others… “Organic” listings are free (but not easy to get) and based on supporting the search term & best user experience. Additional Resources
- 28. 28 Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved. PAID MEDIA • Paid media includes Google advertising, branded content, and display ads on community sites as well as newspaper and radio advertisements • Paid media is an essential component of enrollment and awareness strategies • If you have the budget Paid media: online and advertising efforts
- 29. 29 Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved. PAID SEARCH CAN BUST BUDGETS – SO START SLOWLY • You’ll need to bid on keywords – how much will you spend? • Keyword examples: – “STEM charter school” – “Atlanta charter schools” • The advertiser pays for every click on an ad. Build website visibility for those who are searching for your school on search engines. Typical search Paid ad
- 30. 30 Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ALTERNATE PAID MEDIA • Direct mailers / postcards • Mover packets • Newsletter sponsorships (local news) • Sponsored articles • Nextdoor.com Use visually engaging ads in social media to target your audience in various ways
- 31. 31 Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved. PAID MEDIA CHECKLIST • Identify your budget • Based on your audience/ goals, select the paid outlets you think will get the most attention • Build relevant content to engage the audience, with thought to the outlet you’re using • Watch your budget like a hawk Additional Resources
- 32. 32 Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved. SOCIAL MEDIA • Parents get much – if not most – of their information from social media • BUT – trust in social media is waning, so be transparent and tell your stories well. • Done well, social media will improve your enrollment odds – especially when parents and student from your school share photos and stories regularly
- 33. 33 Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved. “I WANT MY CHILD TO BE A PART OF THAT!”
- 34. 34 Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved. SOCIAL MEDIA • Where do your prospective parents hang out? • Which social media platform gets the most engagement for your school? • Share engaging photos everywhere to generate the most engagement – “a picture is worth a thousand words” • Tell your school’s stories!
- 35. 35 Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved. SOCIAL MEDIA CHECKLIST • Find where your best audience hangs out – Instagram? Twitter? Facebook? • Pick one or two and post every day if you can – use a sharing tool • Don’t forget – you’re making your school appeal to both parents and students • Post lots of photos - but get parental permission to use kids photos before you post • When in doubt, don’t Additional Resources
- 36. 36 Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved. EMAIL • Best for keeping your school top of mind of folks who opt-in for your updates • Create personalized messages and newsletters for your students, parents and potential parents • Email marketing is cost effective and relatively easy to implement • Email is easy for readers to share and schools to track An efficient way to connect with your target audience
- 37. 37 Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved. EMAIL • Almost everyone reads email on their phones these days; keep emails mobile friendly • That means text should be minimum 15pt font • When you can, let images do the talking (and at unsplash.com, images are free) • Find an easy-to-use (many are free) email platform • Build your list organically by providing helpful, engaging content • Keep your list clean. If a person hasn’t opened or clicked an email in the last 12 months, remove them from your list
- 38. 38 Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved. EMAIL CHECKLIST • Tell your story to parents so they can pass it along to others easily • Keep your lists clean • Use fun photos • Review your reports to see how much people are sharing Additional Resources
- 39. 39 Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved. EVENTS • Event marketing is one of the best ways to start that personal relationship with your parents and prospective students • Especially during enrollment seasons, it’s important to have plenty of face-to-face opportunities for parents, students and staff • Real-life experiences shape our thoughts and memories much more profoundly than anything we read or see in the media Build stronger relationships via in-person interactions and activities !!!
- 40. 40 Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved. EVENTS • Hold regular Open House hours at your school all year long o Open up plays, workshops, concerts that showcase students to prospective parents • During Jan April hold enrollment events at school and community spaces o Capture the interest of “planner parents” • During summer months, hold enrollment events both at the school and in community spaces
- 41. 41 Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved. EVENT CHECKLIST • Pick great community venues with easy parking • Gather volunteer parents to talk to prospective parents • Test weekends and evenings • Post your event on your website • Publish your event in Facebook • BONUS! Set up a geofilter in Facebook or Instagram! (especially for the MS + HS kids!)
- 42. 42 Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved. DONE RIGHT, ENROLLMENT MARKETING IS MEASURABLE!
- 43. Copyright © 2018 Charter School Capital, Inc. All Rights Reserved. THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING!
Editor's Notes
- Working from the right (creative side) and the left (rational) side of your brain is extremely difficult. And as educators, working with your students is the most important thing. It’s likely you need to rely on others to help you with your enrollment marketing initiatives. This presentation is to help you know what to do first, should you need to ask or if your team is able to help yourselves.
- This is how we’ll spend time together today, and if you have questions, I’ll find answers.
- Not only will enrollment marketing help attract new students to your school, it can help shape your community’s perceptions about you and your school.
- It’s really important that you can tell just a few stories, consistently, about your school. What sets you apart from other schools in your area? What makes you great? Then help your staff tell the stories for you.
- Here are some example stories you can tell – what is unique to your school?
- This is how you bring your story arcs to life…
- Millennials are the parents you’re trying to reach if you’re serving younger students. They get their information mostly from their phones, and social media is critical. Grandparents might read emails, check Facebook, but they might be more likely to do so from laptops, and might not be so swayed by social media – we can’t be sure. Don’t forget – the press and other community influencers are also listening, and can be leveraged to help you as you interact with your community. Be honest and transparent with them! You should absolutely get your Board members to help get the word out. Arm them with your stories, your materials, and ask them to be active in their support.
