How schools can market themselves to parents

For the many educational institutions, ‘how can you make your school or educational institution stand out in today’s day and age?’ is a well asked question. Although schools are a necessity, you may be surprised to know that schools are in competition with one another, especially private ones where they need to win over the hearts of parents looking to invest in their child’s education. How, though, can you come up on top when there seems to be schools everywhere you turn?

Activities on offer

If you are looking to make your school standout and attract talented students – and their parents also – then you will need to highlight not only the classes and education on offer, but also any extracurricular options that will appeal to both. Make sure that you provide information on any clubs or sports bodies that your students can join, and highlight the benefits that these opportunities offer. Remember that parents are sure to pick a school depending on their child’s interests, so they will want to remain safe in the knowledge that their kids will have just as much fun out of the classroom as while they are in it.

However, if you’re worried about spreading your school too thin, then try to be the best in one particular activity. For instance, perhaps your school will be known for its great music equipment and scheme, or maybe you’ll invest in the best science equipment.

Website

Like any business, your website is the window into the soul of your school. However, no website will do when it comes to impressing hard-to-please parents. In fact, you should spend the time and money finding school website design experts like PrimarySite, who can make a user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing website, overflowing with useful information.

Make sure that you also link your website to your social media channels, to provide regular and relevant updates that highlight and showcase your entire academic year. Also, remember to keep the content on your site remains up to date and relevant to your institution. Keep your audience in mind at all times – you want to create a site that interests parents, so think tasteful images, good navigation, a list of subjects and syllabuses and an alumni page listing those who have graduated and how they’ve progressed in life.

Print less – focus on SEO

Believe it or not, but if you are relying heavily on printed marketing materials then you could be wasting both time and money. Although flyers might still capture the eyes of parents, most people will to turn to Google for answers. Work with your website and make sure your website appears on the first page of Google, rather than hope your printed materials land in front of them. SEO is a great tool for making your school more visible, so make sure you find an SEO manager who is able to direct you in the right direction. If you’re not only, then parents are never going to find your school or know what it is you have to offer.