- Any time you can work with your team to build a plan, and put it up in a Google sheet for tracking, you’ll remind yourself and your team what needs to be done.
- So let’s get into it… what do we actually DO once we’re set with the stories we’re going to tell?
- First of all, the marketing funnel is important because people make decisions in stages – and you should have different programs to answer each of these needs…
- At the Awareness stage, your website, showing up in search, and (if you have the budget) paid ads help most here.
- In the Engagement and Conversion stages, email and social media shine – parents are checking your school out, finding out more, learning more, and trying to find someone they might know to talk to them. And, this is where talking to you, your staff, other parents is critical!
- Finally, at the loyalty phase, social media and events are critical in allowing parents to share their love of your school. Don’t be afraid to ask your current parents to be active on your behalf!
- Make sure your website: Works well on a mobile phone – your parents are on the move! Tells the right story of your school. Here, we have a STEAM school that weaves art into every class. And this visual tells that story.
- The first thing you should look at on your site is your URL area – if it says “not secure” get with your website provider and update your credentials (it’s usually a certificate) to secure your site. You can tell your site is secure if you see a little lock by it. A secure site will tell google they can safely send searchers your way. If it’s not secure, google will NOT send searchers your way. And it’ll let you put online enrollment forms on your site.
- Anyone who hits your site should be able to get the answers to these questions VERY quickly. If not, we should look at how to make that happen.
- Here’s your website checklist for enrollment marketing Most website software helps you build mobile sites “automagically” but these four products will. Wordpress Squarespace Wix BrandGenie
- Searching for information from your mobile phone has exploded over the past six years. Your website has to provide the best possible mobile experience for people who search for you by mobile. Think about it – most people on their mobile are looking for Hours, Phone Numbers and Addresses Look at your site from your phone, and see how hard it is to find basic information
- Few people who’ve not had experience with your school will search for it by name. Many of us have a false sense of security when we see our school at the top of a search page when we search by name. Now, people are searching for “near me” searches. Charter School near me… Gas station near me…
- And according to Google, Georgians have adopted Near Me searches more than most states!
- Type in Charter school near me, and see what comes up first. Typically it’ll be a map with a few listings first. You want to get in that map! You’ll need to set up “Google My Business” and get your parents to rank your school in order to do so. But once you do, you’ll have a big advantage from an enrollment marketing perspective.
- Just for fun, type in BEST charter school near me, and you’ll often see an ad above the map area. And you’re likely to see a different organic result (in this case, a list from Niche) right below the map.
- Get your school listed in Niche by making sure your school’s information is up-to-date, completely filled out… And encourage parents to review your school.
- Search engines are not going to show your school’s website if it’s not secure. They won’t show your school’s website if it’s not mobile-friendly. And they won’t show your school’s website if it isn’t updated regularly with new, high quality content. If you aren’t providing those things to Google, Google won’t show your school to people.
- If you can get this right, you’ll show up very well when people who don’t know your school yet are searching online!
- This is something that can be very effective IF you have the budget. I’ll walk you through some good examples of why…
- IF you want to try paid search, (especially before the summer rush to find enrollments) start slowly, and set limits for how much you’re willing to spend per day or per month. See who else is advertising when you search for charter schools in your area. Paid search can get very expensive in the summer, because the national online schools are very active during that time…
- You might get lots of luck with mover packets, or postcards, or even Nextdoor ads, because few people are using them.
- Social media is a critical component of enrollment marketing – but don’t put all your eggs in that basket.
- Your social media posts should tell stories from your story arcs. Show – wherever possible – kids having fun! You want prospective parents to say, “I want my child to be a part of that!”
- You can’t do every social channel – because you won’t have time, nor will you have fun! So pick one, maybe two, and focus on them – posting regularly.
- There are tools you can use to help you set up posts in advance, so if you have an event coming up, you can use Hootsuite to schedule posts for your event on Facebook, and Twitter, at one time. One thing you need to be careful of… whenever you “wonder if…” or say to yourself, “should I?” listen to your doubt… and don’t.
- A lot of people forget about email when they think of enrollment marketing. Ask your current parents to help your school by sharing information with others, not only in social media, but using email. It’s probably the easiest, safest and most familiar way to share information with others.
- These are some very important things to keep in mind as you build email content. If you don’t already have an email platform, we have some ideas for you on the next slide.
- You probably have someone on your staff or a volunteer parent who can help you with many of these ideas, and with email, it’s well worth asking who knows how to set MailChimp up, for example.
- Finally, events are critical for enrollment marketing. Parents and caregivers really need to meet your staff / teachers and YOU. Set up regular events – as often as every two weeks in enrollment season – to meet with prospective parents and students.
- And importantly, make sure someone is at every event taking pictures to share on social media and in email. We want to make sure we’re actively telling our school’s stories “in the moment!”
- No one knows your community like you do – so set up your events to reflect both your school and your community well. And don’t forget, we’re not only appealing to the parents or caregivers, we’re appealing to the kids as well… so make your events fun, accessible, and informative.
- We help schools with their enrollment marketing, and the great thing about it, when set up right, you can literally SEE the difference. Point out some of the results… In this case, we drove 240 enrollments for two schools in AZ
- Janet and I can answer questions – if I can’t answer them right here, right now.